Type

Film (Short / Student)

Location

Dane County

Content

STAR College is a brief educational video designed to support college students who have experienced sexual assault. The video features four student survivors sharing their experiences with coping, alongside a clinician narrator who provides psychoeducation throughout. We are looking for performances that feel natural and unpolished, like someone talking to a friend. This project is led by researchers at UW–Madison and is funded through a research grant. All roles are compensated. Filming will take place on and near the UW–Madison campus in June
2026.

Commitment: 2 days of filming
Compensation: $250/day ($500 total per actor)

HOW TO APPLY
Submit Demo reel and self tape!
For Actors:
• Your full name and the role(s) you are applying for
• A self-tape audition video of yourself performing lines from your preferred role(s) (see
attached dialogue sheet on next page).
• Your availability in June 2026 (specific dates or days of the week you are free)
• A brief description of your relevant experience and any relevant acting experience
Submission deadline: Monday June 8, 2026.

Dates

Submission deadline: Monday June 8, 2026

Union Job

No

Apply By

17:00 - 18th June 2026

Roles

Actors – Survivors 1–4 (4 Roles)

18 - 23

Roles Details

Title

Actors – Survivors 1–4 (4 Roles)

Content

OPEN ROLES
Actors – Survivors 1–4 (4 Roles)
We are seeking a diverse cast that reflects the range of students who experience sexual
assault. We strongly encourage people of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, body types,
and abilities to audition. Please review the attached dialogue sheet for your character’s specific
lines before submitting an audition tape.

● Survivor 1
○ Identity: Woman or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23)
○ Character: Thoughtful and a little guarded at first but opens up as she talks. She
withdrew from friends after her assault because the person who assaulted her
was part of her friend group. She struggled with isolation and depression but
found small, concrete ways to help herself move forward, such as getting
dressed every day, planning one enjoyable activity, reaching out to people she
trusted.

● Survivor 2
○ Identity: Woman or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23)
○ Character: Outgoing and expressive, but carrying some self-blame. She was
drinking when she was raped and has struggled with shame and embarrassment.
She avoided friends and her world got smaller. Talking to even one supportive
person was a turning point for her.

● Survivor 3
○ Identity: Woman or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23)
○ Character: Quiet and introspective. They experienced severe anxiety after being
violated — nightmares, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, fear of the dark. They
used gradual exposure (slowly turning off lights in their apartment over several
weeks) to reclaim their sense of safety.

● Survivor 4
○ Identity: Man or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23)
○ Character: Athletic, social, used to coping by partying. Before his assault he’d
smoke weed and drink casually with friends on weekends. After the assault, he
started drinking and smoking alone and more frequently to numb what happened,
until it started interfering with his life (e.g., missing a basketball game). He
learned to recognize his triggers and replace substance use with healthier coping
strategies like urge surfing and breathing exercises.


STAR COLLEGE — AUDITION EXCERPTS:
Please read through all four characters and submit a self-tape for the
role(s) you are most interested in. You may perform from memory or
read from the script.

SURVIVOR 1
Woman or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23). Thoughtful and a
little guarded at first, but opens up as she talks.
SURVIVOR 1
When I was assaulted, I stopped hanging out with my friends
because the person who
assaulted me was part of that friend group. Then I found
myself feeling really isolated
and disconnected, and I started to feel depressed and
withdrawn.
(A beat. Then, more openly:)
SURVIVOR 1
I started feeling better when I pushed myself to get out of
bed and get dressed every
day, even when I didn't feel like it. I also tried to do
one small thing every day that I
used to enjoy like calling a loved one or getting a sweet
treat. To make sure this
happened, I planned my day the night before and challenged
myself to follow through.
SURVIVOR 2
Woman or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23). Outgoing and
expressive, but carrying some self-blame.
SURVIVOR 2
I blamed myself a lot because I was drinking when I was
raped.
(Pause.)
After it happened, I avoided a lot of things that reminded
me of being in that situation.
Like, I avoided spending time with my friends because of
how ashamed and embarrassed
I felt. Over time, I started feeling really depressed and
my world got smaller and smaller.
I cut myself off from other people but I couldn't seem to
stop isolating, even though I
knew it was making it worse.
SURVIVOR 2
One of the things that helped me was talking to friends.
You don't have to tell them
everything. But telling even one supportive person can help
you start to feel better.
SURVIVOR 3
Woman or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23). Quiet and
introspective.
SURVIVOR 3
After I was violated, I had a lot of nightmares. And I
would get these really panicky
feelings whenever I thought about what happened. My heart
raced, my palms got sweaty,
and my breathing was really ragged. It was scary.
Sleeping was also really hard after I was violated. Every
time I lay down in bed, I
panicked. My heart raced and I felt shaky, nauseous, jumpy
and tense. I couldn't sleep
for weeks, maybe months.
SURVIVOR 3
I couldn't sleep with the lights off for a long time. Since
it was dark when I was raped,
I was afraid in the dark even in my home. I slept horribly
for months because I was
scared and had to keep all the lights on all night.
(Quietly resolute:)
I used exposure to help myself deal with this.
First, I turned out the lights in the kitchen and living
room but kept one on in the
bedroom and bathroom. I also left the TV on. After about a
week, I turned off the TV,
and a week later, I turned off the light in the bathroom. A
couple days after that, I
turned off the light in my bedroom. It wasn't easy, but
eventually, I got comfortable in
the dark again. I had to take these smaller steps to let my
body and mind relearn that
the dark isn't dangerous.
SURVIVOR 4
Man or non-binary person, college-aged (18–23). Athletic and social;
used to coping by being active and social.
SURVIVOR 4
Before my assault, I would smoke weed and drink with
friends on the weekends. After
the assault, I found myself drinking and smoking alone and
more frequently to cope with
what happened. This helped me fall asleep but started
interfering with my life. I was
drinking so much I missed the basketball game I was playing
in.
SURVIVOR 4
After missing my game, I knew I needed to cut back on my
drinking. I started to pay
attention to my body and mind when I had a craving and to
really think about what was
happening just before I wanted to use. Noticing this
pattern helped me think about other
things I could do to calm down and feel better, like
calling a friend, taking a walk
outside, or focusing on my breathing, to get the same
results.

Salary

Commitment: 2 days of filming Compensation: $250/day ($500 total per actor)

Age

18 - 23