TBK Initiative Group is seeking voice actors for an audio adaptation project of "Down To A Sunless Sea" written by Neil Gaiman; and other relevant volunteering team members for its various creative projects and schemes.
What is TBK? — Designing ambition behind creative expression and its integrity in youth
TBK Initiative Group is an internationally recognised (soon registered) non-profit organisation that pushes the grace of institutions behind creative expression and its integrity in youth.
What is this project? — Down To A Sunless Sea
Produced by its internal studio, threepenny, TBK Initiative Group will present an audio adaptation of a short story by Neil Gaiman, where a rainy encounter in London, on the banks of the Thames, unlocks a tale of loss and grief. It will be a mindfully composed audio cinematic experience with the thought-provoking artistic pictorial sound of ambience, narration and storytelling elements.
Project Progress — How far along are we?
We are ready to let voice actors sound the characters and start audio mixing!
Why — What's in it for you?
Apply — Get involved with other projects and schemes
You may audition for Down To A Sunless Sea on this CastingCallClub listing, though voice actors must audition here instead of our application form.
If you're interested in other roles at TBK Initiative Group, you can view a full list of open volunteer positions here: https://airtable.com/shrkpNsd2ZnXaCMdd We are using Airtable forms for the application form. Using the link provided below, fill in the required details and we will get back to you ASAP using Discord.
1. Join Discord server: https://discord.gg/uYSHyqG
2. Complete our application form: https://airtable.com/shrGpuvyy6WEaaCoL
3. Wait. We typically respond within a week, depending on the volume of applications.
Any quetions? — Read our FAQ
Please see the updates posted on this CastingCallClub listing for any recent changes.
General Questions
Q. Is this paid work?
Currently, no. All positions are listed as volunteer roles. With this said, eventually, we want to compensate our staff in the near future. We have measures in place to ensure working at TBK does not become a job but a passion project and a compliment to your spare time.
Q. How are TBK projects and schemes funded?
Lacon, founder and current CEO at TBK Initiative Group, personally sponsors some of our endeavours including operational expenses. You may view our funding policy here: https://www.tbkgroup.org/funding and help support our cause by donating here: https://www.tbkgroup.org/donate
Q. Are there any projects previously released?
Down To A Sunless Sea is our first project aimed to release later this year. Before, we dabbled into creating a Minecraft server network, named Monarch Network. "We've learned and developed many areas of our organisation with our first-ever creative project: Monarch Network was a beautifully ambitious and extravagant idea that we couldn't realise at that time," Lacon said.
Applying through our application form
Q. How long will it take for my application to be considered?
It may range from 3 - 14 days depending on the volume of applications. Any delays will be reported directly to you through Discord.
Q. I've been rejected in the past, can I reapply?
Yes. Your previous entry will be considered and may bear no influence over your newer application. Please wait at least a couple of weeks before applying once again.
Q. Will I be notified if my application is rejected?
Yes. We will try to contact you through Discord using the username you provided. However, if a member of our team is unable to send you a direct message (this may be because you do not share a Discord server with them), there won't be further attempts. If your application was successful, a member of our team will add you as a friend on Discord.
Q. How do I withdraw my application?
You can contact a member of our recruitment branch or LACON#9136 directly on Discord with a request to withdraw your application. Note: To have the information you submitted in your application deleted from our database, you must explicitly mention you want to do this. As per our policy, the information you willingly presented in your application will be discarded as we finalise our review to comply with data protection. We store your information for up to three months - and then destroy it permanently.
Q. Do you record the interviews?
Yes. Our interviews are recorded for training and monitoring purposes to ensure the safety of you and our team. This notice will be explicitly given to you at the beginning of an interview. We do not tolerate mischief or abuse.
Q. I dislike applications. Can I be interviewed instead?
No. Unfortunately, this is currently not feasible: Interviews take time for preparation, execution and training. For efficiency, we only interview potential candidates. To give yourself the best chance to get interviewed, we recommend you apply for less than three positions, use correct formatting including punctuation, spelling and grammar and stay cooperative and patient if we ask for additional information.
