Backstage Magazine Digital Edition: August 27, 2020 by Backstage

08.27.20

Emmys 2020 Staff picks + predictions

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Eugene Levy

is still full of surprises

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Contents

vol. 61, no. 20 | 08.27.20

Cover Story

Take It From Eugene Levy

Celebrating the end of his beloved “Schitt’s Creek,” the consummate comedy actor is still learning what he’s made of at 73 page 16

The Green Room 6 The 74th Annual Tony Awards go digital

8 This week’s roundup of who’s casting what starring whom

9 Samira Wiley on activism and “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Advice 12 CRAFT

What CDs look for in self-tapes

14 #IGOTCAST Toni Wood

14 SECRET AGENT MAN

The company you keep

Features 4 BACKSTAGE 5 WITH... John Mulaney

10 MEET THE MAKER

Jessica Hobbs, “The Crown” director

12 THE ESSENTIALISTS Kirston Mann, costume designer

15 IN THE ROOM WITH

2020 casting Emmy nominees

21 FREEZE FRAME

5 snapshots of Emmy Award–worthy TV

32 ASK AN EXPERT

Elise Arsenault on asking for a fair rate

Casting 23 New York Tristate 25 California 27 National/Regional Eugene Levy photographed by Deborah Divine on July 12 in Pacific Palisades, California. Cover designed by Ian Robinson.

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08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

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BACKSTAGE, vol. 61, no. 20 (ISSN#53635 USPS#39740) IS A WEEKLY PUBLICATION, WITH OCCASIONAL DOUBLE ISSUES IN MARCH, MAY, SEPTEMBER, FEBRUARY, JUNE, AUGUST AND DECEMBER AND ONE ISSUE PUBLISHED IN APRIL AND JULY (except the fourth week of December) by Backstage LLC, 45 Main St., Brooklyn, NY 11201, $3.99 per copy, $99 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256 and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Backstage, 45 Main St., Ste. 416, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Publication Mail Agreement No. 40031729. ©2017 Backstage LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Backstage LLC: Joshua Ellstein, Chief Executive Officer.

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18 EMMY

NOMINATIONS INCLUDING

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

“MASTERFUL

PERFORMANCES”

OUTSTANDING GUEST AC TOR IN A DR A M A SERIES

JAMES CROMWELL

“JAMES CROMWELL IS FEROCIOUS” DECIDER

OUTSTANDING GUEST AC TRESS IN A DR A M A SERIES

HARRIET WALTER

“HARRIET WALTER IS IN HER CAREER BEST” SPECTATOR

OUTSTANDING GUEST AC TRESS IN A DR A M A SERIES

CHERRY JONES

“CHERRY JONES IS A REAL MASTERPIECE” THE RINGER

VULTURE

Backstage 5 With...

John Mulaney By Jack Smart

John Mulaney, an Emmy winner for his standup special “Kid Gorgeous at Radio City” and “Saturday Night Live,” finds himself nominated again for Netflix’s “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch,” featuring a cast of talented youngsters and zany appearances from Richard Kind, André De Shields, David Byrne, Natasha Lyonne, Annaleigh Ashford, and Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s a one-of-a-kind comedy special–meets–variety show that pushed Mulaney into new creative territory.

How has your work changed since the pandemic? I haven’t written “King Lear,” let’s just say that. I think I’m a better collaborator than solo. Maybe, other than standup comedy, I like to write with people, put sketch comedy together with other people.... I miss people.

productions. But also we need you to not be Vanessa, so we’ll have you in wigs.” Yeah, I really wanted to take her to every open call. What is your worst audition horror story? A very prominent film director—I started my audition, and he said, “Lower your voice, you’re not onstage!” That was years ago, but I can still get mad about that. I was so mad that I left and called Nick Kroll and I told him every reason why I was a bigger deal than this very famous director. [Laughs] Like, “Who the hell does he think he is?” And, by the way, at the age I said this, I had done zero. What’s the one piece of advice you would give your younger self? When I was, like, 25, ABC was looking for pilots. They wanted a lot of people to make pilot presentations, seven minutes [long]. For me, a very young comedian, you could actually make a product to pitch that they would watch. And I said to my agent, “What kinds of shows do they want?” And he said, “Oh, they want hits.” And I try to keep that in mind at all times. Like, no one knows. What they do know is they want it to work. So rather than that old adage, “Nobody knows nothin’,” I think I would just say, “You know what people would like? Hits.” And whatever hits, they’ll be happy with, so you might as well do what you want.

Did you ever use Backstage for auditions or gigs? No, I never did! But I had an idea at “Saturday Night Live,” which was to take Vanessa Bayer and go to every open call in Backstage. But then I thought, How [would you] bring a camera in? I pitched it to Vanessa but then had all these caveats. [Laughs] “I don’t want it to be like ‘Borat’—we’re not trying to make fun of the

“PG- and G-rated things, when I was growing up, were kind of weirder and darker. They weren’t inappropriate, but they did have an air of almost nihilism!”

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ILLUSTRATION: NATHAN ARIZONA/PHOTO: KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

What did you learn from working on “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch”? It really cemented how much I love doing these hourlong specials. I’ve obviously done them in standup; and then the Broadway show Nick Kroll and I did, “Oh, Hello,” was similar in that it’s a lot of work leading up to this one hour. It’s why I loved working at “Saturday Night Live” and why I like doing standup specials: I get to take time, lay out every idea, [and] put together an hour of entertainment. I think of them a lot like albums. This special obviously has a soundtrack album, but the special itself— that was years of ideas in one thing. There’s something about running to the finish line of a special that I really like. Whereas [with] a television show, every week, you’re trying to get 22 minutes together. That’s like a marathon. I like sprints.

E M M Y

N O M I N A T E D

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

“ THE BEST WORK OF

HUGH JACKMAN’S CAREER” VARIETY

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Awards

The Tony Awards Go Digital

After a monthslong postponement, the 74th ceremony will honor the 2019–20 Broadway season under the most unusual circumstances By Casey Mink

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eligibility cutoff, meaning only the shows that opened on or before that date will be in contention. (The season began on May 30, 2019, with “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.”) That ruling, most notably, excludes two of the season’s shows that did get to officially open before Broadway shut down on March 12: “West Side Story” and “Girl From the North Country.” The decision is due to the fact that many Tony nominators traditionally attend performances in the immediate days and weeks following opening; since those two shows had

only just opened (“West Side” on Feb. 20 and “Girl” on March 5), it was determined that not enough of the voting body had a chance to see them. Several of the season’s plays and musicals were in the midst of or just about to begin preview performances at the time of the shutdown on March 12. All of them—including “Six,” which was slated to open that very night—are not eligible. The Feb. 19 cutoff slims the already-anemic musical category to just four contenders: “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “The

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THE SHOW WILL GO ON— finally. After postponing the Tony Awards indefinitely back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League have announced that the 2020 Tony Awards will be held digitally at a to-be-announced date this fall. Other details for the 74th annual ceremony are still being parsed, including a platform for the event, as well as when and how nominations will be announced. However, the Tony Awards Administration Committee has issued a Feb. 19

Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” and “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” It also means that there will be no eligible musical revivals this season. On the play front, the lineup is more robust, as a number of productions completed limited runs in the fall and winter. Among the 10 contenders for best new play are “The Inheritance,” “The Sound Inside,” “Sea Wall/A Life,” and “Slave Play.” For best revival, there are just four contenders, including “Betrayal” and “A Soldier’s Play.” If previous seasons’ rules hold true, categories with more than nine eligible contenders must automatically nominate five of them; categories with four eligible contenders must only nominate three, unless “difference in votes between the third-highest-ranked show and the fourth-highest-ranked show is 10% or less.” Some categories this year, such as best original score, which only has one contender—“The Lightning Thief”—will either nominate that property and award a default win or simply forgo the category. “Though unprecedented events cut the Broadway season short, it was a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognized,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, in a statement. “The show must go on, no matter what—and it will.” The Tonys had originally been scheduled to occur June 7 at Radio City Music Hall, to be broadcast on CBS. It is unclear at the time of publication if CBS will air this year’s ceremony.

E M M Y® A W A R D

N O M I N E E

“SHIRA HAAS IS

A PHENOMENON.” OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN

A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

FYC.NETFLIX.COM

deployed to Iraq during the first months of Jordan’s life. Worried about how his time overseas could end, he began composing a journal for his infant son in case of his death; he finished writing it shortly before he was killed by an IED, when Jordan was only seven months old. Denzel Washington is set to direct the emotional family drama, with Michael B. Jordan starring as Sgt. King. Vickie Thomas Casting is finding talent for the project, which will shoot in New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C., this fall.

Sony and is currently casting with Kim Coleman for production that will begin in 2021. While the shoot will most likely take place in and around Los Angeles, no specific shooting locations have been confirmed.

We’ll Always Love Whitney Houston

A new biopic offers a look inside the star’s life By Rebecca Welch

STAY IN THE LOOP ON INDUStry and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles! Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change. Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.

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TELEVISION

Jake Gyllenhaal Sets Small Screen Engagement By Casey Mink

For the latest news, check out backstage.com/resources to find thousands of production listings, casting directors, acting classes, agents, and more!

GYLLENHAAL IS ATTACHED TO STAR on and executive produce a series based on Ian Parker’s 2019 New Yorker article “A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions.” The project will be adapted by Janicza Bravo, the director and co-writer of the highly anticipated feature “Zola.” Bravo will develop the series along with Annapurna, and will also co-write the pilot with Brian Savelson. “Our protagonist is white, male, and pathological,” Bravo said of the project. “There is a void in him, and he fills it by duping people.”

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MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

Get cast!

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“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” The life of the late Whitney Houston, arguably the greatest voice of her generation, is coming to the big screen. Directed by Stella Meghie (“The Photograph”) in collaboration with Houston’s estate, the biopic follows the story of the singer-actor’s career. Houston first stunned audiences with her five-octave range starting in the 1980s and grew to become an internationally acclaimed singer and movie star in the ’90s. But her life had its share of struggles, and Houston died in 2012 at the age of 48 on the eve of the Grammy Awards. The project has officially landed at

“Journal for Jordan” Imagine a father-son relationship that exists only on paper; for one child, it was his reality. Based on the memoir by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Dana Canedy, “Journal for Jordan” is the story of Canedy, First Sgt. Charles Monroe King, and their son, Jordan. King was

JASPER SAVAGE/HULU

What’s Casting

“Girls5Eva” Tina Fey has recruited singer-songwriter and Broadway composer Sara Bareilles to star on her next executive producing vehicle for Peacock, the digital streaming service from NBC. Written by Meredith Scardino, “Girls5Eva” tells the story of a one-hit wonder ’90s girl band that gains renewed attention after their music gets sampled by a rapper. The former members—now adults with husbands, children, and lives of their own—decide to take advantage of the moment and reunite. Cindy Tolan Casting is searching for actors to join Bareilles for the single-camera musical comedy. Despite attaching a lead, the series has yet to announce an official start date or where in the U.S. filming will take place.

taught us is how to use animals. It’s the weirdest thing, but it always helps me. You know, if you’re in a certain scene or you’re playing a certain character, what kind of animal comes up for you? How do they move? How do they react to certain things? That’s always something that I think of from [back] then, because even just from the very beginning of getting to know a character, thinking of that tiny little thing—does this person move like chicken?—it’s helpful, even if you don’t say, ‘This person is an animal,’ to think about it in that way.”

Samira Wiley and O.T. Fagbenle on “The Handmaid’s Tale” Backstage Live

Reflecting Reality

Samira Wiley credits “The Handmaid’s Tale” with informing her acting and activism By Benjamin Lindsay

The following Backstage Live was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit questions live on camera.

TELEVISION

Rachel Weisz, Twice as Nice

MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

JASPER SAVAGE/HULU

By Casey Mink

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SAMIRA WILEY RECENTLY joined Backstage for an Instagram Live interview, covering everything from her early career roots to her Emmywinning performance on “The Handmaid’s Tale” (for which she’s nominated again this year) to her advice for others in the field who are chasing the dream. Plus, she shared how playing

“DEAD RINGERS,” A FORTHCOMING series which will mark Rachel Weisz’s first regular stint on a television show, will see the Oscar winner pulling double duty. The project, a gender-swapped reimagining of David Cronenberg’s 1988 psychological thriller, has been given a straight-to-series order from Amazon. Alice Birch, head writer of Hulu’s acclaimed “Normal People,” will pen the series, about two identical OB-GYNs who are set on changing the way women give birth. Weisz, who will also executive produce the series, will play both characters.

