In case you're wondering why I've got the same post up day in and out, it's because it's easier to organize this thing. As you can tell, we're making good progress in the casting, and we've received some test recordings from Foam and SJ that are quite (we can now add acting to SJ's list of talents) in addition to the really good ones from Pjazzypar. So, it looks like we're moving along.

Only seven major roles to cast. I'm gonna start horsecollaring people soon, so it looks like we'll indeed get to the minimum. If anyone has friends or relatives that want a small role, or one of the available leads, direct them here.

Since there seems to be some interest in pursuing this further, I’ll present to you The Golden Ganesh (click here to download the script--if that link doesn't work, try the one graciously provided by Jgrrrl here; Adobe Acrobat required). It’s a radio drama comprised of sixteen episodes lasting approximately five minutes each.

The Story

An insurance company hires a private investigator to recover The Golden Ganesh, an ancient relic allegedly imbued with magical powers. Someone stole it in broad daylight in front of witnesses, none of who saw the actual theft.

The Roles

I separated the parts into several categories. The private investigator looking for the Ganesh is the star, for he narrates, has the most lines, and is present in every episode. Two of the episodes consist entirely of narration, background conversations, and sound effects. The Co-Stars are the principals, people who appear in several or more episodes. The Featured categories are for roles that actually speak in one or two episodes, but have an important role in them. The Bit Parts are those consisting of one or two lines in a single episode.

Star
The Detective—Hard-boiled private eye, low tolerance for anything, least of all BS (Ricardo)

Co-stars
Announcer (Mr. Foam)
Bob—Articulate, mild-mannered police detective (JohnB)
Lynn—Canadian comedienne, fading ingénue (Jgrrrl)
Felicity—Tall Amazonian bleach-blonde genius (K9/She)
Dee—Australian artist and exit-counselor with absolutely no tolerance for BS
Diane—Hip young criminologist (Foam)
Jenny—Gorgeous; a genius on three subjects; clueless about everything else (Holy Cannoli)
Franklin—Tall, strapping comic (Rayke)
Futon Cops--Faceless, yet effective criminologist (SJ)


Featured Roles
Smythe—A hard-bitten veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (X. Dell)
MacBrian—A brown-nosing cop always looking for career advancement (Rayke)
Col. Michelle Smith—Wacky, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist and cult leader
Captain—A wise commanding police officer (Pjazzypar)
Judge Ewing—Elderly Hippie type (Boneman)
Indra—Almost mechanical little man. (Nunya)
Pete—Supercilious police Lt. (Crushed by Ingsoc)

Bit Parts
2nd FBI Agent (Yinyang)
Caterer (Pjazzypar)
Deputy
Driver (Crushed by Ingsoc)
1st FBI Agent (Pjazzypar)
Homeless Man (Mr. Foam)
Homeless Woman (K9/She)
Hostess (Pjazzypar)
Machine Dialer (Pamela Ringgold)
Mounted Cop (Boneman)
Mr. Johnson
Old friend (Yinyang)
Old professor (Pjazzypar)
Rude Cop (Pamela Ringgold)
Student (Foam Jr.)
Voice Machine (Boneman)

Those of you reluctant to make a commitment to the project are nevertheless invited to take one of the bit parts (consider it a blogger cameo). Below are detailed instructions on how to do this (a simple, high-tech way, and an even simpler, low-tech, analogue way).

We need a minimum of sixteen different people to make the leads and featured performers distinguishable. We could then double-up on the bit parts and take turns as the announcer, as needed (but I’m hoping more people will feel inclined to join us as things progress—after all, no one likes to be left out).

By the way, if you have friends or family who’d like to join us, they’re welcome too.

The story is set in New York, so accents simply don’t matter (except in the case of Smythe, Lynn and Dee). Although these roles have a gender assigned to them, I could very easily rewrite most of them. The star role, the detective, will work fine for a woman, as would Bob, Franklin, Judge Ewing, the Captain and so on. So if you see a role you want, but it’s not the right sex, tell me, and I’ll fix it for you.


The Method

We have two ways to do this; one digital, one analogue. The digital method is obviously the highest quality. Yet I sense some might not have the time to learn new software.

Analogue
Required: A tape recorder, audiotape (fifteen minutes at least per-side), a microphone (preferably an external mike, but a condenser mike—the one built into the tape recorder-- will do in a pinch for many of the bit parts), a stamp and an envelope.

1. Recite your lines into the tape player and record.
2. E-mail me at xdelll@gmail.com for an address.
3. Put the tape in an envelope, slap some postage on it, and drop it in the mailbox.

Digital
Required: Audacity freeware, a computer (Windows or Mac), a microphone or headset with an eighth-inch plug. Note: if you have other software that creates mp3, ram, wma or wav files, you may use that instead of Audacity.

1. Plug in the microphone or headset.
2. Download Audacity, if you do not already have it.
3. Open Audacity and your Windows Volume Control program (most of you should find Volume Control under All Programs>Accessories>Entertainment; if not, search your C drive for it from the Start Menu).
4. Say a few words (like “Testing one, two, three”) in order to get a sound check. Adjust the Volume Control (under microphone) to get a good level. On Audacity, watch the green bars on top. They should go as far to the right as possible without peaking (i.e. without getting any red tips on the end).
5. Press the red record button, and recite your lines. Record for each episode separately. When done, press the stop button.
6. When done with an episode, click File, Export as MP3. Audacity will then convert your recording to an mp3 file, and save it to your hard drive.
7. Send the mp3 file as an attachment to xdelll@gmail.com.


Acting

Just try to sound as natural, and as in character, as you can.

****UPDATE!****

Some of you are gravitating toward certain roles. Pjazzy has already sent me the mp3 for her part (it was good, too). I'm going to indicate who's interested in what. Completely in boldface=The mp3 is recorded, and in my possession Boldface in blue=Someone has taken the role.

If you have problems downloading the file, e-mail me at xdelll@gmail.com, and I'll send it to you that way. Unfortunately, DivShare isn't working consistently today.