Details
Union:
Union
Area of media:
MOW
Network:
Lifetime
Paid?:
Yes
Rates:
ACTRA scale + 75% Advance
Deadline:
Mar 28, 2023
Shooting starts:
Apr 24, 2023
Shooting finishes:
May 18, 2023
Shooting locations:
Winnipeg & environs
Cities for response:
Winnipeg
Comments
We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to physical ability, race, age, color, national origin, ethnic origin. Unless otherwise specifically indicated, all roles are open to artists of any race. No in-person auditions will be scheduled; self-tapes are preferred. Documentation of COVID-19 vaccination is required. Please approach dialogue with Standard American English. NOTE: Production respectfully requests that actors who view this breakdown not communicate via social media or any other means with the actual persons depicted in this story.
Storyline
Fifteen year-old high school student Elizabeth Thomas put her faith in her school’s most popular teacher, 50 year-old Tad Cummins… who was not what he appeared to be. Elizabeth disappeared -- and her story made news around the world. After her 39 days in captivity, she is finally rescued after a nationwide manhunt for Cummins brings him to justice.
Roles
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Lead | Elizabeth Thomas | Female 15 - 16 Years old |
Description 18+ TO PLAY YOUNGER (character written as 15.) Fifteen year old Elizabeth Thomas lives with her father Ed, sisters Lily and Dawn. Her mother was accused of child abuse, has no custody and is not around. Working long hours, Ed struggles to support the family. Mature and responsible for her age, Elizabeth helps out the best she can; after school, her usual routine is to make supper for the family, clean-up and do the laundry - Elizabeth’s life as a teenager is more like that of a working parent. Before their mother lost custody, Elizabeth and her siblings were all home-schooled. ...Our story begins with Elizabeth’s first day of school, ever, trying to figure out how to fit in, all while carrying the embarrassment of her family’s difficult circumstances. Elizabeth is vulnerable and in desperate need of a friend. When teacher Tad Cummins displays empathy, she embraces his offer of friendship, which he eventually exploits. ONLY SUBMIT ARTISTS WHO ARE EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE BY APRIL 24, 2023. ...WHITE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Supporting | Ben Thomas | Male 24 - 28 Years old |
Description Elizabeth’s older brother Ben lives on his own. Like his father Ed, Ben works two jobs and struggles to pay the rent. A decent, hard-working young man, Ben is well aware that Elizabeth carries the unfair burden caring for their sisters, and feels guilt that he is not more physically present in their lives. ...After Elizabeth is found by police, and Tad arrested, Ben offers her the emotional support she needs to heal from the trauma of the past months, and deal with the public scrutiny of her relationship with Tad. ...WHITE | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Dawn Thomas | Female 16 - 17 Years old |
Description 18+ TO PLAY YOUNGER (character written as 16.) While her younger sister Elizabeth is atypically mature for her age, Dawn is the opposite. Like many teenagers, she has little interest in her siblings. Dawn is more popular at school, and has fit-in better to her new surroundings than Elizabeth, or Lily. ONLY SUBMIT ARTISTS WHO ARE EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE BY APRIL 24, 2023. ...WHITE | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Rachel | Female 15 - 16 Years old |
Description 18+ TO PLAY YOUNGER (character written as 16.) Rachel is part of the group of out-siders, less popular kids at school that Tad has taken under his wing. He lets them eat lunch in his classroom because they get bullied in the cafeteria. Rachel values his kindness and generosity, views Tad as a friend as much as a teacher, and is deeply loyal to him. She befriends Elizabeth. ...When rumors start to swirl that Mr. Cummins is in an inappropriate relationship with Elizabeth, he can no longer offer special treatment to Rachel and his other favorites. She lashes out at Elizabeth for this loss, but Rachel is equally angry that Elizabeth has ruined Mr. Cummins’ reputation. ONLY SUBMIT ARTISTS WHO ARE EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE BY APRIL 24, 2023. ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Tim | Male 15 - 16 Years old |
Description 18+ TO PLAY YOUNGER (character written as 16.) The gay kid in class, Tim is part of the clique of outsiders that have lunch in Tad’s classroom. Like Rachel, he thinks Tad is a great teacher. When the rumours about him and Elizabeth start to fly and Mr. Cummins is suspended from school, Tim is savvy enough to know they are true. He does not judge Elizabeth, but offers her little more than lukewarm sympathy. ...ANY RACE. ONLY SUBMIT ARTISTS WHO ARE EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE BY APRIL 24, 2023. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Julie Cummins | Female 48 - 55 Years old |
