Becoming Berenice
(Current Project - 2018)
FORGE are casting! We are seeking three actors to join us in bringing 'Becoming Berenice' to life
August 2018
Dates: 22nd October to 22nd November 2018
Pay: 300 or 471 per week (tbc)
CVs/Spotlight links by SUNDAY 26th August 2018 to and and we will arrange auditions or self-tapes for the week 3rd-7th September.
Access:
Venues accessible. We welcome D/deaf & Disabled applicants!
For all actors a knowledge of French or fluency in the language will be considered a bonus, but do not be put off if you don't speak French!
1)
To be played by a WOMAN (cis or trans), NON-BINARY, or TRANS person (to make the play '50:50') ANY AGE, but physically lithe and fit.
North Africa, Southern & Eastern Europe, Mediterranean, Asian, East Asian, Middle-Eastern all possible provenances.
Can sound British or not. Funny bones or at least ability to interact well with the audience, and physically inhabit a 'clown' or 'fool' character.
Musts:
CLOWNING or tumbling skills or at least an interest in exploring those.
Excellent verse speaking and clarity required. Good rapport with the audience. Basic singing and harmonising essential
2)
The actor must be male, British (or sound British!), but can be of ANY BRITISH ISLES COUNTRY OR REGION, and ANY ETHNICITY. He must be strong, and a believable warrior. Has to believably be younger than Berenice, anyone 20s or 30s should be ok. Send us your charismatic verse speakers who can move.
Musts:
Strong verse speaking skills an absolute necessity, and physical fitness is also a must, due to exploration of basic circus/physical theatre work.
3)
ANY GENDER, older. ANY AGE from 40ish upwards. ANY ETHNICITY, but must sound British (ANY BRITISH). The important thing is gravitas, authority. And to a degree, ruthlessness. Paulin will do what it takes to keep the Empire (and the Emperor) on the straight and narrow. Paulin would definitely have voted for Brexit. Strong and stable is his or her motto. Oh, and keeping the riff-raff rabble out and under control.
Musts:
Excellent clarity and subtlety in verse speaking.
Physically fit, able to be a part of the physical ensemble when not in a scene. Will include simple elements of dance and lifts, good mover required.
Good singing skills.
Women At RADA reading
October 2017
We were recently and suddenly asked to fill a slot in a Women at Rada reading, as part of their Women at Rada 100 plays for women, written for or by women, to prove that these plays exist in their plenty. Lucy Sheen, Sadie Clarke, Vivienne Gibbs, Jordan Mifsud and Gary Merry all rehearsed and performed this beautifully, and I got to read Berenice, which was a life's ambition. I loved it, although it was rather short notice and nerve racking, and most people in the audience had been invited by my boyfriend...
Berenice Workshop Week 2
August 2017
Lloyd Trott and Ed Kemp very kindly offered to help me develop the script and play further this year. Ed Kemp has himself translated and put on a Racine play at Rada and so will be a great mentor to have on this project. We share the same passion! RADA studios kindly welcomed us and we culminated a week's hard graft of working through the entire play with three hoops and a scarf with a staggered, staged read-through at the end of the week. Alex Guelff, Pia de la Borde, Rebecca Scroggs, Olivia Vinall and even my lovely Mum joined the FORGE crew as new members. They helped me hear and see the whole thing out loud. It was a week of exploring the abstract movement and physical relationships of the characters.
Circumpherence Theatre Space - Workshop 1
August 2017
Very kindly my friend and writer/actress/comedian Vera Chok put me in touch with a wonderful set of people in a temporary rehearsal space in King's Cross: Aislinn Mulligan and her collegues at Circumference (www.circumference.org.uk). I was lucky enough to help them set up their space and in return both see their very delicate and fun Glastonbury show 'Staged' and also borrow the use of their space while they were away. This meant I could explore the physical language of my version of Berenice further, with some wonderful actor friends: Imogen Daines, Viv Gibbs, Will Wolfe-Hogan and Cindy-Jane Armbruster. My aunt Rachel Alston gave us a yoga lesson as a treat for the hard working actors and the whole week was mind-blowingly lovely- both in weather and in work.