eight page

CastingResponse.docx

Casting Responses

about casting

With no restrictions, you will be casting eight people in Evelina. The goal is to consider how you see authors presenting characters (or how they could be presented) to an audience and explain what aspects of the characters you are hoping to highlight in your casting choices.

guidelines for casting

· These responses should include an image of the casted actors (black and white is fine). The justification for each person should be about 200-250 words long but can be longer.

· Reference what aspect(s) of the character you hope the actor can capture in the response and why this actor would be a good choice to do so. Consider both appearance and acting strengths in previous roles in your choices. Also consider how those cast would interact with one another.

· You are allowed to make adaptations. For example, all of the actors cast need not be white, despite the fact that all of the characters in Evelina were originally imagined as white.

· There are lots of actor/actress of X age lists online. Why do people make these? I do not know but they can be helpful for this assignment.

· Consider the paragraph your chance to justify your choice of casting. What ideas or mood are you trying to capture? What acting abilities or look did you need each actor or actress to capture? Here is where you provide detail convince me your choices were good.

example casting

Lee Pace as Dorian Gray

Lee Pace Picture

Lee Pace’s versatile acting experience and chameleon-like persona is why I would cast him as Dorian Gray. Gray is a character noted for debauchery and beauty; he must both be captivating and evil. Pace has played villains—Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy and Thranduil in The Hobbit. It is the latter of these—it is the more complicated Thranduil and his selfish lack of action that Gray will more closely follow. Pace will need to play Gray as a Faustian fallen man, giving in to his baser desires rather than a man of pure evil. His ability to appear unconnected to surrounding action will allow him to do that. At the same time, Gray must be charming, drawing in others to his debauchery. His experience as the romantic lead, namely Ned in Pushing Daisies, show that he can sell his attractiveness to an audience; he certainly has the requisite beauty to fill the role. However, it is Pace’s ability to add emotional nuance and create sympathy for his characters that makes him most appealing for this role. Gray, although a thoroughly fallen man, is one whom we must understand and see as a warning. Pace’s work in Pushing Daisies and The Fall, both which deal with self-sacrifice and uncovering personal weaknesses, will guide Pace’s performance here as well.