THIS CASTING CALL IS OPEN UNTIL 8 MARCH 2024.

For Project O (working title)

Alternative Version
Casting Call in PDF Format

Project O (working title) is a new theatre piece by Aisha Zia and investigates the idea of survival in an uncertain world. Working with an ensemble cast of economic and war migrants both professional and nonprofessional, it is based on testimonies and a lived experience. Find out more about Project O.

The Press Character

We are looking for casting a new role in Project O.

  • Female, Femme presenting character

  • she/her

  • 19 - 35 years old

  • Middle Eastern heritage

  • Arabic speaking (either first language or fluent as there may be live translation)

  • First generation migrant (preferable but not essential)

You will be playing the Press Character.

She is: Practical, intelligent, and direct in what she says. She feels deeply and wants to do  right. Fixes things / words. Obsessed with language, translation and finding the right word, as well as dates, time, location, names.

Conflict: She can’t get the words right / find the right words. She is trying to process  what is happening to the world, but has to fight the propaganda machine. She must first filter through the press / political narrative before she can find her own words. She glitches. She hesitates. Broken text. Broken silence. She demands to know the truth and must excavate, beneath the rubble, beneath the meaning. If the play is a crime scene, then this is evidence, it's forestic, she analyses, dissects, interrogates.

Wants: Rebuild. Tell the story as honestly as possible, trying hard to represent as best as possible, not misrepresent.

References:

These are some real people that may be useful as inspiration.

What you can expect:

  • You will be making and performing with professional and non-professional performers as well as community participants who you will be learning from and listening to.

  • You will be creating from ideas you already know.

  • You will be thrown into situations that require new concepts, new vocabulary and new ways of thinking.

  • You will be asked lots of questions.

  • You will be asking more questions.

  • You will do a lot of planning for yourself and for your collaborators as the project unfolds. It's important for you to have your own voice alongside your collaborators.

  • You will be challenged to develop, change, lose control, gain control and be acknowledged for your efforts.

  • You will train in both familiar and unorthodox ways.

  • You will help other people.

  • You will help structure the formal and informal means by which the project happens.

  • You will get to engage in stories that matter to strangers and to yourself.

  • You will get help building and rebuilding a new theatre piece that is in transition.

  • You will speak your mind.

  • You will receive well-being support during the project.

Schedule and Fee

Below are the key project dates for Project O. This includes a Devising Week, three weeks of rehearsals in London as well as production rehearsals and performances at the Key Theatre in Peterborough.

  • 2 June - 6 June 2024 - Devising Week in London

  • 22 July - 10 August 2024 - Rehearsals in London

  • 12 August - 15 August 2024 - Production Rehearsals in Peterborough

  • 15 August - 17 August 2024 - Performances in Peterborough

Fee: £2,725 inclusive of VAT if applicable

Actors will be paid £2,725 for the duration of their contract. This fee is the ITC / Equity Minimum Weekly Salary of £545/Week for five weeks.

Additionally, travel and accommodation to Peterborough will be paid for by the production along with a per diem in line with the ITC Rates of Pay.

Actors will be responsible for their own tax and National Insurance contributions.

How to Apply

To apply, please send information with your details (outlined below) to the following address:
submissions@theupsetters.co.uk

Subject: Project O - Casting

Please include the following items in your application:

  1. A recent headshot or photo of yourself.

  2. Your contact details (name, email address and telephone number).

  3. A sentence or two about why you’re interested in taking part in the project.

  4. A self-tape of the extract linked below.

  5. If you are a professional actor, an acting CV, Spotlight or Mandy link.

  6. Confirmation you are available for all of the dates outlined above.

We would like you to record a short self-tape using this extract from the play:
Casting Extract - Press Character

This role is for a London-based actor as there is no additional budget available for travel and accommodation during the rehearsal period.

Deadline for casting applications is 12pm on Friday 8 March 2024.

Next Steps

Successful performers will be invited to audition for the role by Wednesday 13 March 2024.

Auditions will be held in person on Saturday 16 March 2024 between 11am and 6pm at Chisenhale Dance Space, 64-84 Chisenhale Rd, Bow, London E3 5QZ.

If invited to audition, we will ask you to devise a short three minute etude around an extract from Project O that will be shared with invitees at a later date.

About Project O

Project O (working title) is a new theatre project in development, written by Aisha Zia and created by 62 Gladstone Street in association with Landmark Theatres and THE UPSETTERS.

In June 2023, during Refugee Week, Project O took its first steps, with an ensemble cast of first-generation economic and war migrants putting their ideas into an R&D space. The piece is now being developed further in 2024 integrating new stories and narratives as we look to explore what it means to be a migrant in the UK.

About 62 Gladstone Street

62 Gladstone Street is a new social platform showcasing the work of British South Asian artists, activists and writers from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds. This project aims to combat the marginalisation of BME talent by broadening the online creative space to be more inclusive of diasporic arts, from Peterborough where 62 was born and across the UK.

About THE UPSETTERS

THE UPSETTERS makes work which sits at the intersection of creative resistance and social justice. An anti-racist arts company which seeks to create opportunities for racialised and marginalised artists while challenging the systems of oppression we live in.

Art is and should be a reflection of society. We live in a racist society built upon the exploitation of racialised people and much of art reflects that. THE UPSETTERS wants to help challenge this by creating brand new opportunities for those from racialised, marginalised and underrepresented heritages, cultures and backgrounds.

We want to help transform the industry into a more just and equitable place.