B7 Media OPEN CASTING / Venna’s Planet

About Venna’s Planet

VENNA’S PLANET – the podcast drama – will present Venna’s adventures in bite-sized, fifteen minute, full-cast audio dramas, made with the distinctive blockbuster sci-fi cinematic approach B7 Media is renowned for with their award-winning productions of titles such as Blake’s 7, The Martian Chronicles, I Robot and Dan Dare.

Combining the episodic thrills of classic Saturday morning film serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, with the spirit of the free-wheeling 60s seen in classic movies like Barbarella and Modesty Blaise, VENNA’S PLANET is a fresh and original aural adventure with an action-heroine like no other. Funny and sexy; intelligent and dangerous, Venna is part Betty Page, part Ellen Ripley – a young woman whose escapades will always end in exciting cliff-hangers, leaving the listener desperate for the next thrilling instalment to drop onto their favourite podcast portal.

Setting

The stories are contemporary but set in Deep Space. The Generation spaceship “Suntreader” has been in orbit around a planet they have named Promise for 17 years. The Suntreader is manned by a crew of humans searching for a new home.

Promise, with its Earth-like climate, domesticable wildlife and eco-system suitable to cultivate crops seems a perfect candidate but there’s one problem.  Promise is also claimed by the Krog: vicious, reptilian aliens who have waged war with the humans since they arrived.

The Suntreader is home to tens of thousands of humans but only a small fraction of them are operating at any one time; for the most part the majority are kept in cryogenic hibernation, from which they are routinely woken for brief duty rotations.

The humans are originally from Earth, recruited by a mysterious alien race – the Vloxidars – who assembled the crew in secret, trained them and gifted them the necessary technology to launch their mission to the stars. In 1969! While NASA was celebrating landing two men on the moon, the crew of Suntreader were just setting off on their own space odyssey.

Consequently, the Suntreader crew are products of the 60’s. Their attitudes, ideals and even cultural references are dated: free-love, peace, civil rights, flower power, the Beatles, the age of Aquarius, Star Trek, hippies, etc.

Our characters have no idea about social media, mobile phones or grime music – sounds quite idyllic, doesn’t it?!

Characters

Our heroine is Venna 8362; English, well-bred, bright gentle and strong. She’s an optimistic, glass-half-full kind of person, wants to do her best and get along with everyone. However, if pushed, she will fight for what she feels is right and stand up against bullying, evil and wrong doers. If necessary she can even take charge. She’s happily, and uncomplicatedly, bi-sexual.

The main antagonist of the story – although this isn’t initially clear to Venna – is known as the Countess, a cold-hearted villainess aged around 40. Elegant, sophisticated but as hard as nails underneath the civilised demeanour and cut-glass accent, there’s a touch of Blake’s Seven’s Servalan to her. Her official title is Commander GC-112, although she is also referred to by her personal name Galo. The Countess is obsessed, perhaps even infatuated, with Venna, for reasons that may become clear in time. Although Venna is often an irritant who complicates the Countess’ evil plans, she will not have Venna killed. At least not yet.

During her adventures Venna encounters a number of allies, including Suhl, a teenage girl who may be a little unhinged; Clayton, an earnest and serious young man of 25 who would, in a different story be the leading man, but in this tale he has to work hard just to assert himself; Geezur, a raspy-voiced reptilian creature initially thought to be an alien Krog, but actually a mutated human and Venna’s best friend Shelly, a sweet-spirited woman who frequently needs rescuing from some awful peril, a “nice” girl who really doesn’t belong in the hurly-burly of a rip-roaring space opera.

On the other side of things, the bad guys feature a range of allies and operatives of the Countess including Phileas Knullius, a hard-nosed brutal, vicious but rather dim criminal, Jylda, Knullius’ lover, who has aged twenty five years while Knullius has been on ice, making her now around 60, but still highly sexed, and Professor Grust, a scientist obsessed with his work who lacks any moral compass or interest in how his machines and inventions are used.

Other characters Venna encounters later in her adventures include Marla, an innocent young woman who is used by the Countess; Controller Zoltan, an authority figure on the Suntreader who is a puppet of the Countess, Clyg, a security guard whose hides his cowardice behind his uniform and Dortha, Clyg’s arrogant partner, whose overconfidence usually proves her undoing.

The Story

The Crew of the Suntreader have been travelling for fifty years; but for some of the crew this journey has felt like anything from a couple of weeks to twenty-five years! This is because, to conserve resources, the majority of the crew are kept on “ICE” – in cryogenic hibernation – for long periods of time.

