CASTING
Casting will be essential to this, the sooner we can start doing it the better.
Casting non-union presents a risk in that we might struggle to find “safe” picks, but therein lies the reward. Some of the greatest performances in scene work that I have ever seen have been from non-actors. With appropriate prep, I believe that’s something we can achieve with this.
A key will be casting folks who understanding “emotional event” in the context of their own lives Essentially people I can push to what most would call “method act.” This is what I will be looking for in casting with someone like Stephen Mann. We are looking for people who have felt a significant impact in their lives with, if we have our way, something related to healthcare.
Let’s say we want to hear from those who submit is “a moment where a nurse, doctor, or healthcare professional changed your outlook on the world?”
Not everyone is going to be able to answer that question in a way that moves us. That’s fine! But for those who really *do* understand, it will stand out as something special.
Let’s use me for example, even though I am long retired, so don’t get any ideas.
When I was sick in my late teens, my nurse Charles changed my life. I was a healthy, active, 18 year old that was suddenly reduced to being immobile, with only the portion of one lung functioning after a mysterious infection. It was Charles who stepped up as the nurse to physically lift me, care for me, wheel me around... He deeply humbled me with his gentle care, and more importantly comforted me in my guilt of being a “burden” to those around me. It was in his attentiveness that he discovered a rash in spaces that there hadn’t been before, allowing for doctors to diagnose a previously missed drug allergy.
This type of story would make me a strong candidate to play a patient. I have a direct tie to a moment and person that I can draw on to help facilitate our nurses emotional event. Before I left hospital, I got to write Charles a card to tell him what he meant to me, and how my idea of “care” was forever changed by him. He told me that it was moments like this that kept him doing it.
Charles changed my outlook, and perhaps I changed his. These are the type of moments we want to see play out on screen.