Moira Strand on “Handmaid’s” ignited her activism, and which causes are especially close to her heart today. As an actor, you never want to be too rigid to play. “Being on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ I’ve been blessed with scene partners that push me and make me a better actor.... For me, [a good scene partner] is gonna be all about someone who doesn’t have their lines and their performance stuck in their head by rote, where they have rehearsed it a certain way and they’re not able to deviate from that. They’re just not able to, I feel like, listen and respond in the moment, because you never know how your scene partner is gonna say a line, you never know what they’re gonna do spontaneously in the moment. And if you’re [able] to be malleable and go with whatever they’re doing, almost like a tennis match—that is what makes a wonderful scene partner for me.” The Juilliard School gave her character-building tools that she still uses today. “One thing that [Juilliard] really

Playing Moira for three seasons has made Wiley a stronger activist in her own life. “I’ve learned things from Moira in terms of how I want to use my voice and use my platform to speak about the things that I am passionate about. She’s such an activist.... First and foremost, I’m always going to be a champion for my communities, including the LGBTQ+ community and the struggles that we have had [since] the beginning of time. And then, of course, everything that’s been happening in the Black Lives Matter movement. It was really hard for me when [the] George Floyd and Breonna Taylor news came out. It’s hit me, I think, in a way that it hasn’t before. I knew how horrible it was with all of these events that have been happening for years and years with my people; but this time, it really, really hit me. [I’ve been] having conversations with my wife, who is white, about things that I’ve been taught and things that she’d been taught when she was a child. It’s really interesting, just having to come to a reckoning of what is happening in this country. But those are my communities, and I love y’all.” Want to hear more from Wiley? Watch our full interview at backstage.com/ magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.

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Meet the Maker

Jessica Hobbs, “The Crown” director By Elyse Roth

Erin Doherty on “The Crown”

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episodes, “Moondust” and “Cri de Coeur.” For the former, the director decided to home in on Prince Philip’s (Tobias Menzies) obsession with the 1969 moon landing and his subsequent crisis of purpose and faith. For the latter, which notched her a 2020 Emmy nomination for directing on a drama series, she put the period on the season with the finale, which follows Helena Bonham Carter’s Princess Margaret as she grapples with a failing marriage and love in the public eye. As an admirer of the series, Hobbs was eager to join “The Crown.” As a director, she was given the freedom to realize her vision entirely. “Peter said, ‘I want you to treat them as films. I don’t want you to think they

have to be what anyone else is doing,’ ” she remembers. For Hobbs, that means using every minute of each episode: “I always want whatever is onscreen to have a purpose. It’s great for it to be beautiful, but I want to understand what it’s there for emotionally—what am I trying to portray? What’s going on for this character at this point? How can I allow the audience to have the experience I had when I read the script without putting it into exposition?”

“Everyone will watch from a technical or different creative viewpoint, but your job as a director is to be the audience at any given moment.”

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DES WILLIE/NETFLIX

THERE’S A LOT HAPPENING on “The Crown.” It’s a feat of television production with a sumptuous shooting style, a notable cast, and elaborate sets. It’s history and drama with a bit of fantasy thrown in, and each new season is eagerly anticipated. The lofty standards set by series creator Peter Morgan made director Jessica Hobbs, already a fan of the show, even more keen to bring her talents to Season 3. “Peter’s great skill as a writer and show creator is [that] he takes huge macro themes and puts them into personal journeys,” Hobbs says. “I thought he had some very profound things to say about humanity that I was really interested in.” Hobbs helmed two of the season’s most personal

Part of that search for meaning comes from working with the actors to make both purposeful pauses and what Hobbs calls Morgan’s “economic, muscular” writing as effective as possible onscreen. “I have a lot of conversations with actors. I spend a couple of hours individually with each actor, and we just talk through the episode, their role, and what’s going on to see if we agree on what the building blocks of the journey are,” she says. She then works out any issues or concerns the performers may have. “They highlight any areas where they’re struggling. We need to find a way to fill those gaps. Is there a visual moment that might help us bridge that gap?” Though endless components go into a finished episode of television, the director is in charge of the overall vision. Hobbs knows it, and she does not take the responsibility lightly. “You have to be the audience at every stage of making it. No one else is going to sit in that position. Everyone will watch from a technical or different creative viewpoint, but your job as a director is to be the audience at any given moment. Do I believe it? Am I moved? Is this working?” she says. “I saw Ang Lee speak many years ago. He said he would close his eyes on set and think, ‘What would I do if no one else was here?’ I always remember that quote when I’m on set. That’s the thing I hold on to. Those other people can do the technical stuff. In terms of the heart of the creative material, the telling of the story, that’s your job. That’s what you have to do.” The method seems to be working. Hobbs will return to direct more episodes of the Netflix drama on Season 4.

2020-Viacom-FYC-RPDR-Backstage-9x10-AUG-Mech.indd 1

8/7/20 11:38

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Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know

Craft

What CDs Look for in Self-Tapes

THE ESSENTIALISTS

KIRSTON MANN costume designer

By Melanie Forchetti

basing our decision on, so make sure it reflects what you can do! Personality Since casting is asking for your self-submission in lieu of an in-person audition, we miss out on getting the chance to meet you. If possible, we’d like to get to know you a little through your self-tape. One way to do this is to use your slate as a chance to show some of your personality and professionalism. The best candidate is usually someone who can juggle last-minute script changes and possible location and schedule rearrangements. We’re looking for a person with a can-do attitude who can handle anything that’s thrown at them. Sure, we can’t really get to know you from a quick clip, but there are things you can do to suggest that you’re the right person for the job! How you present yourself is key. Consider a friendly smile for your slate, carefully choose your wardrobe, and

On the heels of its final season, “The Good Place” costume designer KIRSTON MANN reflects on her already iconic contribution to the canon. (We all know Janet’s purple dress will be a Halloween costume for years to come!)

Mann’s work is on the outside so actors can work on the inside. “I have a lot of freedom, I’d say, to work with the actors in creating their characters. That would be my No. 1 goal: to make sure that everybody is happy. But I would say my personal goal is to make the actor feel like they’re in their character. Their job is to work

TV design is a highstakes group art project. “I love thinking about [the art department’s] tablecloths and my costumes. In our group at ‘The Good Place,’ we had all been together for a lot of years, and there was just a way that we were all in sync together. We all worked on the same floor, and we’d always be wandering into each other’s offices,

don’t forget to enunciate so we can understand you. Technical Quality Ultimately, we need to see and hear you. If we can’t, it could immediately take you out of the mix. Solve all potential technical issues ahead of time. Find a space in your home that you can designate as your self-tape spot. Set up a camera, lights, and background, and have it all ready to go. Make sure your background won’t be distracting, and if you’re using the microphone on your camera, don’t put it too far away from you, or we won’t be able to hear you. Medium to medium-close-up shots are usually fine for self-tapes and ensure better audio quality. Follow Instructions Read and follow the format and size specs for the clip. Adhere to any slate, wardrobe,

BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

on the inside, making whatever they’re doing believable. And my job is to make the outside, making their job easier because they feel as if they’re the person by way of their costume.”

trying to see how it was all going to work together. It’s like doing a huge group art project every day of your life. It’s a dream. You’re making me miss work!”

and direction that is given in the breakdown. Casting directors share these helpful instructions, which are usually passed along from the client, because they’re expecting to see them in the recordings. This is an easy step that could instantly kick you out of the running if you don’t follow it, so make sure you read the details before submitting! The good news is that these steps are straightforward and within your control. Even better, you can rise to the top of the pack by following them. Forchetti is a casting director and Backstage Expert.

Want more?

All our Backstage Experts can be found at backstage.com/magazine

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ILLUSTRATION: PROSTOCKSTUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; “THE GOOD PLACE”: COLLEEN HAYES/NBC

A SELF-TAPE CAN MAKE OR break you when you’re auditioning for a project. As a casting director, I sort through hundreds, sometimes thousands, of self-tapes. It can be difficult to stand out from the crowd if you don’t know the secrets of how to make a great clip. Here are some things I look for in a self-submission to help you outshine your competition. Performance When you’re self-submitting, casting has high expectations. Even though you may have just received the copy, we assume you’ve had time to work on the material and can bring your A-game. Make sure you memorize the copy, and make strong choices for your character. Take the time to do the work, and please make sure the recorded take you submit is your best one! If you find it hard to choose, ask your agent or colleagues to help you decide. Your self-tape will be what we’re

By Casey Mink

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS

SAMIRA WILEY

BRADLEY WHITFORD

ALEXIS BLEDEL

IN A DRAMA SERIES

ESQUIRE

IN A DRAMA SERIES

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The Company You Keep

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often based on whom you choose to align yourself with. The right person can make all the difference. The wrong one can ruin everything. Here are examples of both: THE BAD: Last year, I set up a meeting with an actor I had seen perform onstage. When my assistant informed me that he had arrived, I saw the look on her face. Something was wrong. (Insider fact: Agents and their assistants go through a top-secret medical procedure that allows us to communicate without words. It’s like the Force, but without midi-chlorians.) Surprise! The actor wasn’t

Success in this business is often based on whom you choose to align yourself with. The right person can make all the difference. The wrong one can ruin everything.

THE GOOD: I used to represent an actor who was a series regular on a network show. She had gone from rags to riches with me, and I was her biggest fan. One day, she showed up at my office with one of her actor friends. The kid was new in town, and my client asked if I could give him some advice. Naturally, I said yes. I set up a time to get together, and when we did, the two of us really hit it off; I actually ended up signing him. That meeting only happened because he was standing next to one of my most lucrative clients when we were introduced. Everyone gets judged by the company they keep. So make smart choices. This business is tough enough; there’s no reason to make it any harder for yourself.

Toni Wood

By Franchesca Viaud Longtime Backstage user Toni Wood never shies away from a challenge. Instead, she sees it as an opportunity to show commitment to the career she loves. From adversity comes growth. “The new medium of auditioning via self-taping, given the pandemic, is interesting to me. I like having the ability to direct myself with a cellphone. On the other hand, I’m nervous about lighting, and [I] miss the human element of connection and critique.” Anybody can be somebody, thanks to Backstage. “I keep coming back to Backstage [because] acting is my passion— one among many—and Backstage is the leading authority on these things. Why wouldn’t I want to be plucked from obscurity?” Leave yourself open to the unpredictability of acting. “I love roles that are dramatic, controversial, gritty, and comedic. Nothing is off the table for me. Roles that create dialogue, inspire change, or cause complete revolutions move me. I like to shake things up. I like to be rattled to my core.” TO SEE YOUR SUCCESS story in print, tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast, or email us at igotcast@ backstage.com.

backstage.com

ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; WOOD: RICHARD KRAUSS

BRIAN GRAZER IS ONE OF the most successful producers in Hollywood. Over the last four decades, he’s cranked out major hits like “Apollo 13,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and “The Da Vinci Code.” His TV credits include “24,” “Arrested Development,” and “Empire.” You’d think this is the kind of person who can do anything he wants, right? Well, that’s not necessarily true. It turns out Grazer had a tough time putting together a deal for the James Brown biopic “Get on Up.” It was one of his pet projects, but it kept running into roadblocks. Then he decided to team up with Mick Jagger, who had expressed interest in co-producing the movie. That was a game changer. This time, when Grazer marched into Universal with a rock legend, the film finally got the greenlight it deserved. Success in this business is

#IGOTCAST.

RAQUEL APARICIO

Secret Agent Man

alone. He was with his manager, an abrasive woman who is disliked by everyone in town. We had worked together when I was just starting out, and she had tried to get me fired. Her being there was a total shocker. There was no manager listed on the actor’s résumé, and he had never mentioned she was coming. I went ahead with the meeting anyway, and it was an epic fail. The poor guy barely got a word in because she kept cutting him off. She also kept bringing up our past and how it was all my fault. Naturally, I passed on her client. The actor had to know she was the type who rubbed everyone the wrong way. It was obvious to anyone who spent more than a few minutes with her. But he chose to align himself with that ugly energy, and that was a mistake. (For the record: I just looked him up on IMDb. The guy has barely worked since we met, he has no representation, and he’s still with that manager.)

