The Pillar
Desdemona Blackwood
Reliable. Restrained.
- she/her
- Vampire
- Word Count: ~500 words in Phase 1, ~5,000 words in full series
- Voice Notes: English or transatlantic accent preferred. American accents will be considered.
Character Description
The Pillar holds up a great weight. She is the linchpin, the keystone, the foundation. She is the one everyone leans on. And, under all that weight, she is trapped. By obligations. By expectations. By a web of responsibility and the many hands of her family holding her in place.
She is cold and confident and collected. Funny, if you like your humor dry. She is beautiful, because it is useful to be beautiful. She is dangerous, because she lives in a dangerous world. She is in control of herself, because if she gave up control for even a half second, what she was pushing down would never go back inside.
Audition Lines
Line 1
(assessing a handsome man, flirtatious in an understated way)
“Some faces beg for more scars. With all the shag and dirt gone, you’re nearly half presentable. Martial. Mean. Maybe even a bit handsome.”
(pause, the Fool asks if she’s seen her own reflection)
“My face? I’ve never seen it, and I’m not sure I care to.”
(pause, the Fool says there’s more to her than a face)
“A face is as much as you’ll get to see any time soon.”
Line 2
(talking about her dead sister, no pain here, just a resignation and bitterness)
“She was fifty years my senior and already deep into her political ambitions by the time I appeared on the scene. She had about as much use for a little half-sister as a squid has for a flamethrower. And I… to me she was mostly trouble, not as much as Arcadia or Algie of course, but always more a source of problems than solutions. I was the one to smooth things out, put things right. Fix it. And you know the worst thing about it? She never even hinted that she might have been in the wrong. A simple ‘my god, drinking the Mayor’s son was a real boneheaded move. Thanks for dealing with that, Des. The family owes you one.’ would have been nice.”
Line 3
(starting cold, growing angry at the end, let us hear your fangs)
“You set this up.”
(pause)
“Don’t just stand there looking like an idiot. This all makes sense. Our people. Malcane. Sovereign. You’re the killer we’ve been looking for.”
(the Fool starts to respond)
“Shut! up! You filthy fucking liar. Don’t deny it. I’ve seen you work; you’re more than capable. And you showed up at just the right time. I should have fucking known. A werewolf, a fighter, just when we needed one, just the right description. All part of the plan. You might as well tied a goddamn bow around yourself.”
(pause, the Fool is silent)
“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”
(pause, the Fool is silent)
“Speak!”
Line 4
(narrating, quiet, unsure then resolute)
“I’ve been looked at a lot while on this earth, but I don’t think any eyes had ever actually seen me. Until him. And I could feel the ocean of… something… back there at the back of my ‘me’. Was it anger? Was it pain? Or desperation? Or fear? To know its nature, I’d have to let it exist and if it existed it might be too much. I might drown in that ocean.”
(pause)
“Fuck it. Let’s drown.”
Audition Submission
Format: Start with “This is [YOUR NAME] auditioning for the part of The Pillar.”
File: Export as mono wav file named “[YourName] - The Pillar.wav”
Submit: Via the casting call form (one submission per character)