I’m excited to start the casting process for the feature adaptation of my short film Acid Test! Read on below for info:
Title of Production: Acid Test
Dates of Production: June 1 – July 1, 2019
Location of Shoot: Houston, Sugar Land
Audition Dates:
In person – Saturday February 16th & 23rd
Or via tape submission
All roles are PAID. NON-UNION/FI-CORE. LOCAL HIRE.
If interested, please email headshot, resume, and demo reel (if available):acidtestproductions@gmail.com
Written and Directed by local Houston filmmaker Jenny Waldo, Acid Test follows “Jenny” as she launches a rebellion against her family, fueled by Riot Grrrl punk music, crushes, and lsd.
Adapted from an award-winning short film of the same name that’s currently in festivals, we are bringing back the fabulous Juliana DeStefano as Jenny and Mia Ruiz as her mom Camila. Learn more at acidtestfilm.com.
The feature film is an activist film. With a female lead character of Mexican descent, our story showcases much-needed diversity on screen. We are also showcasing that diversity behind the camera, with our female writer/director, it is vital to be part of the changes needed in the industry by hiring women and people of color in crew positions. The film is funded through charitable donations made through our fiscal sponsor.
Casting Breakdown:
Jack (40s) – Caucasian – Jack is Jenny’s father. Undiagnosed bi-polar, he veers from being fun, charming, and sweet to domineering, controlling, and frightening. A good-ole Southern boy from Texas, he used his intelligence to pursue a life of excellence, starting with an education at Harvard. Now he uses everything in his arsenal to support his wife and children, creating every opportunity that can give them the best life possible. As Jenny starts to go in her own (different) direction, he feels personally rejected and struggles to reconnect with her as her own individual person.
Drea (18) – Open to all races/ethnicities. Drea is Jenny’s best friend and the reason why Jenny got into punk. A child of a single mom who works all the time to support her, Drea has had to raise herself and harden herself at a young age against the sometimes cruel realities of the world and abstains from all drugs and alcohol in order to remain sharp. As true adulthood looms, Drea is terrified to dream that she will be able to find anything better.
Owen (18) – Caucasian – Owen is on his way to being Jenny’s boyfriend. Fun-loving, take-nothing-seriously, Owen skateboards through life on being rich, charming, and smart enough to pass without studying. Hidden underneath that care-free attitude is a child who learned to mask his depression from his absent, high-society parents by taking any and all mind-altering substances and as he befriends Jenny, he takes her along for the ride. Bonus if you speak Spanish!
Kelly (18) – African-American – Kelly is Jenny’s best friend at school. Smarta, driven, she excels at everything and has no time for playing around. In a world that treats her as if she didn’t have to work twice as hard to show she’s just as good as the rest of her peers, her realism isn’t a loss of hope but a spark that drives her to make the system work for her.
Mrs. Scattergood (30s) – Open to all races/ethnicities. Jenny’s mentor and English teacher, Mrs. Scattergood shepherds Jenny through the college-application process and ensuing crisis when the plan for Harvard derails. As a woman with a physical disability, she shares her own journey with both parental and personal expectation and disappointment during the fraught teenage years.
Mrs. Walker (40s) – Open to all races/ethnicities. Mrs. Walker is Drea’s mom, the opposite of Jenny’s stay-at-home, perfect homemaker wife. As a single mom, she struggles with the failures of not being able to be there for her children, working as an ER nurse with crazy hours, and the failures at work when problems are going on at home. Her son managed to graduate, just barely, and already has had run-ins with the law and is out of the house, so she needs Drea to keep it together and make something of herself.
Isabel (40s-60s) – Latina/Hispanic. Isabel is Owen’s housekeeper, the only adult to love and care for him on a consistent daily basis. She does her best to provide the stability he needs converses with him in Spanish as she taught him growing up while maintaining a certain emotional distance the high-society family expects.
Michael (10) – Latino/Hispanic. Michael is Jenny’s little brother. Quiet, prone to sickness, and lost amid the big personalities of his sister and dad, Michael does his best to remain clueless and happy. He loves playing video games, drawing, and is just getting to that annoying-brother stage.
Mr. Jewel (50s) – Open to all races/ethnicities. Jenny’s history teacher who implores his students to vote in the upcoming Presidential election and challenges them to question the difference between change and progress. A born orator, he is as serious as he is inspirational.
Taxi Driver (40s-60s) – Male – Caucasian – A small but critical role, the Taxi Driver is gruff and intimidating and rescues Jenny from one bad situation only to place her in another.