Canadian comedy auditions waiters …and actors online

Get ready for poor service at your local eatery or pub.

All those finely-chiseled “actors” that usually serve you food and drink may well be auditioning for Servitude, a waiter rebellion laugher that recently came tops in a comedy incubator backed by Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Film Centre.

Looking to cast their comedy about frustrated waiters who band together and take over their restaurant for one glorious, revenge-filled night, indie producers Buck Productions and Victory Man Productions launched an online contest for actors chasing elusive success while ferrying food and drink to your table.

The contest, which started September 6 at www.servitudemovie.com , asked waiter/actors to upload three-minute videos of themselves relating their best and worst customer service experiences.

The elimination-style contest will see online viewers vote on the videos before a judging panel selects a winner to receive a cameo role in Servitude.

The videos are arranged on the movie website according to the most recent uploads, votes and views.

A top-ten shortlist of waiter/actor videos will be posted on October 22.

Servitude, to be directed by Warren Sonoda and based on a script by Michael Sparaga (Sidekick), will be released domestically by Maple Pictures.

Sonoda and Sparaga know all about competition.

The duo’s script emerged from a comedy boot-camp held last year by the Canadian Film Centre and the Just For Laughs comedy festival where Hollywood heavyweights like Ivan Reitman, Etan Cohen and Gloria Fan helped kick a handful of local comedy scripts into shape for packaging and possible production.

Servitude is the first theatrical comedy script to go into production as part of the Telefilm Canada incubator that aims to help boost the box office for homegrown Canadian films.