Professional Casting for “The Story” Shorts

"OUR FEAST". Lead. South Asian. Performer must be 18+ but can play 16 years old. Musa is on the brink of turning sixteen - he’s sharp-witted, sensitive and stubborn. He’s also missing his mother, in ways he can’t yet process or fully understand. It’s his birthday today but he’s too cool to let you know he cares. A boss man who has no interest in the ins and outs of a kitchen (anymore).

"OUR FEAST". LEAD. South Asian. Usma, a self-taught baker by nature - precise, perfectionist, likes being in control. Her kitchen is her safe haven, her lifelong learning lab. She is particular and cares deeply about doing things “the right way”. Beneath this measured exterior, she doesn’t always trust her own instincts. She always needs to have a plan, unlike her more free-spirited sister, Sabeena. Usma should feel grounded, within the heightened nature of the magical world.

"OUR FEAST". LEAD. Eileen was Sabeena’s classmate in culinary school, though she was older and quickly took on the role of mentor. Classically trained and deeply invested in technique, Eileen is opinionated, bossy and believes good cooking comes from discipline and repetition. Unlike Usma, whose precision comes from a need for control and reassurance, Eileen is confident in her expertise. She doesn’t second-guess herself: she second guesses everyone else.

"OUR FEAST". Mischievous, curious and always looking for an excuse to experiment. Ruby has an irrepressible sense of play and loves trying things just to see what happens. She’s adventurous, a little cheeky and brings an infectious energy to the room.Ruby has a tendency to play down serious situations, sometimes to her own detriment. But she believes life is for living, and refuses to take it too seriously.

"OUR FEAST". South Asian and/or MENA. Parveen is a quietly perceptive cookbook spirit. A baker by training, she sees food less as something to perfect and more as a way of caring for people. For her, baking is about connection: remembering what someone likes, making something when they’re hurting, bringing people together around a table. She has a natural instinct for making others feel comfortable and seen.

"OUR FEAST". South Asian. Although Sabeena only appears for a brief moment in the film, her absence colors the whole story. She is warm, compassionate, fun loving..and never made a dish in the same way twice. She made cooking fun for her son, Musa, turning it into something playful and joyful, but could never quite convince her sister, Usma, to let loose in the same way. Bonus if performer has a flair for dancing!

"A GOOD FEVER". SUPPORTING. Latino. Julio’s father. Loving and concerned, Xavi believes in the importance of the rite of passage, but also acknowledges it as something challenging that Julio might not be ready, or able, to face. Xavi should feel like a genuinely good parent whose certainty, rather than cruelty or neglect, might blind him to the risks of the tradition.Special requirements: Spanish Speaker Preferred.

"A GOOD FEVER". SUPPORTING. Latino. Julio’s grandmother and primary maternal figure. Warm, practical and deeply loving, Laura has absolute faith in the traditions she was raised with, including the belief that confronting the ghost that arrives during a fever is an important rite of passage. The role should feel grounded and emotionally sincere. The audience needs to understand why Julio trusts her.Special requirements: Fluency in Spanish Preferred.

"A GOOD FEVER". SUPPORTING. A tortured ghost, haunted by a life of love and luxury he couldn’t have and desperate to feel it one more time before he fades forever. He’s chosen Julio to be the provider of this experience. Saúl is unsettling not because he behaves like a conventional monster, but because he feels strangely human: needy, playful, intrusive and increasingly difficult to read.

"MARROW". LEAD. Nigerian strongly preferred, open to West African Diaspora. Despite moving to Toronto almost 30 years ago, Blessing still has not fully acclimated to life in Canada after leaving Nigeria. She lives a quiet suburban life that has become quite precarious as she gets older.

"MARROW". SUPPORTING. Nigerian-Canadian strongly preferred, open to West African Diaspora. Adaku is a first-generation immigrant who moved to Canada with Blessing when she was very young, after her parents separated. Now recently single, Adaku has turned to online sex work to provide for her daughter, Uloma, and support her mother. When she uses the money she’d set aside for Blessing’s root canal on a BBL, she reignites an already fraught relationship with her and has to stand her ground.

"MARROW". Funny, snappy and here for a good time. Also a good listener and compassionate friend. Adaku’s main support system.

"THE ICK". She spent a year - maybe two - completely obsessed with him. Now that he loves her back, she can hardly stand to look at him. She’s funny, anxious, and deeply ashamed of how she lives when no one else is looking. She knows he is kind. She knows he does not deserve this. But every little thing he does has started to disgust her, and she can’t force the feeling to go away.

"THE ICK". He is sweet, slovenly, and very much in love with her. He demonstrates devotion through acts of service; he cooks for her, takes care of her cat, and tries to make their home feel safe. He also has no table manners and is unashamedly gross. But he is not as oblivious as she thinks. When backed into a corner, he stops being so accommodating and shares his own harsh truths. He is genuinely lovable, even when being spectacularly gross.

"THE ICK". She loves her daughter, but cannot get through a phone call without making her feel worse. She is funny, judgmental, and completely unaware of how much damage she does. The cruelty is casual. She is not trying to wound her daughter - this is simply how she’s wired.

"THE LAST AMOROUS GAZE". Laura is one half of the elderly couple who arrive at the house claiming to be its former owners. Elegant and effortlessly put together, she carries herself with warmth and quiet confidence. She is polite and socially aware of what she is asking of the young couple, and never crosses the line. It is her kindness, as well as the history she shares with the house, that causes Claire tofeel comfortable welcoming her inside.

"THE LAST AMOROUS GAZE". John is Laura’s husband and the former owner of the house. Distinguished and neatly dressed, he leans on a cane, carrying the physical signs of age with a quiet dignity. Like Laura, John is attached to the house and to the life they shared there. He is simply grateful to have the chance to walk through it again. Unlike Daniel, however, John is comfortable with emotion and physical affection.