SUDS Production 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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PRODUCTION ROLES AND THE CREATIVE VISION
✧ Assistant producer
✦ Set designer
✧ Assistant set
✦ Lighting designer
✧ Lighting assistant
✦ Sound designer and/or operator
✧ Sound assistant and/or operator
✦ Costume designer
✧ Assistant costume
✦ Stage manager
✧ Graphic designer
✦ Photographer
✦ Assistant producing: K here’s probably the situation for you, “I googled it. I’ve asked people (maybe). I still don’t know what this is”. Aren’t you lucky because we’re here to provide some clarity
Being an assistant producer requires organisational skills, good communication skills, and some extent of leadership skills - this may also be the job for you if you want to hone in on these skills!. You will be working most closely with our producer, Aqsa, and she’ll be needing your help for all things that require producing, such as scheduling rehearsals and production meetings, scheduling key dates leading up to the show weeks, setting deadlines for cast and crew, and yeah it’s a fair amount of scheduling. Don’t panic. You will be doing it with Aqsa, and you won’t even have to take charge for most of it because it’ll be Aqsa who does that. Basically anything that isn’t a creative task - it’s probably the producer and assistant producer’s job.
We are specifically asking for new SUDS members and/or SUDS members who have never produced before to interview for this role. Producing, honestly, is a hard task but that’s what it’s like to be a showrunner! I promise that it’s fulfilling and worth it when you see it all come together. We want someone who is interested and - hopefully as we go along - passionate about this play and for what it could be. It sounds like a lot but there is flexibility in being the assistant producer and Aqsa will make sure of this. We want this to be a learning experience for you just as much as it is a showrunning job.
I hope this eases your mind, and if it doesn’t, reach out to us or just interview for it anyway and have a proper chat about it. What’s stopping you?
✧ Set: A very drab, basic setting of a dead-end office workplace. The creative vision centres around monotony and despair, heavy on grey and blue tones. The set consists of office cubicles, with desks that provide some context for the characters, but are ultimately still plain and compact as they’re here to create the vibe of the lifeless hole that corporate life can become. There are two central props to the play - a paperweight and a bright red journal, which are integral to the story and characters.
We are looking for a set designer and assistant who are able to use this vision and develop it to their own interpretation of what it should be. No prior experience is needed for the role of assistant set designer, so don’t be afraid to apply!
The set designer and assistant are in charge of building the set, so keep this in mind in terms of what’s most practical or efficient when brainstorming and designing.
✦ Lighting: The lighting should mimic harsh fluorescents, cool toned and devoid of life, found in corporate offices. Throughout the play, it will dim/brighten at certain moments to build tension. There is selective use of red lighting at major plot points concerning Ed and the tension of the play - this, however, is very subject to change to what you think is best.
We are looking for a lighting designer and assistant who are able to use this vision and develop it to their own interpretation of what it should be. The lighting designer and assistant would need to be the lighting operator for the shows - both people don’t need to be at each show each night but just make sure one of them is scheduled for each show. If you don’t quite know what light operating entails, that’s okay! No prior experience is required and we can address anything you are concerned with in the interview.
✧ Sound: Sound is an aircon droning that gets louder at the end of each scene and an ominous beeping sound that reveals itself towards the end of the play. The aircon drone specifically is integral to the building of tension in the play. The sound design needs to evoke feelings of monotony and despair, whilst also adding an almost sense of dread, steady suspense, and eeriness.
We are looking for a sound designer and assistant who are able to use this vision and develop it to their own interpretation of what it should be. The sound designer and assistant would need to be the sound operator for the shows - both people don’t need to be at each show each night but just make sure one of them is scheduled for each show. If you don’t quite know what sound operating entails, that’s okay! No prior experience is required and we can address anything you are concerned with in the interview.
