PAID ACTING GIG - MOCK TRIAL SPRING 2025!
Use your acting and improvisational skills, have fun, help students
and get paid at the same time!
RE: STATE v. BLOODWORTH
RIVERWALK THEATRE is once again looking for actors who are interested in playing the plaintiff and witnesses in mock trials for the MSU College of Law Trial Practice Institute. If you are interested in an unusual acting gig where you will be taking case materials, building a character consistent with those materials and playing that character in the highly improvisational environment of a civil court case, this gig is for you!
There are 4 trials, all using the same case study over 2 days. We are looking for a total of 16 actors --2 actors to play the defendant and 14 other actors to play the other witnesses. Each character will appear in 2 trials, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. A $250 stipend will be paid for participation in this project.*
Actors would need to be available on all of the following dates:
There are 4 trials, all using the same case study over 2 days. We are looking for a total of 16 actors --2 actors to play the defendant and 14 other actors to play the other witnesses. Each character will appear in 2 trials, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. A $250 stipend will be paid for participation in this project.*
Actors would need to be available on all of the following dates:
- Saturday, March 1, 9-11 am for an orientation and coaching session.
- Saturday, March 15, 10 am – 3pm, for Zoom interviews with the student lawyers. (Additional interviews may be mutually arranged by witnesses and the legal teams in the weeks before the trials.)
- Saturday, April 12 and Sunday, April 13, 8am – 4pm for the trials
This semester’s case is a criminal case - State v. Bloodworth. Defendant Gene Bloodworth, a former outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been charged with first degree murder of Kenneth Fletcher, a realtor. He has pleaded not guilty. On November 7, YR-2, Bloodworth called the police to report that a man, who Bloodworth believed was a resident of the condominium complex where he lived, came into his home at 1:30am armed with a knife. Bloodworth had punched him, and the man was lying unconscious on the floor. When the police arrived, they wrote up a burglary and assault with a deadly weapon report and transported Fletcher to the hospital. Fletcher was examined and diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. Fletcher gave a statement to the police that he was at the condo drinking with Bloodworth who offered him a glass of whiskey and then struck him several times. He couldn’t remember anything else until he woke up at the hospital with a terrible headache. Fletcher was treated and released 3 days later on November 10. On November 13, Fletcher was found unconscious outside his condo. Responding fire department personnel determined he was dead. The State’s forensic pathologist determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and a significant medical finding was the presence of hepatic cirrhosis..
The Witnesses, their approximate ages, and a brief explanation of their roles in the trial are listed below.
Except as noted, the actors may be male or female.
WITNESSES NEEDED:
For the Prosecution-
Detective Lee Howard (Male or Female, 30-50) – Nita Cita Police Department
Kerry Westlake (Male or Female, 30-60) – Manager of the Riverfront Plaza Condominium Complex
Dr. Lou Tost (Male or Female, 30-60) – Darrow County Medical Examiner
Billy Herman (Male 30-50) - Neighbor of Gene Bloodworth and Kenneth Fletcher
For the Defense –
Gene Bloodworth, Defendant (Male, 30-60) *The stipend for the defendant is $300 since he stays for the entire trial.
Dr. Leslie Sewell (Male or Female, 30-50) – Forensic Pathologist – Northern NITA Forensic Pathology Laboratory
Chris Singleton (Male, 30-60) – Neighbor of Gene Bloodworth and Kenneth Fletcher
Sadie McLish (Female 30-50) – Fiancé of Gene Bloodworth
If you are interested in playing any of these witnesses or obtaining further information, please contact TOM FERRIS at [email protected], by FRIDAY, February 14. Please include a photo (If you have not participated previously) , your acting age range, contact information (email, phone and home address) and any information you believe might be helpful to us, including the role(s) in which you are interested.
The Witnesses, their approximate ages, and a brief explanation of their roles in the trial are listed below.
Except as noted, the actors may be male or female.
WITNESSES NEEDED:
For the Prosecution-
Detective Lee Howard (Male or Female, 30-50) – Nita Cita Police Department
Kerry Westlake (Male or Female, 30-60) – Manager of the Riverfront Plaza Condominium Complex
Dr. Lou Tost (Male or Female, 30-60) – Darrow County Medical Examiner
Billy Herman (Male 30-50) - Neighbor of Gene Bloodworth and Kenneth Fletcher
For the Defense –
Gene Bloodworth, Defendant (Male, 30-60) *The stipend for the defendant is $300 since he stays for the entire trial.
Dr. Leslie Sewell (Male or Female, 30-50) – Forensic Pathologist – Northern NITA Forensic Pathology Laboratory
Chris Singleton (Male, 30-60) – Neighbor of Gene Bloodworth and Kenneth Fletcher
Sadie McLish (Female 30-50) – Fiancé of Gene Bloodworth
If you are interested in playing any of these witnesses or obtaining further information, please contact TOM FERRIS at [email protected], by FRIDAY, February 14. Please include a photo (If you have not participated previously) , your acting age range, contact information (email, phone and home address) and any information you believe might be helpful to us, including the role(s) in which you are interested.