This CastingCallClub listing was published on behalf of TBK Initiative Group.
All positions are listed as volunteer roles.
As the narrator, you'll voice the majority of the story, directly addressing the listener. We're looking for a calm, deliberate and well-delivered retelling that keeps us interested without being overwhelming. Please, provide examples of a more relaxed pace, followed by a more upbeat one — try several variations and styles of reading!
It would make the most sense to have an English accent since the story is set in London, however, we recognise the diversity of our worldwide audience — so we'll consider all accents equally. We're simply asking you to try your best!
In your audition, only provide narration audio and do not use heavy editing.
The Thames is a filthy beast: it winds through London like a snake, or a sea serpent. All the rivers flow into it, the Fleet and the Tyburn and the Neckinger, carrying all the filth and scum and waste, the bodies of cats and dogs and the bones of sheep and pigs down into the brown water of the Thames, which carries them east into the estuary and from there into the North Sea and oblivion.
It is raining in London.
The rain washes the dirt into the gutters, and it swells streams into rivers, rivers into powerful things. The rain is a noisy thing, splashing and pattering and rattling the rooftops. If it is clean water as it falls from the skies it only needs to touch London to become dirt, to stir dust and make it mud.
Nobody drinks it, neither the rain water nor the river water. They make jokes about Thames water killing you instantly, and it is not true. There are mudlarks who will dive deep for thrown pennies then come up again, spout the river water, shiver and hold up their coins. They do not die, of course, or not of that, although there are no mudlarks over fifteen years of age.
The rain is easing, and you think she is done, but now, for the first time, she looks at you, and appears to be about to say something. She has pulled something from around her neck, and now she is reaching it out to you.
All positions are listed as volunteer roles.
On a backdrop of a rainy, 17-18th century London, you'll play the role of a middle-aged British woman. Regularly, grieving her lost son, who died at sea many years ago, she visits the River Thames, retelling the story of how he perished to the unsuspecting, credulous commoners near a cargo dock.
Though mostly calm, the woman has moments of vulnerability: We're looking for someone who can convey the emotional burnout associated with losing your child to — what you believe — is unjust.
In your audition, only provide the voiceover and do not use heavy editing.
[composed; frail; unthreatening]
"My son wanted to be a sailor.
[gradually gets emotionally carried away]
"And what would I do in a fancy house? I told him. You're a fool with your fine talk. I told him of his father, who never came back from the sea – some said he was dead and lost overboard, while some swore blind they'd seen him running a whore-house in Amsterdam.
[slightly annoyed, yet calm]
"It's all the same. The sea took him.
[after a pause, passionate]
I told him not to go to sea. I'm your mother, I said. The sea won't love you like I love you, she's cruel. But he said, Oh Mother, I need to see the world. I need to see the sun rise in the tropics, and watch the Northern Lights dance in the Arctic sky, and most of all I need to make my fortune and then, when it's made I will come back to you, and build you a house, and you will have servants, and we will dance, mother, oh how we will dance…
All positions are listed as volunteer roles.
You'll play the role of a teen, or preteen, enthusiastically enraptured by his naive confidence and optimism for the future. Ignoring his mother's caring wishes, he set sail amongst the seas, anticipating fortune to his family once returned.
Though being a minor role, we're looking for someone who can convincingly express the youthful nativity, presenting carefree confidence and foolish idealism.
In your audition, only provide the voiceover and do not use heavy editing.
Please keep your original recording! If cast, you'd be instructed to send the original recording WAVE file that you used for your audition, meaning the performance in your audition will be used in the final production. With this said, try to include several different performances of the provided excerpt!
[in sync with Woman at the beginning and end of the paragraph; happy; with naive confidence of optimistic ardour]
Oh Mother, I need to see the world. I need to see the sun rise in the tropics, and watch the Northern Lights dance in the Arctic sky, and most of all I need to make my fortune and then, when it's made I will come back to you, and build you a house, and you will have servants, and we will dance, mother, oh how we will dance…
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