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Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know

In the Room With

2020 Casting Emmy Nominees This year’s casting contenders share their advice for actors By Elyse Roth

THERE’S JUST ONE TIME EACH YEAR WHEN CASTING DIRECTORS’ work is recognized at a major awards ceremony: the Emmys. This year, those behind the ensembles of perennial favorites like “Schitt’s Creek” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” as well as new ones like “Normal People” and “Watchmen,” were nominated for finding the best actors for the job. Those contenders have learned a thing or two from watching thousands of auditions, and they shared their sage wisdom with Backstage. “When you get an audition, look at who’s directing it [and] who’s written it, [and] look at their work. There’s a tone that every director has. There’s so much information to be gotten from doing that research. Then, I would say, try to make some strong choices. I feel bad for actors if they’re self-taping and not getting any direction, because they don’t know what to do. But sometimes people go just in the middle, and the middle never works. Just try

to, with what you know, make a choice.” —Francine Maisler, nominated for HBO’s “Succession” “Know the history of your craft and of movies and television. Look at actors in the past and learn from the good ones. I think knowing the history of your industry and your occupation is a good place to start. I find that a lot of people don’t know as much about the history of Hollywood and movies

as I think they should. Have some sense of who came before you, and that can hopefully impact your acting. The other things are what a lot of casting directors say: Prepare for your scenes, make a choice, but also be prepared to make another choice if I give you a direction. Someone will come in and do it once, and I give them a direction, and they’ll do it exactly the same way. I understand nerves and that you’ve practiced, but you have to leave some opening to adjust. Take classes. Study. All that stuff.” —Victoria Thomas, nominated for HBO’s “Watchmen” “If at all possible, familiarize yourself with the tone of the project you’re auditioning for.

Especially if it’s a show that’s already aired, try your best to at least watch a scene or two from it. It’s never as black-and-white as just comedy or drama.” —Jon Comerford, nominated for Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” “Really, two things above all else: One is to prepare. By that, I mean study the craft of acting before you even embark on a professional career, and then certainly prepare for each individual audition, which involves making very clear choices and learning as much [as you can] about the project beforehand so you understand the tone, energy, and style of the production you’re auditioning for. The second most important thing is to never pander to what you think the filmmakers are looking for. Never walk into a waiting room and see people there and presume that they’re going to get the role, and not you, because they look more like the character you envision than you do. The one thing every actor can deliver in an audition that no one else can is their true self. Bring whoever you are to the role. It could be very different from what the filmmakers are looking for, but if it’s authentic and it works, it can actually reframe what people think they’re looking for.” —David Rubin, nominated for HBO’s “Big Little Lies”

Want more?

Read the full interview at backstage.com/magazine

RAQUEL APARICIO

ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; WOOD: RICHARD KRAUSS

“Don’t try and second-guess what’s wanted. You need to be prepared, but you have to bring something into the room that makes you special for a role.” —Suzanne Crowley, nominated for BBC America’s “Killing Eve”

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08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

Take It From Eugene Levy

Celebrating the end of his beloved “Schitt’s Creek,” the consummate comedy actor is still learning what he’s made of at 73 By Benjamin Lindsay Photographed by Deborah Divine

WHEN HIS SON, DAN LEVY, APPROACHED him 10 years ago about co-creating and starring on their own comedy series, Eugene Levy was scared, well, “Schitt’s”-less. He knew his son, by then a popular host for MTV Canada, had the chutzpah to chart his own path in the business—“I would always go up to him and ask if he needed any help, and he always said, ‘No, I’ve pretty much got it,’ ” Levy recalls—but the endeavor still made his heart “pitter-patter.” “I put a little pressure on myself to make sure that I tried to come through for him on this, that this project that we [were] working on would actually come to fruition,” he says. On a recent Zoom call from his Los Angeles home, the beloved actor and writer looks back on his years as co-creator, executive producer, and star on “Schitt’s Creek” as a series of firsts. And it wasn’t just his work becoming a family affair (both Dan and his daughter, Sarah, acted on the Emmynominated Pop TV series); it was also his first time playing a straight man to the heightened characters around him, magnified by his first time navigating a sitcom writers’ room. “I’ve never done that,” he says, “and that was scary to me.” You’d think that, nearing his 50th year on camera, the sketch and comedy icon would have seen it all by now. But to hear him tell it, “Schitt’s Creek” was a welcome exercise in continued learning and in exploring parts of himself that he hadn’t allowed with the characters of his past. “I would say it’s less of a performance—it’s probably closer to me than anything I have done,” Levy says of bringing patriarch Johnny BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

Rose to the screen. “I’ve spent my career, certainly, having no confidence in myself, so I would try anything I could to not be myself. Changing my appearance was important to me in terms of being a character and trying to get laughs through that character. “Every time I looked too much like myself,” he continues, “I’d get an uneasy feeling, like, ‘I need something—give me a mustache!’ So, Johnny Rose, it was a big step for me, but a very exciting step.” Growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, Levy had an early penchant for performance, acting his way through small roles in high school stagings of Shakespeare and more. He also formed a musical folk trio that was eventually

absorbed into larger sketch performance pieces for an audience. “I can’t say I would’ve turned on any casting directors who may have been out there watching,” he admits. “[But] I absolutely loved it.” He kept it up, so much so that during his first year at McMaster University, he started cutting class to spend all his time with the drama club and the McMaster Film Board, a student group led by peer and future collaborator Ivan Reitman. “Come the end of the year, I wasn’t going to make my year because I hadn’t been to class,” Levy remembers. “I had to go back to all of my professors and say, ‘Look, I’ve got to be honest with you: I’ve been doing a lot of acting. I haven’t gone to class. Tell me what backstage.com

Levy poses around his Los Angeles home while his partner in both life and quarantine, wife Deborah Divine, shoots him on her iPhone.

books I need to read and what I don’t need to read. If you can tell me that, I might be able to get through my finals.’ Half the professors said, ‘OK, don’t read this, don’t do this, only focus on this.’ And the other half, with delight, said, ‘You are in trouble, my friend.’ ” Needless to say, he didn’t accumulate the passing grades he needed. But he returned in the fall with a new head on his shoulders: “I went back and said, ‘No, I’ve got to do this right for my family. I’ve got to make my year.’ The idea of quitting school, dropping out, or failing was just not an option. So I went back to do it right and got involved in the same stuff: I started doing plays again, I started making movies, I cut classes again. And that was that.” Still, the idea of professionally pursuing what had been, until then, a distraction wasn’t taking hold. “With all the stuff I was doing at university, not one time did I ever think, ‘Boy, this would be great, to make a living at this!’ ” he says. “Nobody from Hamilton then became an actor. It just wasn’t on the radar.” But after dropping out during his second year at McMaster, Levy was scooped up by Reitman to P.A. his first feature, “Foxy Lady.” For his second feature, “a little gem called ‘Cannibal Girls,’ ” Reitman promoted Levy to leading man opposite soon-to-beregular collaborator Andrea Martin, knowing

his acting and sketch work in college would serve the improvised horror-comedy well. “Then, that was it,” Levy concludes. The year was 1972. He and Martin reunited soon thereafter in a “Godspell” residency at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre, which also boasted the talents of friend and McMaster classmate Martin Short, plus Victor Garber and Gilda Radner. When Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe set up shop in Toronto, Levy was firmly set on the path of a career entertainer. “Fortunately for me, these two major productions, ‘Godspell’ coming in from New York and Second City coming in from Chicago, were great things to get into—especially Second City,” he says. “In the world of comedy, that was the best schooling you could’ve had. If you thought you were funny before, forget it. Learning how to do it and learning the rules and seeing this kind of brilliant comedy on its feet in such an intimate setting as these Second City revue theaters, that was an amazing experience.” To this day, Levy carries the lessons gleaned during that time into his work. So what about those “rules” of comedy? Asked to walk through his tricks to character-building, Levy says that comedy works best when you keep it real. It’s a process that has benefited a wide-ranging list of harried,

neurotic, oddball men, including roles from any of his twice-Emmy-winning “SCTV” bits; the affably out-of-place dentist of “Waiting for Guffman,” his first of several genre-defining Christopher Guest collaborations; and the cringe-inducing father of “American Pie.” “No matter how broad you want to take your character, you have to make him real,” he explains. “I was never a joke guy. My kind of work had to do with writing a real person and trying to make him funny through his behavior. There are people who are great at jokes, who look at life through a comic prism. Those are your standup comedians; those are people who have to find the humor in everything they do. That’s not me. I’m just more regular than that, I guess, and I really try to get that humor in through the character work that I do.” Levy cites his work on “SCTV” and its offshoots through the early ’80s (on which he and his “Schitt’s Creek” wife, Catherine O’Hara, worked together onscreen for the first time), where even the broadest sketches were populated by men and women reacting as they naturally would in their given circumstances. “Nothing was ever done tongue-in-cheek; you never stepped outside your character to get a laugh,” Levy says. “Everything had to be organic within the character, and that’s

With Yvonne Orji in “Insecure”

backstage.com

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With Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy on “Schitt’s Creek”

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sure the story moves forward,” he says, pointing to the likes of Jack Benny, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jerry Seinfeld. “So the idea of playing Johnny Rose as the straight guy I found very exciting because I’d never done it, and I liked the fact that I was this grounding force in the show [who] let everybody else do their thing.” Of course, the success of “Schitt’s Creek” speaks for itself. After wrapping its sixth and final season last April, it’s been nominated for 15 Emmy Awards going into the 72nd annual ceremony on Sept. 20, including for comedy series and all four major acting categories. The cast has maintained that they finished the story as they wanted to, but that doesn’t mean a tear or two wasn’t shed; in the post-mortem behind-the-scenes

documentary “Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Farewell,” Levy is shown getting misty in the shadows as an emotional scene wraps. To quote Murphy shortly thereafter: “A sad Eugene Levy—that’s a heartbreaker.” “It’s the most special—I love everything about ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ” Levy says, looking back on the series and ahead to the future. “I’m proud of a lot of things in my career, but this, for so many reasons, I’m proud of. I’m glad I was able to be a part of a quality show at this point in my career. And more than that, I’m glad I had something to do with getting it off the ground. “Going into work every day, you just loved it. Is that going to happen again? I don’t know. But I’m glad it did.” backstage.com

POP TV

just the kind of comedy I’ve always been attracted to. You have to have the audience emotionally involved, no matter what it is or how broad it is. If you can do that, if you can hook the audience and have them care about your character, then you have the option of going a lot of different ways with how you want to tell a story, or how funny or not funny you want to be. You can create the kind of comedy that has such an emotional underbelly to it that you make the audience feel things they never thought they would.” For years, Levy has been able to tap into that “underbelly” as a consummate supporting and bit actor on cult-classic indies and studio comedy tentpoles alike. While honoring Tom Hanks in 2002 at the American Film Institute’s 30th Life Achievement honors, Levy wryly noted that he had learned a lot while working with the Oscar winner on Ron Howard’s “Splash” 18 years earlier. “I learned the importance of controlling your eyebrows,” he quipped, before adding, “I learned that I probably don’t have the physical attributes to be a Tom Hanks kind of leading man—unless the film industry flourished in Turkey.” Speaking about his résumé today, Levy’s outlook remains the same: “Listen, my career—I’ve loved just about everything I was involved with,” he says. “My job usually was to come in for a few scenes in a movie, get your laughs, and get out, and that was great! I didn’t have to carry anything; I didn’t have to carry any exposition. My job was just to come in, bop, bop, bop—two, three, four scenes. That was it.” That is exactly, however, why his heart started pitter-pattering when his son proposed “Schitt’s Creek” and Johnny Rose came to fruition as a video store tycoon who takes a financial nosedive. Flanked by a family of disastrously ill-equipped one-percenters—his fussy fashionista son, David (Dan Levy), his globe-trotting “it girl” daughter, Alexis (Annie Murphy), and his wig-wearing soap diva wife, Moira (O’Hara)—it became clear that Johnny, while also in over his head after being forced to move to the titular town, would have to be their steady center. Levy, for his part, believes that every successful half-hour thrives on the strength of its straight man. “You had to have one character that makes

“No matter how broad you want to take your character, you have to make him real.”

Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate on “Dead to Me”

Freeze Frame

5 snapshots of Emmy Award–worthy TV By Backstage Staff

GREAT TELEVISION COMBINES TOP-NOTCH WRITING, ACTING, directing, and so much more. In this era of peak TV, we here at Backstage have pinpointed those precise moments when everything on our small screens was firing on all cylinders. The unforgettable scenes on the scripted series below, all of which are up for honors at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, make them worthy of Television Academy attention. We could watch them over and over again.

A“DEAD TO ME”: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX; “THE MANDALORIAN”: DISNEY+

“Dead to Me”: Jen tells Judy

I recently sat down and watched 14 consecutive episodes of “Dead to Me.” Thank you—I am very impressive. I simply couldn’t stop, because the Netflix series, I assume, was genetically designed for maximum bingeability. Naturally, the half-hours began to blur like very tearful tiedye—people cry a lot on “Dead to Me”—but a sequence on Season 2’s penultimate episode announced itself like a bull entering a china shop, and it won’t be forgotten. (Spoiler warning!) When Jen (Christina Applegate, in the performance of her career) tells Judy (a devastating Linda Cardellini) that she murdered

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Judy’s husband, Steve (James Marsden), not because he’d been threatening her with violence, but because he’d hurt her with words, what does our emotionally battered Jen do? At her lowest moment, she brings down the person she loves most with her, hitting Judy with her deepest self-hatred. “You love anyone who just gives you a morsel of fucking attention,” she hisses. When the spat then pours out onto the street and into Judy’s car, Jen watches in horror as her friend strikes herself repeatedly in the chest, then climbs into the passenger seat so the two can hold each other and wail. Their only comfort is their shared pain.

Although Emmy-nominated in comedy categories, most standout “Dead to Me” moments like this one are about as funny as a biopsy. Humor on this series, as in life, happens between relentless heartbreaks. Thank goodness, as Jen and Judy would attest, for wine. —Casey Mink

“The Mandalorian”:

Peli Motto When Amy Sedaris appeared on Jon Favreau’s space drama “The Mandalorian,” I felt like the stars, perhaps in a galaxy far, far away, had aligned. I recognized her as the grungy, bewigged spaceship mechanic on Tatooine and felt instantly that Disney+ was worth every penny; in fact, I’d probably pay more. It was a distinct TV-watching delight, a neverknew-I-needed-this moment. Who would think to cast such a character actor—the creator-star of TV’s most oddball variety show, “At Home with Amy Sedaris”—in the “Star Wars” universe? Sarah Finn and her team of casting directors, apparently. Casting can be a tricky art form; someone too well-known for a particular role can pull audiences out of the story, distracted by their previously formed impressions. But Finn (the CD behind Oscar winners like “Crash” and box office juggernauts like “The Avengers”) knows how to harness that phenomenon, selecting an actor we may have preconceptions about and using those to the story’s advantage. Seeing Sedaris as Peli Motto, the harried mechanic swindling Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian and falling in love with the adorable “Baby Yoda,” I felt it didn’t matter what she decided to do with her scene partners or lines; whatever zany choices she made would be correct. Within moments

Amy Sedaris and Pedro Pascal on “The Mandalorian”

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Dan Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Noah Reid on “Schitt’s Creek”

of the realization that the last person I’d expect to appear in a space Western had indeed appeared, I felt certain I was in good TV-watching hands thanks to Favreau, Finn, and, of course, Sedaris. —Jack Smart

“Schitt’s Creek”: David

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dress to a ceremony that isn’t hers; the Jazzagals sing David down the aisle; and Moira finds a way to plug her latest film, “The Crows Have Eyes 3,” while officiating through genuine hiccups of tears. We’re really going to miss this bunch. —Benjamin Lindsay

“Unbelievable”: Marie gets

the call There are countless moments that alternately tear your heart out and leave you breathless on “Unbelievable.” It’s an unapologetically brutal examination of sexual assault and the pursuit of justice, as well as a stunning account of the ways law enforcement fails survivors. From a painful-to-watch first episode—in which Kaitlyn Dever’s Marie reports her assault only to recant and be charged for filing a false report—to the miniseries’ end—in which a twist of fate gets her justice—viewers are

privy to her lonely, vulnerable, trapped feelings. By the time Marie’s story converges with the two faraway detectives investigating a string of rapes, Marie has lost all hope— and everything else: her job, her friends, her boyfriend, the support of her foster families. With nothing left to lose, she leaves the place that has taken everything from her. On her way to start over, she gets the call: The detectives, poignantly portrayed by Merritt Wever and Toni Collette, have discovered evidence that ties their perp to Marie’s attack. They’ve arrested him, and, more importantly, they believe her. In that moment, with no physical scene partner, you see eight episodes’ worth of grief, so expertly depicted by Dever, lift. You somehow feel light, too. Of all the excruciating moments Dever manages to play in the most grounded way, this one soars. —Elyse Roth

Charlie McDermott, Kaitlyn Dever, and Patricia Fa’asua on “Unbelievable”

“What We Do in the Shadows”: Guillermo

kills vampires The amiable familiar Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén), in his quest to eventually become a vampire himself, is willing to do a lot for Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak). But things become a bit more complicated when he discovers that he’s a descendant of Van Helsing with a natural talent for slaying vampires. This FX comedy’s second season opens with Guillermo’s skills on full display; he’s forced to secretly dispatch numerous assassins that have been sent by the vampire council to kill his master and the other vampires in their house, Laszlo and Nadja (Matt Berry and Natasia Demetriou). Guillermo does this like he does everything else for the vampires: to the best of his ability and with no acknowledgment, although now that’s because if they discover that he’s killed vampires...well, they’re supposed to kill him. So he stays up eating chocolate-covered espresso beans and saving his masters, setting the tone for a season in which Guillermo must face his heritage and kill more vampires—not all of whom are assassins. This series more than deserved its many nominations this year, but since the vampires haven’t done it (yet), let’s take a moment to truly appreciate Guillén’s reliable, sweater-wearing Guillermo and his epic slaying skills. —Lisa Granshaw

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“SCHITT’S CREEK”: POP TV; “UNBELIEVABLE”: BETH DUBBER/NETFLIX; “WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS”: RUSS MARTIN/FX

and Patrick’s wedding OK, so, if you weren’t crying during David and Patrick’s wedding in this year’s series finale, you can’t really call yourself a fan of “Schitt’s Creek.” Sorry, I don’t make the rules! Catherine O’Hara may be leaving this beloved Canadian comedy’s six seasons with a legacy of wacky wigs and absolutely snatched designer wardrobes as Moira Rose; but her onscreen son, played by series co-creator Dan Levy, and his hubby, played by Noah Reid, get points for making us misty as each year wraps. From karaoke nights to largerthan-life Tina Turner recreations to wedding bells, they just love each other so much! And seeing a so-heartfelt-it’s-cheesy queer relationship onscreen, notably with no homophobic roadblocks or “It Gets Better”–inspired backstory, feels like a breath of fresh air. Back to their wedding: This series finale moment does more than bring two of our favorite characters together in holy matrimony; it nods to all the things that make the titular town special. Eccentric residents like Chris Elliott’s Roland line the pews; Annie Murphy’s Alexis steals some of her brother’s thunder by wearing a wedding

Harvey Guillén on “What We Do in the Shadows”

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Submit a Notice |

New York Tristate

SUBMIT YOUR CALLS FOR CAST AND CREW: Visit backstage.com/findtalent and click on “Post a Notice.” Include all relevant project requirements, including any pay, fees, dues, costs, required ticket sales or nudity. Connecticut Repertory Theatre prerecorded virtual production of the radio play adaptation of “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Note: Due to COVID-19 concerns, accepting video submission auditions in lieu of live Equity auditions.

Casting picks of the week

• Company: University of Connecticut.

Plays Argyle Theatre 2020-2021 Second Half of Season, Equity Video Submissions

• Casting Equity actors for the Argyle

Theatre 2020-2021 Second Half of Season. Season includes: “Punk Rock Girl” (Jennifer Werner, dir.-choreo.; Joe Iconis, book; Rob Rokicki and Joe Iconis, musical arrangements; Geoffrey Ko, music dir. Rehearsals begin Dec. 28, 2020; runs Jan. 21-Feb. 28, 2021), “42nd Street” (Rehearsals begin Feb. 25, 2021; runs Mar. 18-Apr. 25, 2021), “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” (Gary John LaRosa, dir. Rehearses and runs TBD, Spring, 2021). • Company: Argyle Entertainment LLC.

Staff: Argyle Theatre, prod.; Evan Pappas, artistic dir.; Mark and Dylan Perlman, managing partners; Michael Cassara Casting, season casting. • Season runs in Babylon, NY. Note:

Performances for all shows will generally run Wednesday-Sunday. Productions rehearse in Manhattan until tech, and then move to Babylon, Long Island, NY. Theatre is about an hour from midtown, via LIRR (producers cover all travel). • Seeking—Equity Actors: all genders,

18+.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Casting Director Michael Cassara and

Casting Associate Stephanie Cowan will view submissions. For consideration, visit https://form.jotform. com/201415443219144 and follow the instructions and submit your video audition. (If unable to submit a video using our online form, you may e-mail materials to submissions@michaelcassara.net). Submissions deadline is Aug. 31. • Note: Each show in the season will have

four to five AEA contracts available.

• Pays $473/wk. and health/pension/

transportation. Equity LOA Ref. to COST Agreement.

‘It’s A Wonderful Life, Radio Play,’ AEA Video Submissions • Casting Equity actors for the

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BY LISA HAMIL

Staff: Michael Bradford, artistic dir.; Jennifer Scapetis-Tyer, dir.; McCorkle Casting. Pat McCorkle, casting dir.

stage

• Rehearses Oct. 5-Nov.6, 2020; pre-

‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Relive your life in CT for this Equity production

view (pre-recorded): Nov. 12, 2020; closing (pre-recorded) Nov. 21, 2020 in Storrs, CT.

• Seeking—Actor One: 40-70, all ethnici-

ties, should have the capability to voice a variety of characters including the following: Potter - a hard-nosed, wealthy businessman; Mr. Gower; the druggist, young George’s employer; As Cast. Actor Two: 35-55, all ethnicities, should have the capability to voice a variety of characters including the following: The Boss - the top hierarchy in Heaven; Tilly - Secretary at Bailey Building and Loan; Mrs. Bailey (George’s Mother); As cast. Actor Three: 18-30, all ethnicities, should have the capability to voice a variety of characters including the following: Young George - George Bailey as an 11-year-oldchild; Any/all of the Bailey children (Peter, Janie, Tommy, Zuzu); as cast.

‘The Food That Built America’ Take a bite out of this CT opportunity

film

‘Trip’ Drive yourself through Los Angeles, CA for this horror/ thriller

stage

‘The Inheritance’ Solidify your future at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse

• Seeking submissions from CT. • Video Submission Requirements: Limit

video submission to three minutes maximum. Prepare one contemporary comedic monologue of your choosing in the style of “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Time limit includes your slate (your name, name of play, and character you will be performing). Upload your video audition to Vimeo and include a link for viewing in your email submission. Youtube links are also acceptable, but Vimeo is strongly preferred. Do not share via WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or other file sharing platforms. If the actor prefers, we will also accept the same material in audio format for this production. Follow the above guidelines for submission in this format as well. See breakdown for general self-tape suggestions. Email video or audio link and separate attachments of your headshot and resume to epa. submission@mccorklecasting.com with the subject line, “Full Actor Name/It’s A Wonderful Life EPA Submission” Submissions deadline is Sept. 9.

multimedia

Electric Bike Web Video Tool around town in NY/NJ for this online ad

Short Films ‘A Politician Came To My Church Today’

• Casting “A Politician Came To My

Church Today,” an experimental found footage short film about the failure of American politics. • Staff: DaeQuan Collier, writer-dir. • Voiceover records in mid-Sept. • Seeking—Girl (Black): female, 5-10, a

little Black girl recounting her experience when a politician comes to her church one Sunday. Church Ladies (Black): female, 50+, a snooty/comical church ladies.

