Invitation to Casting: „Projection of an Odd Rectangle“
For Shelly Silver’s new experimental documentary blending fiction and reality, we are looking for performers for a range of roles – including spoken scenes as well as performative, silent, or choreographed moments. The film explores four historically charged locations in and around Potsdam and Berlin exploring the tangled lines of power, history, violence and fantasy that can be drawn between them. The story unfolds through the eyes of a fictional film student as she engages with these places in an effort to make sense of the rapidly changing world.We are currently looking to fill the role of the film student and her on again off again romantic partner. Acting experience is helpful but not required – more important are openness, curiosity, and a willingness to collaborate.
Shooting Period: Flexible dates between September and December
Location: Berlin / Potsdam area / Residency in Germany required
To apply: Please send us your casting tape along with your CV
EMAIL: por_1@manderleyfilms.com
Role: Film Student
Age Range: 25–35
Gender: queer, she/her
Background: Preferably U.S.-American and German-speaking (U.S. accent)
Experience: Open to professional or non-professional performers
Skills Required:
● Naturalistic acting style
● Ability to balance subtle drama and inadvertent comedy
● Comfortable with improvisation
Character Description:
A film student who claims she’s refusing to make a film — though it seems she might secretly be making one after all. She’s smart, ironic, playful and possibly unreliable. In other words, layered. She can lie or at least cut corners for what she wants – making you doubt your read of her.
REEL INSTRUCTIONS
1. Introduce yourself
2. Profile, eating an apple/smoking, turn slowly and look into the camera. Repeat, this time looking to camera right.
3. Tell a sad story to someone sitting camera left
4. Tell a joke looking into the camera
5. The character has a visual or physical talent — this could be singing, dancing, circus skills, or something unexpected. She’s not a “performer”, so it doesn’t need to be polished or professional — just something visually striking.
6. Speak the following text, slowly, as if you’re telling it to someone as opposed to reading it:
“Friedrich der Große wurde am 24. Januar 1712 geboren. Er war der dritte Sohn seiner Eltern. Zwei kleine Friedrichs waren bereits gestorben: der eine,weil man ihm bei der Taufe eine Krone auf den Kopf zwang, der andere, als die Kanonen zu seiner Geburt zu nahe an seiner Wiege abgefeuert wurden. Der dritte Friedrich, der weder gegen Kronen noch gegen Gewehre allergisch war, überlebte.”
Note: Feel free to send in various takes of any of the above prompts