SUDS Production Callout: Heat Lightning

Written by Leon Abrams and George Abbott
Adapted by Pearl Cardis

3rd-5th Feb, 2023 (SUMMER SEASON)
The Cellar Theatre
Directed by Pearl Cardis and Emma Johns
Produced by Katarina Butler
Music led by Margot Roberts

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Two sisters operating a gas station in the middle of the desiccated Californian desert have very different intentions. Olga wants to escape her past, Myra wants to create her future. When two perps stop in on their way to cross the border, things get complicated.

Heat Lightning is infused with atmosphere, a mix of lackadaisical waiting and sinister yearning on an endless night. Sex permeates the air as something forbidden but limiting; any escape it offers comes at a price.

This Noir Western was banned by the Catholic Legion of Decency soon after it was published, and with rampant female sexuality, bespangled & thriving divorcees, guns, a jaundiced view of love and a butch female protagonist who’d rather be a mechanic than a gangster's moll, we can see why. Ninety years later, we’re brushing off the censors’ dust and bringing this beauty to life in all its thirties glory.

Camp theatricality mingles with touching sincerity in this strikingly modern commentary on gender, class, and love.

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DESIGN BRIEF:
We’re diving into the late twenties/early thirties with our design to transport our audience back in time, with a few artistic liberties of course! Think homage to silent film sets, svelte grace and Hollywood decadence, poverty and exhaustion and the run-down nerves of the Depression. We want to feel the feminine grit, the domesticity and daringness of a diner in the middle of barren red nowhere. A place where anyone might succumb to the heat.

This production walks a tightrope between comedy and drama, with many wonderfully funny roles, but a tragic and deeply genuine throughline. We want passionate people who’re keen to lean into both the heartfelt and the ridiculous moments of the piece with flair and verve.
With 12 characters, attention to historical accuracy, a tight budget and a quick turnaround period, we know we’re being ambitious so we’re looking for artsy folk who love a good challenge! It’s student theatre baby, let’s reach for the stars and celebrate wherever we land!
We will provide an excerpt of the script before or upon confirmation of your interview time. Please come to your interview having read the excerpt and with ideas to pitch. Don’t feel you just have to pitch for one role either, go wherever inspiration takes you! Past experience is not necessary but please be passionate and prepared!

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PROD ROLES:

Assistant producer - You’ll be working alongside the directors and producer to coordinate the show. From auditions, interviews, rehearsals and design meetings to the final product, you will be supporting the cast and crew. Organised people who are willing to help with all aspects of the production should apply!

Sound designer - You’ll be working in collaboration with the musicians to create atmosphere and tone, plus bring life to the different settings. We are looking for someone who can, with a light yet effective touch, emphasise both the serious and comedic elements of the script with their own creative flair.

Set designers - It’s a fun one! Set in the Californian desert, our girlies are operating a mechanic/greasy spoon/flophouse trifecta, where the primary settings are a 1920/30s diner (we’re hoping with homely touches), and the sweltering desert, as simple, brutal and beautiful as nature often is. Reconciling multiple spaces into one cohesive set is the main challenge, so we’re looking for creative and flexible designers who’re keen to play around with reconciling the shifting characters and their separate spaces. There’s also a disgustingly tight budget (classic Summer slots :)), so finding creative solutions is a real priority! (We also need to figure out how to make cars which enter and leave set work!! Mime? Something better than mime? Let us know what you think!)

Costume designers - Historical fashion lovers, this is the one for you! With ELEVEN characters and an early thirties setting, there’s so much room to play around with fashion, dictating the classes and personalities of our myriad of characters. We’re operating on a tight budget, so finding creative solutions is paramount to the role. Also, don’t be daunted by the number of characters, we’re more than happy to have six built-out costumes, and the rest defined by key accoutrements to convey their roles. And while we’re aiming for historical looks, we in no way want to limit your creativity, so we encourage you to have fun with it! (Note: ensemble roles are still a little up in the air, we’ll likely be cutting some minor characters to minimise your workload and shrink back the play)

Hair &/or Makeup artists - Heat Lightning is solidly set in the early 30s, so we’re hoping mostly for a fusion of 1920-30s hair and makeup (with a little homage to silent film “grunge”) but we’re keen to discuss playing around with the caricatures of the time to heighten the campiness of the show.

Lighting Designer(s) - The lighting design for Heat Lightning is invaluable for creating atmosphere and distinguishing between spaces. As both a comedy and a severe social commentary there’s room for a lot of range with the lighting, and we’d love to see motifs established through the colour palette. The time of day also shifts across the duration of the play so creating a smooth glide through these shifts will be super valuable. Finally, consider how you might pay homage to the noir qualities of this semi-melodramatic Western genre. Hollywood backlighting? We want someone who is able to bring their own ideas and work well in a team as they will need to work with the set designer and costume designers in order to bring the script to life!

ACCENT COACH: We're really leaning into the 1930s Hollywood theatrical vibe, so we would love if you could jump in to help us convey class/status/personality with trans-Atlantic accents! We'll obviously be working with the capabilities and comfort levels of seven different performers, and characters will express themselves differently so the challenge here is in two parts: 1. Teaching people a new skill and 2. Helping them to tailor their accents to suit the characters they're playing! As with our other roles, no past experience/qualification required, but we're looking to see that you're good with people, comfortable teaching/leading and flexible to see where the process takes us.

Photographer &/or Videographer - Your key contributions to this show will be taking profile pictures, filming and photographing the production itself! You’ll be working closely with the graphic designer for the profile pictures to create cohesive publicity that meshes well with the directorial vision. Come with ideas and energy, being a people person is particularly valuable in making sure the team feel comfortable and happy on camera!

Stage Manager - Due to the ambitious nature of our show we have a fair few actors who’ll need to be rushing around for quick changes, a fair few props and other bits and pieces to keep track of. We would love your help in coordinating backstage to keep the show running smoothly.

Prod assistants/stage crew - This is a very varied role! Whether you’re hoping to specialise across a couple of areas, or just be a general hand for when the team needs it, we’ll cater to what you want to get out of the role. What we’re really looking for is someone who’s eager to jump into new things, and we would love your help with managing props, costumes and other forms of support backstage as well as on the three show nights.

Wellbeing officer - We’re looking for a lot of people to put in a lot of work in a relatively small amount of time, and while our number one priority is building a wholesome community and giving people a fun and creatively open + challenging space to work within, we know things can get overwhelming pretty quickly without enough support. We’d love for the person taking on this role to be comfortable engaging with a range of people from diverse backgrounds, level-headed and empathetic, and able to escalate and/or engage in conflict resolution and emotional support with discretion, maturity and kindness. If you’re willing to show up to some rehearsals/social events to become a familiar face during the process, or to provide a little extra encouragement on show nights we’ll love you for it. Additionally, SUDS will appoint a grievance officer to the show so you may work with them should the occasion arise.

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APPLY:
Prod interviews run from the 13th to the 30th and can be done in person or over Zoom according to personal preference. If you have any concerns about timing, location, preparation, or anything at all, feel free to contact Pearl, Emma (directors), or Kat (producer) at sudsheatlightning@gmail.com
Form: https://forms.gle/xHYTrDNot53yoWCR7

Thanks again for your interest, and looking forward to meeting you!