Beyond the Dark Productions - ‘The Strata’ - Chapter 11 | Original audio drama
Project Overview
The Strata is a gritty sci-fi / cyberpunk series and requires serious, grounded performances.
Please take a listen to previous seasons of The Strata for an idea of the overall tone at http://thestratapodcast.com/
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***Payment Structure for Characters - Per Season - in USD***
Supporting (5,000 - 7,500 words) : $250
Supporting (2,500 - 5,000 words) : $100
Supporting (1,000 - 2,500 words) : $50
Minor (less than 1000 words) : $25
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Setting: In a sprawling future metropolis called The Strata, society has continued to segregate between the classes. The wealthy live in Highgate City, a place full of dazzling skyscrapers and creature comforts. Organic body augmentations that allow citizens to extend their life for hundreds of years have become commonplace. At the other end of the spectrum lies Dockerton, a slum area filled with crime, drugs and poverty. Disease is rampant and basic facilities are almost non-existent. There are many checkpoints maintained by police that help to keep the city segregated, and most citizens don’t bother straying from their own neighbourhood.
Disclaimer / Content Warning: This project contains mild profanity and some portrayals of violence (gunplay, drug use).
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*Crichton will be a major ongoing character in coming seasons. Scripts still in development
Word Count: 2500
Role:Supporting
Payment: $100 flat rate
Crichton is a traveller from a far distant region called the Western Reaches. He is tough, rugged, uncompromising, self-disciplined, and ruthless. He is a survivor, and throughout his life he has endured great suffering and hardship. He is a man of considerable size and stature; he is gruff, imposing, and carries with him a palpable sense of menace.
Thrown into slavery at a young age, Crichton toiled against his will in dark, inhospitable mines for many years. He has little to no memory of his life before the mines. After suffering a near-death experience deep underground, he was brought back from the brink by slaver medics who experimented on his body without consent. Once ‘rebuilt’, he was forced to return to the mines to continue working, and eventually bonded with fellow slave Edana, his only true friend. Motivated by his thirst for revenge against the slavers, Crichton managed to fight his way to freedom, aided by Edana, and together they escaped the Western Reaches. Now they are on the run. The two of them have vowed to stay united until the very end. Even though they are now far from home, they both yearn for the chance to return and take the fight to the slavers once again.
- male adult
(Recounting a harrowing, near-death experience in the mines; grim, gritty) "The sudden cascade of light roused the Shadow Mites from their slumber, whipped them into a frenzy unlike anything I’d seen before. They jumped from man to man, gouging through flesh like it was tissue paper. And the screams... such agony. I tried to run, but they caught me. There was no escape. The Shadow Mites blasted through me, a thousand ribbons of fire. Amid the torment, I could only manage a single coherent thought - that this was the end, and that I would finally be a slave no longer.”
(Negotiations fail, and Crichton takes a hard, unyielding stance. Voice filled with malevolence) “Then you leave me no choice. We are coming. And when we descend upon you, we will offer you no quarter. Know that to be the truth, Tessa. For you, and anyone else who stands in our way - you have lived to see your last dawn. Now the only thing that awaits is darkness.”
(In the midst of a torrid hand to hand fight. Breathless. Taunting his opponent) “Maybe once you’re dead I’ll pick over that corpse of yours and take a few souvenirs. Maybe I can make a few upgrades. How do you feel about that?”
Word Count: 2800
Role: Supporting
Payment: $100 flat rate
Olga is a long-time inhabitant of the Deadlands, a bleak and unforgiving wasteland outside The Strata. She is a resident of Plainview, a small underground enclave. She is tough, loyal, caring, and a good leader. She is fiercely protective of her community, and works tirelessly to provide for those under her care.
Olga and the others at Plainview enjoy a great sense of comradery, and after a hard day’s work they can usually be found sharing stories each night around the central campfire. However, as the one in charge of resources, Olga knows something the others don’t - the outlook for Plainview is dim. Food and water supplies are running low. Hence, she is very protective of what little resources they have, and she is wary of strangers. She knows that even a single lapse in protocol could be disastrous for her people.
- female adult
(Speaking in confidence to a friend from another outpost; concerned about the future of Plainview) “I know that during our conversation on comms I painted a rosy picture of life here at Plainview, but that was because I had people listening over my shoulder. I didn’t want to alarm them. But the truth is... I don’t know how long we can hold on here. Every season our crops struggle. The yield gets lower year on year. Basic supplies are dwindling and there are fewer traders passing through nowadays.”
