Outdoor School is a feature film shooting August-September 2022 in Portland, OR.
Outdoor School is not just a story of succeeding against all odds, but a true depiction of what life is like for Black Portlanders, while capturing Portland’s endless beauty and untapped potential.
Short summary: 12 year old Vin slept nightly under a tree with his little sister and mom. Then, his sixth grade class went camping Based on a true story of homelessness, resilience and the transformative power of nature and community.
And here’s a video of Vin Shambry telling his story in his own words
WHO ARE WE CASTING
We are looking in the Portland, OR area for people to play our lead and supporting lead roles, especially our lead kids, Melvin Jr and Maiya. Hopefully you already know that and are getting impatient for details of how to submit! If you’re really impatient, scroll to the bottom of the page for submission instructions!
WHO ARE WE?
simon max hill casting is a film+television casting company operating out of Portland, OR.
We’ve worked on award winning movies and films cast in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade. Notable projects include the award winning “Wendy and Lucy”, the critically acclaimed “Green Room” and the popular television show “Portlandia”. A full list of credits can be found on IMDB and at www.smhcasting.com. You can see other casting calls for projects (mostly commercials) on our company Facebook page.
WHO ARE THE FILMMAKERS?
You can read about the movie and fiscal sponsors of the project HERE
Our director is Ime Etuk and producers are Ifanyi Bell, Vin Shambry and Tinker Hatfield. Here’s some bios / brags about them! If you want to read extended bios, click HERE.
Ime Etuk (Director) (pronounced “E-May”) is a Nigerian-American Producer and Director who grew up in Portland, Oregon. His first feature “Hurricane In the Rose Garden” (2008) screened at the Pan African and Slamdance Film Festivals. Ime has worked on dozens of movies, including Paul Haggis “Crash”, The Coen Brothers “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, Antoine Fuqua “Training Day”, and David Lynch “Twin Peaks”.
Ifanyi Bell (Producer) is the Executive Producer of Open Signal Labs, a content studio and social impact incubator that gathers film industry professionals and community members to tell stories of social and cultural relevance. As a producer for various NPR and PBS stations, he helped craft Emmy-nominated stories on education, arts, and science.
Tinker Hatfield (Executive Producer) is the designer of many of Nike’s most popular and innovative athletic shoe designs, including the Air Jordan 3 through Air Jordan 15 and the creation of a shoe with power lacing technology, as worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 film, Back to the Future Part II. He serves as Nike’s Vice President for Design and Special Projects.
Vin Shambry (Executive Producer) Vin is a published writer, acclaimed storyteller, international actor, and director. He has performed on Broadway and toured nationally as Tom Collins in Rent and John in Miss Saigon. His outdoor school story is featured in Occasional Magic, a New York Times Best Seller.
IS THERE PAY? IS THIS LEGIT?
The project will be shot under SAG-AFTRA contract. SAG guarantees a minimum hourly pay, has strict rules about working conditions for actors, and does a great job protecting a professional atmosphere for film actors. The production will also be shot in accordance to the rules for minor employment set out by Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI.)
Rates for actors: $2,441 / Week or $703 / day (8 hour days, with limits of length of workday for minors.)
We need to cast the hero of our story, Melvin Jr – as well as his family: Maiya (little sister), Velma (mother) and Melvin Sr (Father.) Check out the descriptions below and decide if you want to audition for any of them. If none feel right to you, feel free to submit anyways – there are a lot of other roles in the film we need to cast!
MELVIN SHAMBRY JR
A 11-13 year old who wants nothing more than to be a normal kid. Instead, he’s routinely forced into situations that challenge even the most mature adults. Vin longs for a safe home and the resources to buy “things.” But deep down he just wants his mother and sister to be “ok.” All the while internally struggling with the shame of being homeless.
MAIYA SHAMBRY
A cute of 5-7 year old who idolizes her older brother, Vin, and would do anything for him. Vin is Miaya’s world. Being too young to grasp the full magnitude of their situation, she’s still very aware of the violence and turmoil they’ve fled.
VELMA SHAMBRY
A loving mother in her 40s, she wants her children to be safe and cared for at all costs. Her feelings for her children’s father are complicated. Determined to give her children the chance to experience a full life, Velma thinks outside the normal constructs of society. Her decisions inspire her family and prove home is a mindset, not just a place.
MELVIN SHAMBRY SR
A charismatic man in his late 30s to mid 40s with a troubled soul. Charming, intelligent, flawed, and violent. Melvin wants affection and respect from his family. But he wants the respect of the streets more. This unfortunately consumes his time and efforts leaving his family to fend for themselves.
HOW DO I AUDITION AND BOOK THE ROLE?
There’s a number of steps involved before we can choose an actor for this project.
Actors submit themselves for consideration (see below for instructions.)
Casting reviews videos and schedules actors for auditions via Zoom.
Our director and producers review the audition video and select actors to call back for a 2nd audition.
We’ll hold a few days of 2nd auditions via Zoom, likely with director present, performing scenes from the movie.
We’ll narrow down our favorites, and hold yet another round of auditions (callbacks) at which point we should be pretty close to hiring.
Casting for this project is being conducted Nationwide, but the producers are really hoping to find someone from Pacific Northwest.
HOW TO SUBMIT
This part is easy! You can click the link below and give us your information, as well as a few photos & video.
You’ll need the following to submit:
Close up photo of your face
Head to toe photo of you
Short (30 secs or less) video of you telling us about yourself.
A smartphone is the perfect tool for this – you don’t need to get a fancy camera or hire a videographer, etc. We just need to see your face clearly and hear your voice.
We will contact you for callbacks if you are selected! Questions? Email us at submissions@smhcasting.com
HAVING PROBLEMS SUBMITTING?
Fill out THIS FORM (it’s the submission form from above, but doesn’t request any media upload.)
Share your media with us via WeTransfer or Dropbox (or other file sharing site.) Share to submissions@smhcasting.com – and be sure to tell use your full name and the project you’re submitting for so we can connect your information from the form and the media you send!
If either of the above steps fail for you, email us at submissions@smhcasting.com – include your name, the name of the project you’re submitting on, and put ‘submission problem’ in the subject line.