feature film / casting call – short straw
submissions due by: october 8 (10/08/2016) 12:00:00 am

audition instructions: requesting taped auditions. please include a brief introduction (your real name and who you actually are). immediately after your real introduction, tell us who you’re auditioning for, and then introduce yourself as if you are the character. improvise a little bit about who you are, telling us your name, where you’re from, what you do, and anything else that comes to mind so long as you remain in character. think of it like a video confessional. then, post your audition to a private password protected vimeo or youtube link. then, email us the link and password. email link only, no video attachments. fine to attach resumes. character descriptions below.


filming locations: central kansas (lindsborg, mcpherson, salina, wichita)
shoot dates: oct/nov 2016- subject to change
ultra low budget (although this is a sag ulb shoot, we intend on casting many regional actors who are non-union; compensation will depend on length and amount of work days)

roles:

pastor jon – / lead / male / 35 – 50
pastor jon: deceivingly handsome and charming. a narcissistic psychopathic fire-and-brimstone minister from the deep south. he is abusive to his wife and young daughter. a violent and dangerous man, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. his brilliance is dulled by his impatience and intolerance. he manipulates people with his good looks, charm and false congeniality. his life is a lie. he pretends to be a man of the church, charming, inspirational, alive, etc. instead he really just thrives on the powers.

father jack – / lead / male / 60 – 70
father jack: kind, wholesome, catholic priest. a good man in and out. older, but a brick of a man, in his physical stature, and in his wisdom, empathy and kindness. he has a natural ability to understand people and situations with extreme clarity, a talent no doubt stemming from his ability to size up his opponents when he was a champion boxer in his youth. loves and helps his community. when adult caroline and her daughter emmie show up on his doorstep he takes them in as his own and cares after them. finds a way to protect and keep them safe.

emmie – / lead / female / 7 – 9
emmie: older to play young, 7-9yr. caucasian. beautiful little girl. she likes to mimic her dad and his speeches. innocent, playful, adventurous, lively spirit. a 7-year-old firecracker. she possesses both the soft qualities of her mother and explosive fire-and-brimstone qualities of her father. a non-stop talker, she is a sensitive, stubborn and smart child confused by the volatility of her parents’ relationship and their break-up. like most children, she just wants to be loved by both parents.

shamus – / lead / male / 40 – 50
shamus: a true cowboy. a horse trainer. needs to have riding experience and be ok around horses. horse trainer/davy’s neighbor in his mid-50s. other than father jack, he is davy’s only friend. a tough cowboy, he is not one to show his soft side, but he and davy share an unspoken bond forged by shamus’ responsibility to atone for a tragic secret.

young davy – / featured / male / 7 – 9
young davy older to play 7yr. caucasian. small, skinny, (the smallest boy his age.) wise beyond his years. has a physical trade of looking up and to the left. a very happy 7-year-old farm kid who sings and eats grass. his father calls him short straw because he’s extremely small for his age. talkative and imaginative, he carries on strange conversations with an invisible friend, the “river in the sky,” which he believes everyone else can see and hear. he is a constant worry for his parents. he wants his father’s approval.

sissy – / featured / female / 10 – 12
sissy: 11yr caucasian. glasses, book-wormish, always has her nose buried in a book. davy’s older sister. the fact that she is extremely intelligent for her age is made obvious by her book-wormish appearance with glasses and the intensity with which she reads books written for much older readers. easily annoyed by her rambunctious little brother, she is, nevertheless, tolerant and protective of him.

extras / background:
no experience needed to appear in the film. if you’d like to be an extra or appear in the background of a scene, just say so in your video audition (you don’t need to audition as a character if you’d like to just be an extra) and we will add you to the extras call list.