(An intruder has been found hiding in a ventilation shaft. They are armed and dangerous. Olga gives a steely ultimatum, voice raised) “Unless you wanna eat a frag grenade, I’d step out of there with your hands up! Go on, be quick about it!”
(Handing a weapon back to an intruder and she prepares to send them out into the wasteland. Voice is hard-edged, but with a strong sense of underlying compassion. She feels sorry for this traveller) “If I send you out there onto the plains with no weapon, I might as well just slit your throat right here and be done with it. Save us all some time. You won’t survive without it. There. Keep it close, friend. And stop wasting bullets. You’re going to need every last round if you ever intend to see the whitecaps crashing against the shore down there in Blackwater.”
Word Count: 3500
Role: Supporting
Payment: $100 flat rate
*Nnadi was first introduced in Season 9 but did not have a speaking role
Nnadi is a long-time inhabitant of the Deadlands, a bleak and unforgiving wasteland outside The Strata. He is rugged and resourceful, but in recent times has battled with an injury that was sustained during a skirmish. This has left him weak and needing to rest frequently. Even so, he is quick witted and sociable and loves spending time with his friends.
Nnadi lives in the Vault, a giant subterranean habitation encased in hard steel that protects it from not only the harsh elements of the wasteland but also from thieves and marauders who scour the surface for resources. As a ‘custodian’ of the Vault, Nnadi has sworn an oath to protect the Vault from any threat that may emerge. In recent times, the Vault has received an influx of refugees, and the custodians have found themselves stretched by the sheer volume of work required to cater to them all. Nnadi is also grappling with the effects of his injury, which causes him to tire easily. This is especially frustrating since there is so much work that needs to be done. Nnadi has tried to conceal the extent of his injury from his fellow custodians as he struggles to shoulder his share of the workload.
- male adult
(After a refugee is found murdered inside the Vault, Nnadi is tasked with undertaking an autopsy. Here he gives his report, making no attempt to hide his contempt for the killer, whose identity is still unknown) “Not much to tell so far. No traces of toxins, nothing suspicious in the samples. The guy was straight up gutted. It’s ugly. I mean... I’ve seen ripper buzzards make cleaner kills than this. Whoever is responsible for this killing... well, let’s just say they’re less than animals. That’s my take.”
(Making a report about a strange incident at a neighbouring enclave; a little unnerved by the implications, not sure what to make of it all) “That’s what I thought, too. But then my scout found one of Morton’s lieutenants crawling in the dirt, half dead. She’d been sliced up pretty bad, lost a lot of blood. She was talking strange - raving about how a sudden darkness came over the place. And how there were demons stalking the enclave, killing everyone in their path. She said people were screaming, running blind, and then suddenly the whole place was on fire.”
(Engaging in some banter, responding to a friend who has just insulted him by claiming he does no work; sharp, snarky) “Oh, really? That’s rich, coming from a guy with the work ethic of a dead grinder worm.”
Word Count: 1750
Role: Supporting
Payment: $50 flat rate
Age: 30+
Edana is a traveller from a far distant region called the Western Reaches. She is tough, loyal and never backs down from a fight. She has endured many hardships and bears both physical and emotional scars from a life of toil and suffering. These experiences have moulded her into an uncompromising denizen of the wasteland.
In her youth, Edana enjoyed a happy and uncomplicated life. She married young and lived with her husband in a small farming community. However, all that changed one night when merciless slavers of the Western Reaches swept through the region and threw her world into disarray. With her husband murdered, Edana was taken by the slavers and made to work in their dark, inhospitable mines for many years. After befriending fellow slave Crichton, the two managed to escape the Western Reaches. Together they vowed to stay true to each other, and though they are now far from home, they both yearn for the chance to return and take the fight to the slavers once again.
- female adult
(Offering a scathing appraisal of Morton’s clan to his face; full of disdain, mocking) “It’s no wonder this clan is unravelling... with you as its leader. I’m sure that as you lie awake at night, pondering your folly, you console yourself with the thought that there is still time to right the ship. You tell yourself that - while the Ripper Buzzards may be circling, there is still time to regain what you’ve lost. But the truth is, Morton... you’re already dead.”
(Sharing a moment of vulnerability and honesty with her close companion Crichton; earnestly reaffirming her loyalty to him) “You dragged me out of the darkness, Crichton. You carried me, bloodied and broken, and fought your way through insurmountable odds so that we could both find freedom. I would be nothing without you. For that reason, and so many others, you know I can never leave.”
