Hellllllo all! This is my first time assembling anything like this, so please bear with me.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable name that applies to a series of (now six) novels, two vinyl records, an infuriating text-adventure game, a television serial, and a feature film. But before all of that, there was a radio series. The classic tale that first introduced us to world-weary Arthur Dent and the crew of the Heart of Gold first aired on BBC Radio 4 on the evening of March 8th, 1978; and it spawned a story that would continue to delight fans of sci-fi to this day thanks to its irreverent humor and dry wit. That's why we love, it's unique voice!
So, out of respect of that body of work, we're gonna do it again!
Starting with the first season (comprised of six episodes, called 'fits'), I'll be putting together a little 'radio redux', if you will, of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Those episodes will be uploaded to YouTube at first, since it's a go-to place for just about anything, but I'm looking into different ways to share it online. If you know of any, please shoot me a PM, e-mail, or just leave a comment here. But, and here's the fun part, I need a group of talented and responsible folks to voice the characters. That's why I come to you, VAA, in hopes that your members can help this thing get off the ground. Also, to prove that you've read this, and I hope that means 'all of it', please include the phrase 'hoopy frood' in your audition e-mail.
Before getting into the characters, I should put it up front that the deadline for auditions will be Sunday, August 7th. That's a little over two weeks, so we'll see where we stand by then.
I'm only casting the very first two episodes as of right now, there are other parts that are introduced and expounded upon as the series continues, so keep an eye on this thread!
Auditions should be sent, in MP3 format, to hitchhikification@gmail.com . I'm not going to ask for specific accents, only that you put what you feel needs to be put into the character. Anything beyond that would be provided by direction during the actual acting process. You may audition for as many characters as you wish!
Major Characters:
Arthur Dent
Our neurotic, frantic, panicked protagonist. Arthur is a man in his late twenties or early thirties who enjoyed his simplistic life on Earth until it was all ripped away by the Vogons, leaving him on a perilous adventure through space.
Lines:
1.) Yes. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying “Beware of the Leopard”. Ever thought of going into advertising?
2.) What there? …oh yes. “Harmless”. Harmless? Is that all it’s got to say?! One word! “Harmless”!? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?
Ford Prefect
A very confident, and at times, cocky guy from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. He's a researcher for The Guide, and a guiding voice for Arthur - sort of.
Lines:
1.) Well, that's the point, it's out of date now! I'm doing the field research for the new revised edition of the Guide. So, for instance, I will have to include a revision pointing out that since the Vogons have made so much money being professionally unpleasant, they can now afford to employ Dentrassi cooks. Which gives us a rather useful little loophole.
2.) Yes it does, see, right at the bottom of the screen - just under ‘Eccentrica Gallumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six’.
Zaphod Beeblebrox
The two-headed, three-armed egotistic (technically) President of the Galaxy. Hoping to find the legendary planet of Magrathea, Zaphod stole the Heart of Gold, a ship capable of travel via the infinite improbability drive.
Lines:
1.) Right. So, that already gives us a high improbability factor. It picked them up in that particular space sector, which gives us another high improbability factor. Plus they were not wearing spacesuits so we picked them up during a crucial thirty-second period. Yeah, put it all together and we have a total improbability of…yeah, well it’s pretty vast, but it’s not infinite. At what point did we actually pick them up?
2.) Oh this is gonna be great! I’m going to be so unbelievably cool about it, it would flummox a Vagan snow lizard. This is ter-rific! What will you call? Several out of ten-million points for style!
Tricia McMillan AKA Trillian
A savvy, intelligent Earth girl who was wooed by Zaphod's offer of adventure and left her home planet with him, escaping its eventual destruction.
Lines:
1.) Same as you Arthur. I hitched a ride. After all, with a degree in math and another in astrophysics, it was either that or back to the dole queue on Monday. Oh, I’m sorry I missed that Wednesday lunch date, but I was in a black hole all morning.
2.) We picked those couple of guys up in sec- Zaphod! Please take your hand off me. And the other one. Thank you. And the other one.
Marvin the Paranoid Android
A personality prototype robot built by the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. Marvin is always down, and he likes everyone to know it.
1.) Ghastly. It all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don’t even talk about it. Look at this door. “All the doors in this spacecraft have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done.
2.) Hateful isn’t it? Come on. I’ve been ordered to take you up to the bridge. Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they tell me to take you up to the bridge. Call that job satisfaction, cos I don’t.
Minor Characters:
Mister Prosser
A descendant of Genghis Khan and a right-bureaucrat. Wants to demolish Arthur's home.
Line: 1.) Have you any idea how much damage that bulldozer would suffer if I just let it roll straight over you? ... None at all!
Lady Cynthia Fitzmilton
A public figure making a speech after Arthur's home is rubble.
Line: 1.) And I must say immediately what a great honour and a great privilege I think it must be, for you, the people of Cottington, to have this gleaming new motorway going through your cruddy little village. I’m Sorry, sorry, your little country village of cruddy Cottington. I know how proud you must feel at this moment to know that your obscure and unsung hamlet will now arise reborn as the very splendid and worthwhile Cottington service station. Providing welcome refreshment and sanitary relief for every weary traveller on his way.
Barman
A man who runs a bar...? Yeah.
Line: 1.) Are you serious sir? I mean, do you really think the world’s going to end this afternoon?
Vogon Captain
The captain of the Vogon Constructor Fleet.
Line: 1.) So, Earthlings, I present you with a simple choice. I was going to throw you straight out into the empty blackness of space to die horribly and slowly, but there is one way, one simple way, in which you may save yourselves. Now think very carefully… for you hold your very lives in your hands! Now choose: either die in the Vacuum of Space, or - …tell me how good you thought my poem was.
Vogon Guard
A guard commanded to eject Ford and Arthur from a Vogon ship.
Line: 1.) But now that you’ve come to mention it, I suppose much of the actual minutes are pretty lousy. Er, er. Except some of the shouting I quite like. Resistance is useless!
Eddie
The happy and helpful computer on-board the Heart of Gold! Always perky! And cheerful! Somewhat annoying!
Line: 1.) Hi there! ... I want you to know that whatever your problem, I am here to help you solve it.
---
CAST LIST UPDATE!!!
Hey everyone, sorry for being so awfully late to my own party. Things came up, etcetera, etcetera - no one wants excuses. But, I'm not back just to plead for mercy, but also to announce the final casting of the first two episodes! Everyone did a terrific job auditioning, and I want to thank everyone personally for having such an interest in Mr. Adams, his work, and what I'm doing with it. So... thanks everyone!
Now, without much more ado (ado), the cast list:
Arthur - Lord of the Jimmy
Zaphod - KampfVerein
Ford - hand.justin
Marvin - Lord of the Jimmy
Trillian - Gwendolyn
Prosser - KampfVerein
Fitzmilton - Elfee
Barman - TheKidNixon
Eddie - A Personal Friend
Vogon Captain - TheKidNixon
Vogon Guard - Stratofarius
