SUDS Cast Callout: Nowhere Fast
Written by Rose Cooke
Dramaturgy by Aqsa Suryana
19th - 29th April 2023
The Cellar Theatre
Directed by Rose Cooke
Produced by Aqsa Suryana
Contact email: slot4suds2023@gmail.com
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NOWHERE FAST
Where does performance of gender get a person? In the end, are we benefited by gender archetypes, or is it all for nothing?
An original work by Rose Cooke, Nowhere Fast explores gender relations and disillusionment in an absurdly high stakes setting. Fed up with society despite being extremely privileged, toilet paper company worker Ed decides that he’s going to take violent action instead of just going to therapy like a normal person. Customer complaints hotline worker Joan is coincidentally in the office at the wrong place, wrong time, and gets tangled up in Ed’s plans. What ensues is a cat and mouse like situation between two outsiders of society. Their high stakes game is interrupted however, by their boss Adam, and their ditzy coworker Sharon. The stakes then get higher - somehow. Ed’s overtly violent performance of masculinity causes him to make increasingly insane choices. Adam and Sharon scramble to save themselves, as their masks of femininity and masculinity begin to slip, and Joan must make the choice to interrogate her internalised misogyny and help Sharon, or continue to play holier-than-thou and risk much more than just her Cool Girl reputation. Will they all move past their differences, or go out with a bang like a gender reveal gone horribly wrong?
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CAST ROLES
✧Casting will NOT be gender blind because the play focuses heavily on gender dynamics, therefore we are looking for people with lived experience as a man to play Ed and Adam, and people with lived experience as a woman to play Joan and Sharon.
✧Casting is race blind for all characters, with the exception of Ed. For the character of Ed, we are casting for a white actor, due to the theme and nature of the play. In the play, Ed is the antagonist. His character represents those who are essentially quite privileged, yet still complain that the world is against him. His character is borne from his white male privilege, and without this in mind for his casting then the context of Ed’s character would change within the satire.
✦Ed: The main antagonist, in his late 20s/early 30s. A bitter, yet excitable man at an awkward stage of his life. Ed believes deep down he’s been cheated out of a fulfilling life, and is finally acting on the hatred in his heart. He’s immature, and never fully realises the implications of his actions. He’s extremely jealous of the men around him who have succeeded using masculinity to their advantage, and resents women as a whole. He has a childish energy about him, but is masking it with false masculinity and hyper violence. Think JD from Heathers meets modern day 4chan user meets the worst guy from your high school.
✧Joan: A cynical, fed-up woman in her late 20s, some would call her the ‘cool girl’. She doesn’t take kindly to most people, but is resolved to the fact that she’ll be working in customer service forever. Although she puts up a cold front, Joan can understand the “outsiders” in life, but lacks a tolerance for those who are self-pitying. She has a lot of internalised misogyny, and takes a holier than thou approach in her relationships with other women, especially those who seem to ‘try too hard’. Joan is fundamentally a good person, despite her flaws. She is perceived by the men around her as sexy and mysterious. At face value, sure someone could say she is, but really she is just lonely, searching for anything that will bring meaning to her meaningless existence.
✦Adam: Every commerce major’s goal. Adam is the hypermasculine boss of the Osmos offices, living the dream - as much as a man can in a toilet paper company, but achieving wealth and success in his early 40s makes up for any other tribulation probably. He is extremely outspoken, is sleeping with (at least) two of his female employees and definitely has a wife at home. Adam performs masculinity to a fault - it’s all he knows, and he defines himself by his ability to be an “alpha male”. Deep down though, Adam is just as insecure as any man is in his masculinity, and all it takes is losing one “cockfight” to shatter his illusion and become just a human, who has to choose whether to fight or to fly.
✧Sharon: Sharon, in her early 20s, has a reputation around the office as… let’s just say promiscuous. She plays as ditzy and hysterical as the stakes of the play heighten, but is in fact pretty intelligent and aware that she is consciously performing her promiscuity and hyper feminine nature. Sharon uses femininity as a survival mechanism, she has learnt what works in society, especially in the workplace, and is playing into it. She is used to taking flack from other women, but being superficially praised by men. Sharon is slowly beginning to crack, though, and when she loses her source of male validation she begins to see how deeply ingrained her performance of gender truly is.
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AUDITION SLOTS AND WHAT TO PREPARE
Auditions will be held in person and will run for approximately 15 minutes.
Monday 27 February 12pm - 6pm
Tuesday 28 February 12pm - 1.30pm
Wednesday 1 March 12pm - 4pm
Friday 3 March 9am - 1pm
✧ If NONE of these work for a 15 minute slot for you, please email us at slot4suds2023@gmail.com so we can discuss alternative options ✧
Please fill out the cast callout form below.
✦✦✦✦✦✦ Cast callout: https://forms.gle/nt1H9ReP6B2sAQ448 ✦✦✦✦✦✦
You will be advised of your 15 minutes audition time and location in a follow-up email.
We would like you to prepare for your intended role(s) with the provided monologue to perform during your audition. Memorisation is encouraged but not mandatory.
✦✦✦✦✦✦ Audition pieces: https://docs.google.com/.../1-8Qxf3NIJJC0U0O6FSgN.../edit... ✦✦✦✦✦✦
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IMPORTANT DATES TO CONSIDER
Callbacks: 1 day between Saturday 4 March - Monday 6 March (day chosen dependent on auditionees availabilities)
Table read: 1 day between Friday 10 March - Monday 13 March (day chosen dependent on cast and crew availabilities)
Show week 1: 19 - 22 April 2023
Show week 2: 26 - 29 April 2023
***Please note that these dates do not YET include rehearsals, cue-to-cue, dress run, and "Open Eyes" (this is SUDS-lish for previews).
Cue-to-cue, dress run, and "Open Eyes" will most likely occur sometime within the 2 weeks before opening night and each happens within 1 day. This will still be based around cast and crew availabilities but will, in total, take 3 days within the 2 weeks leading up to the first show week.
✧ I know… you’re looking at your calendar and it looks like a lot and maybe you’re a new SUDS member but trust us!!! We’ll be mindful of your availability and everything will be ready and set to go by opening night! Of course, there’s the whole thing with commitment and responsibility and all that, but honestly if you ended up reading this far, it means you’re already soooooo interested in auditioning for this play which is GREAT news. You’re in good hands I promise be brave and stuff ✧
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CONTENT WARNINGS
✧ Coarse language
✧ Sexist language and activity
✧ Themes of death and violence
✧ Explicit references and depictions of a hostage situation
✧ Explicit references and depictions of an attempted terrorist attack
✧ References to planned genocide/mass murder
✧ References to premeditated murder
✧ References to suicidal tendencies
✧ References to workplace sexual harassment
✧ Fake blood
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For any questions or concerns, please contact Rose (Writer/Director) and Aqsa (Producer) at slot4suds2023@gmail.com. We hope to see you soon! Good luck ❤︎