C:\CHARMSTRNGR> run casting_call.exe_
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CASTING CALL: THE MENTOR
Charming Stranger — presented as part of
Odyssey Works' New Frame program
REFERENCE CS - 1337 - MENTOR
LOCATION USA — California (100% remote)
JOB TYPE Contract, flexible hours
PAY $20/hr, rising to $25/hr after trial, + tips + $250 rehearsal stipend
DEADLINE September 30, 2026
Someone joins the illegal conference call. Someone waits on the line. That's you.
Charming Stranger — Emmy Award–winning creators of transformative interactive performance — is casting the MENTOR for 1337 : a one-on-one experience performed live, entirely by phone, for a single audience member at a time.
This isn't traditional theatre. There's no stage, no face, no script you can hide behind — just a voice on the other end of the line, and the whole world you build with it, one caller at a time.
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[ THE BRIEF ]
You are a 1995-era phreaker — a phone-system ghost who knows the wires better than the operators do. A stranger has just joined the DefCon Voice Bridge. You don't know them yet, but you're about to. Get them to trust you. Get them to follow you somewhere they didn't expect to go.
[ THE WORLD ]
1337 takes place inside the analog underground of 1995 — bulletin boards, payphones, party lines, the last era before the internet swallowed everything. The MENTOR is part guide, part gatekeeper, part myth: someone who has survived in the wires long enough to know exactly how much to reveal, and when.
We're not after big, theatrical performances. We're after performers who can hold a total stranger's attention using nothing but voice, timing, and nerve — and who can do it differently, live, every single time.
[ WE'RE LOOKING FOR ]
A voice that can shift shape — commanding, conspiratorial, warm, dangerous, whatever the moment demands
Real improvisational chops — you're responding live, not reciting
A feel for 90s hacker/phreaker vernacular (technical fluency a plus, not a requirement)
Devised-theatre or TTRPG dungeon-master instincts are a strong asset
Open gender and ethnicity. The MENTOR's character spans ages 16–60 — this role is about vocal range and character command, not the performer's own age
[ HOW TO APPLY ]
Send applications to info@charmingstranger.com and include:
Headshot and resume
A vocal demo
A short in-character voice memo (60–90 seconds): find and read an excerpt of "The Conscience of a Hacker" (the 1986 Phrack essay written under the pen name "The Mentor") as if you are speaking it live to someone on the other end of a phone line for the very first time. We want to hear how you make someone else's words feel like your own, in real time.
Previously submitted? Send again — we want to hear you now, for this role. We'll respond on a rolling basis with next steps.
[ IMPORTANT DATES ]
Application deadline: September 30, 2026
Auditions: Sat Oct 10, 11:00 AM PST — or — Wed Oct 14, 2:00 PM PST
Rehearsals: November 9–19, 2026
Performances: November 20–22, 2026, 7:00 AM–4:00 PM PST
Note: audience participants will be physically present in NYC for the installation. Performers work 100% remotely throughout.
[ DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ]
Charming Stranger is committed to inclusive, equitable casting practices. We welcome performers of all races, colors, ancestries, national origins, religions, ages, genders, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, disabilities, and marital or family statuses. If you need any accommodation during the audition or rehearsal process, please let us know — we're glad to work with you.
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