The Year of Jubilee - Dramatized podfic
Project Overview
Project type: Dramatized podfic/audiobook podcast
Project summary: A former petty thief relocates across the world to Beijing, China after having a near-death experience which leaves her with the ability to see angels and demons. Attempting to live under the radar in the birth country of her deceased parents, she is instead swept up into a murder investigation when she sees a girl talking with a demon, and decides to follow them both.
Project details: Non-union. Long-term production with ongoing episodes. To be released on podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify, and Audible, with a possibility of YouTube in the future.
Actors will receive upfront all dialogue written for their characters so far. Sessions will be live-directed remotely via Skype/Zoom/Discord. New lines for future chapters will be delivered on a roughly 1-3 month basis, depending on character, with an estimated production end date of Fall 2024.
Audition note: Actors are welcome to submit for more than one role. Looking for talent with their own in-home studio setup, or access to one.
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Male, late 20’s-early 30's, American accent. An eccentric private investigator who collaborates with the local police. Brilliant and knows it, a certified genius, except when it comes to emotional and social aptitude. Often comes off as uncaring and tactless, not out of malice but because there’s a job to do and no time to waste. Being albino and an expat in a foreign country, he is used to being different and disliked. Familiarity with Mandarin pronunciation is preferred but not required.
AUDITION SIDES BELOW
(Character's lines in bold)
“Let’s start with your name, Xiao-jie.”
Jubilee eyed his pale arms and couldn’t help thinking that the older people on the bus must’ve labeled him as, quite literally, the derogatory term bai-gui—white devil. “Wong Zhuli,” she lied automatically, giving the same answer she had since entering the country. “What’s this about, Law Xian-sheng?” She needed to figure out what he wanted with her so that she could leave, as quickly as possible.
He measured her for a long moment. Then, switching abruptly to English, he asked, “Are you American, Miss Wong?”
She jumped. “Um, er—” Be cool. It wasn’t like he’d accused her of doing anything illegal. Yet. “Yes,” she said in English. “How did you know?”
“You have a very slight accent.” The man leaned back in his chair. “That, and you carry what the Chinese call an ‘American aura.’” Jubilee must’ve looked offended because he added, “Most people might not notice. I just happen to be quite good at observing details. Part of my job description.”
She took a deep breath. This guy weirded her out, but maybe if she cooperated she could get out of this interrogation faster. She’d still be late, but not too late. “Mr. Law,” she said. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Before we get to that, would you mind telling me your American name? Just for the record.”
She did mind. “Julie,” she said. It wasn’t a total fib. To the kids at the orphanage, that was her American name—the direct transliteration of her Chinese name.
“Fitting.” His unblinking gaze was starting to make her eyes water. “What brings you to Beijing?”
~*~
"Despite it being considered the 'Harvard of China,' it'll be an easy matter to pull some strings and get you accepted as a foreign exchange student. Since we need to place you in the same classes as the suspect, your cover story will be that you earned high enough marks on the language test to be eligible for classes taught in Mandarin. Be sure to make that believable and blend in amongst the students."
As much as Jubilee had hoped to avoid revealing her insufficient language skills, it was time to swallow her ego if she wanted to escape assignments and term papers. Cautiously, she confessed, "I'm not sure my Chinese is good enough to pull that off." College students, after all, were not orphaned preschoolers.
"It isn't," he replied bluntly, much to her chagrin. "Which is why I will tutor you outside of class."
Her jaw dropped. A white man—in the most literal sense of the word—was going to tutor her in Chinese?
Her mother must be rolling in her grave.
"We will include language lessons in your job training," he went on, either not noticing her appalled expression or pretending not to. "Which will be during normal nine to five work hours, whenever you are not attending school with the suspect."
School, Chinese lessons, and job training? Nine to five? Jubilee had never worked a nine-to-five job in her life. "What happened to giving me space?" she demanded, panicking.
His look was one of measured patience. "You'll have that once you have completed training and can demonstrate competence in the job."
Pushed to her limit, she lost all sense of tact. "So, I'll be stuck with you until then?"
Now, now, be nice, Hellenos called out.
Detective Law's expression had turned mildly condescending. "You can hardly expect otherwise. Your Chinese needs work, and—as you put it yourself, so very accurately—you have no experience or training."
She looked at him with fury. Why don't you tell HIM to be nice? she thought toward Hellenos.
Not my department.
Her fists clenched to refrain from throwing something. "Now, hold on a second," she protested. "Is tutoring really necessary? You just said you'd plant me as a foreign exchange student. It's not like I have to pass for a native, and honestly, my Chinese isn't that bad." She paused. "Is it?"
The man eyed her coolly. "Your speech is somewhat passable," he acquiesced. She wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. "But it will look suspicious if you are allowed to take those classes and yet are unable to demonstrate reading comprehension skills."
