Hello Everyone,

First of all, thank you for everyone who has contacted me.  The response has been fantastic.  I think we are going to have a great audition.  Auditions are just over two weeks away.  To help you prepare for the audition, I have the following updates:

1) So that you can prepare, below is a link to the current version of the screenplay.  It will be rewritten over the course of the next month or so but the changes will be minor.  It will give you a pretty solid idea of what we will be shooting.

http://johnhidalgo.com/arielfirstdraft07sep13.pdf

2) Prior to auditions, if you have not done so already, please send the following:  A head shot, a résumé and a short bio about yourself.  The bio should be about a paragraph long and will be used in the cast section on the web site (www.arielmovie.com).

3) For those who are auditioning for any of the roles that require stage combat (Ariel, Helen, Dylan, Ryan, Lucas or dōjō students)  please wear loose, comfortable clothing in which you can move.

4) We will be holding the audition in a martial arts studio.  So that we do not damage the mats, please do not wear shoes on the mats.

5) As stated before, the audition will be held, in part, in a workshop format.  The first part will be stage combat oriented and the second part will be improv.  Related to the stage combat, if you are auditioning for Ariel you will be given a few moves to do and then will demonstrate them as if you were a martial arts instructor.  If you are auditioning for Helen, Dylan or Ryan you need to be able to safely fall (nothing crazy, just act like you got shot, react and then drop to the floor).  If you are auditioning for Lucas, you need to be able to do a dive roll.  For those auditioning for dōjō students you will need to be able to handle being thrown (as one would normally be in a martial arts class).

6) The improv portion of the audition will mainly be for Helen, Dylan, Ryan and Lucas. For the improv there will be a part where you tell us about what it is like to be part of a group (be it a gang, a club or an exclusive society that does this as a hobby) of people who attack/assault others for fun.  The other part will be where the four characters will interact as a group.  For inspiration you may want to have a look at "Natural Born Killers" and "Blue Velvet".

7) Social Media - Below are some links where you can follow what is going on.  Much of this is still under construction but stay tuned as there will be regular updates.

http://www.arielmovie.com/
http://ariel-movie.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/ArielMovie
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ariel-Short-Film/326162587524128

http://www.ronincreativemedia.com/
http://ronincreativemedia.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/ronincreativeme
https://www.facebook.com/ronincreativemedia

8) If you are looking to audition for the part of Ariel or any of the martial arts/combat oriented parts and would like to get a feel for the martial art that is being portrayed, please contact me at production@ronincreativemedia.com . David Marshall (my student to whom I handed over the class) has agreed to allow people who are going to be auditioning to attend his class. This would be on Thursdays and Friday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Those classes are held at the Austin Center for Martial Arts (see: www.austincenterformartialarts.com) . 

9) Related to #8, here is a good reference video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiRgV8ETlqs


If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at production@ronincreativemedia.com.

Take care,
John Hidalgo