Dashboard - Audition Dates Posted

Auditions for "By The Dashboard Light" will be held on March 1st (Sat.) and March 2nd (Sun.) from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on both days. 

They will be held at:

1812 PRODUCTIONS

(Rehearsal space)

2329 S. 3rd St.

Philadelphia, PA. 19106

We will be auditioning scheduled talent and welcome walk-ins. However people who reserve time will get prioritized. 

Saturday we will be trying to audition mainly primary roles:

ROGER: Male, 25 

SHANNON: Female, 16-17

JANNA: Female, 21

PHIL: Male, 30's+

ANDY: Male, 16

PETER: Male, 65+

DR. WELLSTON: Female, 40's

MR. ENGLE: Male, 50's (Pref. Overweight)

Sundays auditions will be primarily secondary and minor roles:

ALICE: Female, 50's

KIM: Female, 21

PENNY: Female, 21

FELICIA: Female, 50's

ERIC: Male, 50's

VERNE: Male, 40's (Pref. Thin)

MR. CORR: Male, 50's

MRS. CORR: Female, 50's

There are also 28 minor roles to fill. So please, come out and audition - even if none of the above roles fit you. 

Please come prepared with a monologue. You may be asked to read from sides. Please (if available) bring a copy of your headshot to leave with us. 

For an advanced reservation please email info@keasbeymattison.com - and you will be added to the list.

Dashboard Light Update 1/27/14

Hello friends, 

Lots of exciting things going on here in production land. 

Last night I finished the shooting script of By The Dashboard Light and emailed it over to writer Sienna Golden Malik for her approval. It's running a bit long right now at 147 pages - however a Final Draft script report (that removes camera direction, lengthy descriptors and notes) brings it back down to 119. So that's comforting. In my draft, I tried to consolidate as much as possible to avoid repetition and redundancy - but it's hard cutting lines you love. My friend and Philly commedian, Jeff Soles says "Cutting down a script for time is like removing songs from a mix CD because they won't fit." And he's absolutely right. It can be heartbreaking. 

Anyway, in other news. Two days ago I put an ad in Backstage magazine looking for talent. We are now up to our necks in actors and actresses of all ages, shapes and sizes... and couldn't be happier. We received literally hundreds and hundreds of submissions from some very talented people. It's going to be difficult to pick only a handful. (I am however already making a few mental notes - some of the applicants are exactly what I'm looking for and their reels are spot on.

I'm going to be posting audition dates in the upcoming weeks. 

On a technical note, camera components are still funneling in. As you may have read in previous blog posts, this film will be shot digital HD on the brand new Panasonic Lumix GX7 with a series of vintage Nikon lenses. I've been ordering a handful of components to build the camera system including a 15mm rod support system/shoulder rig, follow focus, matte box, counterweights, and an iPad Mini to act as a wifi preview monitor. I'm going to be posting pictures and a list if components once it's finished and tested - as well as some test footage. 

Stay tuned friends! More on the way! 

Dashboard Light Casting

Hello friends, 

Our upcoming feature film, By The Dashboard Light is now casting and will be announcing audition dates soon. In the meantime we are accepting headshots, reels and resumes. 

We have 44 roles to fill - 10 or so are primary and secondary characters. (Paid gigs) 

Here is a quick breakdown:

Roger: Male, 25. 

Shannon: Female, 16

Janna: Female, 21

Phil: Male, 30's

Kim: Female, 21 (Sex scene - possible partial nudity)

Penny: Female, 21

Mr. Engle: Male, 50's (pref. overweight)

Verne: Male, 45-55 (pref. thin)

Dr. Wellston: Female, 40's

Andy: Male, 16 - Gets bullied. 

Peter: Male, 65-75

Alice: Female, 50's (Roger's Mother)

Felicia: Female, 50's (May have a brief nude flashback scene)

Eric: Male, 50-60 (Shannon's father)

Bully #1: Male, 16-18 (Thin)

Bully #2: Male, 16-18 (Stocky)

Bully #3: Male, 16-18 (Short)

There are more minor parts available too. 

Please send your headshots, reels and resumes to: info@keasbeymattison.com

Auditions will be held in mid March. Dates to be announced. All auditions will be by monologue and sides. 

The film will shoot on location in the Philadelphia area in August & September. 

Thank you and good luck. 

Dashboard Light Update 1/18/14

Hello friends! 

Things are moving along nicely. Script writer Sienna and I met again at Earth Bread & Brewery in Mt. Airy to discuss her latest draft (which is absolutely hilarious). I'm about half-way through writing the shooting script and incorporating all of her draft changes. 

I braved the cold today to shoot a couple exterior street demo shots to try out some new equipment. I'm 99.9% sure this film will be black & white - the Lumix GX7 shoots an amazing B&W picture and I pretty much fell in love with the look... Much crisp. So amaze. Wow. (and the two or three shots looked like every French student art film you've ever seen - lol) 

I expect the final draft of the script to be finished next weekend - which means the fun of budgeting, casting and location scouting begins soooooon! I'm looking forward to starting up our Indiegogo campaign with a short featurette consisting of cast/crew interviews and a trailer. 

Can't wait!

Joe Ronca

Director - By the Dashboard Light

PS: Just created the IMDB page for the film... It's official :)

Creative Minds Meet

After months of email and text coorspondence between scriptwriter Sienna Malik and I, we finally met Sunday night at the Forest & Main Brewery in Ambler, PA. 

A lot was discussed... I got a chance to review all of the notes I've been taking on the script with Sienna and we came up with a gameplan for revisions. 

The script is already hilarious and so well written - and it's only going to get better. The inner-nerd in me suggested a handful of hidden Easter-eggs ranging from Star Wars to the Simpsons - and we developed an exciting mid-way plot twist that will surely take things in an adventitious direction - breaking down that old status quo. 

As soon as the final draft is finished (in the next month or so) we're going to start the casting process. (Something I'm really looking forward to - as it's one of my favorite parts of pre-production) and starting up our Indiegogo fundraising campaign. 

Stay tuned friends - more to come! 

Joe Ronca

Producer/Director "By the Dashboard Light"

PS: "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" has been stuck in my head for a week now...