Whalesong Casting Call (2022)
By Ester Ellis
About
THE PITCH
Whalers, Men, sail ancient seas on “The Agony”, a converted Ice Breaker in hunt of Gods grandest and most innocent creatures: The Whales. A Young Man is failed by the medical system as he seeks the next stage of Transition. And all parties can hear the never ending chant… “oil, oil, OIL”!WHAT IS WHALESONG?
Whalesong is an Audio Drama Podcast pilot created by Ester Ellis (Station Blue, The Goblet Wire) and funded by the Apollo Podcast App. It will release in August 2022 on both Apollo and Ester Ellis’s podcast feeds.WHAT DOES IT PAY, WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT, WHERE IS IT RECORDED?
Most named roles pay between $20 and $50 (with an upper limit of 300 words of voice acting)
The commitment is a single episode. This is a pilot for a show I’m planning on making in the future, there will be a new audition process when that time comes.
All recordings will be done remotely on your personal equipment.HOW LONG WILL AUDITIONS BE OPEN?
This is a short audition process, I need all materials recorded by July 10th, so I will be casting quickly to hit that goal. The audition deadline will be July 3rd.WHO CAN AUDITION?
This Casting Call is open to anyone with a high quality recording set up. Many of the scenes take place on the deck of a ship, with the sailors yelling back and forth, and we’ll need clean recordings to convincingly pull that off.
(If you want to work with this creative team but do not have the required equipment, keep an eye on “The Goblet Wire”, which auditions throughout the year and was created to accommodate a variety of recording setups)I’ll also note that this show is about Masculinity in all of its forms. This can and will include some Non-Binary actors who wish to explore masculine elements of their experience with the gender spectrum. Just know that the sailors all currently consider themselves male (in one way or another), so long as you are comfortable with that you are welcome to audition.WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT AFTER THE AUDITION?
If you are cast, you will be contacted with a casting offer. If you accept it, you will be sent sides with instructions and a due date (likely within a week of being cast). Whalesong is going to have a pretty tight turn around, so be prepared to record quickly if you audition.Many of the parts involve yelling and chanting. These are very challenging to record, and you might be asked to do a call back to help you dial in your settings.I am not able to contact everyone who has not been cast individually, but I will announce when all roles have been filled so you aren't left wondering.
AUDITION INSTRUCTIONS/Casting call
THE AUDITION, INITIAL INSTRUCTIONS
You can submit up to two takes of the monologue below.
At least one of your takes should be performed as the character you’d like to play based on the descriptions below.
And in at least one of your takes you should build in energy, to the point of roaring if necessary. As mentioned, there will be a lot of yelling, singing and chanting, I need to make sure you can do that without peaking your mic.
You can audition for multiple characters. If you do keep it in the same file.If you would like to participate in group singing, also include 30-45 seconds of you singing a song of your choice (yes, it can be a shanty)After recording, render your audition as a single MP3, titled “Whalesongauditionyourname” (where “your name” is whatever you would like us to call you) Do not put any FX or treatment on the file, we have access to professional repair software and need your raw, unaltered audio. You can add an acting reel if you have one.__________________________CASTING CALL (in order of appearance)
Note: These sailors come from all over time, and all over the world. As much as I love a good pirate voice, just give me the best performance you’ve got, and avoid parody.“Chorus” (He/Him), The Saltiest Dog. A Whaling Veteran passing on key knowledge. You can hear the ocean in every word. Died years ago.“Friend” (He/Him), A loyal, easily distressed sailor. Always concerned over what’s beyond the horizon, rarely concerned about what’s in front of his nose.“Right Hand” (He/Him), First Mate and Speaker for the Captain, likes an orderly ship and is prone to giving speeches.“The Captain”(HE/HIM), An eldritch being, a force of nature. Very few can survive the sound of HIS voice. Only has one line.“The Boy” (He/Him), The Main Character, A modern college student who finds himself on a strange ship. He is frustrated, he wants to fight, he is in for more than he bargained for.
The Boy is only open to Trans Men.“Ol’ Cas” “Caspian” (He/Him), One of the most seasoned members of the crew, he tends to keep to himself but has grown conflicted with his position on the ship. Until he begins mentoring The Boy.
Ol’ Cas is only open to Trans Men.“First” (He/Him), The First Man to ever exist. Ageless, he knows the value of words and uses them carefully.
First is only available to Black actors.“The Skald” (He/Him), The crews Bard. He sings to the ocean when sees are quiet.
Note: This is an optional role but one I’d love to fill. It will involve singing acapela in either Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish during a scene transition. If you speak any of these languages and care to sing, you will be my personal hero.“YOU, the Sailor” (??/???), There are going to be quite a few unnamed extras in this episode. If you just want to be a member of the crew, show me what you’ve got, play to your strengths, you might just inspire a new speaking role.
AUDITION MATERIAL
Please record up to two takes of the monologue below. If you would like to be apart of group singing, also include 30-45 seconds of you singing a song of your choice in the same file(MONOLOGUE)
Aye, through waves en bergs, torrent en ash. The Whales Song kept our compass pointing true, kept our bellies full, kept us drunken and wrathful.It was a cursed day when Adam firs discovered the Whale, named it such for what else could something so colossal, so beautiful be monikered?Mark me lad, the Whale is an intelligent beast, far more so than you or I. A noble creature never meant to perish by the hands of any of Gods creations.But from the moment that slick ambrosia touched our lips, we became a scourge to their kind. For we had to have the Oil!Oil to keep a man young, oil to keep hair on his head and teeth in his jaw!Oil to keep a misers coffers full, oil to slick the throat of a bard and make him sing like an angel! Oil to shape his very flesh to that image he knew it was always meant to take!Oil boy! Oil! Never would a man need the wish of a Djinn if he had Oil.And never again will the noble Whale be safe from the likes of you or me.