• Pays $688/wk. (rehearsal/first week of

prerecorded performances); $229/wk. (subsequent pre-recorded performance week.) Equity URTA Agreement.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to Dac583@NYU.edu. • No pay. Copy provided.

Museum of Tolerance Preamble

• Casting a short film for The Museum of

Tolerance, a multimedia museum in Los Angeles. Casting personnel state: “We are asking for all types of people - different backgrounds, ethnicities, shapes, and sizes - to create a film that is beautifully inclusive. We are simply asking for you to behave as yourself.” • Company: Unified Field. Staff: Julia

Gaudioso, casting dir.

• Shoots in fall 2020, location is TBD. • Seeking—Woman: transgender female,

18+, all ethnicities. Man: transgender male, 18+, all ethnicities. Child: transgender, 7-17, all ethnicities. Human: all genders, 6-61, all ethnicities. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to juliagaudioso@

gmail.com.

• For consideration, submit a video of

yourself answering two of the following questions: How would you define love?; when do you know you’re in love?; how would you define hate?; what makes you furious?; how do you think your friends would describe you?; do you have any regrets?; do you believe in world peace? • Note: Use natural lighting, and nothing

too staged.

• Pay provided.

Student Films ‘Post-Mortem’

• Casting “Post-Mortem” a student film.

Synopsis: Freshly wounded by a broken heart, Debby goes through the emotions of her first kill. Playing an internal battle within her head, she goes through the five stages of grief as she comes to this new, yet wrong, feeling she has running through her body. • Company: Final Frontier Productions.

Staff: Jonathan Dasilva, dir.

• Table read will be held Oct. 11; shoots

the weekend of Oct. 16-17 in Stamford, CT.

• Seeking—Debby: female, 18-29, a odd

yet charming character, fresh off her first kill and the thrill of not getting caught running through her body, she is dealing with the five stages of grief of her now deceased husband.For this role, you must be able to cry and truly express the various emotions that one might go through when someone is killing. Note: Must have a video reel. Runner: male, 18+. Production Assistant: 18+, multiple

08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

casting New York Tristate needed. AD (Assistant Director): 18+. Director of Photography (DP): 18+. Boom Operator: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from CT and NY. • For consideration, submit a reel, if

available to contact@finalfrontierproductions.com. Must be able to get to Stamford CT. Filmmaker states: “This is a great break-in role for anyone looking to get into the screenplay acting business. The goal with this short film is the enter it in the Sundance film festival and Brooklyn Film Festival in 2022. This is also my debut short film that has been in the works for the last year or so. This will very much be your project as it is mine.” • No pay. Reel and food provided.

‘You And Me’

• Casting “You And Me,” a short film

following two guys prior to the biggest day of their lives. Note: Precautions due to COVID-19 will be put in place as the safety of our cast and crew is my top priority.

• Company: Montclair State University.

Staff: Ryan Daniel, student.

• Shoots Oct. 23-25 in Randolph, NJ. • Seeking—Andrew: male, 28-42, all

Demo & Instructional Videos • Casting a nonprofit sexual health edu-

cation video. Ideal applicants are fluent in both English and Spanish. • Company: Mighty Oak. Staff: Megan • Shoots Sept. 4 in Brooklyn, NY. • Seeking—Explainer: female, 22-26,

• Pays $250/day for one shoot day (possi-

bly two shoot days if bilingual).

• Shoots one episode between Sept.

30-Oct. 31 in CT.

• Seeking—Roberto Goizueta: 38-43,

must be Cuban descent; neutral American accent; has worked hard to rise up the ranks of Coca-Cola. As head of technical operations, his outsidethe-box thinking has helped the company grow its product line, and his maverick style earns him the position of CEO. But Goizueta’s hardheaded desire to crush the Pepsi Challenge nearly costs Coca-Cola everything when he launches the infamous failure known as New Coke. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Pays $400/day plus 10%.

VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

Gravity Blanket Photoshoot • Casting online content (photos and

video) for Gravity Blanket’s social channels and website. Synopsis: A lifestyle shoot taking place in an apartment/ house with a millennial sleeping with their Gravity Blanket products.

• Company: Gravity Blankets. Staff: Maya

Juchtman, brand marketing mgr.

• Shoots Aug. 31-Sept. 1. • Seeking—Millenial: 19-36. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to mark@gravity-

blankets.com.

• Pays $150/day, plus an extra $50 for

“homework” (will provide more information if talent gets through to the first round of casting). Food and coffee will be provided. All usage rights will be a full buyout.

Online Skincare Ads

• Casting actors for a series of online

promo videos for a skincare brand.

• Staff: Cindel K., coord. • Shoots in early September. • Seeking—All Women: female, 18-60. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to hi@stg6.com. • Pays $300/day. Metro-North ticket

reimbursement provided.

Commercial - A1 Toyota: New Recruit

Portable Charger Lifestyle Shoot portable charger lifestyle shoot in Manhattan.

• Company: Hiker Company. Staff:

for an auto dealership in New Haven, CT. Commercials are series based so there will be future callbacks! Find them on YouTube under “A1 Toyota” to see some examples.

• Shoots tentatively Sept. 17 in NYC or NJ

September.

• Casting a web/social media based video

Francesca Moran, prod.

LLC. Staff: Barbara McNamara, casting dir.

Local Commercials

Electric Biker Web Video

• Food and transportation will be pro-

• Company: Barbara McNamara Casting,

and $400/12 hrs. for models. Must have previous commercial experience and a reel. Must have own transportation to self-report.

akgrows.com.

clair.edu.

Built America.” Note: Must be NY local hire. Nonunion or Ficore only.

• Pays $500/12 hrs. for speaking roles

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to megan@mightyo-

• Seeking submissions from NJ. • Send submissions to danielr3@mont-

• Casting season two of “The Food That

ability for Sept. 1 and 2 and if you have reliable transportation. Submit a selftape ASAP of you reading the lines attached in the listing.

Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, explainer for Planned Parenthood sexual health education video. Ideal applicant is fluent in both English and Spanish.

for an electric bike company. The video will be used to raise brand awareness and promote the bike product to the general public.

‘The Food That Built America’ Season 2

• Seeking submissions from NJ. • Apply on Backstage.com. • In your cover letter, confirm your avail-

Barbour, prod.

Multimedia

Scripted TV & Video

female, 31-50, all ethnicities, must be natural and believable on camera and have a reel that demonstrates your abilities and experience. Model (Female): female, 30-45, all ethnicities, will be mainly demonstrating the product. Must be willing to receive a professional manicure before the shoot (reimbursement for manicure will be reimbursed by production).

Nonprofit Sexual Health Education Video

ethnicities, is the ‘best friend’ of Marcus, and tries to persuade Marcus to go through with something that will ‘change their lives forever’; as it turns out, Andrew is nothing more than a manifestation of Marcus’s inner demons and doesn’t really exist.

vided for or reimbursed.

• Shoots Sept. 1 and 2 in East Hanover, NJ. • Seeking—Testimonial (Female):

• Casting for the next co-spokesperson

• Production Starts at the END of

(will be within one hour of Manhattan, at the furthest). • Seeking—Muscle Man: male, 25-35, all

ethnicities, can play 25-35 yrs old, extremely fit, visibly built shoulders and legs, must have great comedic timing and facial expressions, and ability to ride a stationary bike. Linda: female, 55-68, all ethnicities, can play 55-68 years old, greying or white hair, average body type, great smile and upbeat energy, and ability to ride a bike is key. Sound Operator: all genders, 18-35, all ethnicities, A regular, “average joe” that will play a boom operator on set. Someone with good comedy timing.This rate will be for $300/day. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to francesca@hiker-

company.com.

• Company: Perfect Pitch Productions.

Staff: Jesse Manning, prod.

• Shoots late September (TBD) in New

Haven, Connecticut at A1 Toyota Car Dealership. Must self-report.

• Seeking—A1 Toyota New Recruit: all gen-

ders, 20-29, the next reoccurring character in the A1 Toyota commercials. Sleezy Salesperson: 25-57. Extremely Talkative/ Bubbly Person: 18-26. Moody/ Scary person: 21-37. The “Dealmaker”: 18+. Extra Interviewee’s: 18-65. • Seeking submissions from CT. • Send submissions to jesse@perfect-

• Pays $500/day.

National Commercials Cleaning Wipe Product Promo

• Casting a promo for a cleaning wiper

product.

• Company: NEXTV. Staff: Mariam

Bakashvili, line prod.

• Shoots TBD day (tentative for the first

week of September) in NYC.

• Seeking—Male Lead: male, 20-35, all

ethnicities, a tech-savvy millennial who always has a portable charger around for life’s unexpected moments. Female Lead: female, 20-35, all ethnicities, a tech-savvy millennial who always has a portable charger around for life’s unexpected moments.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to sofia@pointseven-

labs.com.

• Include photos of your hands and your

availability for the first week of September.

• Pays $200/day (will only be shooting for

a couple of hours).

pitchpro.com.

• Casting takes place early September. • Pays $75/day (supporting actors) $125/

day (next Co-Spokesperson)

• Include a short video with your submis-

sion. Can be recorded with a cell phone - very simple and quick is fine. State your name, where you live, and what some of your hobbies are.

• Casting millennials for an upcoming

Online Commercials & Promos Energy Bar Ads

• Casting actors for a series of online

promo videos for an energy bar brand. • Staff: Cindel K., coord. • Shoots week of Aug. 31. • Seeking—Fun Woman: female, 20-35.

Fun Man: male, 20-35.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to hi@stg6.com. • Pays $300/day. Metro-North ticket

reimbursement provided.

Stage Staff & Tech Argyle Theatre 2020-2021 Second Half of Season, AEA SM

• Seeking Equity stage managers for the

Argyle Theatre 2020-2021 Second Half of Season. Season includes: “Punk Rock Girl” (Jennifer Werner, dir.-choreo.; Joe Iconis, book; Rob Rokicki and Joe Iconis, musical arrangements; Geoffrey Ko, music dir. Rehearsals begin Dec. 28, 2020; runs Jan. 21-Feb. 28, 2021), “42nd Street” (Rehearsals begin Feb. 25, 2021; runs Mar. 18-Apr. 25, 2021), “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” (Gary John LaRosa, dir. Rehearses and runs TBD, Spring, 2021). • Company: Argyle Entertainment LLC.

Staff: Argyle Theatre, prod.; Evan

backstage.com

California casting

Pappas, artistic dir.; Mark and Dylan Perlman, managing partners; Michael Cassara Casting, season casting. • Season runs in Babylon, NY. Note:

half of the 2020-21 season. Resumes may be sent to submissions@michaelcassara.net by Aug. 31. Note: All dates and shows are to be considered pending, given the global health crisis. Our hope is to reopen with the listed shows, adhering to all safety protocols and guidelines. While the dates may need to move later, we are beginning the casting process now and are committed to presenting these shows whenever conditions permit us to do so. Although we’re only listing the Equity-defined principal roles in this EPA notice, we’re open to submissions for those seeking consideration for chorus roles, as well, given the unexpected time that has passed since our ECC (due to COVID-19). • Pays $473/wk. and health/pension/

transportation. Equity LOA Ref. to COST Agreement.

‘It’s A Wonderful Life, Radio Play,’ AEA SM

• Seeking AEA Stage Managers for “It’s A

Wonderful Life, Radio Play.” Note: All stage manager positions are filled for this production. Accepting submissions for future consideration. • Company: University of Connecticut.

Staff: Michael Bradford, artistic dir.; Jennifer Scapetis-Tyer, dir.

• Rehearses Oct. 5-Nov.6, 2020; preview

(pre-recorded): Nov. 12, 2020; closing (pre-recorded) Nov. 21, 2020 in Storrs, CT. • Seeking—Equity Stage Manager: 18+. • Seeking submissions from CT. • Submit by Sept. 9, 2020 to alana.

conti@uconn.edu.

• Pays $688/wk. (rehearsal/first week of

prerecorded performances); $229/wk. (subsequent pre-recorded performance week.) Equity URTA Agreement.