✦ Costume: Costuming for Nowhere Fast is business casual, of course, as this is an office environment. Keep in mind however, that Adam is the boss, so he’s a little more business than casual. Each character’s costume has to aid in representing their respective archetypes in the play. Refer to the character descriptions here for a better idea of what each character represents: https://docs.google.com/.../1jtHn9HyJUNAFUuakfmS.../edit....
We are looking for a costume designer and assistant who are able to use this vision and develop it to their own interpretation of what it should be. No prior experience is needed, so don’t be afraid to apply!
The costume designer and assistant are in charge of sourcing and/or sewing the costume pieces, so keep this in mind in terms of what’s most practical or efficient when brainstorming and designing.
✧ Stage management: The stage manager will ensure smooth operation behind the scenes, sourcing props and some smaller set pieces (in partnership with the set designer and assistant), keeping things tidy around the space, especially backstage, and assisting cast and crew with transitions/cues during show dates. Individuals with organisation skills and a strong sense of teamwork would best suit this role.
✦ Graphics: There is no definite vision for graphics as of right now however, we find this part of the production crucial as it sets the audience up for what the ambience (or, vibe, if you will) of the show is before they’ve even stepped into the space. Nowhere Fast is an original work - no one knows anything about it. For this role, we are looking for someone who is already familiar with graphic designing and feels that they are able to develop a clear artistic vision with the graphics they hope to create for this show. We have a moodboard of the overall ~vibe~ of Nowhere Fast, please see here: https://www.pinterest.com.au/90slouistheroux/nowhere-fast/
The graphic designer is in charge of promotional material, with the help of the photographer. Promotional material includes the cast and crew announcements, the poster, the DPs (Facebook display pictures), and lastly, the program book. For the program book, this will be done with the director, Rose, and the dramaturg, Aqsa, to lighten the load and make it more of a collaborative process.
✧ Photography: Photography will play a crucial role in capturing the show’s progress. The photographer will be needed at a few rehearsals and key dates such as dress runs and show nights to photograph the performance. Their biggest responsibility is organising and taking the cast and crew DPs (Facebook display pictures) for promotional purposes. They will work closely with the graphic designer for all promotional material.
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INTERVIEW SLOTS AND WHAT TO PREPARE
Interviews will be held over Zoom and will run for approximately 15-20 minutes.
Monday 6 March 4.30pm - 7pm
Tuesday 7 March 5pm - 7pm
Wednesday 8 March 11am - 6pm
✧ If NONE of these work for a 15-20 minute slot for you, please email us at slot4suds2023@gmail.com so we can discuss alternative options ✧
Please fill out the production callout form below.
✦✦✦✦✦✦ Production callout: https://forms.gle/HuKJygwHvTmiB28b8 ✦✦✦✦✦✦
You will be advised of your 15-20 minute interview time in a follow-up email.
We would like you to prepare for your intended production role(s) with the aforementioned creative visions in mind and show us anything your pretty little head came up with.
With the creative visions in mind, we DON’T want you to feel limited to it! Please feel free to develop it, adapt it, or maybe even change it and show us what could ACTUALLY work - you are so welcome to do what you want with it. Be creative! This is the space for it ❤︎
We have an excerpt from the Nowhere Fast script and the moodboard below. Please access both links so you may (hopefully) gain a better understanding of what the play is like.
✦✦✦✦✦✦ Script excerpt: https://docs.google.com/.../1lDFHaW01KOsqV.../edit...
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✦✦✦✦✦✦ Moodboard: https://www.pinterest.com.au/90slouistheroux/nowhere-fast/ ✦✦✦✦✦✦
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IMPORTANT DATES TO CONSIDER
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 prod. meetings, “Bump-In” (this is SUDS-lish for loading set into the space, rigging lights, preparing sound, setting up backstage area for props and costume, etc.), cue-to-cue, and dress run.
“Bump-In”, cue-to-cue, and dress run will most likely occur sometime within 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 interviewing to be a part of 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 (Dramaturg/Producer) at slot4suds2023@gmail.com. We hope to see you soon! Good luck ❤︎