Auditions open for locally produced mystery series ‘Peripheral’

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A group of young creatives in Pocatello is working to produce an independent film series titled Peripheral and is looking for local actors and crew members to help bring the project to life.

The eight-episode series follows investigative journalist Maya Bell as she solves missing persons cases in a fictional community. Filmed primarily in Old Town Pocatello, the production team is looking for local talent to join the project.

"It's a thriller, suspense mystery," said director and show runner Aurora Widdison. "Each episode is about 10-15 minutes long. Right now we're opening auditions in person and virtually."

The crew has already been working on scripting, marketing and promoting the series for months. Widdison and her friend wrote all eight episodes and are onto the casting part of the process. There are roles for all ages, genders, and commitment levels, with some characters recurring and others only in one episode.

"We'll see every range of everybody," said executive producer Mandilyn Groneman. "We're just really excited to meet people, and we don't want to cut anyone. So if you have the availability and want to be involved, we'll try to make sure you're a part of the project."

Widdison said the "Peripheral" crew is made up of camera operators, sound designers and producers, plus a marketing manager to help promote the series. Everybody is a volunteer from the community.

"We found everyone in this project through social media or through parts we've done with them in the community, like in community theatre," Groneman said. "We're hoping to get as many people as possible."

The crew emphasized that lack of experience is no issue when it comes to joining the project. The point is for creatives wanting to get into the industries of acting, filmmaking, or film editing to get experience on a local level.

"You don't need any experience, it's just to help gain experience for others who want to pursue that career. I think it's a win-win for both sides," Widdison said. "The actors get experience acting and the crew gets experience helping out, so if you want to be part of the crew and the show, that's a possibility too," Groneman added.

Showrunner Widdison has always had a passion for storytelling and is excited to see the project come to life in the next several months of production. "I've always been interested in storytelling, I've written short stories before," she said. "But me and my friend had written the script a while back and sort of pushed it off to the side. Recently, she wanted to bring it to life and I helped her out by bringing the crew together."

Groneman has already created "Peripheral" social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to spread awareness about the project and garner an audience before the first episode drops next spring on YouTube. Widdison said if the series performs well on YouTube, the team hopes to pitch it to Tubi or other independent streaming platforms.

Following auditions, the cast will do a full read-through of the scripts and rehearsals before filming in the fall.

"Even though it's set in modern day, we just want something that's kind of, antique almost, to help give that mystery thriller suspense," Widdison said. "We'll be in other places for some scenes but mostly Old Town."

Groneman explained they aren't murder mysteries, rather an intertwined web of missing persons cases all connected by one common, supernatural thread. If the parts are filled following the open call audition, Widdison said others can still be involved in the project via background extras or crew members.

"We could definitely use a few more people on our crew just like assistants to help with filming," Widdison said.

Posters for the independent film project can be seen all around Pocatello, especially on the ISU campus, with more information.

Auditions will be held on Saturday, August 8 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Miss Tiffin's Ballet in Pocatello. Invitational callbacks will be on August 11 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. You can sign up for a spot to audition at this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EABA92EA4FACE9-64945264-peripheral

Groneman emphasized if all the spots on the sign-up sheet are filled, you can still show up between the open audition hours. If you're not able to come to Pocatello for the audition, you can send in a virtual audition tape following the instructions on the poster above. You can also find Peripheral Showcasting on social media platforms.