Seeking extras and actors for speaking rolesThe Fly Room to film at Bard on June 4-7
Bard alumnus Alexis Gambis ('03) is bringing a very exciting project to Bard this spring. This project is the feature film
The Fly Room, major scenes of which will be shot at Bard during the first week of June. The film will take viewers back to the 1920s, to a then-unknown, cramped laboratory where three scientists scrutinize hundreds of fruit flies in the hope of uncovering the first discoveries of modern genetics. Into this room steps Betsy, the nine year-old daughter of one of the researchers—the soon-to-be famous geneticist Calvin Bridges. Surrounded by hundreds of jars, hanging bananas, and drawings of
Drosophila, Betsy struggles to understand how her father spends so much of his life in this place. Journeying into his world, she begins to understand what secrets the flies may hold. But it soon becomes clear that her father is hiding secrets of his own.
Most of the film will be shot in Brooklyn in an exact replica of the Fly Room (which will eventually open to the public as an exhibit sponsored by
Science and
Nature magazines), but several on-location sequences will be filmed here. Of those, two of the biggest ones will be a drawing class and a party at Manor where Betsy, as a college student in 1939, learns of her father's death from an article in the
New York Times. The party scene in particular should be fun, since it will be surrealist-themed, with wild period costumes and Dalí/Duchamp-esque production design involving bicycles hanging from the ceiling.
I'm interning on the production and have been instructed to look for people who would be interested in getting involved. Filming at Bard will take place on June 4-7. For those days, and especially for June 6-7, the production is looking for volunteers in the following areas:
— Extras for the drawing class and surrealist party. — Speaking-role actors for several characters. See below for information on the characters and auditions. The work will be challenging, since the scenes will require a lot of careful coordination to do just right, but it will be a lot of fun, and from what I know about the project, the movie promises to be really amazing.
If you're interested in getting involved, send me an email at <
aw2027@bard.edu> with your name, photo, contact info., major, a brief description of why you're interested, and if you have a place to stay off-campus for the two weeks of filming at Bard.
For more information on
The Fly Room, visit <
www.theflyroom.com>.
Thank you so much, Alex White Bard Film Co-op Co-Head Intern on
The Fly Room
Audition and Character Information for Speaking-Role Actors:
The Fly Room seeks actors to play several supporting roles as classmates of Betsy, the film's protagonist. The roles include:— Clara (20-21)She is seductive, free spirited and impulsive. She is Betsey's confidant and best friend. Clara is self-conscious and always wants to be the center of attention. Her noisiness and inability to keep a secret gets her into trouble.— Bobbie (20-22)Bobbie is a preppy, built young chap part of the highest ranked Fraternity society at Bard College. He loves to impress his male friends with ridiculous games and has a slight passive aggressive temperament especially when he is vexed or embarrassed in a group setting. He used to date Clara and they still flirt on occasions.— Ed (mid-20s)Ed is tall, built with dark features. He is Betsy's adventurous, passionate, and occasionally impulsive boyfriend. Ed is beginning a career as a naval architect in France and hopes that Betsy will join him there as his fiancée.Other speaking roles include that of George, who greets party guests and flirts unsubtly with them, Arthur, who reads aloud about the World's Fair in costume as Salvador Dalí, and a couple of friends who discuss the World's Fair with Bobby, Clara, and Betsy.Students who are interested in auditioning should send an email to <
aw2027@bard.edu> to schedule a time slot, and then sides will be sent to them by email. Speaking-role auditions will take place at Olin 304 on Thursday, April 25, 4PM-8PM and on Friday, April 26, 10AM-5PM. Callbacks will also take place in Olin 304 on Friday, May 3 between 10AM and 8PM.
Time: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Location: Olin 304 Website:
Event Website
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Location: Fisher Center, Theater Two
Location: Fisher Center, Theater Two
