Beyond the Dark Productions - ‘The Strata’ - Chapter 10 | Original audio drama
Project Overview
The Strata is a gritty sci-fi / cyberpunk series and requires serious, grounded performances.
Format: The podcast consists of a series of interwoven stories in a persistent universe and there is an opportunity for voice actors to take on recurring roles if interested. There are over 50 episodes released with many more planned. 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***
Narrator / Lead (10,000+ words) : $500
Lead / Supporting (7,500 - 10,000 words) : $400
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).
Rules for auditioning
1. A quality recording. I can't use poor audio no matter how great your performance might be.
2. Commitment to deadlines.
3. Willingness to take direction and provide pickups if necessary.
4. You must be 18 years or older to audition
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Word Count:3400
Role: Supporting
Payment: $100 flat rate
Davina is an auditor who works for the Dock Authority. She is smart, dedicated and competent. She is a loyal friend but often finds it difficult to connect with other people, so her social circle is small. Davina has a strong sense of right and wrong and generally follows the rules, however at times she has been known to go outside the boundaries for the right cause.
Davina has a complicated relationship with The Strata’s main protagonist Rust. The two were once very close and could often be found hanging out together at the docks. Rust was even known to come up with excuses to visit her office for no real reason. However, their relationship came to a sudden halt one night when Rust stood her up, and in the five years since, the two have not spoken.
Davina was left confused, disappointed, angry and somewhat humiliated by the situation, but now she has moved on. Rust has become nothing but a distant memory… until one night he appears again suddenly in her office, seeking her help.
- english
- female adult
(Talking to Rust about the night many years ago when he stood her up. Indignant, bitter, somewhat embarrassed) “Do you remember the night you stood me up at Overton’s Bar? I waited hours for you to show up. Sat there cradling my beer like some pathetic loser, and... I kept telling myself that there had to be a reason you weren’t answering your phone. An emergency, or an accident… but that wasn’t the worst part. You know what happened then? I got in an autocab and drove around half the night, stopping by all of your regular haunts to see if I could find you. How pathetic is that?”
(Desperate, breathless, talking on the phone. Davina has been abducted and now finds herself in a strange place, on the run) “After they took the sample, Argento and a few of the others went to another room to talk in private. I managed to surprise the guy who was guarding me - hit him with my zapper and took his phone. I’ve been running around down here for the last ten minutes trying to find a way out.”
(Vehement, angry, defiant; confronting a lieutenant who is part of the group who have captured her and locked her in a cell) “Oh, you’re in charge? Good. Because I have to tell you something, asshole - there are people looking for me. Do you understand that? And when they find me, Strickland is going to answer for this shit. You’re all going to pay.”
Word count: 2500
Role: Supporting
Payment: $100 flat rate
Argento works for the Strickland Corporation as an Overseer at a dockside warehouse. Although her job title is somewhat innocuous, Argento is keenly intelligent and ambitious. She is well travelled and has visited the far reaches of space more than once. In the past she had a successful career working with biological modification technology - bio-mods - and in fact ran her own company. During an investigation, it was discovered that Argento was using illegal tech on human subjects, and this resulted in the company being shut down. Argento was forced to change careers but her passion still lies with her research.
Colleagues would describe her as cold-hearted, but Argento considers herself a pragmatist. She has seen many horrors in the darkest corners of the universe and knows that biological augmentation may be humanity’s only hope of survival in the long run.
- english
- female adult
(An intruder has been discovered inside Argento’s facility. He claims to have changed jobs and is now a technician, but Argento knows it’s a cover story. She confronts him and decides to test his claim. Ironic, mocking) “A career change, sure. Right. Okay, then, ‘tech specialist’. Why don’t you tell me how you would write a simple return procedure inside a block of symbiote code in a Layer Two Grid Cache?” (pause, expectant) “Go on, I’ll wait.”
(Talking to a detective about her experiences travelling into the far reaches of space; thoughtful, mildly condescending) “You look like someone who’s never set foot off this rock before, Detective. Am I right? I’ll bet you’ve never boarded a starliner bound for the outer reaches, have you? Well, I have. I’ve gone right to the edges, as far as anyone’s ever been. To new worlds filled with beauty and promise. Filled with danger, too. Hostile creatures that you wouldn’t believe exist - nightmares, really, that are hell bent on ripping and shredding anything that enters their domain. I saw those things - and more. And... I don’t mind admitting it scared me. I came away from that experience terrified for the future of humanity. Because it’s only a matter of time until we run across a species that has the power to end us, once and for all.”
