VFH Pilot Development Session
Project Overview
PAID REMOTE AUDIO DRAMA PILOT DEVELOPMENT SESSION
Five Voice Actors Required
Location: Online from your own recording space using Riverside
Duration: Two hours
Fee: £40, paid immediately after the session by bank transfer to UK accounts or PayPal.
Date and Time
Saturday 22 August 2026
10:00 am – 12:00 noon (UK Time – BST)
Please do not apply unless you are available for the full session.
This is a UK-based production. All communications, scheduling and recording sessions are conducted in UK time. Please ensure you are comfortable working to UK time before applying.
About the Project
A new UK independent audio drama project is seeking five voice actors to take part in a paid pilot development session.
The project was originally conceived as a television drama. The proposed podcast series is intended as a proof of concept to establish whether there is an audience for intelligent, character-driven drama centred on ideas that matter.
The project is currently being developed by an independent writer-producer. This will be the first practical test of the proposed remote recording and post-production workflow. The purpose of the session is to evaluate what is technically and creatively practical before any decisions are made regarding production methods or future casting.
The series requires actors capable of performing multiple roles, bringing vocal performance, timing, emotional range and versatility to both principal and supporting characters.
The production is built entirely around human performances. No text-to-speech will be used.
As part of the development process, we intend to evaluate ElevenLabs speech-to-speech voice conversion. If adopted for the main production, speech-to-speech processing may be applied to some or all recorded performances, including those of principal characters. In every case, the underlying performance will remain that of the actor. This approach enables greater flexibility in portraying different vocal identities and ages while also providing greater consistency of character voices across episodes and future series.
About the Session
This is not a recording for public release.
No material recorded during the session will be used in the finished production, broadcast, published or shared publicly.
The rehearsal will use genuine scripted material from the proposed series so that the recording and production workflow can be tested under realistic conditions. The principal material will comprise one of the opening scripted episodes together with two longer courtroom closing arguments from a later part of the story.
Four participants will rehearse one principal character in their natural voice. A fifth participant will perform material written for Lucas in his natural English accent as part of a controlled speech-to-speech voice-conversion test. Participants may also perform contrasting secondary characters requiring different vocal styles and characterisation.
The session will enable us to evaluate either during or after:
Remote ensemble recording using Riverside
Microphone and recording quality
The practical pace of a two-hour recording session
Live direction and retakes
File handling and download
Performances of principal and secondary characters
Speech-to-speech voice processing
Editing and post-production workflow
Technical Requirements
Applicants must have:
A quiet indoor recording environment
A good-quality external microphone connected to their computer
Headphones
A stable internet connection
A computer capable of running Riverside reliably (www.riverside.fm)
An email address through which we can contact you
Previous audio drama or voice-over experience is welcome but not essential. Natural delivery, responsiveness to direction, vocal suitability, preparation and a reliable technical setup are the principal considerations.
Confidentiality
Participants will be asked to sign a short confidentiality agreement before the session and to confirm their agreement for recordings made during the session to be processed privately for technical evaluation, including speech-to-speech testing. No material from the session will be publicly released or used in the finished production.
Participation in this session will not grant us any rights to use recordings from the session in the finished production or any future production.
How to Apply
Please record yourself reading the two lines listed in your role description and upload your recording with your application.
No preparation is required — we simply wish to hear your natural voice and confirm your accent.
Please also copy and answer the following questions:
1. Availability
Are you fully available for the live two-hour paid session on Saturday 22 August 2026 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon (BST, UK Time)?
2. Location
Which country (and, if applicable, time zone) will you be connecting from?
3. Recording Setup
Please describe the microphone, recording environment and any acoustic treatment you will be using.
Selected applicants will be contacted on or before 18th August 2026.
This session is a paid development exercise rather than a formal casting audition and does not guarantee future work. However, actors whose voices, performances and collaborative working style appear particularly well suited to the project may subsequently be contacted privately with further information and invited to discuss possible participation in the main production.
Voice Actor
Male 20s - Ideally Scottish — Edinburgh or east of Scotland accent — as this reflects the role we are casting for the main series. However, for this technical rehearsal any British accent will be considered. Friendly and warm in natural register, with the ability to sound confident and authoritative when the material requires it.
- english
- scottish (edinburgh)
- male young adult
(conversational) - I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion — it's not about what we decide, it's about how we decide it.
(with conviction) - What distinguishes a conviction from a prejudice is not the strength with which it is held, but the willingness of the person holding it to subject it to scrutiny — and to change course if the scrutiny demands it.
Voice Actor
Female 20s - Ideally an educated, articulate English accent — clear, confident and assured — as this reflects the role we are casting for the main series. However, for this technical rehearsal any British accent will be considered. Precise in delivery without sounding studied or affected. Think intelligence rather than class, clarity rather than accent.
- english
- english (british)
- female young adult
(conversational) I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion — it's not about what we decide, it's about how we decide it.
(with conviction) What distinguishes a conviction from a prejudice is not the strength with which it is held, but the willingness of the person holding it to subject it to scrutiny — and to change course if the scrutiny demands it.
Voice Actor
Male 20s - Ideally Dutch — as this reflects the role we are casting for the main series — but for this technical rehearsal any continental European accent with excellent fluent English will be considered. Dutch, German, Scandinavian or similar. Natural continental accent in English — not exaggerated, not suppressed.
- english
- dutch english
- male young adult
(conversational) - I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion — it's not about what we decide, it's about how we decide it.
(with conviction) - What distinguishes a conviction from a prejudice is not the strength with which it is held, but the willingness of the person holding it to subject it to scrutiny — and to change course if the scrutiny demands it.
Voice Actor
Female - 20s - Ideally a warm, conversational Midwest American accent — Chicago or Minneapolis in feel, not coastal, not twangy — as this reflects the role we are casting for the main series. However, for this technical rehearsal any American accent will be considered. Given the UK morning recording start time this role would suit an American living in the UK or Europe. Note for UK/EU Actors: UK/European actors are 100% welcome to apply, provided you can sustain a seamless, natural US accent throughout high-energy dialogue.
- english
- american (midwest)
- female young adult
(Conversational) - I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion — it's not about what we decide, it's about how we decide it.
(With conviction) - What distinguishes a conviction from a prejudice is not the strength with which it is held, but the willingness of the person holding it to subject it to scrutiny — and to change course if the scrutiny demands it.
Voice Actor
Male, 20s — natural English accent, neutral or lightly regional.
“Jack” is a temporary name used for this development role and is not currently a character in the proposed series.
We are seeking an additional actor for this paid technical rehearsal. The actor will perform material written for Lucas, one of the principal characters, but will read it in his natural English accent.
The recorded performance will subsequently be processed privately using ElevenLabs speech-to-speech voice conversion. This will allow us to evaluate whether an English performance can be converted convincingly into a suitable continental European character voice while retaining the actor’s delivery, timing and emotional performance.
This is a technical experiment and is not an audition to portray Lucas in the finished series. Acting ability, natural delivery, responsiveness to direction and recording quality are more important than matching Lucas’s intended accent.
The actor will participate in the same live Riverside session as the other performers and may also be asked to perform contrasting secondary characters.
- male young adult
- english
(Conversational) I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion — it’s not about what we decide, it’s about how we decide it.
(With conviction) What distinguishes a conviction from a prejudice is not the strength with which it is held, but the willingness of the person holding it to subject it to scrutiny — and to change course if the scrutiny demands it.
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