The Chronicles of Prydain Illustrated
Location: Provo, Utah
Type: Modeling
SUMMARY
Seeking actors/models to pose for still photo shoots in costume. These photographs will serve as reference imagery to develop a series of drawings and paintings intended for publication in an illustrated edition of The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. More information about the project is included below.
CHARACTERS (with author’s descriptions in quotations)
[* Director’s note: hair color is negotiable. Final illustrations of the character will have the appropriate hair color.]
Taran of Caer Dallben: male, age 14-18 — central protagonist, no physical description given by the author, dubbed “Assistant Pig-Keeper,” he is responsible for the care and feeding of the oracular pig, Hen Wen.
Eilonwy, Princess of Llyr: female, age 13-17 — “blue eyes, long hair of reddish gold reaching to her waist… face… delicate, elfin, with high cheekbones.” *
Fflewddur Fflam: male, age 25-55 — unofficial bard of the harp, “tall and lanky, with a long, pointed nose… great shock of bright yellow hair burst out in all directions, like a ragged sun.” *
Gurgi: male, age unknown (13-45?) — animal/human creature [Director’s note: actor will wear a full body costume], “hair… matted and covered with leaves… long, skinny, woolly arms, and a pair of feet as flexible and grimy as its hands… shedding hair… close-set little eyes…”
Gwydion, Prince of Don: male, age 35-60 — tall, athletic, “shaggy, gray-streaked hair of a wolf. His eyes were deep-set, flecked with green. Sun and wind had leathered his broad face, burnt it dark and grained it with fine lines.” *
Achren: female, age 20-50 — haughty, deposed queen of Prydain and former consort of Arawn Death-Lord, “Her long hair glittered silver… Her face was young and beautiful… pale skin…” *
Dallben the Enchanter: male, age 60+ — “three hundred and seventy-nine years old. His beard covered so much of his face he seemed always to be peering over a gray cloud… bony knees…”
Coll: male, age 35-60 — former warrior turned farmer, “stout and round and his great bald head glowed bright pink.”
The Horned King: male, age 25-50 — tall, muscular, athletic, hulking, monstrous, evil, in league with Arawn Death-Lord, “A new and mighty war lord… a man of evil for whom death is a black joy… wears an antlered mask… a monstrous figure… Crimson stained his gigantic arms.”
Doli of the Fair Folk: male, age 20-40 — “a stocky figure… short and stumpy, almost as broad as he was tall… flaming red hair.” *
Eiddileg, King of the Fair Folk: male, age 35+ — “a dwarfish figure with a bristling yellow beard.” *
Other Fair Folk (Dwarves, Children of Evening, Lake Sprites): male & female, ages 12-50+ — “not all were dwarfs; some were tall, slender… still others fluttered large, delicate wings…” [Director’s note: “The Fair Folk” is a term used by the human characters to collectively refer to all of the magical races of Prydain. The Fair Folk live primarily underground in enormous caverns to avoid human contact, and very little is generally known about them. I picture them as much more diverse than the humans. Actors/models of all races and types are encouraged to apply—particularly anyone with striking, peculiar, attractive, or interesting features.]
Human Warriors + Cauldron-born Warriors: male, ages 20-50 — wicked fighting men serving the Horned King, Arawn Death-Lord, and Achren.
PROJECT DETAILS
I am currently designing costumes & props, and planning to construct these with the assistance of BYU students majoring Illustration, Theatre & Film. Casting characters must be completed first, to determine costume measurements and build them to fit the actors/models.
Actors/models will be paid for their time on the project, thanks to a grant from the Laycock Endowment for Creative Collaboration in the Arts. I will work with actors/models to schedule costume fittings and photo shoots based on your availability, as needed in May – August 2019.
The first phase of the project will focus on developing illustrations for 5 to 10 key scenes from the first volume in the series, The Book of Three. These finished illustrations will be presented to the publisher as proof of concept, part of a pitch to secure a commission to complete the remaining 50-100 illustrations for the five-volume series in sequence.More information will be provided to actors/models receiving callback invitations.
Deadline: May 13, 2019. To apply:
1. Email jk at justinkunz.com (use the @ symbol instead of “at”) with the words Prydain Audition in the subject line.
2. Attach 2-3 headshots and at least one 1 full length photo.
3. Include the following information in the text of your email:
– first and last name
– phone number
– email address
– age
– height
– which character(s) you would be interested in being considered for (see character descriptions above for details)
– link(s) to your acting demo reel and/or modeling portfolio or profile page
– any other relevant information (résumé, references, etc.)
– if under the age of 18, please include parent or guardian’s name & contact information
Payment: Paid
City or Location of call: Provo, Utah
Please submit to: jk@justinkunz.com
This casting notice was posted by: Justin Kunz