(Acting innocent when talking to a detective about why incriminating evidence appears to have gone missing from one of her databases) “Nothing has been deleted, I can assure you of that. If there was some kind of glitch in the system that caused a loss of data, I’ll get my best techs to look into it for you, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
Word count:800
Role:Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Frankie runs a successful bar in Midtown. They are friendly, approachable, and considerate toward those who visit the establishment. However, they don’t tolerate troublemakers and have no concerns about evicting anyone who is causing trouble.
A veteran of the business, Frankie has made a lot of friends over the years and is well liked and respected. They are known for giving and receiving favours on a regular basis - whether it be related to information, creds, or anything in between. Frankie knows that a large part of their success comes down to relationships, and in this area, Frankie excels.
- english
- female adult
- male adult
(Telling a friend about some low-lifes who recently visited the bar; conspiratorial) “Okay, so... a couple of days ago two guys came into the bar. I’d never seen either of them before, but I could tell right away something was off. These two - they were all about business. And sure, not everybody comes here for a good time, but they were giving off a bad vibe. Like they were in a hurry, looking over their shoulder the whole time. I kept thinking something was gonna go down any second.”
(Wary about handing over information to a friend that could possibly lead to a violent confrontation) “Hey... you’ve helped me out plenty over the years, Somers. It’s the least I can do. But, uh... are you sure about this? If I give you that address, and you get all excited and go stumbling into some Fortunato kill box...”
(Telling a friend about some low-lifes who recently visited the bar; conspiratorial) “I dug a little deeper. Asked around. Turns out these guys introduced themselves as Evans and Lively. They were trying to recruit a few heavies for a job they had coming up. Looking for guys who were experienced in working with crews. They wanted people who could handle weapons, too.”
Word count: 750
Role:Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
DeLeo is a low level enforcer for the Fortunato crew, a prominent criminal enterprise that operates within The Strata. Although he has ambitions of rising the ranks and becoming a powerful player in the crew, DeLeo is somewhat tentative and unsure of himself. Some would even describe him as cowardly.
Although he tries hard, DeLeo is known to be incompetent and often messes up assignments. He knows that his best chance of success is to seek protection from a stronger and more capable member of the crew, so he has developed somewhat sycophantic traits. This makes him compliant and obedient, and many of his colleagues despise him for this fact alone.
- english
- male adult
(Spilling his guts to the cops after narrowly escaping a double-cross; responding when asked about a black van that was seen in the area; bitter, on edge, concerned for his welfare) “They said they wanted me to help round up candidates for the operation, so they stuck me in that van with a bunch of Strickland heavies. I could tell right from the start that something was off. No one was talking. They just sat there looking at me. And I figured out we were heading right toward the Deadlands - going straight at it. That’s when I knew they were gonna put a bullet in the back of my head and dump me in the dirt.”
(Sour, complaining after he is told by his captor to start walking) “Yeah, I’m walking, You landed right on my hip when you tackled me. I’m gonna have a bruise the size of a dinner plate.”
(Talking with a superior about some new recruits that have been rounded up. It has been a long and disheartening process and he’s over it) “We’ve spent the last two weeks scraping every bar, back alley and street corner in Midtown, sir. This is the best we’re gonna get.”
Word count: 500
Role:Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Mills is a cop in the Midtown Police Department. She is smart and capable, quickly rising the ranks within the department, and always presents an enthusiastic attitude to any case to which she is assigned. She has a genuine concern for the community and tries to make a difference every day when she comes through the front door of the stationhouse.
- female adult
(Businesslike, reporting to a senior detective) “Detective, the team have finished with the surveillance and have made a report.”
(Impressed by a colleague's ability to assemble a team in quick time) “No, really - how did you manage to secure that many resources? I mean, I thought it was a miracle you got the team together for the warehouse raid, but this?”
(Talking to a colleague, disgusted by the fact that an investigation came up empty after the criminals were able to cover their tracks. Answering the question ‘What have you found?’) “Not a whole lot, unfortunately. Most of the data we’ve tried to recover has been useless. They sure know how to cover their tracks... the bastards.”
Word count: 150
Role:Minor
Payment: $25 flat rate
Capper works for the Strickland Corporation as an Overseer at a dockside warehouse. He is somewhat surly and uncooperative, especially when dealing with the police, whom he distrusts. Although he presents a tough, prickly exterior, he is somewhat of a coward at heart and would back down in the face of a physical confrontation.
- male adult
(Confronting an inspector who has shown up at the warehouse unannounced) “What’s the problem, Auditor Kemp? Why are you here? We’re not due until the Twenty-Third, later this month.”
(Demanding to know the identity of one of the inspectors) “Who’s this guy with you? Where’s his clearance?”
(Protesting when the inspector tries to suggest that some cargo might contain hazardous materials) “There’s nothing hazardous inside these crates.”
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