Winter is coming, and so are auditions.
The University of Central Arkansas’ Digital Filmmaking Program will hold its annual casting session for its Digital Film 4 projects Saturday. What could be a better Christmas gift to yourself than bagging a role in a local film that could change your life?
There are several projects that could be the genesis of the next Channing Tatum or Scarlett Johansson.
One of them is Michael Tatum’s dark fantasy film Lumina. The roles available in this story of two young children who find the powerful Emerald Light that will restore a kingdom covered in darkness include Raiden, a male in his late teens who is the son of a famous warrior; Eleanor (female, late teens), naive and cerebral; Lucian (male, 40s-50s), the children’s father, a former soldier in the royal army; and the Evil King (male, 30 or older), a dishonored ruler who lives in darkness. For more information about the film or auditions, email the director at visionarypicturecompany@gmail.com or producer Dewey Farmer at mozartsdefibproductions@gmail.com .
Another interesting film vying for acting talent is an as-yet-untitled true story about Arkansan John Clayton’s 1880s fight for fair elections for blacks. The roles up for grabs are Clayton (white male, 30s-40s), a politician with a never-give-up attitude (horse-riding experience preferred); Sarah Clayton (white female, 20s-mid-30s), Clayton’s wife, who “loves and respects all people and isn’t afraid to speak her mind”; and a Ku Klux Klan leader (white male, 30s-40s), a sly, evil man (must have horse riding experience). There are other nonspeaking roles available, including the Clayton children, KKK members and a handful of investigators. Scheduled shooting dates are Feb. 7-9 in Plumerville, Springfield and Paron. For more information, email seatingclaytonfilm@gmail.com with the subject “DF4 Casting.”
And Michael Ferrara and Wade Wyeth are looking to cast their film Nightmare Asylum, about a group of friends who enter an abandoned insane asylum to put on a high school play, even as a mad scientist is still performing experiments in the asylum’s hospital. Roles include Sam (female, 18-22), a beautiful and innocent high school senior; Wes (male, 18-22), a high school jock who is Sam’s boyfriend; John (male, 18-22), a scrawny hipster and drug dealer; Rebecca (female, 18-22), one of the traumatized patients from the asylum; and Dr. Strange (male, 35-50), the physically imposing, psychotic doctor. Shooting dates are Jan. 15-22. Contact Ferrara at mikedigsfilms@gmail.com or Wyeth at Weylandutani91@gmail.com .
All auditions will be at Stanley Russ Hall, Room 123, on the UCA campus in Conway, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Most of the auditions will be a cold reading of sides that will be provided, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a monologue prepared if you are so inclined.
Levi Agee is a filmmaker and programmer for the Little Rock Film Festival. Write him at levifilm@gmail.com.
MovieStyle, Pages 31 on 12/06/2013