AUDITION NOTICE
Walking Shadow Theatre Company is hiring actors for our upcoming immersive drama Zerolands, a play with puzzles. We are accepting video audition submissions through September 10, with in-person callbacks September 11-13. Rehearsals will start October 2, for an anticipated opening in November.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Zerolands is a cross between theater and escape room. It is a live, scripted performance with actors; it’s also an immersive, interactive experience for a small audience who function as a main character, exploring a detailed environment and solving large-scale, hands-on puzzles.
Zerolands is an adventure story inspired by dimension-jumping children’s literature such as Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Brothers Lionheart, Coraline, or The Neverending Story (to name just a few).
Zerolands is being created by writer/puppeteer Liz Hara, director John Heimbuch, and puzzle/environment designer David Pisa.
To learn more about this type of theatrical event, please visit the show pages and walkthroughs of our previous Plays with Puzzles: 1926 Pleasant, Saboteur, or Cabal
ABOUT THE JOB
Zerolands is currently in development, with an anticipated opening date in November, although that schedule could shift depending on the development process. We are hiring two initial actors to join this process starting on October 2, for a 6-month commitment to the production. Additional performers will be hired once the show is open to alternate these roles with the initial development cast.
We are accepting video audition materials for the following roles through September 8, 2023:
- Min (20s-30s, any race or gender) – a graduate student, suddenly teaching Professor Lee’s seminar class on Children’s Literature. An over-eager book nerd. Wrote their graduate thesis on Zerolands, a famous book.
- Professor Lee (40s+, any race or gender) – a professor of Children’s Literature, grieving their recently-deceased spouse. Arch and guarded. Believes Zerolands might actually be real.
LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC performers are especially encouraged to apply.
Ideal candidates will be experienced with some combination of puppetry, immersive theatre, children’s literature, and escape-room style puzzles.
Zerolands is an immersive theatrical experience for only 10 audience members at a time. Actors perform scripted scenes, some with each other and some directly addressing the audience, and some with puppet-based characters. Between the scripted scenes actors remain in the environment with the audience, are expected to maintain their character, and manage audience engagement with the puzzles, puppets, and physical environment as necessary. Actors may also do some light crew work during the performance. (For example, Actor 1 may adjust some props in one space while Actor 2 engages with the audience elsewhere. There is a Stage Manager who handles most of this.)
Rehearsals and performances are at 2010 Hennepin Ave E, Minneapolis MN 55413.
REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
In-person rehearsals begin on October 2. There may be a reading via Zoom prior to this date. The rehearsal schedule will be based upon cast and crew availability, with a possible mix of daytime and evening rehearsals.
Typical performance schedule will be Friday & Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:00pm, with occasional Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays at 7:30pm. We very occasionally get requests for custom (daytime) performance times for private groups.
We expect to hire additional cast members to alternate these roles with the developmental cast at some point after opening.
We expect at least a 6-month run (through April 2024). We do not expect all actors to be available for every performance week. We know people will want to take a week off here or there for various reasons. That’s why we’ll have more than one actor learn each role.
IDEAL APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with performance, and also games, immersive art, or puzzles.
- Experience with hand-held puppetry.
- Ability to stay in character while leading the audience through a series of environments without breaks, for 90-100 minutes at a time.
- Ability to read an audience and understand what they need and how best to assist them with puzzle-solving.
- Some previous crew, stage management, or technical theatre experience.
- Must have good performance availability through April 2024.
COMPENSATION
Compensation is $18/hour, with a 3-hour minimum for any performance or in-person rehearsal call, and a 2-hour minimum for any Zoom rehearsal call. Time spent at home memorizing is paid at the same rate, with no minimum call. Paid as employee (with taxes taken out, with workers comp insurance). Pay is non-negotiable. This is a non-union position.
CONTENT ADVISORY
Zerolands contains flashing lights, dim environments, video screens and projection, sudden loud sounds, and references to grief and loss. Zerolands is about a children’s book, but it is a play for adults.
COVID Policy
All Walking Shadow workers must be fully vaccinated with at least one booster shot, or request an exemption as an accommodation.
Zerolands is an immersive experience in a small space. Actors and performers will be sharing the same area. Social distancing is not possible, but audience capacity is limited to 10 people.
We will not be asking audience members for proof of vaccination.
When the local COVID-19 hospital admission level is Medium or High (per the CDC Covid Data Tracker), we will require the audience to wear masks. When the local COVID-19 hospital admission level is Low, audience masks are encouraged but not required. We will not require actors to wear masks.
Zerolands involves touching objects and surfaces. You will be handling things that people in your audience are also handling. The CDC considers the risk of COVID transmission via surfaces low compared with droplet transmission and airborne transmission.
Our COVID policy is subject to change as the pandemic continues.
TO APPLY
Please send the following items to director John Heimbuch at john@walkingshadow.org by Sunday, September 10, 2023:
- Acting resume
- Headshot
- Video audition of a 1-2 minute contemporary monologue of your choice.
- 45-60 second video of you reading from a classic piece of YA literature (Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz are both excellent free choices) directly to the camera as a bedtime story.
- In your email, please include a summary of any relevant Puppetry, Puzzle, Escape Room, or Immersive Theater experience.
Callbacks and interviews will be scheduled individually from September 11-13 with qualified applicants.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.