A heartwarming, slow-burn story where body-swapping has deep, emotional consequences.
A casual accident turns impossible when Kōji and Suzuka swap bodies, forcing them to confront what they’ve been escaping. They slowly learn about each other and about themselves under scrutinizing eyes, but along with friends, too. Grades. Wealth. Reputation. Dreams. They must decide who they are and who they want to become. Together.
That's the synopsis of Diaries of Kōji & Suzuka, of which I wrote volume 1 recently. I'm currently weighing the options of turning it into a properly formatted ebook and physical book, but my fortes are writing plot, dialogue, and worldbuilding, not so much prose.
In the meantime, I started thinking of other formats, and an audio drama makes a lot of sense. It's the middle point between a book and going too big with a comic or an animation. It also helps with the confusion that the body-swapping causes. That's how this project came to be.
With all of that said, since you're still reading this, I assume you're at least interested.
These are the requirements (aside from the ones described in each role):
Be into the story or genre. I'm not saying you have to love it, but take all of this as a passion project. I prefer working with friendly people who enjoy the craft, and it won't be fun for anyone if you do it only for the money.
No experience necessary, but be confident in your voice-acting skills. Having a portfolio will give you extra points, but what matters the most is that you understand the tone of the character you auditioned for and that you're the best fit for them.
Good quality microphone and self-recording experience. It doesn't have to be studio quality, but it must have no background noise. You'll also be recording the lines on your side then send them to me.
Being on a call while recording will be much more efficient and yield better results. It's not a strict requirement and we can work around it, but it'll help avoid the tedious sending back and forth of the recordings until we're all happy with them.
Regarding the 2 leads, however, it's required to be both on the same call. Not only because of the chemistry the characters need to have, but also because the body-swapping nature of it makes it a must since you'll be acting as each other's characters most of the time. In the case that we can't agree on a schedule, the male and female leads will have to be recorded through multiple sessions so that you have the reference material to imitate the other while the characters' bodies are swapped.
Last but not least, I'd like to keep a friendly environment but still serious enough to get the job done in the best way possible. Although I have directed voice actors before, this is the first time I'll do it for an audio drama, so we will all be learning things from each other.
Audition Lines
The two leads have a line each that describes [MALE/FEMALE LEAD PERSONALITY]. This doesn't mean you have to imitate their voice. For example, if you're auditioning for the male lead, take that line as if you're actually auditioning for the female lead if they were male. While if you're auditioning for the female lead, take that line as if you're auditioning for the male lead if they were female. So, you'll act as their personality and speech pattern as described in the role, but you don't have to try and match their pitch. I hope this is clear enough, but please tell me if it's not.
All of the characters (except the lunch lady) have huge contrasts within their personalities. Please go into the audition trying to convey this. For example, the first male lead's line happens at a moment that seems very simple on the outside, but he's trying to hide that his emotions are about to explode. So, it's not as simple as saying it cheerfully, but also not emotionally. Then his next line shows a little of his emotions (anger) taking control of him for a brief moment, but because he's talking to his best friends, he's not doing it maliciously. Like his description says, he's in a complicated emotional state but tries to hide it with his usual joy.
As for the female lead, it's also not as simple as being cold. She's very formal and respectful but has boundaries and pet peeves. Then on her second line, she shows more of her soft side toward her staff, while still keeping a "high-class" tone.
Same thing for the confident female friend. She might be conceited, but she still has a heart, especially for her friends. She'll admit wrong even if it hurts her reputation.
Everyone is somewhat complex, so please take the time to analyze this and their descriptions. I'd rather not tell you how to say each line because I'd like to give you the freedom to interpret it your own way and I'd like to respect your work.
A little sidenote: "…" means a soft pause, while "—" means an abrupt interruption.
And to clarify the details of the payment, I plan to pay the agreed amount even if the project doesn't make the money back. The reason why I set it as Deferred is that I'll be paying you as the earnings come in. If they aren't enough or none at all, it might take me some time to gather the money to pay you the agreed amount, but I'll do it as soon as I can.
You can send your rates when you send your audition or we can discuss it when I reach out back to you.
And everyone will be properly credited, of course.
If you're still interested after all of that, please check out the story: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2196806/diaries-of-kji--suzuka/
All of the audition lines were taken from there, so you can see their context if you want.
FEEL FREE TO AUDITION FOR MULTIPLE ROLES IF YOU THINK YOUR VOICE FITS AND IS DISTINGUISHABLE ENOUGH BETWEEN THE ROLES.
Again, writing prose is not my forte, and the written version might be somewhat confusing at first because of the body-swapping, but you get used to it by chapter 2. While I'm working on improving the narration for the book, the dialogue and plot won't change for the audio drama (though you can always suggest changes if you think something sounds unnatural).
Episode 1 of the audio drama will cover chapters 1 to 3 of the book. That's because I don't want to go all in while still having so many doubts about this project. But if everything goes well, the project might keep going until covering all the chapters.
Lastly, I should mention that the story has LGBTQ+ themes (though they're not the focus), in case you're not comfortable with that.
NO AI WILL BE USED IN THIS PROJECT.