Southern California Plays Mark Twain’s ‘The Diaries of Adam & Eve’ • Casting Mark Twain’s “The Diaries of

Adam and Eve.” Production states: “’The Diaries of Adam & Eve’ is a uniquely American theater piece--funny, beautiful, and deeply moving. David Birney has crafted a lighthearted look at the world’s first love story through the eyes of backstage.com

America’s greatest humorist, Mark Twain, whose Garden of Eden bursts with wit, laughter and the lyric poignance of the first love and the first loss.”

mid-1980’s, at the start of the AIDS epidemic. Traumatized by what he witnesses during those years, he moves through the world cautiously, with his emotional guard resolutely up. The only person who can pierce his defenses is Young Walter, with whom he has fallen desperately in love. Through Young Henry, we see the origins of how Henry Wilcox became the man he is today. YM4/Young Walter: 18-29, all ethnicities, appears as a memory or the shadow of the adult Walter Poole. We encounter him in the mid-1980’s, at the start of the AIDS epidemic. A deeply feeling, intensely loyal, innately principled young man. Outwardly, he is as gentle as a cherry blossom. Inwardly, he’s steel-spined and indestructible. Whereas the epidemic almost crushes Henry, it reveals Young Walter’s true strength and resolve. Through Young Walter, we see the origins of how Walter Poole became the man he was. YM5/Charles Wilcox/Toby’s Agent: 18-29, all ethnicities, Charles Wilcox is a real estate developer, the son of Henry Wilcox; far less of a blunt instrument than his brother, Charles has inherited his father’s business acumen and savvy; but more importantly, as a young man raised by Walter Poole, he is also possessed of compassion and a surprising depth of feeling. Toby’s Agent is a budding young power agent at one of the big agencies. Thrives on protein shakes and hot yoga. Not without compassion for Toby but increasingly frustrated by his client’s erratic behavior. Knows how to gently pet with one hand and cut throats with the other. YM6/Tristan: 30-39, Black / African Descent, an ER physician, Tristan spends his days dealing with trauma of all kinds. He is calm under pressure and knows how to diffuse the most volatile situations. He can be droll and wickedly funny when he wants to (and he often does). He can also expertly dissect thorny, seemingly impossible problems withreasoned, blazingly intelligent thinking. None of his observations should feel like speeches—instead, they are examples of his dazzling mind at work, working out problems in real time. YM8/Jason #2/Clinic Worker: 30-39, Latino / Hispanic, Jason #2 is a first-grade teacher who often treats the world as if it were his classroom, Jason is bighearted, joyful, and deliriously idiosyncratic. Jason will often hijack a serious conversation with his decidedly out-ofthe box thinking. The fact that he is able to coherently argue his somewhat bafflingpoints of view is evidence not only of his fertile imagination but also his rock-solid intellect. Jason is a perceptive and compassionate man who possesses the ability to understand the emotional stakes of any situation— eventually. Clinic Worker is overworked and underpaid, his schedule precludes him from being overly compassionate with his patients—there’s just no time for hand-holding at this free clinic. He’s not unkind—in fact, he got into this line of work because he wants to help people who are in danger offalling through the cracks. But we meet him on a bad day and his bedside manner has been sacrificed for efficiency.

• Company: Conejo Players Theatre.

Staff: Gabriel Vega, media dir.

• Performs and filmed/live-streamed to

audience Oct. 9 (8 p.m.), Oct. 10 (2 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and Oct. 11 (2 p.m.) at The Conejo Players, 351 S Moorpark Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA. • Seeking—Adam: male, 18-50, Adam

and Eve must move from youth to maturity, playing out the life of the couple together until the death of Eve. Some “aging” is required--doesn’t need to be extreme but some indication of change/of age is necessary. Eve: 18-50, Adam and Eve must move from youth to maturity, playing out the life of the couple together until the death of Eve. Some “aging” is required--doesn’t need to be extreme but some indication of change/of age is necessary. • Seeking submissions from CA. • All auditions and callbacks will be via

Zoom. After you submit your audition form, the producer will contact you with log in info for the audition session you picked. Auditions will be held Aug. 27 and 28 (7:30 p.m.). For more info, visit https://www.conejoplayers.org/ mark-twains-diaries-adam-eve. • No pay.

‘The Inheritance,’ Equity Video Submissions • Casting Equity actors for “The

Inheritance.” Synopsis: Eric and Toby are on the precipice of having it all: promising careers, tight-knit friends, an upcoming wedding, and a rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan. But when two strangers enter their lives an older man and a younger one - their future suddenly becomes uncertain as they navigate the uncharted waters of modern gay life. Inspired by E.M. Forster’s masterpiece Howards End, The Inheritance examines the debt we owe to a lost generation and whether we’re living up to the promise to take care of our own. • Company: Geffen Playhouse. Staff:

Mike Donahue, dir.; Matthew Lopez, writer.

• Rehearsals begin Feb. 16, 2021; runs

Mar. ch-May 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. Note: Local actors particularly encouraged to submit.

• Seeking—YM2/Jason #1/Doorman #1/

Toby’s Other Agent: 20-39, Black / African Descent, Jason #1 is a high school science teacher, bookish and sweetly nerdy. The kind of person who doesn’t speak at parties until they’ve had a couple of drinks and then you can’t shut them up— but in an endearing way. He has the ability to look at an argument from every possible angle. He often takes on the role of peacemaker. Doorman has been on the job way too long, more interested in copy of the Post than in helping you. Probably constipated the day we meet him, definitely homophobic. Agent is a sports agent at Toby’s agency, very un-sports agent like—Zen and 12 steppy. YM3/Young Henry: 18-29, all ethnicities, appears as a memory or the shadow of the adult Henry Wilcox. We encounter him in the

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Mike Donahue, Matthew Lopez, and

Phyllis Schuringa (casting director) will view submissions. For consideration submit a two-minute monologue to aea. epa.geffen@gmail.com. Submissions deadline is Sept. 2. • Pays $969/wk. Equity LORT Non-Rep

Agreement.

Feature Films ‘Trip’

• Casting “Trip,” an independent horror/

thriller, set in modern-day L.A. Synopsis: Follows the story of Ben, a young Uber driver, as he embarks on his first day on the job. However, when an unexpected passenger gets into Ben’s car, his night and his life will be changed forever. • Company: Trip Movie LLC. Staff: Riley

Dayne, dir.-prod.

• Rehearses virtually via Zoom initially,

before meeting at a studio in North Hollywood for a full cast rehearsal. Dates are TBD as production works through COVID protocols, however, rehearsals and shooting is expected in late Sept. in L.A. • Seeking—Ben: male, 18-30, White /

European Descent, early 20s; Caucasian Male; clean-shaven, boyishly handsome, the boy next door look; an Uber driver and lead character of the film.Ben is a slightly uptight guy; he likes to keep things in control and get along with everyone. A little bit of a people pleaser. He’s stuck in a rut and doesn’t like change, he’s comfortable where he is. Casey: female, 18-29, White / European Descent, early 20s; Caucasian Female; girl next door look, naturally pretty; a paralegal and the girlfriend of our lead character. Casey is confident and quite self-assured. There isn’t much she couldn’t handle. She’s the type of woman who makes a plan and gets it done. She’s very strongwilled. It’s not easy to change her mind. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to tripmoviepro-

ducer@gmail.com.

• Note your availability during the

months of September/October. Include a video with your submission with the scenes presented in the sides (see attached pages 1 &2). • The film takes place inside of a moving

vehicle, actors may be required to drive in certain scenes (a valid California Drivers License is required), other scenes may include process trailers where the vehicle is towed for safety reasons etc. Must ensure you are comfortable with this before applying. • Pays $150/day min., open to negotia-

tion based on experience.

Student Films ‘Abra Kadabra’

• Casting “Abra Kadabra,” an experimen-

tal film aims at gender inequality. • Company: Columbia College

08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

casting California Hollywood. Staff: Yifan Xiang, dir.; Lauren Steffen, prod.

• Rehearsal via Zoom; shoots TBD. • Seeking—Magician #1: male, 33-40.

Magician #2: female, 18-25.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to schutxheung@

Local Commercials

• Send submissions to jairus.williams44@

gmail.com.

• Due to COVID-19, seeking voice talent

with own professional equipment for recording.

Local Bathtub Store Commercial

• No pay.

gmail.com. • No pay.

‘Follow the Money’

• Casting “Follow the Money,” a COVID-

19 conspiracy short film about a vaccine Bill Gate, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg create that turns everyone into zombies. • Company: New York Film Academy.

Staff: Anthony Cook, writer-dir.-prod. • Shoots remotely. • Seeking—Bill Gates: male, 38-66, a

dark version of Bill Gates, the American computer programmer and entrepreneur who co-founded Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest personal-computer software company. One of the leaders of a joint venture with Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg who plans on taking over the world. He is a worrier and has a conscience that overwhelms him. Tim Cook: male, 42-66, a dark, negative version of Tim Cook, the American technology executive and chief executive officer (CEO) of the computer manufacturer Apple Inc., (2011– ). One of the leaders of a joint venture with Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg who plans on taking over the world. He is greedy, diabolical, and kind of a negative Nancy. Mark Zuckerberg: male, 28-40, a dark version of Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer, cofounder and CEO (2004– ) of Facebook, a social networking website. He is Mr. Pass the Buck, very mechanical and over-analytical. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to anthony.cook@

nyfa.edu.

• Casting a local commercial for a bath-

Reality TV & Documentary HGTV Renovation Show

• Casting voiceover talent for “Weight,”

a six-minute animated short about a man who confronts the memory of his abusive father and struggles to place his feelings after his father’s passing. • Company: USC. Staff: Jairus Williams,

dir.-animator.

• Voice recording needed before Oct. 1. • Seeking—John/Father: male, 40-65,

the protagonist’s angry and abusive blue-collar father. He pushes his son away with harshness and fails to reconcile before his death. Director states: “He is really the only speaking role in the film. There will be some efforts as well for this role.” Aaron: male, 21-41, the role of Aaron is primarily efforts. One line of dialogue for this character. He sounds like a full-grown man, but not old or young/boyish. He will be grunting as he lifts weights, etc. No specific accent in mind for this character. • Seeking submissions from CA.

VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

• Note: Crew will follow COVID-19 guide-

lines strictly.

• Casting millennial homeowners for a

new renovation show for HGTV shooting in the Orange County, CA area. • Production states: “We’re looking for

• Company: NTDTV-SF. Staff: Yolanda

Yao, prod.

first-time, millennial homeowners (couples, no singles), ages 25-40 in Orange County who are confronted with difficult living spaces that they have no clue how to fix--spaces that only first-timers, desperate to get into the market, would put up with. Looking for kitchens and one additional space to renovate with a budget of $40-60K. Must be ready to pull the trigger on the work in September or October. Great HGTVapproved designers and perks.”

• No rehearsal; shoots for one day

between Aug. 31-Sept. 4 (2-7 p.m.) in Fremont & Santa Clara, CA.

• Seeking—White Collar Woman: female,

18-38, White / European Descent, Note: Will need to lying in the jacuzzi, but no nudity required. You can wear a tube top swimsuit or similar item. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to yolanda.yao@

ntdtvsf.com. • Pays $400.

• Company: Committee Films. Staff:

Susan S., coord.

• Shoots on/about Sept.-Oct. in Orange,

CA.

• Seeking—Millennial Homeowners: all

genders, 0-40, all ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to OCHomeowners@

yahoo.com.

• For consideration, submit a cover letter

with the homeowners’ names, budget, location, contact number, a note about what part of the house needs renovation, and a paragraph describing your current living situation and renovation project ideas. • No pay.

• Copy, meal, and credit provided.

‘Weight’

tub store. Seeking a white-collar woman (age 25-35) who feels anxious during quarantine WFH. She wants to relax herself by using her jacuzzi. She seems relaxed and satisfied when she lying in the bathtub.

Multimedia

• Seeking fit talent for an ad for a work-

out machine that engages the full body. The role is to look fully engaged with the workout and look like they are having fun working out. • RUUT is a small production company in

Newport Beach, CA. We love to create human connections told through a powerful story. • Company: RUUT Co. Staff: P. Labare,

Online Commercials & Promos Dashcam Product Lifestyle Video • Casting a dashcam product lifestyle

video.

