Acting for a Cause


Acting for a Cause is a live read series of classic plays and screenplays created, produced, directed and hosted by Brando Crawford. The script is typically announced days before the event alongside a playbill featuring the cast and an animation on Instagram. The actors have one rehearsal ahead of time. Each reading is organized to raise money for charity. The readings garnered over 500,000 viewers between the first play read on March 27, 2020 and the last announced read on July 31, 2020.
The series has featured young Hollywood actors such as Florence Pugh, Margaret Qualley, Melissa Barrera, Ruby Rose, Madelaine Petsch, Zazie Beetz, David Corenswet, Jacob Elordi, Natalia Dyer, Corbin Bleu, Julia Fox, Tommy Dorfman, Madeline Brewer, Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, Cameron Monaghan. Recurring participants include Auliʻi Cravalho, Brandon Flynn, Justice Smith, Alex Wolff, Ronen Rubinstein, Jessica Frances Dukes, Mason Alexander Park, Sydney Lemmon, and Xxavier Lavell. While Brando Crawford serves as director and producer for every reading. Alex Wolff co-produced the reading of "This is our Youth", and Xxavier Lavell co-directed the reading of "Hit the Wall".
The reading series was a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Readings

Brando Crawford directs and reads the stage directions unless otherwise noted. Many of the actors play multiple supporting roles. Specific roles are stated only when information is known.

2020

March 27, 2020

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
Note: This cast originally included Diana Silvers but she was unavailable at the last minute.

April 10, 2020

This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford, co-produced by Alex Wolff
  • Florence Pugh as Jessica Goldman
  • Justice Smith as Dennis Ziegler
  • Alex Wolff as Warren Straub
  • Brando Crawford as the Master of Ceremonies

    April 24, 2020

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
  • Willa Fitzgerald as Hamlet
  • Brandon Flynn as Ophelia
  • Madeline Brewer as Claudius
  • Hari Nef as Polonius
  • Auliʻi Cravalho as Laertes
  • Ronen Rubinstein as Horatio
  • Mason Alexander Park as Rosencrantz
  • Christopher Collins as Guildenstern
  • Chandler Lovelle as King Hamlet's Ghost
  • Brando Crawford as Queen Gertrude and the Master of Ceremonies

    May 1, 2020

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
  • Natalia Dyer as Jane Eyre
  • Alexander Hodge as Mr. Edward Rochester
  • Sophia Lillis as Helen Burns
  • Elle Loraine as Mrs. Fairfax
  • Sydney Lemmon as Bertha
  • Richard Ellis as St. John Rivers
  • Jessica Frances Dukes as Mrs. Reed
  • Rudy Pankow as Brocklehurst
  • Brando Crawford as the Master of Ceremonies

    May 22, 2020

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
Hit the Wall by Ike Holter
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
Up in the Air by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
Ferris Bueller's Day Off by John Hughes
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
  • Cameron Monaghan as Ferris Bueller
  • Brando Crawford as Cameron Frye and as Boy in Police Station
  • Emeraude Toubia as Sloane Peterson
  • Charlie Weber as Rooney and as Economics Teacher
  • Auliʻi Cravalho as Jeannie Bueller
  • Jeanine Mason as Grace
  • Xxavier Lavell as Narrator
Note: This cast originally included Kelvin Harrison Jr. but he was unavailable at the last minute.

July 31, 2020

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Directed and produced by Brando Crawford
On June 5, 2020, Brando Crawford, Xxavier Lavell, and Daniel Wilson uploaded the Black Lives Matter Manifesto on Acting for a Cause's YouTube channel unannounced, in place of a reading.
In 2023, Crawford directed a greenscreen-based remake of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 cult favorite The Room, starring Bob Odenkirk, Bella Heathcote, Cameron Kasky, Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Arturo Castro, and original star Greg Sestero. The film was theatrically released in October 2025.