Auditions

What’s it about? Think Peter Pan… in the workplace. A sharp, witty corporate twist on James Barrie’s beloved characters. 

If you’re based in Dubai (or can commute to Dubai), flexible on time, and interested in auditioning, please send a short audition video via WhatsApp to my private number (in character, based on the information below).

I’ll acknowledge once I’ve received your video, but I won’t be able to reply to everyone or give individual feedback. Final casting confirmations will be shared end of July / early August. Rehearsals start mid-August and will be held twice a week on weekdays. During the week of the performances, rehearsals will take place every day at 7:30 PM.

Performance Dates: Nov 7, 8, 9 at 7:30 PM
Venue: The Junction, Alserkal Avenue - Dubai
Note: This is a community theatre production (non-paid). 

1. JAMES (50 – 65 yrs): Managing Editor. Supervises departments, oversees daily operations, insists on deadlines. Secretly terrified of being irrelevant. Has no chill. Irritable. (ROLE OFFICIALLY FILLED)

2. MR. SMEE (20+ yrs): Production Coordinator. Hook’s assistant. Handles scheduling, file delivery, communications, etc. Overworked, underappreciated. Loyal to Hook.

3. PETER PAN (25 – 40 yrs): Creative Director. Wildly imaginative, allergic to rules, leads brainstorming sessions, pitches wild plots, encourages imagination. Needs Wendy to keep him in check. Impulsive.

4. BELLE TINKER (30 – 45 yrs): Art Director. Sets visual tone. Oversees illustration style, chooses color palettes, makes things sparkle with glare. Fierce, opinionated, and jealous.

5. WENDY (28 – 40 yrs): Lead Story Editor. Writes final manuscripts, guides tone and structure, edits everyone’s work with care and clarity. Empathetic, responsible, and the glue that holds the stories (and team) together.

6. JOHN (20 – 30 yrs): Junior Story Developer. Outlines scenes, researches talking animals, writes sample pages, fact-checks fairy logic. Analytical and a bit of a know-it-all.

7. MICHAEL (18 – 25 yrs): Editorial Intern. Observes, learns, offers random cute ideas. Sensitive.

8. LILY TIGER (30 – 45): Cultural Consultant. Advises on accuracy, diversity, and cultural representation in stories. Speaks less, but says the most. Elegant and hard to impress.

9. TOOTLES (flexible age range): Office Assistant. Wraps books for shipping, files things alphabetically. Quiet, humble, always last in line for praise but first to help.

10. SLIGHTLY (flexible age range): Senior Illustrator. Designs character and cover art, covers, and has a signature aesthetic. Stylish, dramatic, and very sensitive about fonts.

11. CURLY (flexible age range): Layout Artist. Handles image and text layout… Has saved over files by accident. Clumsy mess but a lovable one.

12. NIBS (flexible age range): Communications & PR Coordinator. Writes newsletters, press releases, coordinates with bookstores, librarians, and bloggers. Cheerful and panicky.

13. NANA (flexible age range): Child Development Consultant / In-House Psychologist. Reviews all manuscripts for age appropriateness. Brings calming energy to the office. Wise, warm, and occasionally barks.

14. SYLVIA (flexible age range): AI Robot. Polished, logical, and polite. Hired to “enhance workflow.”

15. ODILE (50 – 65): Publishing Director. Mysterious, rarely seen, runs the show from behind the curtain. Ruthless.

  PETER PAN (Creative Director)
(passionate, theatrical, messy genius)
The rooster talks. And soars. And the moon has a mustache. Don’t forget who we are or why this place exists. Neverland Publishing is where stories stay young and wild and full of magic. It’s the happiest workplace on Earth… Right?
 

SMEE (Production Coordinator)
(enthusiastic, managerial, parrot-like)
Sylvia is here to optimize the inefficiencies of your inefficiencies. That means less chaos, fewer moon mustaches, and more synergy. Sy-ner-gy. Isn’t it just musical?

WENDY (Lead Story Editor)
(calm, clever, layered)
You think it’s too sad because the dog dies? It’s not sad… it’s honest. Grief is real, and kids know more than we think. Besides, Peter said it himself: ‘To die would be an awfully big adventure.’

JOHN (Junior Story Developer)
(rational, slightly pretentious)
Realism matters. A dog talks, fine. A rooster that soars? Pushes the limits. But if you’re gonna do it… commit. Let the rooster monologue in a Southern accent. Just don’t ask me to justify it in a press release.

MICHAEL (Editorial Intern)
(eager, confused, comic relief)
Okay, so I’m not on payroll, I don’t get lunch, and I might be imaginary. But I’ve been promoted to scapegoat, and honestly? That’s the fastest promotion I’ve ever gotten.

LILY (Cultural Consultant)
(sharp, observant, grounded)
Peter, why would you gender the cat and the dog based on emotional stereotypes? That’s not logic. That’s lazy writing…

TOOTLES (Office Assistant)
(literal, overwhelmed)
So… working title? Or should I write down ‘The Rooster, the Moon, and the Mustache’? I’m so confused! Some help… please?

SLIGHTLY (Senior Illustrator)
(sensitive, dramatic, visual thinker)
I gave the moon eyelashes. Peter said mustache. Then we made her cry. I’ve redrawn her seventeen times and she still looks like a startled croissant. But I love it… the process… the drawing… the whole shebang! 

CURLY (Layout Artist)
(frantic, blunt, always fixing)
I’m done… Just a second… I’ve got the layout right here… Wait. It was here just a… Oh, I think I might’ve just saved over the file. 5 more minutes, please?

NIBS (PR & Communications Coordinator)
(upbeat, panicky, overbooked)
Peter, the deadline! I’ve already teased the release date. I’ve emailed the bloggers. I’ve promised librarians. The book has to happen. Or I have to disappear.

BELLE (TINK) (Branding & Visual Identity)
(precise, stylish, bossy)
We agreed on the colors, Wendy. You don’t just wake up and add grief beige because the dog dies. I’m not redesigning the cover every time your emotions shift. The palette is sacred. Thank you!

SYLVIA (AI Robot)
(polished, logical, passive-aggressive)
Update complete. I am here to optimize inefficiencies, streamline synergy, and correct… you. Please anticipate my system updates. They will be… magnificent.

NANA (Child Psychologist)
(wise, sarcastic, loving)
Wendy, the dog doesn’t just die. He whimpers, limps, digs a hole for himself—and dies. On page seven! Children won’t sleep for years. Rewrite it.

ODILE (Publishing Director, elegant, authoritative)
Do you know how many emails I get with subject lines like ‘urgent’, ‘please advise’, or ‘we have a situation’? I don’t read them. I scan for numbers, outcomes, and cost. And unless your story ends in revenue, I suggest you revise.