• Company: Wondertree Media. Staff:

CJ Thomas, prod.

• Shoots Sept. 3-4 (four- to six-hours) in

San Diego, CA.

• Seeking—Lifestyle Actor for Dashcam

Commercial: all genders, 20-48, There will be close-ups on hands as well as driving; have photo ready hands (i.e. no cuts, tattoos, etc) as well as a drivers license.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to cj@wondertree-

media.com.

• For consideration, submit a selfie

headshot with your application so we can see current look/hairstyle. • Pay depends on talent and

experience.

casting.

Flex Affinity Ads

September in Newport Beach, CA.

in your submission.

feminine care/period product company. Company states: “This will not be your typical period commercial no dancing in white dresses, no weird blue liquid. Instead, it will be quirky and honest about what it’s like to get a period. The shoot will be COVID safe: we will test all crew and cast members on the day of, all roles will have backups in case somebody does test positive for COVID. Note: Even if you’re not perfect for this role, you may be selected for one of the supporting roles.”

actor if hired.

Leshkevich, prod.

• Shoots one day in the last week of

• Seeking—Talent-Male: male, 23-35, all

ethnicities, fit and with exercising experience. Talent- Female 1: female, 24-35, all ethnicities, to use the exercise machine. Need to be fit and used to exercising. Talent- Female 2: female, 24-35, fit and used to exercising. The talent will be required to exercise on the workout machine.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to paige@ruut.co. • For consideration, note your availability • A flat fee rate will be discussed if the

• Casting for a paid commercial for a

• Company: Freelance. Staff: Jennifer

• Shooting dates are pending, but will

be on the weekend, either Sept. 12-13 or 19-20 or 26-27 in Los Angeles, CA. • Seeking—Beth, Main Talent: female,

18-25, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, looking for a relatable Gen Z person with a quirky, outgoing personality; comedy experience preferred; actress of color preferred. • Seeking submissions from CA. • In order to audition, you must com-

plete the Google form linked here https://forms.gle/gupJfZSsz1fv57219. • The vibe of the ad will be similar to

these: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4BvwpjaGZCQ; https://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q; https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZKLnhuzh9uY. • Pays $2,000/day, plus lunch/dinner

provided on set. Non-union.

GetGo Mentors Promo

• Casting talent for a promo for GetGo

Mentors, a mentoring website that offers coaching in real estate, lifecoaching, credit repair, finances, and more. • Company: GetGo Funding Inc. Staff:

Jonathan Reyes, CEO.

• Shoots on Saturdays (8 a.m.-5 p.m.) in

Bell, CA.

• Seeking—Mentor: all genders, 18-70,

all ethnicities, teacher/motivator/lifecoach type. Will be reading lifecoaching information from a teleprompter to the company’s members.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to reyesbencomo@

hotmail.com.

• Submit via Backstage. • Pays $150-$175 per day, plus meals

included.

‘Happy Costumer’

• Casting “Happy Costumer,” a

Facebook video ad featuring a “customer testimonial.” • Company: LiveShoot. Staff: Nick A.,

prod.; Maria, casting.

• Shoots Aug. 28 (one-two hours) in the

L.A. area.

• Seeking—Male Customer: male,

28-42, all ethnicities, will shoot a selfie-style, authentic customer testimonial video. Female Customer: female, 28-42, all ethnicities, will shoot a selfie-style, authentic customer testimonial video.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to maria@liveshoot.

co.

• If you are interested and available to

shoot in the L.A. area, self-tape the following lines: “State your name” and “I can’t believe I was overpaying for my auto insurance! Now I’m saving hundreds of dollars all because I went to XYZ.com.“ • Upload your self-tape to the Dropbox

link (https://www.dropbox.com/ request/llRUeSceQYkiPOLjW5Tm) or submit through Backstage. • Pay provided.

backstage.com

National/Regional casting

Commercial & Fit Modeling Fitness & Lifestyle Photo Shoot

• Casting fitness and lifestyle models for

a company lookbook as well as short video clips to be used for social media and advertising. • Company: NuLiv Science. Staff: Jamie

Minamide, videographer.

• Shoots Oct. 1 or 2 in the L.A./Orange

County, CA area.

• Seeking—Fitness Model (Female):

female, 18+, all ethnicities. Fitness Model (Male): male, 18+, all ethnicities. Older Model 50+ (Female): female, 50+, all ethnicities. Older Model 50+ (Male): male, 50+, all ethnicities. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to jamie@nulivusa.

com.

• Include your Instagram handle, if

available.

• Pays flat rate of $300 for four hours. No

gas reimbursement provided.

Animation & Videogame Voiceover ‘Tempe,’ Virtual Reality Voiceover

• Casting voice talent for a number of

roles for an upcoming VR narrative game. Synopsis: The game is about a VR multiverse that’s being shut down and what happens to the avatars left behind as they attempt to escape deletion. • Company: Tender Claws. Staff: J.

Noland, prod.

• VO recording is anticipated to begin in

mid-September 2020. Note: Recording will be done remotely.

• Seeking—Gavin (“The Prepper”): male,

30-70, singer songwriters are encouraged to apply; in addition to line readings: send a link to your original songs online if you have one; a long time ago, Gavin was a silicon valley wunderkid. . . but his hopes for life and love were dashed; now, Gavin is a much more grizzled man secluding himself in his woodland cabin and just waiting for the day when his former creations fail. Gavin is smart, but a little rough around the edges and not here to make friends; he is a man of many layers sometimes speaking with rational clarity, sometimes going so far into his own mind and the past that he feels a little unhinged; however, he can have a softer side and displays dry humor. Voice Preference: Deep, Authoritative, Throaty, Grizzled/Rugged: ex. Tom Waits. Bush: female, 20-60, is a well respected researcher in the field of AI; she is one of the founding board members of the Tempe social network and manages the AI guides. When with her charges, Bush takes on the tone of a firm, but fair grade school teacher; Bush is friendly, though it often feels backstage.com

like she is hiding something or not telling the full story. Bush is prone to panic attacks and often gets flustered. Voice Preference: Nurturing, Mysterious, Motivational. Marty: female, 20-60, helped create the social network at the heart of the story; she is the spokesperson for Tempe; she is also Gavin’s past lover and his motivation for returning to the network. Marty is very charismatic and ambitious; in the past, they had made several key moves to advance their career at the expense of their relationship with Gavin; current Marty has become more altruistic and is focused on taking responsibility for past decisions.Voice Preference:Warm, Friendly, Confident. Cookie: female, 20-60, is the players’ guide upon arriving at Tempe; Cookie is generally cheerful and inviting: often overly so; however, sometimes Cookie hints at a darker layer and gives the impression that they are redirecting the conversation away from something in their past that they don’t want the player to know.Voice Preference:Inviting, Animated, Confessional. Dewey: male, 20-60, is a very sad avatar who players initially meet on a singles night speed date; while easily dismissed, he also appears as a kind of depressed prophet who unknowingly foresees much of the future that befalls the Tempe social network. Voice Preference: Sullen, Worried, Demanding. Madame: female, 20-60, formed the Red Light District, a political movement and decentralized zone that’s been slowly overtaking Tempe; the District’s very existence is a protest to the curatorial “freedom”’ promised by Tempe; instead, Madame provides her followers, citizens, and neighbors some very sexy boundaries... Madame loves a good time and can throw-down at any venue; I mean if you’re gonna be the charismatic face of a revolution, you better make it fun; but seriously, this golden-vibed goddess and casual hipster intellectual has inspired a growing hedonistic counterculture that is quickly eclipsing the capitalist greed of Tempe’s corporate board.Voice Preference: Energetic, Persuasive, Feminine.

Stage manager positions are filled for this production. • Company: Geffen Playhouse. Staff:

Mike Donahue, dir.; Matthew Lopez, writer.

• Rehearsals begin Feb. 16, 2021; runs

Mar. ch-May 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA.

• Seeking—AEA Stage Manager: 18+. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Stage Managers may send resumes by

Sept. 2 for future consideration to Jill Barnes at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024. • Pays $969/wk. Equity LORT Non-Rep

Agreement.

Northern California Online Commercials & Promos Neighbor Paid Social Advertisement

• Casting a digital advertisement for paid

social media channels. Neighbor is an app that allows hosts to rent out extra space to people who are in need of storage options. • Company: Bamboo. Staff: Heather

Melcer, creative strategist.

• Tentatively shoots Sept. 2 or Sept. 3 in

the San Francisco/Bay area. Shoot will be a small team. Indoor/outdoor and will require interaction with one other talent. We will be taking all COVID-19 precautions and doing our part to keep everyone safe.

• Seeking—Host: 30-42, will be playing a

young new homeowner who is clearing out space to make room for a renter to store their belongings. They will act clearing out space, go through the app UI to list their space and find a renter and meet them when they drop their stuff off. Renter: 28-43, looking for space to rent to store their items; supporting role. Comes in at the end of the ad to drop off their belongings.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Must be able to record voiceover

remotely to a professional standard. To audition, read the attached script and record the lines for the designated role. The audio file submitted should be labeled with your “First Name_Last Name_Character Name.”

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Media agreement will be sent prior to

filming.

• Slate with your name and the character

you are reading for at the beginning of your recording.

National/ Regional

• For more info on the studio, visit ten-

derclaws.com.

American play of 1970, “Les Blancs” prophetically confronts the hope and tragedy of Africa in revolution. The setting is a white Christian mission in a colony about to explode. The time is that hour of reckoning when no one the guilty nor the innocent can evade the consequences of white colonialism and imperatives of black liberation. Tshembe Matoseh, the English educated son of a chief, has come home to bury his father. He finds his teenage brother a near alcoholic and his older brother a priest and traitor to his people. Forswearing politics and wanting only to return to his wife and child in England, Tshembe is drawn into the conflict symbolized by a woman dancer, the powerful Spirit of Africa who pursues him. • Company: Emory University. Staff:

Lydia Fort, dir.; Meghan Truhett, casting coord. • Rehearsals begin Oct. 13 online only for

rehearsals and reading. Performances will be an online reading recorded in advance and available on a password protected site from Nov. 6-13. • Seeking—The Woman: female, 18+,

Black / African Descent. Tshembe Matoseh: male, 18+, Black / African Descent. Abioseh Matoseh: male, 18+, Black / African Descent. Madame Neilsen: female, 18+, White / European Descent. Eric: male, 18+, Black / African Descent. Dr. Marta Goiterling: female, 18+, White / European Descent. Charlie Morris: male, 18+, White / European Descent. Dr. Willy Dekoven: male, 18+, White / European Descent. Major George Rice: male, 18+, White / European Descent. Peter: male, 18+, Black / African Descent. African Child: 0-18, Black / African Descent. Prisoner: 18+, all ethnicities. African Villagers and Warriors: 18+, all ethnicities. Soldiers: 18+, all ethnicities. Ngago: male, 18+, Black / African Descent. • Seeking submissions from GA. • There will be no in-person audition

appointments, all auditions will be submitted by video. Performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to submit. Local Atlanta/ North Georgia area actors are strongly encouraged to submit. Submissions deadline is Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. Callbacks, if needed will be held on Zoom by appointment with the director on Sept. 5 and 6. • Select and prepare at least one of the

audition sides provided on our website. Sides will be available at www.theater. emory.edu/home/auditions/professionals.html. Make your video(s) available to us by utilizing a private YouTube or Vimeo or similar site. Send the instructions needed to access your videos. • Actors may create a profile and add

Stage Staff & Tech

Plays

‘The Inheritance,’ AEA SM

‘Les Blancs’

their headshot/resume using the link at www.theater.emory.edu/home/auditions/professionals.html. Alternately, Equity actors may include their headshot/resume in the e-mail with their video audition submission. E-mail your video submission to teauditions@gmail. com and indicate whether or not you have completed a profile on Audition Revolution.

sions for future consideration. Note:

Blancs.” Project Description: Best

tion. Equity is committed to diversity

• Pays $200/hr.

• Seeking AEA stage manager submis-

• Seeking video submissions for “Les

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

casting National/Regional and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit. • Pays $493/wk. Equity SPT Contract.

