CHARACTER BREAKDOWN

THE FRAYING

When a teen girl awakens with no memory and is kept isolated in the grips of a devout mother and a passive father, she struggles to unravel a buried truth, forcing cracks into the delicate façade of their suburban home.

The Fraying is a psychological thriller that explores mental health, faith, deception, and the quiet resilience of a girl searching to reclaim her physical, spiritual, and mental freedom.

The proof of concept unfolds through a raw, intimate exchange between mother and daughter, revealing the unspoken wounds they each harbour.

DINAH

Female | Black / Afro-Caribbean | Must convincingly play age 15-16.

Dinah is observant, sensitive, and quietly perceptive beyond her years. Confined by family, mental illness, and faith, she carries both innocence and a growing awareness that something within or around her feels wrong. She is not simply rebellious, she is searching for truth. Her vulnerability is internal rather than performative.

The actor must embody subtle psychological distress without melodrama. Much of Dinah’s experience lives in her eyes: fear, confusion, longing for validation. She is emotionally intelligent but unsure of her own mind. Physical stillness contrasted with sudden reactive moments is key.

This role requires nuance, restraint, and the ability to communicate inner turmoil with minimal dialogue.

MICHELLE

Female | Black / Afro-Caribbean | Age Demographic: Late 30s to mid 40s

Michelle is a devout, tightly composed mother who carries herself with quiet authority and spiritual conviction. Having built a faith-centered household based on her own childhood, she believes deeply in prayer, discipline, and control as acts of love and protection. Beneath her polished exterior lies a woman who has survived something unspoken, and who clings to faith as both anchor and shield.

She is warm but firm, affectionate but emotionally guarded. When challenged, especially on matters of mental health or belief, subtle cracks appear: a tremor in her hands, a flicker behind the eyes. The role requires an actor capable of portraying layered internal conflict, devotion intertwined with repression, control masking fear.

Must convey emotional intensity through stillness, and a strong dramatic presence.

SHADOW FIGURE

Female | Person of Colour | 20s - 40s | Non Dialogue Role

The Shadow is a physical manifestation of suppressed fear and inherited trauma, representing a fractured extension of Michelle’s psyche. She mirrors Michelle’s movements with subtle distortion. It is not a monster, but a hallucinated presence: intimate, observant, and unsettling.

This is a non-verbal, performance-driven role requiring expressive stillness. The actor must be comfortable conveying emotion through breath, posture, and micro-movements rather than dialogue. Performance will be enhanced through costuming, hair/makeup, and minimal VFX. Comfort with atmospheric, psychological material. No prosthetics-heavy horror, but performer should be comfortable embodying an eerie, grounded presence.