With the successful launch of the Screenplay Reading Series, the San Francisco–Northern California Local Conservatory Committee is excited to announce the schedule for the remainder of the year. All table reads will begin at 6 p.m. at the SF-NC Local office in downtown San Francisco, located at 350 Sansome, Suite 840.
Casting is now open for the next scheduled table read, Mother Lies, scheduled for Monday, March 3, 6 p.m. PT. Participant check-in will be at 5:30 p.m.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You may submit to perform at the table read or join us in the audience.
- To be considered as a performer: You must submit directly to the filmmaker's contact email at kitty.edwinson@gmail.com. (Optional to include a demo.) The deadline is Friday, Feb. 14.
- To attend as audience: Please email sf@sagaftra.org. If you also submit for casting, please wait to RSVP until AFTER casting choices have been made.
Casting for Mother Lies Table Read
By Kitty Edwinson
Logline: A pair of headstrong sisters, each in her own special state of denial, come together over a son in crisis. He pries loose their secrets and unleashes a powerful combination of fairy tales, passion and vodka, upending the past and remaking the family legacy.
Seeking performers able to read the following roles:
- Narrator - To read action.
- Dorie - Late 40s to 50 years old. Sensitive, artistic, private; capable of hiding all traces of her tumultuous childhood and the secret that shot her into adulthood. Now, pushed to breaking with worry over her son’s addiction, she clings to keeping as much hidden as she can — but her love for her son has zero restrictions and she will do anything to bring him back to health. The sisters are third-generation descendants of Russian aristocrats; born and raised in the Russian immigrant community in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco.
- Marinka - Late 50s to 62 years old. Dorie’s older sister who never left home. She is an alluring mix of life of the party/perennially 30 years old/throwback to her mother’s more formal manners and mannerisms/wily/manipulative. She sees herself as a Russian princess who can’t help being self-indulgent and believes fully in her lofty special status. Heavy drinker. The sisters are third-generation descendants of Russian aristocrats; born and raised in the Russian immigrant community in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco.
- Owen - Late teens to early 20s. Only child of Dorie and Joe; loves nature and sports. Ordinarily inquisitive and kind, he has been hijacked by an addiction to heroin. Over the course of the story he goes from confused, jonesing, and resentful to acting intentionally for himself and his family. He is the catalyst for the sisters’ movement towards change.
- Joe - Late 50s to early 60s. Husband to Dorie, a loving spouse and involved father. Handles his son’s baffling addiction like the accountant he is, by following instructions. Puts his trust in systems. Unable to pivot when faced with catastrophe alone.
- Dimitri - 60s. Marinka’s boyfriend. Successful set designer who emigrated from Russia as a child. Besotted with Marinka and indulges her endless caprice. A grounded practical man who sees Dorie and Owen with common sense and compassion.
- Bodie - 60s. Dorie’s ex-boyfriend and still the flirty neighborhood bar fly. He oozes good time and drama.
- Brittany - Late teens to early 20s. Owen’s love interest. A cute student of botany, she is empathetic with a sunny disposition.
Submission Instructions: Please email the filmmaker at kitty.edwinson@gmail.com. Optional to include a demo. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 14.
This table read is an unpaid stage performance presented to a live audience. We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, race, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by law, unless otherwise specifically indicated.
About the Writer: In addition to Mother Lies, Kitty has written a short titled Little Mother Lies, based on the family in the feature, which has been produced and is currently being submitted to festivals. Her next feature is Cow Palace. It is also about a San Francisco family, this time set in the 1970s in the Portola District. Kitty has a degree in English from Cornell University, a Masters in Education, and an extensive background in writing and editing. Her lifelong study of familial dynamics and preoccupation with questions around why we thrive or fall away, why we change or don’t, will also be the engine of the next feature.
About the Producer: Gwen Whittle is a producer and supervising sound editor with over 35 years of experience working on over 120 films, from blockbusters to small independents. She recently produced the short film, Little Mother Lies. Gwen has been nominated for three Academy Awards (Avatar: Way of Water, Tron: Legacy and Avatar), a BAFTA (Avatar: Way of Water), an Emmy (WandaVision) and in 2023 was honored with an MPSE career achievement award. She has won 6 MPSE Golden Reel awards: Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Super 8, Epic, and Carne e Arena. Her more than 20 MPSE nominations include Top Gun: Maverick, Ferdinand, Munich, and Minority Report. Gwen was awarded an honorary PhD from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and has a B.A. in film from New York University. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures (AMPAS), British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA), SAG-AFTRA and MPSE.
San Francisco-NorCal