半岛体育

Casting "Love in the Time of War," a bold, emotionally charged play exploring themes of identity, desire, political tension, and intimate relationships across cultural divides. Synopsis: The story centers on Sarah, a disillusioned war photographer numb from years of documenting human suffering and increasingly displaced by AI drones in her field. Returning to Los Angeles, she takes a job teaching photography at a community college while freelancing celebrity profiles. There, she meets Farhad鈥攁 20-something art student and refugee from Iraq鈥攚ho is navigating the emotional and political landscape of post-trauma while resisting the reductive identity categories imposed on him.

Their relationship鈥攊ntimate, risky, and deeply human鈥攗nfolds with caution, heat, and unexpected tenderness. Sarah, raised in a secular Jewish family, finds herself on a journey of rediscovery, while Farhad seeks to escape the weight of his inherited past. Together, they attempt to model a love that transcends inherited tribal boundaries. Around them, other characters remain entrenched in their ideological silos, offering both resistance and contrast.

Inspired by the erotic realism of "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul," "The Lover," and the music of Joy Division, this play is neither a sermon nor a call for feel-good reconciliation. In a world fractured by ideological echo chambers, this piece insists that theater, like film and television, must return to its core function: seduction鈥攏ot moral clarity. Its politics are ambiguous, its intimacy raw, and its aesthetic emotionally and intellectually arousing.

Production states: "Casting this piece has been a challenge鈥攏ot due to lack of talent, but due to the intense emotional range required for the leads and the resistance we've faced from institutions seeking to dilute the play鈥檚 more confrontational or 'triggering' elements. We are not interested in casting based on comfort zones. This play is not a tidy comedy, not a tragedy, not 'The Big Sick.' We are telling a love story between two people whose identities are not supposed to align鈥攁nd yet, they do. This is for actors who are fearless, emotionally intelligent, and eager to engage in nuanced, intimate, and occasionally uncomfortable work.

We seek actors who: Are emotionally intelligent and fearless in navigating intimate material. Have experience (or deep interest) in socially/politically engaged theater. Can handle ambiguity, sensuality, and psychological depth. Are excited to build something radical and real outside the institutional theater circuit."

This is a collaborative, crowdfunded production for actors who want to build something radical and real outside the institutional circuit. Rehearsals will be intensive but flexible, culminating in a staged reading in May and a full production in June or July. There will be profit sharing from ticket sales.

ROLES

Sarah

Female, 28鈥�38, White / European Descent

A secular Jewish photojournalist emotionally disconnected after years documenting war. Back in LA, she begins to rediscover her sensuality, spirituality, and identity through her relationship with Farhad.
Key traits: Strong-willed, introspective, emotionally vulnerable, passionate about justice and art.
Skills: Comfort with emotionally charged and intimate scenes.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Farhad

Male, late 20s-30s, Middle Eastern preferred, but we are open to any background with darker features who can embody the cultural and emotional complexity of the role.

A refugee from Iraq raised in the U.S. after fleeing war with his family. Quiet but emotionally layered, he resists identity labels while reckoning with inherited trauma.

Key traits: Thoughtful, observant, quietly intense, capable of deep emotional range.
Skills: Must be comfortable with vulnerability and intimacy.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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David, Sarah鈥檚 Father

Male, 60s, White / European Descent

A brilliant but emotionally distant scientist. He struggles to understand his daughter鈥檚 choices, and their world views clash often politically and socially. He's of the Ram Dass-Timothy Leary generation and looks condescendingly at the idiocies of the ignorant, algorithm-owned masses.

Key traits: Intellectual, aloof, sincere but emotionally unreachable.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Kristen
Female, mid-30s, All Ethnicities

A military vet and Sarah鈥檚 stepmother. Pro-life but progressive on sex work and agency. Holds moral contradictions without apology.

Key traits: Soft-spoken but fierce, grounded, nonconformist.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Dakota / Amina

Female, late 20s, All Ethnicities

A Chechen-born refugee turned influencer. Escaped death threats after exposing gang violence. Now living in LA, sustaining herself via TikTok and custom videos. Charismatic, political, and layered.
Key traits: Bold, self-reinventing, emotionally complex.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Nia

Female, 30s鈥�40s, Black / African Descent, Indigenous, or Latino / Hispanic

Sarah鈥檚 photojournalist friend. Challenges Sarah in a key scene that tests their ideological and emotional bonds.
Key traits: Grounded, skeptical, deeply principled.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Max

Male, 30s鈥�40s, All Ethnicities

Sarah鈥檚 brother, living off-grid in Costa Rica with his partner Erica. Believes in building new societies away from the toxicity of modern polarization. A tech-bro who believes that more data and efficiency will create a life free of work and infinite abundance.


Key traits: Idealistic, disillusioned with modernity, thoughtful.
📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Erica

Female, 30s鈥�40s, All Ethnicities

Eli鈥檚 partner. Lives off the grid and believes in radical community-building. Grounded in action, not ideology.

Key traits: Gentle, practical, emotionally open.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Mark

Male, 40s鈥�50s, All Ethnicities

Sarah鈥檚 former photo editor. Offers her a job operating AI drones. Represents the cold efficiency of the media鈥檚 future.
Key traits: Pragmatic, conflicted, institutional.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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Manuel

Any gender, 30s鈥�50s, All Ethnicities

Corporate representative attempting to recruit Sarah into drone journalism. A slick salesperson for a dehumanized future.

Key traits: Polished, manipulative, persuasive.

📸 Headshot/Resume Required

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CASTING MATERIALS

Please submit a headshot and resume for consideration. Selected candidates may be asked to respond to three pre-screening questions related to their experience with emotionally vulnerable work, political or socially engaged theater, and handling ambiguity and intimacy onstage.

Callbacks will be held on a rolling basis in early April.

PERFORMANCES

• Staged Reading: Mid-May (Exact date and venue TBA)

• Full Production: June or July (Dates and venue to be announced to cast)

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REHEARSALS

• Saturdays, 12鈥�3pm in Hollywood, CA

• Additional flexible rehearsals as needed

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UNION

AEA and Non-Union.

This is a crowdfunded project operating as a profit-share production. Showcase contract pending.

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DURATION

April鈥揓uly 2025

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SALARY

Deferred. Profit-sharing from ticket sales.