Casting Call for Seattle, Washington - UW Student Film, “Signature Dish”

About the project and the company

Production Title: Signature Dish

Production Type: Student Film  

Union / Non-Union: SAG-AFTRA Short Film Agreement (**Union and Non-Union talent welcomed to submit**) 

Project Length: Short Film 

Production Company: Pygopagus Productions

Director: Holly Heaton

Writer: Holly Heaton and Ashley McEneny

Producer: Ashley McEneny and Co-Producer: Wendy Burwell

Shooting Location: Seattle, WA

Shooting Schedule: January 20th, 2023. One day shoot estimated 10 hr day. Ideally the 21st would be free as well for potential pick up shots. 

Genre:  Dark Comedy

Logline:  When Leah’s playful joke of trying to outdo her new man’s mothers signature dish to impress him, turns into a full blown chaos. As his mother shows up, casserole in hand, ready to fight the good fight in competition for her son. Leah opts out. 

Synopsis: This short film sits firmly in the awkwardness that can exist with online dating and explores with dark comedy a intertwined mother/son relationship dynamic. The film is from the perspective of Leah, who has been through the ringer with online dating and is finally feeling comfortable in her new relationship with George.. Playfully, she cooks her new man George’s mothers signature dish to try to outdo her and make a good impression. Little did she know, George had already invited his Mom over to join them on their date. His mom is perfectly Southern, and she (Georgia) doesn’t take kindly to competition over her son’s affection or her cooking. 

Character Breakdown: These character descriptions are a starting point, we are interested in seeing anyone who is interested in auditioning for any of the available roles.

LEAH: LEAD –  late 20-30s Female. LEAH has been through the emotional whirlwind of internet app dating and feels like she has finally found a great guy in GEORGE. She is warm upbeat, super confident and quick witted. We are open and interested in folks who would play it differently too so if you have a strong idea show us! 

GEORGE: LEAD – late 20s-30s Male. GEORGE comes across like a great guy who is listening and kind. He appears to be the perfect guy for LEAH. He is romantic, super respectful and confident – until his mom shows up. He is oblivious to her controlling behavior and super protective over her, in spite of his own potential best interest. 

ALEXIS: SUPPORTING (Voice Over Only). 20-30s Female. The fiercely loyal playful best friend of LEAH who has been by her side throughout their dating years. Animated – her voice shows her confidence and the interconnectedness of her relationship with Leah. They go way way back. 

[CAST] GEORGIA: Actor – 60-70s Female. GEORGIA is GEORGE’s Mother. She has a lot of energy and care that has gone into raising GEORGE and she is invested in babysitting him until he finds the perfect wife. 

** Email your casting submission to pygopagusproductions@gmail.com by 6:00 pm THURSDAY DECEMBER 28, 2023 **  

Please do not submit if you are not available for the shoot date. Self tapes are accepted if you cannot make the audition.

Audition Details: Friday the 29th of  December, 2023 from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM 

(Please note all auditions will be given a specific time within this window) 

Location: TBD  – being finalized! (Seattle)

Shoot Date: January 20th, 2024.  This will be a one day shoot estimated to be a 10 hour day. 

Location of Audition

TBD - being finalized. Please email us for more info and we will reach out and aim to include as many folks as we can! Thank you for your patience with us as we respond!

Other details

Thank you so much for auditioning and for your vulnerability.

Audition requirements

Auditions will include being paired up and reading sides. We are hoping to work with the sides to explore different motivations and interpretations of the text.  ** Notes: We are a team of UW students with a wide variety of experience who are excited to be collaborating on this low-budget comedy, ensemble short film. We appreciate your vulnerability in advance and are excited to meet folks at auditions. The generous involvement of strong, dedicated, driven actors will directly affect its success. This film is currently in pre-production and all aspects of principal photography and post production will be executed in a professional manner. If editors can assist by providing you clips for your reel please let us know!