Description Tad Cummins’ wife and mother to his children, Julie is devoted to her family. Like the rest of the community, she admires Tad’s dedication to his students. She also feels empathy for Elizabeth and her family. Although it strikes her as a little odd at first, Julie agrees to Tad’s idea of inviting her to Church with them. ...When Tad is suspended from school due to the investigation of an inappropriate relationship with Elizabeth, their marriage withstands that duress. Julie is left in utter shock after her husband of thirty years cleans out their bank account and absconds with Elizabeth. ...WHITE | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Detective MacLendon | Male 38 - 51 Years old |
Description Local police detective MacLendon responds to a tip that a teacher is having an inappropriate relationship with a student. He immediately interviews Elizabeth, and brings Cummins in for questioning. Although she vehemently denies all allegations, MacLendon is an experienced investigator and can tell Elizabeth is covering for Cummins. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Griffin Barry | Male 24 - 29 Years old |
Description The friendly young manager of a campground, Griffin has no idea Tad and Elizabeth are fugitives. He offers them some hospitality and kindness. When Tad asks about directions to a Black Bear Ranch, a reputed community of ‘survivalists’, Griffin tries to gently dissuade them. ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Large Principal | Lily Thomas | Female 12 - 13 Years old |
Description With her Dad working two jobs, and sister Dawn’s complete disinterest, Lily relies on Elizabeth as if she were a parent. The two sisters share a bedroom in their modest home and have grown quite close. Like Elizabeth, Lily is bullied and having a hard-time fitting in at school. And like the other Thomas kids, Lily was home-schooled by their mother who no longer lives with them due to allegations of neglect and abuse. ONLY SUBMIT ARTISTS WHO ARE TWELVE YEARS OF AGE BY APRIL 24, 2023. PLEASE INCLUDE D.O.B. WITH SUBMISSION. WHITE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Ed Thomas | Male 48 - 53 Years old |
Description Elizabeth’s father does the best he can to provide for his family. He works long-hours to make sure his children’s basic needs are met, which is all his modest earnings may allow. When Elizabeth suggests she should get a job to support the household, Ed would rather she focus on school, but begrudgingly accepts the help. WHITE | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Sheila Higgins | Female 32 - 40 Years old |
Description Sheila is the over-worked and under-paid counsellor at Elizabeth’s high-school...She knows Elizabeth’s family background, that her mother does not live with them due to allegations of abuse and neglect - But is a little surprised none of the Thomas children had never attended school before, ever. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Harriet | Female 23 - 29 Years old |
Description A former student of Tad’s, and friend of the Cummins family, Tad approaches Harriet about offering a job to Elizabeth at the fast-food restaurant she manages. ...Later when Elizabeth disappears, Harriet speaks with Deputy Rogers. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Deputy Callie Rogers | Female 32 - 39 Years old |
Description Local police officer Callie Rogers supports Detective McLendon’s investigation of abuse allegations against Tad Cummins. When that investigation presents evidence indicating his guilt, she attends his place of work to have him removed from the school grounds. ...ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | FBI Agent Beaudry Hammer | Male 33 - 40 Years old |
Description FBI Agent Hammer leads the nation-wide manhunt for Tad Cummins, following a trail of evidence as he crosses the country with Elizabeth in tow. He knows Tad is armed, and is sincerely concerned for Elizabeth’s well-being. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Arthur | Male 59 - 67 Years old |
Description Arthur leads a remote, off-grid commune of survivalists. While on the run with Elizabeth, Tad shelters at the compound, but Arthur kicks them out for not sharing in the work. ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Felicia | Female 31 - 39 Years old |
Description A member of the remote commune at which Tad and Elizabeth seek refuge, Felicia can see that Elizabeth is in an abusive relationship. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Principal | Brett - Reporter | Male 34 - 59 Years old |
Description After Cummins’ arrest and her return, Elizabeth faces a flurry of aggressive media enquiries from the likes of this reporter, all without concern for her privacy. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Actor | Anchorwoman | Female 34 - 49 Years old |
Description The nation-wide manhunt for Tad Cummins leads the news; This anchor reports upon Julie Cummins’ desperate pleas to her husband that he turn himself in. ... ANY RACE. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Actor | SWAT Officer | Male 34 - 43 Years old |
Description This SWAT officer is one of a team that has surrounded the remote cottage where Tad and Elizabeth are in hiding. He forcefully demands they come out so the arrest can be made. ...ANY RACE. | ||