Casting Call for Feature Film

Clifford Vetter- British 40-55. The hated but powerful Vetter is a venomous, power-hungry Crown Prosecutor, a dour prig whose only joy is inflicting misery. Bitterly spiteful towards anything smacking of religion, he sets his daggers on the Jubilee Singers for having brought the spirituals to England. Charging the choir with embezzlement and fraud, he launches a furious witch-hunt against them, vowing to dungeon them all.

A brilliant musical prodigy and co-leader of The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Ella is the towering young heroine of this movie. From the opening scene to the last, Steal Away is Ella’s story. A reluctant beauty, she has a softly chiseled face, wide probing eyes, and beguiling if rarely seen smile. Though by appearances frail, we will see that looks are dramatically deceiving: Charged with saving African American schools, (the fledgling HBCUs), from supremacist destruction.

[GEORGE WHITE] White, 50, American. A towering visionary whose courage and sacrifice forever changed the world, White is the co-leader of The Fisk Jubilee Singers and the warmly endearing hero of this story. Tousled and unshaven with faraway eyes and an otherworldly air, White is far too captivated by visions of a world healed by music to think about trifles like grooming. But as Steal Away opens, he’s a failed dreamer, a “blind stargazer” and “dangerous visionary” that life has dealt harsh blows, including the tragic death of his wife, which torments him with guilt. Though some cruelly condemn White, the dreamer in him refuses to die; when supremacist forces unleash a reign of terror throughout the South to destroy black schools, White and the choir rise up and fight back, not with bullets or bombs but sensational songs of faith and freedom... the spirituals. Against all odds, they take the country, and the world, by storm, saving hundreds of schools. And although his harrowing journey will batter him by brutal forces both external and internal, shattering him to the brink of destruction, we will witness in George White a conquering hero and beloved warrior who set the world ablaze. LEAD.

[HAVELL] Male, any ethnicity, 45-55. A colorful, curious bird, Havell is the London painter commissioned by Queen Victoria to paint the Jubilee Singers’ portrait. A snarky, taste-mongering, asexually flamboyant fashionista with a Dali moustache, bizarre foreign accent, and mauve staining rag he literally slings from a holster, Havell is quite a colorful character - especially because he takes himself so deadly seriously. But although Havell unleashes indignation at the ill-dressed choir when they initially meet, by the end of the movie we’ve come to love this strangely endearing peacock. STRONG SUPPORTING.

[HIRAM JACKSON] Black, 40, American. A beloved preacher and civil rights crusader whose impassioned sermons electrify and inspire the masses. When the forces of supremacist hate unleash a reign of terror against black schools, (the fledgling HBCUs), Hiram runs for political office to champion the pending Civil Rights Bill, becoming the great hope of the cause of freedom…and putting himself in the deadly crosshairs of his deadly enemies. STRONG SUPPORTING.

JONAS STONE / ENGLISHMAN] Black, British, 45-55, written as male but could be female. The publisher of what we believe is a civil rights newspaper in London, Stone presents himself to the Jubilees as a fellow crusader of their civil rights cause. Seeking their endorsement of a searing tell-all exposé he’s written against their employer, the domineering American Missionary Association, Stone promises that his pro-Black, power-to-the-people newspaper will liberate them from the chains of their oppression. Well-spoken, sleekly attired and impeccably groomed, Stone is polish personified (even if we detect a subtle streetwise edge in his manner). His coarse face is set off by magnetic eyes that shimmer like crystal pools, inviting our trust. By all appearances, he is an angel of light. Why then does Stone somehow unsettle us? STRONG SUPPORTING.

[MILO CRAVATH] White, 60s, American. A hawkish, militant civil rights crusader, Cravath is the fearsome Director of the American Missionary Association. (See note below about casting against type.) Cravath’s lifelong war against Southern supremacists and their armies of terror has shaped him into a merciless war hawk that some liken to Genghis Khan. But though a legendary enemy of racial oppression, Cravath’s hard-charging, take-no-prisoners crusade cruelly enslaves the African-American choir touring for his cause, making Cravath resemble the very enemy he’s fighting. Notoriously unsentimental, we’d be forgiven for judging Cravath heartless and uncaring, but his intensely sensitive eyes and moving backstory tell a far deeper story. (Note: We’re open to casting Cravath against type – i.e., casting for a thin build and unimposing facial features - to heighten the shock when he monstrously explodes in Act 2.) LEAD.

[MYRON SHEOLGATE] White, 25-30, American, the son of a brutal slave-owning preacher. Once a sweet, wide-eyed boy who deeply loved the enslaved woman who virtually raised him as son, Myron’s supremacist father viciously beat him to train him to hate. Now as a young man, his once-boyish face riddled with abusive welts and his blue eyes blistering with hate, Myron is a hellfire preacher and Supreme Leader of the Knights of the Southern Cross. Yet beyond the hateful veneer, we glimpse in his aching eyes the heartbreak of a small boy whose youth and heart were cruelly stolen. STRONG SUPPORTING.

[HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA] White, 55-65 (visually), the Queen of Britain. When we meet Victoria, she’s dressed in widow’s black and in a very foul mood; twelve years after her beloved husband Albert’s death, she’s still bitterly inconsolable. But when the Jubilees sing for her a moving spiritual that Albert cherished, her heart melts, and the floodgates burst. A VERY STRONG CAMEO role with a deep emotional arc.

[SARAH SHEPPARD] Black, plays 30 then 50, American. Ella’s mother. Bold and unflinching, Sarah towers over Steal Away’s opening scene. Cursed by slavery, she is the “property” of a cruel slave-owning preacher. Devastated at learning her “master” has been secretly exploiting her three-year-old daughter Ella to spy on other slaves then torturing them for disobedience, Sarah makes a harrowing sacrifice to protect her precious girl at any cost, a sacrifice that will tear Sarah’s heart to shreds and haunt Ella for the remainder of the film. A deeply emotional role. STRONG SUPPORTING.

[SUSAN GILBERT] White, 50, American. A pivotal dramatic lead in Steal Away. A crackerjack operative working for the American Missionary Association, Susan is a bold, beautiful, badass operative sporting aggressive pinstripes. Or imprisoned by them. Raised to be an achiever, Susan has so relentlessly driven herself to “do the right thing” all of her life that now at middle-age she’s spectacularly successful, but alone. Empty. Unsure why she gets out of bed. Beyond her tough veneer, Susan’s soft searching eyes reveal a caged dreamer desperate to break free and discover herself. Susan’s love affair with “dangerous visionary” George White brings her to life – uncaging her vulnerability and liberating her to “live out loud” – but vulnerability is a double-edged sword, and as hostile forces set Susan and White increasingly against each other, that sword will pierce her heart. LEAD.

[WALLACE MOORE] Black, 22-25, American, a pivotal dramatic lead in Steal Away. Tall, strapping, and handsome, Wallace is a stunning heartthrob... and a raging militant. Once a shy, tender boy, the brutal murder of his family by supremacists has made him a hate-filled separatist. Coarse, crass and full of gangster swagger, Wallace believes “our people have no future among Whites.” Yet beyond his hardcore veneer, we glimpse in his eyes the heartbreak of a tender boy’s loss, and a lifetime of unshed tears. To Wallace’s great exasperation, the woman he hopelessly loves – the prim, refined Ella – is staking her life on an integrated, racially colorblind future. In other words, she’s siding with the enemy. Star-crossed lovers from violently far-flung worlds, their impossible love is a ticking time bomb set to explode. LEAD.