Prior to finding the planet they currently orbit, which they have named Promise, the Suntreader visited other potential planets for colonisation. Their exploration of one candidate in particular ended in disaster when a thuggish soldier named Phileas Knullius committed an act of ecological violence which devasted that world.

The Suntreader moved on, committing Knullius to an extended icing as a punishment, but survivors of the disaster eventually set off to follow the humans and exact a revenge.

Misunderstanding the role played by a young cadet named Venna (who had intervened to try and stop Knullius) these survivors believe her to be one of the perpetrators. Venna has become the focus for their mission of exacting revenge and the dream of hunting her down and making her pay for what they think she did to their once beautiful planet.

That particular showdown will feature in the third book, but where we join the story (adapted from Book One) there is a long-running stalemate between the humans on the colony ship and the “alien” Krogs. Despite regular skirmishes, neither side has made any real progress towards victory and an uneasy stand-off has become the new normal.

Casting Opportunity

There are various roles we have yet to cast (only those with an *asterisk against the character name)  If you find a character (below) that you think would be a good fit then please email Andrew Mark Sewell with your Spotlight link and we’ll send you some sides so that you can audition. Good luck!

MAIN CHARACTERS

• • VENNA 8362 / English, well-bred, bright gentle and strong. She’s an optimistic, glass-half-full kind of person, wants to do her best and get along with everyone. However, if pushed, she will fight for what she feels is right and stand up against bullying, evil and wrong doers. If necessary, she can even take charge. She’s happily, and uncomplicatedly, bi-sexual.
  • COUNTESS / A cold-hearted villainess aged around 40. Elegant, sophisticated but as hard as nails underneath the civilised demeanour and cut-glass accent, there’s a touch of Blake’s Seven’s Servalan to her. Her official title is Commander GC-112, although she is also referred to by her personal name Galo. The Countess is obsessed, perhaps even infatuated, with Venna, for reasons that may become clear in time. Although Venna is often an irritant who complicates the Countess’ evil plans, she will not have Venna killed. At least not yet.
  • CLAYTON / An earnest and serious young man of 25 who would, in a different story be the leading man, but in this tale he has to work hard just to assert himself.
  • *GEEZUR / 20s. A raspy-voiced reptilian creature initially thought to be an alien Krog, but actually a mutated human.
  • *SUHL / Venna’s ally. A teenage girl who may be a little unhinged.

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

• • SHELLY 3211 / 20s. Venna’s best friend, a sweet-spirited woman who frequently needs rescuing from some awful peril, a “nice” girl who really doesn’t belong in the hurly-burly of a rip-roaring space opera.
  • *BLOK / Krog. 20s/30s. Geezur’s co-pilot and joint would-be kidnapper of Venna. Has a pretty low opinion of Geezur but this might just be friendly banter.
  • *SNORRB / Krog Commander, a paper-pushing bureaucrat of limited imagination. A “yes“ man. A Krog version of Matt Hancock.
  • DOSK / Krog. 30s. Jobsworth underling. Long-suffering. Fairly convinced that his superiors are idiots but can’t be arsed to do anything about it.
  • *GRITCH / Krog. 30s. Idiot who inherits Snorrb’s rank. Less of a bureaucrat, more of a would-be military leader. Just as stupid as his predecessor.
  • JYLDA / Knullius’ lover, who has aged twenty-five years while Knullius has been on ice, making her now around 60, but still highly sexed.
  • *GRUST / Professor Grust. 60+. A scientist obsessed with his work who lacks any moral compass or interest in how his machines and inventions are used.
  • *MARLA / Early 20s. An innocent young woman who is used by the Countess.
  • *ZOLTON / Controller Zoltan. 40s. An authority figure on the Suntreader who’s a puppet of the Countess. Of “Superior” rank; which might suggest hereditary leadership; so maybe a Prince Andrew?
  • *KNULLIUS / Phileas Knullius, a hard-nosed brutal, vicious, but rather dim criminal. Committed an act of ecological violence which devasted that world, but survivors of the disaster eventually set off to follow the humans and exact a revenge. 30s.
  • *CLYG / Late 20s. Corrupt security guard but, perhaps, one with buried possibilities of decency. Not as unpleasant as his partner.
  • *DORTHA / Clyg’s arrogant partner, whose overconfidence usually proves her undoing. Late 20s.

(c) B7 Productions Limited 2020.