Some are saying this is the first time this has happened in Charleston. We don’t know if that’s true. Even so, it promises to be eventful. The producers of three independent movies and a full-length play are hosting a casting call at the South of Broadway Theatre on Jan. 17 and 18 from 1-5 p.m. The casting call will also stock a company of eight actors for the return of Theatre /verv/, which recently announced that it was taking up residence, under the new name RE/verv/, at the North Chuck venue.
Holy City is one of the films. It’s full-length, a horror-noir set in a Charleston inhabited by vampires, werewolves and such. You know, just like real life. J.C. Conway wrote the screenplay. Nick Smith (a senior contributor to City Paper) is the director. Auditions will be cold readings from the script.
Small Altars is the other full-length indie. It’s a dark comic fantasy about a 30-something artist with Peter Pan syndrome pursued by demons and zombie. Again — just like real life, especially the Peter Pan part. These may as well be documentaries. Eric Vincent and Nick Smith wrote the screenplay. Vincent is directing. The casting is for principals and bit parts, with readings cold from the script.
A third movie is a short thus far unnamed. It’s being directed by Mark Gorman with assistance by students at Trident Technical College. Gorman is also producing a full-length play called Season 2 Season, about the lives of Jackson Pollack, the abstract expressionist, and his poor, brutalized wife. The casting is for two men (in their 30s and 40s) and three women (30s through 60s).
RE/verv/ is looking for eight people to act in its 2009-2010. Starting in the fall, they will stage four shows, probably three light comedies and a darker one. To audition, prepare two contrasting contemporary one-minute monologues.
“To my knowledge, this joint effort between film and theater is a Charleston first, and our hope is to create a precedent that will benefit not only the directors and producers, but also the local actors,” Conway said in a press release. “By holding large open auditions, it not only gives the filmmakers and theater producers an opportunity to meet and interact, but also a way for Charleston’s acting population an opportunity to get to know one another. In these difficult economic times it is important to be able to work together and share resources and the South of Broadway Theatre has given us a wonderful opportunity to do this.”
For more, call (843) 343-6560, or go to www.southofbroadway.com. —John Stoehr
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