We Have Actors!

John and I met with four actors last night for the main roles in our web series, and it went exceptionally well!  For some reason our meeting took place in a soon-to-be-demolished building, which seems to have been largely appropriated by birds.  Possibly zombie birds.  We could hear them scratching at the walls and thumping at the windows, trying to get at us.  There were several times I swear I heard my name, hissed softly through a half-open beak.  But none of that distracted from our excellent meeting!

We did table reads of our first two scripts, and our actors showed a wonderful understanding of the material and great affinity with the characters.  Choosing a group of young actors who know each other and have worked together before has made our job much easier.  They’re a ready-made team, they've got chemistry together and they understand each other's rhythms.

John's a great director and he instantly formed a working rapport with the actors.  It was a joy to behold.  I've directed scripts I've written in the past, but I can't really see why I'd ever need to again if I can get John Wood to do it.  The guy was born to direct.

So... the big moment.  We are pleased to announce our cast for Ultra Clean:

• James Chapman as Hunterr
• Tina Cornac as Marissa
• Oliver Brylynsky as Dan
• Tara Gallop-Brennan as Gabby

I saw these guys perform as part of a showcase for their acting class called The Playwrights' Dozen just over a month ago and was mightily impressed.  In fact, the idea for Ultra Clean was born as I watched these talented actors ply their trade and thought "Someone should really make a web series with these guys, so he can blog about it".

Our actors are going to start blogging as well, to give their perspective on this experience.  Stay tuned for four different versions of "the night of the zombie birds".  Fun game: see if you can guess who was bitten by a zombie bird and is hiding it from the rest of us!