INTRODUCTION
This casting call is for Dracula: A Radio Play, an adaption of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic Horror. This adaption will be closer to the novel which means it will focus much less on Dracula and more on the victims and their relationships to each other. It will deal with themes of bodily-autonomy and comparing toxic relationships to empowering ones. As a WARNING while all of the dialogue will remain PG-13, there will be sexual references, as well as metaphorical depictions of sexual assault/trauma and a mention of child cannibalism.
I am casting eight roles, five male and three female. All roles will require an accent and ability to use language/vernacular from the time period. Female actors may be asked to provide lines for one of the "Vampire Sisters" who only have 3-5 lines each.
For all roles (+ additional lines for minor roles and retakes), I will be paying between $10-$50 for the project. All payments are made through PayPal or Venmo
DEADLINES AND AUDITIONS
The deadline for auditions is August 24th, 2020. I'll notify voice actors who have been cast in roles by August 25th and send scripts at the same time. All lines will need to be received back from voice actors by September 8th. This is a hard deadline. If you are unable to record between August 25th-September 8th, please do not audition.
WHAT TO EXPECT
I will communicate primarily through email and Zoom. If there is another app you feel more comfortable with we can discuss it but video conferencing will be necessary. All actors will need to be available for a one on one rehearsal of up to an hour through video chat.
WHAT WILL BE ASKED OF YOU
Dracula is a centuries old vampire. He was once a cruel tyrant and conqueror. He used black magic to become a powerful vampire and sorcerer however many years without feeding have left him aged and weakened. As he feeds throughout the play, he becomes younger and more like his former self. He is brutal, abusive, and obsessive. He sees humans as either food or slaves to dominate. (Must have an Eastern European accent) Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Elderly but proud)
We threw off the Hungarian yoke and we the Dracula became their leaders. The Dracula can boast a record that mushroom growths like the Hapsburgs and the Romanoffs can never reach.
(Younger and more brutal)
Your will is nothing compared to my patience. A lifetime for you will pass but a moment for me and then you will be my bride and act as my jackal.
Mina begins the play as a proper Victorian woman. She is intelligent, less wealthy than her friend Lucy, a fan of Oscar Wilde, and has an excited interest in new technology. She has focused all of her ambition on her future husband Jonathan. When Jonathan and Lucy are victimized by Dracula she becomes determined to fight him until she is attacked as well. WARNING This role requires describing an assault that is metaphorically similar to a sexual assault. Please only submit if you are comfortable with this. In the last part of the play, Mina must decide how much of her vampiric powers to use to defeat Dracula without succumbing to them. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Sarcastic for the first sentence)
Only those who believe somnambulism is the latest fashion. I am usually half asleep from trying to fit time for the school day and keep up with Jonathan’s studies.
(Angry, slowly raising to a shout [Try and do this without clipping your audio])
I have no need for your blessings. I have Jonathan, Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris and Professor Van Helsing and together we are bringing justice for Lucy upon you. The last of your vision will be a stake through your heart before your head is rent from your body!
Jonathan Harker is young, ambitious and adventurous. His suffers horrible trauma from Dracula and spends the rest of the play dealing with the after effects. His salvation is his love for his wife Mina. When she is attacked he finds the strength to fight Dracula along with her. Jonathan views his wife as his partner, friend and equal. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Reading his Journal but also as if he is experiencing it)
During the time I was left alone, I endeavored to systematically walk up each floor and try to open every door. To my horror, I found that most of them were not only shut tight but did not seem to require a lock or bolt to do so. The mechanisms by which Count Dracula holds me prisoner are a mystery to me.
(Desperately reassuring his wife who has just been assaulted)
Mina, listen to me. You are Mina Harker. You are my wife and my love. Everything that is mine is yours. I walked through Hell to be with you and here I will remain. Your horrors are mine.
Dr. John Seward owns and lives in a sanitarium in Whitby, England. He is determined, intelligent and logical. When he is with Lucy, his fiancee, he is willing to be more playful and relaxed. He is the least likely to believe in vampires but once he is convinced, he throws himself into the hunt. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Lying in bed next to his future wife after transfusing blood to her and agreeing to marry her immediately)
I consider us now even more than married, my blood is your blood. I feel like my heart is already inside yours. Yes, as soon as you can walk, we will have a ceremony here.
(Angrily denouncing his friend for suggesting his wife has become a vampire)
This is too much, Professor Van Helsing. I am willing to be patient in all things reasonable but I will not listen to any more of this madness!
Lucy is of a higher social class than her friend Mina. She has been raised in social graces and is naturally very adept at them. Everyone loves her and she is very free with her love and affection. She is very genuine and kind though naive to Victorian senses of propriety. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Politely saying no to a man who just proposed marriage)
If you would allow me a heresy, if I could choose more than one man to be my husband I would choose you as well, Quincey. I do love you and I shall value your friendship as long as you will keep it.
(Asserting her right to discuss her own health at her wedding reception and then quickly pivoting to keep the mood happy)
I have lived the last three months knowing only fear, my darling. More tiresome than the illness is having to avoid it. If I am a woman now, I choose not to hide from my fear. But you are right, this is a happy night and I would like to dance with my husband.
Quincey Morris is a Texan and speaks in a high-minded chivalrous tone mixed with American Western slang. He is very loyal to his best friend Dr. John Seward. Even though John marries Lucy, he loves the both of them. He is always ready for action with his Colt pistol and his Bowie knife. He accepts fighting vampires very easily. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Accepting his marriage proposal being rejected)
Well now, if any woman were to deserve even three husbands, it would be you Miss Lucy. Now, I am a hard nut to crack and I will take it standing up. John Seward is a good man and a lucky one but your honesty and pluck have made me a friend, and that’s rarer than a lover, more unselfish anyhow. I do swear I will ride for both of ya, if you will give me one kiss to keep off the darkness from here to Kingdom Come.
Renfield is a mental patient at Seward Sanitarium. He is obsessed with blood and becomes convinced Dracula will give it to him. Toward the end, he becomes remorseful though still disoriented. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Praying to Dracula)
I am here to do your bidding Master. I am your servant and you will reward me for I am faithful. I have worshiped you long and afar off. Now that you are near, I await your commands. Do not pass me by. Only speak and I shall obey.
The oldest and leader of the Vampire Sisters. She is the most calculating and receives the most attention from Dracula. This role will also include three lines as the Inkeeper's Wife at the beginning of the play with a slightly older voice. Both roles require an Eastern European accent. Please only submit ONE take for each audition
(Taunting Mina about her husband)
Your Jonathan has evidently not been forthcoming about our acquaintance. Did he claim to be chaste and resist our temptations to spare your delicate English sensibility? In truth, he is more my Jonathan than yours.