(Taunting an enemy in the midst of a fight about how she killed one of their friends; cruel and mocking) “They managed to escape by pure chance - recklessly drove over a steep incline where we couldn’t follow. But before they did, I managed to throw a tox-bomb into the passenger compartment of their crawler. It was a damn good shot, if I do say so myself. Hit your friend Powell flush. Right in his ugly head.” (laughs cruelly) “He must have been soaking in that poison for hours. I bet he suffered before the end, didn’t he? I bet he was in agony.”
Word Count: 400
Role: Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Age: 40+
Valdis is a proud and pompous art dealer who lives in the opulent precinct of Highgate City. He is arrogant, conceited, and has little appreciation for anything outside of his fancy art collection. He mingles exclusively in snooty upper class cliques and has no awareness of the plight of less fortunate people in poorer parts of The Strata. Thin-skinned and superficial, he is obsessed with status and wealth. He loves to be flattered and feel superior.
- male adult
(Showing off his collection to an art critic; proud and pompous) “What you see before you is the accumulation of many decades of hard work and dedication - and no shortage of skill, I might add. These works were not easy to come by, to say the least.”
(Alarmed by the behaviour of a stranger who is inspecting his art collection. The stranger is using a device to measure something they refer to as ‘resonance’ which has immediately made Valdis suspicious) “Put that away! Right now! Do you take me for an idiot? There’s no such thing as this ‘resonance’ you’re talking about.”
(Scared, outraged, indignant as he is confronted by an intruder in his home) “So, is that it? You’re going to butcher me in my own home?”
Word Count: 250
Role: Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Shepherd is a naive and inexperienced traveller making his way across the wasteland on a long trek to visit his dying sister in Blackwater. Having spent his whole life in a small, sheltered community to the north, he is unaware of many of the dangers associated with crossing the Deadlands. He is tentative and wary when confronted by strangers. To his friends he is known as a good man with a kind heart.
- male adult
(Talking to a couple of strangers he encounters in the wasteland about stories he has heard from other travellers) “Someone at the last camp told me there might be a storm coming through. A fearful thing that turns the sky to night... and wind so vicious it can rip a man’s skin right off his bones.”
(Assuring some concerned strangers who have told him he needs to watch out for bandits while he’s crossing the plains) “They won’t get me. Not Shepherd, no. I can hide with the best of ‘em. Just pull my cloak over like this, see? They’ll never find me.”
(Explaining to some strangers about why he is crossing the wasteland to a faraway city. Wistful) “My sister’s there. I got word she’s ill, and... well, they say she’s gonna die soon. We’ve had our differences over the years, but... I sure would like to see her one last time before the end.”
Word Count: 150
Role: Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Nishay is a resident of a small community in the wasteland who has recently been displaced from his home. He has now taken up residence in the Vault, a large underground bunker that is under the protection of Tessa and the other custodians. Nishay is normally calm and reasonable and pleasant to deal with.
However, something terrible has happened. Nishay’s travelling companion has gone missing, and he believes that another group of travellers are responsible. Worse than that, he suspects they have committed murder. This has made him irate as he confronts them, seeking a confession. After a brief struggle, the two sides have been separated by the authorities, and now there is a stand-off. Nishay adopts an aggressive, accusatory tone as his anger gets the better of him.
- male adult
(Accusing the other travellers of murder. Angry, irate) “They killed him! It’s them! They’re the ones!” (He singles out one individual in particular) “I’ll tear your head off, you worm-sucking piece of garbage!”
(Angry; responding to the claim that the travellers don’t know the reason why he is so upset) “Oh, there’s a reason, all right. And you know exactly what it is.”
(Angrily pleading his case to the custodians while the two accused - a man and a woman - watch him smugly, mocking him) “I’m gonna wipe that smug smile right off your face! Look at her - a Ripper Buzzard if ever I saw one! And him, too.”
Word Count: 100
Role: Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Hargraves is a thug who is a major player in an underground drug operation. He is cruel and violent, but can nonetheless often be found rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful citizens of Highgate City in fancy bars and restaurants. Hargreaves has little regard for the value of human life and views people as disposable commodities. Although he presents a tough exterior, he is somewhat of a coward at heart and generally avoids direct confrontations, preferring to strike from the shadows when there is minimal risk to his own safety.
- male adult
(Cries out, tackled after being chased down an alley; breathless and indignant) “Aghh! What the hell...? Let go of me!”
(Breathless and indignant after being bailed up against the wall by an adversary) “Take your hands off me, you goddamn lowlife. Or I’ll make you regret it. I’m warning you! Step back!”
(Struggling with an opponent, straining, under duress, but squeezes out a dismissive, mocking laugh when he realises he has the upper hand on his opponent) “You have... no idea, do you?”
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