Smile Grove (Serialized Audio Drama)
Project Overview
INTRODUCTION
Hello, I'm Iso, the founder of ISOTOPIC PRODUCTIONS! I'm here to present our first official project, an audio drama titled "Smile Grove", a psychological thriller podcast focusing on the experience of four teenage patients trapped in an increasingly nightmarish suicide prevention center. A large majority of this series is based off of my own experiences with these facilities.
This casting call is meant as a preliminary "hiring sheet" to determine the rest of season 1's cast before we begin rehearsing and recording in July. We're only opening up audition spaces for major characters, though we might still contact you if we're personally interested in your voice for a smaller character!
All roles are in english, and we aren't looking for any exact accents in specific.
Additionally, we'll be paying between $15 and $30 dollars per episode, depending on the length and complexity of a character's appearance in an episode. Averaging out the calculations, most main characters ended up wavering around the $500 mark for the entire season, for a frame of reference.
Voice actors will be verbally credited in the credits and description of every episode they appear in, as well as our website & other socials.
PODCAST OVERVIEW
"Smile Grove" is a semi-serialized audio drama taking place in a lovecraftian inspired suicide prevention center. Season 1 covers the stay of the main character, Nikolai, as they come to realize the abstract dangers bubbling behind this sterile environment. The season will consist of thirteen episodes, averaging at about twenty minutes each. These episodes deal with heavy subjects, such as prescription drug abuse, derealization, suicidal & homicidal thoughts, medical horror, and fear of the unknown.
DEADLINES AND AUDITIONS
We want to have most, if not all characters cast by May 14th, 2022. We currently don't intend to extend this deadline, as all but two scripts have been written for voice actors. We also plan to announce our new cast members within a week of the auditions closing (May 21st, 2022). The rehearsal and interview process will occur over the following two months, as we gear up to record in August. It'd be most effective for us as a group to have live rehearsals and recording sessions, so we'd prefer people who are relatively free during the summer months.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Expect a warm and kind welcome from everyone in the ISOTOPIC PRODUCTIONS crew! Upon being brought into the cast/crew, expect us to regularly keep in touch for both production updates and ways we as a group can work best together. Unfortunately, we don't have the benefit of years of experience in the industry, though we have a passionate and driven class!
We communicate mostly through Discord. If you don't use this application, feel free to participate, though your auditions are less likely to be considered. We strongly recommend participation through Discord so that you can collaborate with your fellow voice actors!
WHAT WE EXPECT OF YOU
We care about you not just as an actor, but as a person. We want to make sure we'll have someone who's willing to actively engage in the production process and interact with the rest of the cast and staff. We're likely going to be very hands-on in our production, so we're looking for someone comfortable with semi-regular voice calls for rehearsals and recordings.
We do require a certain level of quality on your recordings, however. We're looking for at least a higher quality bluetooth mic (no gamer headsets), but we can be flexible depending on the situation! We're also personally flexible on the script, and are willing to change wordings to make lines easier for voice actors!
Please submit your recordings as one .wav file to our company email address, which will be provided to you after casting. If a file is too large to submit via email, we prefer to use google drive.
Because we're also looking to hopefully produce multiple seasons of Smile Grove, we'd appreciate having voice actors able to stick with us for the years to come!
We can't wait to embark on this journey with you!
WHO ARE WE?
ISOTOPIC PRODUCTIONS is an independent production studio founded in January of 2022, with the sole intent of offering unique audio-based content that both engages and entertains it's audience.
Read more on our discord server
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Latest Updates
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Alright everyone, you all know the saying, "All good things must come to an end"! Since these auditions have hopefully been a good thing, they too must come to an end! I'm proud to announce that we've found 3/4 of our cast! If you'll look below, you'll see that: Kylewrightmusic has been cast as Grey Rekhova has been cast as Storm and Meredithnudo has been cast as Dr. Spielrein Give a large round of digital applause to these phenomenal voice actors! If your name isn't on the list, don't fret too much! We're still looking for the perfect fit for Tida's character, and the writing position will continue to be open till May 14th! Finally, we also have half a dozen minor/supporting roles we'll be casting based off of your auditions! If you see I or another staff member reaching out to you within the next week or so, that's a good thing! As always, I can't wait to show you all the finished project, and I encourage y'all to join our discord server to catch any future updates/announcements/opportunities! https://discord.gg/DB6C9fBPMJ
Grey is a student, first and foremost. He prides himself on his intellectual abilities and admires those willing to learn. Out of everyone, he’s creative and intellectual, constantly pondering the unknown and the future. This ends up getting the better of him, however, given he also possesses a fear of the unknown. It’s understandable, really, that in such a wide-open, infinite world, he wouldn’t be capable of understanding all there is. Grey speaks in a certain, “intellectual” dialect, using words he believes would make him sound smart. It’s all about keeping up appearances, seeming put together, seeming smart, seeming sane. Those appearances just happen to be generally obnoxious to those around him. Truth is, he's constantly anxious, with a rampantly moving mind constantly making frightening theories.
I'm not exactly sure what kind of voice would fit, but I'd aim for a higher pitch and a strong nasal. I'm open to interpretation, however.
