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   Casting opportunity: Call for "Wizard
From John McElhatton
ACTOR (Male, 20’s-30’s) playing 4 different characters Dominic Berry is auditioning for a national tour of his Contact Theatre sell-out hit ‘Wizard’, which takes place between March and May 2012. ABOUT THE WRITER Dominic Berry is a former agoraphobic who's gone from not being able to leave his own flat to becoming an award winning writer. Some of his achievements include: - Winner of New York's famous Nuyorican Cafe Poetry Slam, Summer 2011. - Winner of Manchester Literature Festival’s Superhero of Slam. - Author of 'Tomorrow, I Will Go Dancing', poetry collection by Flapjack Press. Acclaim for his work includes: 'Exuberant, lively, expressive, Dominic owns the stage.' Writers Connect 'Really very inspiring. I love the seriousness and the humour.' Benjamin Zephaniah 'An exceptional force in the poetry and spoken word scene.' John McGrath, Artistic Director, National Theatre Wales He has now teamed up with director Martin ‘Visceral’ Stannage (Pen-ultimate's A Night on the Tiles), Producer Chris Jones and mentor Ric Watts to share the funny, lyrical and deeply moving tale of 'Wizard'. ABOUT THE SHOW Wizard hasn't been outside his flat for months. He can see amazing magic in places most people can't- a ninja drag-queen scaling his shower, a menopausal midwife haunting his kettle. When Wizard shares this world with a friendly neighbour, three days of events will change both their lives forever. An entertaining story that mixes new digital media (exciting music created especially for this show) with accessible, lyrical language, ‘Wizard’ will appeal to young people / hip-hop fans whilst also engaging audiences who enjoy Tolkien, Terry Pratchett or films like ‘Amelie’ or ‘Submarine’. The show has a small, minimal set so has a very quick get-in that can easily be set up by us in just a few hours. CASTING We are now looking to cast one additional actor to perform alongside Dominic in a variety of different roles, to tour with the show during Spring 2012. While there are specific character breakdowns overleaf, we are looking for a versatile performer who is enthusiastic about contemporary theatre and is comfortable with physical work and improvisation. Due to the technically demanding nature of the work, it is also important to find performers who are prepared to play a major part in realising the show on tour through get-ins and get-outs, working closely with the Stage Manager. It would also be ideal (but not essential) to find actors who could share some driving on tour. DATES OF ENGAGEMENT – EQUIVALENT OF 5 WEEK’S WORK from Friday 3rd March – equivalent of 1 week's rehearsals, Manchester, throughout month w/c 12th March 10 – 6 rehearsals Monday – Friday at Contact, Manchester w/c 26th March at Contact, show from Wednesday 28th – Saturday 31st w/c 30th April in London’s The Cockpit Theatre, 1st and 2nd May in Pendle’s Pendle Leisure Trust, 3rd May w/c 7th May in Oxford, 9th and 10th May Wages will be set at ITC recommended rates £400 a week, plus touring allowance. AUDITIONS To be considered for the show, please send your CV and headshot, with a brief cover note, to Chris Jones, Producer onbib_16@hotmail.com by Monday 6th February Auditions take place in Central Manchester w/c Monday 13th February through to Friday 17th February. Please contact Chris Joneson bib_16@hotmail.com with any additional questions. Dominic Berry’s ‘Wizard’ is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all people CASTING BREAKDOWN ACTOR (Male, 20’s-30’s) playing 4 different characters > MAN Man is a regular guy who lives in a tower block and is Wizard’s neighbour and only friend. Man has an office job which he hates. He suffers from panic attacks, though this is not something he talks to his co-workers about. He loves visiting Wizard, an agoraphobic who’s not left his flat for years, as Wizard sees magic in everything and is an exciting character to be around. That said, there is a level of jealousy between them- Wizard sometimes being dismissive of Man’s life outside Wizard’s flat. When Man realises Wizard is receiving mail saying his incapacity benefits may be stopped, he tries to get involved but Wizard reacts with hostility to his attempts of help. Man is an aspiring poet who performs some of his poetry, both comic and serious, during the show. > URSULA THE KETTLE Ursula is the cheerful ghost of a menopausal midwife who inhabits Wizard’s kettle and chats away only to Wizard throughout the show. Only Wizard hears her words and he takes great comfort in her jocularity and encouragement. It is not made explicit in the show whether Ursula is a figment of Wizard’s imagination or an actual, real spirit. The actor playing Ursula performs her voice via voice-overs. Like Man and Wizard, Ursula often speaks in verse. > DAISUKE THE DISHRACK Daisuke is another inanimate object who speaks to Wizard. Daisuke speaks entirely in a computer game announcer’s tone, as if narrating an RPG video game. He is very serious and matter-of-fact. Like Ursula, he’s only heard through voice-overs and it’s never made explicit whether he’s just in Wizard’s imagination or is a real entity. > A STRANGER A Stranger is a health care professional who comes to give Wizard home assessment. A Stranger has targets to reach, is not without compassion but believes the country is full of benefit cheats and wants to see ‘blaggers’ off incapacity and back into work. A Stranger believes Wizard is able to get support and conquer his agoraphobia- leaving Wizard where he is will not be an option. A Stranger appears on stage only in one scene toward the end of the show. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? 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