AUDITIONS
FRESH AIR
The Earls Courtiers are launching our National Theatre Connection Play for 2024
Connections is the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival. The programme is 30 years old and has a history of championing the talent of young people from across the UK.
This year we will be performing a brand new play written for connections by the very talented Vicky Donoghue. Set in One Tree Hill, Landon Hills, Essex a well known haunted woodland, where it is believed that you may encounter ghost children from an old Tuberculosis sanatorium.
In the play seven students from a Pupil Referral group are made to go orienteering in what they discover is England’s most haunted woods. Stalked by eery ghost children determined to keep them there forever, they must learn to confront the here and now to unlock the key to their futures.
We selected this play as we would like to challenge our young actors to experience life in someone else’s shoes and transport you to a different time, place and emotional landscape. Each role has its own backstory and this will be a great opportunity for you to unpick and develop a character role for the stage.
We would like to keep the casting options for Fresh Air as open as possible and the role can be played by actors of any gender or ethnicity and or disability
We are looking for local talent aged 13-17. Non Traditional casting
We will once again perform in a local theatre (venue to be confirmed shortly) in March 2025.
In addition we will be performing at our partner theatre the Lyric Hammersmith as part of the National Theatre Connections Festival which will take place on: the week commencing 28th April 2025
“Seven young people lost in the woods but also lost in life…
Can they find their way together?”
Interested, then please have a look at the roles and the script and send us a showreel of you acting out one of the sides. To attend the auditions, we ask that you make sure that you are signed up to our Connections Expressions of Interest ahead of time.
Send your self tape to
Inge Marks & marielamanso@gmail.com
Inge: 07910 499 567
Mariela 07702758856
No later than
29th November
If you are successful you will then be invited to the second round which will be a full day workshop on Saturday 2nd December where we will be exploring the play, characters and feel of the play. We will then cast the week after.
AUDITION INFO
AUDITION MATERIAL
For your self tape please choose one of the
Following acting sides
Step 1: Please confirm by completing the form click here
Step 2: When sending please state the following
Name: of person auditioning
Age: (if child)
School: (if applicable)
Best contact number and email address:
Step 3: Send in your self tape Send your self tape to
Or via whatsapp
Mariela 07702758856
Inge 07910499567
No later than 29th November
Self Tape Guidelines:
- Please state the name, age, school and role which you are auditioning for
- Sit close to the camera to get the best sound
- Film in landscape
- Keep background noise to a minimum
- Try to find a plain background to film against (no windows)
- Only send us one take
AUDITION COMMITMENT
Cast members are not always called for all rehearsals, but you must be available if called.
It is possible that additional rehearsals could be called, we will inform you of those as soon as possible
Rehearsals will be every Tuesday between
6pm-8pm starting in January 2025.
Please note that closer to the show dates we will be adding additional rehearsals but will give you as much notice as possible
CAST INFO
Cast size: 12 named speaking roles
Suggested age suitability: 14+
Content warnings:
Moderate language (you are welcome to remove any swear words if preferred)
Mild gore
Mild dread throughout
Ghosts and supernatural elements throughout
References to mental health
One instance of a character being choked – in a supernatural context, with no
physical contact required
CHARACTER PLOT
More information about the characters and how much they speak
Millie - Significant dialogue and medium length monologue
Alisha - Significant dialogue and multiple short monologues
Lee - Significant dialogue and very long monologue
Holly - Minimal lines until the end, long monologue
Erin - Significant dialogue, long monologue
Charlie - Significant dialogue in two scenes, short multiple monologues
Brian - Significant dialogue, long monologue
Doris - Significant dialogue, short monologue
Albert - Significant dialogue in one scene, short monologue
Joan - Significant dialogue in one scene, short monologue
Billy - Significant dialogue in one scene, short monologue
Jack - Significant dialogue in one scene, short monologue
MAIN CHARACTER BEATS
In the woods, the ghost children are waiting, they want fresh air. The modern day young people are in the woods, they are orienteering, Erin tells them it’s the most haunted woods in England, in 1927 there was a kids hospital for people with
Tuberculosis, now 20 children haunt the woods
The group are lost, Charlie thinks they should go back to the start, Alisha marches off, the others follow, Lee pushes Charlie over, Charlie has a backpack with sweets, and a whistle.
Charlie can’t find his pen, he’s stressed out, the others have left, two ghost children arrive, they have the pen, they hold Charlie’s hand.
The group are looking for the checkpoint, they notice Charlie has gone, it’s getting dark, they panic, Brian is struggling to breathe, the group argue about what to do next, Alisha tries to calm everyone down, they hear breathing sounds
Brian wants to return to school, his anxiety is getting better, he asks the others to keep this panic attack secret
They talk about going back to school, Millie wishes she could go back, Lee struggled with the rules, he kept getting in trouble, Lee runs off.
Alisha finds a checkpoint flag, the group can’t find the dibber so the adults won’t be able to find them, Brian can’t breathe, they follow Lee, Brian is left, Doris appear with the dipper, the other ghosts are there too. Doris sucks all the air from Brian.
The Orienteering group are in a new part of the woods, they are looking for Brian, Erin starts talking about the children in the Tuberculosis hospital, they had horrible experiences. Lee jumps out, he has Charlie’s bag
Millie needs a wee, she can’t go unless someone comes with, she can’t be on her own, Millie runs off, they hear a scream in the woods. The compass has stopped working, they hear children's song and giggling in the woods.
Erin and Alisha try to run but they have ghost voices, they sing to the others. Holly sees Doris the ghost, Holly rips up the map. Darkness, there are screams.
The ghosts are surrounding Holly, they are haunting her, Holly can see the ghosts, they are surprised. Holly asks the ghosts who they are, they tell their stories, they breathed bad air, they were ill. Holly just wants to go home to her mum, the ghosts want Holly’s air.
The ghosts remember their parents, and being in the hospital, it was horrible, they were taken outside to breathe the fresh air, they just wanted to be free
Holly says she will play with them, she has been collecting their toys in the woods, she has found their skipping rope, Holly skips with them, Joan collapses, the ghosts need to take Holly’s air to save Joan.
Holly sees her orienteering friends, they are frozen, gasping for breath, Doris starts to take Holly’s air, Holly takes out her phone, she tries to distract the ghosts with pictures of their hometown, she shows them everything has changed. Holly tells the ghosts to take a big breath, they disappear.Holly and the orienteering group are in the woods, they are waking up, they are all ok, Erin explains she found school hard, she burned down the sports hall. Holly says she cares for her mum, she stopped going to school
Charlie appears, he walked to a service station and got McDonalds, the car park is just through the trees, their parents are waiting, they make plans to meet again tomorrow. Holly says goodbye to the ghosts and buried their belongings