- english
- mandarin
- male adult
- animation/character
- audiobook
- podcast
- deep
- deadpan
*Say something you think would fit*
Male, 60’s-70’s, American accent. Kindly, warm, grandfatherly type. Graeson Law’s personal assistant and unacknowledged father figure. Deeply fond of and loyal to his employer, he nevertheless is willing to keep the latter in check about his manners. A man of faith who provides a safe space and understanding ear to those who need it.
AUDITION SIDES BELOW
(Character lines in bold)
"This is delicious!" she exclaimed. "Mr. Law is lucky if he gets to eat like this all the time."
Wayne waved off her praise. "I've had much time to practice and little else to preoccupy me."
"Oh?" She eyed him surreptitiously, wondering if he'd yield to a little gentle probing. "Mr. Law doesn't have you help with casework?"
"Well, I'm made aware of all the case details. Enough to organize paperwork, at least." Wayne reached out to slice off portions of tender duck, adding more to her plate. "And to handle the people involved, which is my area of expertise."
Jubilee frowned. Did this mean Wayne knew everything about her that the detective did?
The old man continued, "But I leave all the thinking and analyzing to Law, which—" He paused to chuckle. "Is his area of expertise, as I'm sure you can tell by now."
His humor made her momentarily forget her unease. "All too well," she said dryly. "Apparently he read the whole Bible in three days, and now he's practically a theologian."
Wayne gave a long laugh. "I would say that that is very like him, except I'd almost given up all hope that he'd ever touch that book."
"It sounds like you know him well." She finished her plate and set it aside. "If I may ask, how long have you been working for him?"
His expression softened. "Oh, it's been some years now. But I've known him for far longer than that. Since he was a boy."
Jubilee's eyes widened. "Oh. So you two are...close." She might need to be careful what she said around the older man then. Nervous, she shuffled the lettered game pieces in front of her to give her hands something to do.
"I like to think so." Setting down his chopsticks, Wayne sat back and smiled warmly at her. "We have a shared interest in many things. Riddles, word games, and languages. But, alas, not this." He waved at the Bible, which lay beside him on the table. "That is, until now. For that miracle, I have you to thank."
Jubilee stared in surprise. "What? I didn't do anything."
"On the contrary, it's only because of you that he's gained any interest in it at all."
~*~
Wayne smiled knowingly. Reaching out, he shuffled some of the tiles on his end of the table and began arranging them as he spoke. "Law is understandably difficult to get along with, however. Don't worry, my dear."
Jubilee gave a guilty start. Was she that obvious? "Um...no, he's just very—" She floundered for something gracious to say. "Thorough," she finished lamely.
Wayne laughed again. "That is putting it mildly. If it is any consolation, he never means anything he says as an insult."
Jubilee struggled to keep her expression neutral. "Really." Wayne clearly either got special treatment from Law or saw him through rose-colored glasses.
Wayne nodded. "Poor man just doesn't realize that most of the world would take it as such. From his perspective, he is just making honest observations."
Jubilee couldn't help arching a skeptical eyebrow. With some of the zingers the detective had dropped on her, she found that hard to believe. Though, to be fair, she'd been particularly blunt with him herself more than a few times.
"Don't think too badly of him, Julie," Wayne went on. In front of him, the letters had been arranged to spell 'illusion.' "He really does have a big heart...it's just that he's still learning how to use it."
- english
- animation/character
- audiobook
- Warm
- male senior
- podcast
- old
*Say something you think would fit*
Male, 50’s, Chinese accent. A middle-aged police officer. Stern and no-nonsense, he comes off as aloof and intimidating but is in fact a trustworthy and reliable figure who cares about doing what’s right and protecting those in need. Will also voice miscellaneous Chinese characters, and preferably the character of Chief Yue as well. Familiarity with Mandarin pronunciation is preferred but not required.
CHANG - AUDITION SIDES
(Character lines in bold)
"Excuse me."
Jubilee looked up. It was the police officer who Law had had arrest her. What was his name again?
"Officer Chang," the detective greeted. "How can I help you?"
"I didn't mean to interrupt," the older man said gruffly. "But Chief Yue said to let you know right away that the Ministry of Public Security will be officially undertaking this case with you."
Both of Detective Law's eyebrows lifted, the most off-guard Jubilee had seen him.
"The Chief is out of the province now," Chang went on. "But he will be back next week, so expect to meet with him then. A few other officers, including myself, will also be present."
"There must be some mistake," Law said. "This is a private case and of little interest to Chief Yue or the rest of the MPS."
