Brexit was shaped by the sensational news of Fleet Street and the disenfranchised working class across the UK. However its impact on individuals, relationships, career opportunities and domestic life is often overlooked. ‘There You Remain’ is a tale of personal decisions informed by wider political ambiguities of Brexit; about the anxieties of commitment, death and the fear of missing out during those four difficult years.

The Roles

Our latest project builds upon the documentary work in the past, by introducing scripted/improvised scenes to the convert. We are currently auditioning for two lead roles Basia and Oslo as well as their friends and colleagues. 

Oslo – Male – indeterminate age between late 20s and 40s. British born of British academic parents. Socially anxious and less adventurous with his choices. If he doesn’t need to speak then he won’t.

Basia – Polish post-doc student with more hobbies than time in the day. She has a wide group of friends from university and her job as a research photographer. She is infinitely curious, asking questions of everyone around her.

Jersey – A British Academic man who in a complicated relationship with Basia. His confidence, intelligence and rationality make him a difficult person to disagree with.

The roles for friends and colleagues are diverse and open to anyone and include:

Townies – Friends of Basia representing the working class of Cambridge. They have a lot to say at the pub.

Gownies – Friends of Basia representing the academic side of Cambridge. They engage in brain challenging games and playful performance activities.

All actors are paid inline with the FAA/PACT Agreement.

If you are interested – email info@explorers-society.co.uk or read on for further information.

Background

The story will be told through an alternative type of cinema production that combines projection, dynamic lighting with a live music stage performance. This hybrid concert experience mixes storytelling with a live score and perhaps can be thought of a musical for the electronica generation.

We aim to create a show drifting between the past and present, the real and the remembered, the feeling and the imagination. Please check out our other projects to understand this format better.

Thanks to a small grant from the UK Arts Council, we are able to fund the creation of a few trial scenes in order to understand two aspects of the future production – the narrative and the user experience. These scenes will be created in 2021 with the intention of gaining further funding to upscale production in 2022.

A little more about the Narrative

Set in Cambridge, There You Remain begins with a gentleman named Oslo. He has spent his life in one place, inheriting his parents Edwardian home and having very little social interactions aside from collecting his welfare payments. Though a change in legislation means Oslo won’t receive another dollar from the government unless he goes to mandatory employment interviews. 

This is how he found himself at a new desk working for Flowers Corporation; An environmentally friendly yet morally conflicted pharmaceuticals manufacturer which also happens to be the workplace of the adorably bubbly and insanely unpredictable Basia.

She is a Polish academic, taking a break from her postdoc to get some money together and find herself. She goes to dance class, plays the cello, can speak four languages and is an incredibly good photographer.

A near death experience ignites their relationship of exploration, experimentation and ecstasy. At the peak of their curiosity, the 2016 Referendum is counted and Britain leaves the EU – unsettling their sense of belonging and commitment.

They learn that love isn’t reliable, that people can change their feelings in a heartbeat, and that premonitions of an afterlife challenge the almighty virtue of dying for someone.

This script has originally been written by Rhys Votano as a traditional screenplay for film, however the nature of this project will be to adapt the screenplay and experiment with the emotional journey for a live space.

This will allow actors to bring each their own experiences into the script, allowing for new unwritten scenes to emerge.

The Audition

Before the audition we will do a quick call with the short listed actors to select two for an on screen audition. Afterwards we are holding on screen auditions in Cambridge to find the perfect cast for our project.

On Screen Audition Date: August 10th at the Cambridge Junction.

Our auditions will be recorded and used to help us experiment with different types of actors. This allows us to not only cast the best actors for the second stage of production next year, but could potentially inspire entirely new scenes and characters.

As part of the audition you will be asked to perform a few scenes from our script and answer some questions about your experiences with Brexit.

As such, you will be paid £30 for your on screen audition + travel.

If you are interested – please email a headshot and your bio to info@explorers-society.co.uk

The Trial Scenes

Between August and October, we will be filming a selection of scenes from the narrative. Scenes will be chosen to test the strength of the storyline, but also the diversity of creative approaches. Each scene is given a mood, character objective and technical achievement.

Learning this should equip us with the production knowledge to upscale to a feature length presentation in 2022. The best way to think of this phase is as a proof of concept – if we can capture and present a series of emotionally and aesthetically beautiful scenes in short form, then we will be able to apply for further funding to develop even more in 2022.

Narrative; As an European living in Cambridge when Brexit was called, this story is partly autobiographical. The referendum threw my world into discomfort which I am yet to diagnose as depression or a scapegoat for commitment. I would like the narrative to discuss Brexit as an analogy for the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) or other forms of indecision where a generation expects greener grass.

User experience; Technically I need to learn what should be told, what is better seen and what is best implied. Our goal is to identify the ideal audience experience whether that be partly interactive, in-the-round or a traditional proscenium arch. We will do this by projecting each of the narrative scenarios in a unique way, allowing us to experiment with the way it is presented on screen within a live space. We will experiment with orchestral music, DJ’s and spoken word.

Actors will also be paid for filming the trial scenes while musicians will be paid for performing them. Each filming date has a budget of £100 per actor for each day of filming.

While the goal of these trial scenes are to cast the best people, there cannot be any guarantee that your participation in the trial will lead to being cast in the next stage of production. (Though we really hope it does)

Apply now

If you are interested – email info@explorers-society.co.uk or use the form below.

    Check out our moodboard on Pinterest to see where we would like to go….

    https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rhysvotano/cinematic-scenes/?invite_code=9c1c898c6aaf44b19e04362583dca140&sender=512073557539313283