(Snobby and overtly formal)
I don't think I ever formally introduced myself. My name's Greyson, though feel free to refer to me as Grey, at your leisure. I expect such an erroneous name like "Greyson" would be slightly out of your plebeian dialect?
(Grounded, self-reflective, and tired)
You feel tired, the red text of your alarm clock and the white screen of your laptop being the only thing you see. All you know is that late night exhaustion and the information you'll probably forget about in the morning.
(With a childish wonder)
I'll... summarize it. The first item is my dog, Duke. He's a very good boy, and he'd do very well in a facility such as this one.
Storm is perhaps greatest exemplified by the idea of fire. It’s ecstatic, emotive, and bright, yet it’ll burn you with a touch and fizzes out with ease. He has a carefree and pumped up attitude, with a bit of a striking flare to him. More often than not, he refuses to be serious, opting instead for subtly self-depreciative remarks and humorous comments. He’s also quite blunt, often saying what he thinks with very little lead up or sugar coating. His abrasive attitude leads him to butt heads with others quite often. He tends to build a bit of an emotional shield around himself by use of chauvinistic comments and regular swears. Hard to be vulnerable when you act like a 90’s rock star.
I personally imagine him as having an exaggerated and "showman"-like tone, yet an ultimately average sounding teen voice. Almost like a Danganronpa antagonist if they got the most normal sounding teen to play him. He definitely has a bit of a rasp to his voice, though, due to regular attempts at screaming and damage from both first-hand and second-hand smoke.
(Cocky and faux-suave)
The name's Storm, you'll soon learn I'm the only person worth talking to here. It's kinda my schtick.
(Joking, with a hint of mild annoyance)
And you're not? Please, how long's that stick up your ass? Five inches, ten? What was like... the first thing you said to Nikolai? Didn't you call him a "plebeian" or something?
(Far too proud of himself for his own good)
Heck yeah! Right when I was starting to fall asleep, which I totally wasn't actually gonna do, Nurse Vicky came in and tried to drug me in my sleep! Lucky, I fought back and defended myself.
Tida is a strong willed, caring figure in the lives of the patients at Smile Grove. She’s kind and can handle disputes better than counselors far older than her. Her bubbly personality brings some necessary levity to most conversations. Of course, her fiery conviction and intensely energetic (and occasionally erratic) personality can be a bit overwhelming for some. It’s this passion that tends to be her weakness, a lingering, unpalatable passion. She loves the arts and all associated mediums, having the hopeful dream of becoming an artist. Tida tries to take more of a mentor role in the lives of the various patients at the facility, but is just a bit out of sync.
Her voice is manic and unique, constantly shifting from mature and angry tones to bright and cheery ones. Her character is initially rooted in the subversion of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype, though it slowly transforms itself into something far different as the story progresses. As such, the most important thing I desire from the actress of Tida is a strong emotional range!
(Annoyed -> Hyper)
Ah! I'm sorry about them. Ever since Grey arrived, they'd been at each other's throats. Every day... Every day. I'm Tida by the way! I'm 15, pronouns She/Her, and very, very vaguely bisexual!
(A pouting sense of maturity)
That's it! I hate to be the Michelle of the group, but the two of you need to shut it! You're only making each other angrier, and that's the *last* emotion we need right now.!
(Evidently distressed)
And I miss my mother! I need to get out! I need to see her! I can't be here! If I'm just- If we could just talk again, I could maybe just *fix* myself and be better, right? That's, that's what I need! LET GO OF ME! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! I NEED-
Very little is known about Dr. Spielrein, other than that she was personally elected to inspect Smile Grove. She's a one-off character this season, though she has a more prevalent role later in the series. Typically, she has a calm, if not completely emotionless, demeanor, though on rare occasions, she shows a dreamy idolization of the occult.
I'm looking for someone capable of playing a young adult with an aire of maturity yet eccentricity.
(Monotone)
Greetings, children. As Michelle stated, proceed with conversation normally. I am merely a fly on the wall.
(Monotone)
Your collective opinions on the weather were adequate. However, we have goals to accomplish and information to receive. This "weather channel" you speak of does not pertain to those goals. So, I ask once again, what does everyone think of the nutrients they are obtaining in this facility?
(A little bit crazy)
This is just one tiny spark. It is one variable of the full equation. It will explode into dancing orange gases and in time, we will dance with it.
Do you think you have what it takes to help write for Smile Grove? Then come on down and submit an application to become a Writer/Editor. To apply, we just need a 1 page writing sample (preferably in screenplay format) either sent to us at [redacted] or posted on a google drive link and attached as an application on here!
We're looking for someone to add some real spice to Smile Grove through revisions, whether that be through comedic moments, emphasizing drama, or putting a bit more nuance into the pondering effervescence of our simple existence. Whatever the case, we'd love to have you on board, especially if you have experience with mental health facilities or are a fan/writer of audio drama!
Since this position doesn't have any direct "writing" involved (it's mostly editing and reviewing the season 1 scripts). We're currently unable to offer full compensation. As we get closer to our funding goals, and as work becomes more intensive for season 2, that's very likely to change!
Say something you think would fit