"That was true," Officer Chang conceded. "Until some high-roller CEO was found dead in a hotel room this morning, seemingly by suicide, and his wife filed a report to us suspecting foul play. Since the circumstances of the victim's death make your case overlap with ours, Chief Yue wants to collaborate. Thanks to her late husband, the wife holds a lot of sway with the MPS. "
Law's gaze had locked with Jubilee. She could discern a knowing glint flash over his head as he asked, "What was the deceased's name?"
"You might have heard of him," Chang said. "Liu Xiaozheng."
- mandarin
- english
- male adult
- chinese (mandarin)
- male senior
- animation/character
- podcast
- audiobook
*Say something you think would fit*
Male, 40’s, Chinese accent. The police chief at the local Beijing police station. Highly capable at his work, but not above open prejudice against newcomers and outsiders, and moral compromise to see things done his way. Doesn’t have to afford to be polite, since he’s in charge. Would preferably also voice Officer Chang. Familiarity with Mandarin pronunciation is preferred but not required.
CHIEF YUE - AUDITION SIDES
(Character lines in bold)
Yue reached for the carafe at the center of the table, pouring clear liquid into tiny cups before distributing them to his colleagues. "Let's take the edge off a bit and keep celebrating! Bai jiu for you, Detective Law?" he offered.
"No, thank you," the detective answered. "I make it a point not to deliberately stunt my deductive reasoning skills."
The police chief's expression momentarily hardened before he cracked a tight smile. "Same excuse as always. Can't hold your liquor, still, I see." He poured another cup. "Some for you then, Xiao-jie?"
Jubilee shook her head. She didn't need anything else to trigger memories of her old life. And honestly, after her car crash, she never wanted to touch another drop of alcohol again.
Chief Yue shrugged and sipped from his own cup. "Just as well. Bai jiu is strong, too strong for a girl as small as you."
Jubilee bit back a retort. Eight shots used to be nothing for her back in the day. But the chief—and the detective—didn't need to know that. Don't let him bait you, she told herself.
Yue returned his attention to Law. "You don't have an excuse, though. I must say, Law...if it weren't for your favorable track record when you first showed up, I would've been hard-pressed to take you seriously. They say you can only see a man's true colors after a few drinks." He downed his cup before continuing, "And seeing as how you never let us see yours, I sometimes wonder over the wisdom of the MPS trusting you so much and bringing you on to our most important cases. Now, with all of this—" He motioned absently towards Jubilee, "Delusional nonsense, you've bought into...I question that wisdom even more. Surely you can see where I am coming from."
Law's expression didn't change. "I realize how illogical this all may sound. And I am very familiar with the misguided notions of the local drinking culture, which you are such a ready proponent of. But you can either put stock in my willingness, or lack thereof, to participate in a drinking contest masquerading itself as a measurement of trustworthiness and professional capability...or you can put stock in my track record, which should speak for itself."
The chief regarded Law with a long, hard look, before barking a laugh. "That would've been quite the speech, if not for the fact that you emailed me some drivel and tried to call it a case report. Honestly, Law, what do you take the MPS for?" Yue shook his head and poured himself another drink. "I was going to give you the chance to redeem yourself with an explanation, but it seems you are incapable of doing even that. Guess there's a first time for everything."
- english
- mandarin
- male adult
- podcast
- chinese (mandarin)
- audiobooks
- animation/character
*Say something you think would fit*
Male, 19-21, Chinese accent. A college student at Peking University. Likes pretty girls and throwing parties, and thinks of himself as pretty suave. Vacillates between charming and sleazy. Secretly dealing in illicit activities for his own pleasure. Familiarity with Mandarin pronunciation is preferred but not required.
TAI - AUDITION SIDES
(Character lines in bold)
Tai eyed Jubilee up and down, then grinned wide. “Well! It sure is nice to meet you.” He strode over and slung an arm over her shoulders, making a sweeping gesture at her with his other hand. “Zhengyi, even your friends are pretty, just like you!”
Jubilee was too startled to react immediately. Zhengyi giggled, but it sounded distinctly fake.
“Hey,” Tai addressed Jubilee and leaned in close, “You should come to the party I’m hosting this weekend. Zhengyi’s coming, too! Right, Zhengyi?”
~*~
“I’ll think about it,” Jubilee lied. “But parties aren’t really my scene.” Not anymore, at least.
“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun. Lots of drinks and other good stuff.” Tai waggled his eyebrows. “Anyway, it’ll be at the Longzhen karaoke club downtown on Saturday at nine. Bring friends, okay?” He turned back to Zhengyi. “Alright, let’s have lunch! I’ve been waiting forever. Want to join us, Zhuli?”
- mandarin
- english
- male young adult
- podcast
- animation/character
- audiobook
- young adult
- male adult
- chinese (mandarin)
*Say something you think would fit*
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