Note: 3 Equity contracts are available. The company will include student actors to be cast at later auditions.

‘PlayFest 2020’ Equity Video and SM Submissions • Seeking Equity principal audition

video submissions for the Orlando Shakespeare Company’s upcoming production of “PlayFest 2020” in lieu of live local Equity auditions. Actors are able to be considered for multiple shows. See additional materials specific dates for each production and roles. • All stage manager positions are filled,

but company is accepting resumes for future replacements. • Company: Orlando Shakespeare

Theater. Staff: Cynthia White, dir. of new play development; Nick Bublitz, prod. in residence; Stephen Gelpi, casting assoc.; Paige Gober, company mgr. • PlayFest 2020 will consist of six new

play readings presented Oct. 3- Nov. 7. Each play will rehearse for one week (Monday-Friday evenings) and perform at the end of the week. All rehearsals and performances will be virtual.

• Seeking—Various Roles: 18+. • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit. • Sides available at www.orlandoshakes.

org/about-us/auditions/. Choose any of the characters listed from any of the plays. Record one video of no more than two sides total. Preferred video format is unlisted YouTube or Vimeo link; do not submit a video that needs to be downloaded to view. At the beginning of the video, state your name and what show/role(s) you are auditioning for (you may add additional characters that you did not record sides for). Combine all recordings into single video. • Submissions are due by Sept. 3 and will

be reviewed in the order they are received. Actors may submit by visiting https://auditionsmanager.com/submission.php?AU=Img7js419 (preferred method) or by emailing the link to the video and PDFs of their headshot and resume to auditions@orlandoshakes. org.

• For SM consideration, submit resume &

cover letter to production@orlandoshakes.org.

• Pays $263 weekly minimum plus pen-

sion and health. Equity LOA Agreement. ALL Equity contracts are SPT 1 using Equity’s media agreement.

BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

TheatreSquared 2020-21 Season, Video Submissions

• TheatreSquared celebrates diversity

and commits to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Actors of all backgrounds are strongly encouraged to audition.

• Casting talent for the TheatreSquared

2020-21 Season. Season includes: “Pass Over” (Antoinette Nwandu, writer. Rehearsals begin Sept. 29; runs Oct. 16-Nov. 1), “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” (By Lauren Gunderson, writer. Rehearsals begin Oct. 27; runs Nov. 20-Dec. 3), “A Christmas Carol” (Charles Dickens, writer; adapted for the stage by Amy Herzberg and Robert Ford. Rehearsals begin Nov. 16; Runs Dec. 4-27), “School Girls or; The African Mean Girl Play” (Jocelyn Bioh, writer. Rehearsals begin Dec. 28; runs Jan. 22-Feb. 14, 2021), “Designing Women” (Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, writer. Rehearsals begin Mar. 23, 2021; runs Apr. 16-May 16), “At the Wedding” (Bryna Turner, writer. Rehearsals begin Apr. 6, 2021; runs Apr. 30-June 13), “American Mariachi” (José Cruz González, writer. Rehearsals begin July 20, 2021; runs Aug. 13-Sept. 5), and “Twelfth Night” (William Shakespeare, writer. Rehearsals begin July 20, 2021; runs Aug. 13-Sept. 5).

• Pays $619/wk., plus travel and accom-

modations provided. Equity SPT Contract.

Short Films ‘A Bloody Good Time’

• Casting “A Bloody Good Time.”

Synopsis: British party boy Dan Jenkins’ life changed when his American niece Ivory came to live with him after her mother passed away. Now, a couple years down the line, Ivory gets her period for the first time. It’s up to Dan, with the help of a local shopkeeper and some mint chocolate chip ice cream, to prove to Ivory, and himself, that he’s fit to take care of her, regardless of what comes their way. • Company: Florida State University

College of Motion Picture Arts. Staff: Kaitlyn Corwin, dir.

• Company: TheatreSquared. Staff: Bob

Ford; artistic dir.; Amy Herzberg, assoc. artistic dir.; Dexter Singleton, dir. of New Play Development; Rebecca Rivas, artistic assoc.

• Rehearses virtually TBD; shoots Sept.

20-22 in Tallahassee, FL.

accommodations to help actors feel more comfortable. • No pay.

‘Veins’

• Casting “Veins,” a female-centered

horror short about a young woman who must perform a ritual watering a sacred plant to gain fertility and continue her family line. • Company: ONYX Films. Staff: Rachael

Fisher, casting.

• Voiceover that can be recorded by the

actor by Sept 1.

• Seeking—Abuela: female, 65+, Latino /

Hispanic, must be Latina & nonunion; 65+, the nurturing and caring grandmother of the family; Abuela leaves a voice message to her granddaughter with instructions to a ritual needed to save the family line. Note: Do not apply if you are not Latin/Hispanic or of descent. ONYX Films strives to represent diversity authentically of its true nature.

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • For consideration, submit headshot and

resume to rfishe11@lion.lmu.edu for audition instructions.

• IMDb credit and a copy provided. Film

will be submitted to festivals.

• Seeking—Dan Jenkins: male, 27-33,

Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, White / European Descent, a former party boy, Dan has never been an overachiever; his boisterous demeanor seems a bit out of place at the coffee shop where he works, and his compassion sets him apart from some of his more rowdy friends; when his niece Ivory started living with him, she became his number one priority; now, she’s gotten her period for the first time, and he’s absolutely shitting himself. Ivory Phillips: female, 11-16, all ethnicities, Dan’s young American niece who recently began living with him after her mother passed away; she’s adjusting rather well to life in the UK, but though she’s found many ways to cope, she can’t help herself from thinking about her mom now and then; since getting a period is something all biological females go through, she’s missing her mom extra hard as she begins her first one; it’s an awkward and weird to share with her uncle, even though she loves him, but she must to get the help she needs. Margie: female, 45-85, all ethnicities, is the shopkeeper at the local corner store where Dan goes to buy his cigarettes; she’s known Dan since he was a small child, so when she sees him rushing in frantic and worried to buy feminine products, she does everything in her power to help put him at ease; she’s an absolute sweetheart, and is always one for a joke.

• Season rehearses and runs in

Fayetteville, AR.

• Seeking—Actors: 18+. • Seeking submissions from AR. • Due to the ongoing pandemic and out

of an abundance of caution, TheatreSquared is requesting that Equity actors interested in auditioning the our 2020-2021 Season submit a self-taped audition in lieu of live local Equity auditions. (See breakdown for character descriptions and video submission guidelines.) • Equity members should upload self-

taped auditions here: https://docs. google.com/ forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPnuG7QStmgkV67 M9BW9LUzPyE80DiBtqZHCLj0xBLL9Nzg/ viewform?usp=sf_link. The audition form requires a Google-associated account. If you are unable to sign in, you may email audition links to casting@theatre2.org. Label all files and or links with your first and last name. (e.g. “LastName_FirstName_resume”). All self-tape submissions must be received by 5 p.m. CDT on Sept. 11. • Non-union actors and Equity

Membership Candidates (EMC) may submit using this link: https://docs. google.com/ forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUI0fTmUISuhgx8R IIEBi0wvD9f9T5qVr7Kbk6Apsa21NKTw/ viewform. For questions or more info on our safety plan, contact Artistic Associate, Rebecca Rivas, by phone at (479) 777-9802 or via email at casting@ theatresquared.org.

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to kc17b@my.fsu.

edu.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

• If not featured in your reel, be ready to

perform in a British dialect (preferably Northern English, Midlands, Yorkshire, etc.) for an audition for the roles of Dan and Margie. Actors for all three roles should be comfortable acting in close proximity without a mask. However, because we are sensitive to the time we are working in, we are happy to make

Student Films Healthcare Worker Distress Documentary

• Casting subjects for a documentary on

distress (moral injury) in the medical world. Note: Subjects must be real-life Healthcare Professionals. Medical students or retired hc workers are acceptable. • Company: New York University. Staff:

Noah Shipman, dir.; Victoria Castro, prod.

• Shoots Spring TBD, or when COVID-19

allows us to do so safely.

• Seeking—Healthcare Professional: 18+. • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to hfs257@nyu.edu. • Meals and transport paid for as neces-

sary. No monetary pay as this is a documentary.

‘Slice And Hook’

• Casting “Slice And Hook,” a UCLA MFA

short film that follows a close knit group of college friends as they make their transition into adulthood. • Company: Ray Boland UCLA MFA

Directing Student; Carlo Cosio UCLA MFA Producing Student. Staff: Ray Boland, dir.; Carlo Cosio, prod.; John Roche, DP.

• Rehearsals TBD (one or two in the next

two weeks); shoots Sept. 10-14 (12-hour shoot dates); shoots three days at a house located in Athens, GA and two days at an outdoor park property about 30 minutes outside Atlanta, GA.

• Seeking—Josh: male, 21-31, all ethnic-

ities, is the character through which the story is told; Josh has a tendency to live in his head and overthink much of life; as the world changes rapidly around him, his internal perspective reflects the changing dynamic of both his friend group and his overall life; backstage.com

National/Regional casting

although Josh is introspective, he’s not introverted; Josh is a very emotional volatile person who likes to speak his mind -- sometimes to a fault. Corey: male, 21-31, is the group leader; he’s calm and self assured with a come-what-may attitude; although its clear he could likely achieve more in life than his peers, he’s more interested in having a good time than working to get ahead. Austin: male, 21-32, all ethnicities, is the kind of person who likes to believe he is cool and collected, but in reality is more of a goofy, eccentric type; he is easily provoked, and has lofty, unrealistic ideas of what his future will look like; however, his childish disposition makes his, at times, over inflated ego lovable rather than unbearable. Sarah: female, 21-32, tends to be an outgoing person with a warm, playful disposition; she always tries to see the bright side in life, and as a result it she often times is light for people as they go through difficult situations; however, when life takes an unexpected turn for her, she begins to experience a form of anxiety she never has before. Haley: female, 21-32, all ethnicities, is Sarah’s best friend; she’s goofy but also sensitive -- often using humor to mitigate difficult emotional situations; Haley tends to be the one leaning on Sarah most of the time, however for the first time in their relationship, Sarah now needs to lean on her. • Seeking submissions from GA. • Send submissions to rayboland7@

gmail.com.

• Travel compensation and meals

provided.

‘Wuhan Express’

• Casting “Wuhan Express,” an FSU the-

sis film that follows a Hispanic motherand-son duo as they try to keep their local Chinese restaurant afloat during the pandemic. It is a comedic mockumentary. • Company: Florida State University

College of Motion Picture Arts. Staff: Kiran Gordon, dir. • Rehearses Aug. 29-Sept. 4; shoots

Sept. 5-7 in Tallahassee, FL.

• Seeking—Jonathan Rodriguez: male,

21-27, Latino / Hispanic, an early-twenties PR graduate and man of the twenty-first century. He is a member of the LGBTQ+ community: he is gay and has a partner not seen in the film. He tends to believe he is right, even in situations where he obviously isn’t. He can be stubborn and straight forward. He is always trying to prove himself to others, especially his mom. He wants to be respected and seen as an equal by his mom at work. He works at the restaurant to help his mom and to keep his father’s spirit alive (his father having built the restaurant). Lucia Rodriguez: female, 40-60, Latino / Hispanic, a middle-aged Hispanic woman who speaks more with her actions than her words. She is a widow and continues to run the restaurant she started with her husband. She can be stubborn in her ways and is very resistant to change. She wants to respect her late husband and not sully his business. She loves her son, but does not understand his more backstage.com

liberal ideas and views. More than anything she wants to keep Wuhan Express afloat. She is self confident and does not seek approval from her son, but hopes someday that he will understand her. • Seeking submissions from FL. • Send submissions to kag16s@my.fsu.

edu.

• Auditions will be held over Zoom. If not

able to do that, a taped video submission of the sides may be possible. Production states: “Actors should be comfortable with not wearing a mask and working in close proximity with others during this production. Actors must also be comfortable in partaking in a small fight scene.” • Florida State University College of

Motion Picture Arts has an agreement with SAG-AFTRA.

to help single divorcees find love again, by giving them all the tools they need to settle down with someone new...or maybe even each other!” All expenses paid.

• Company: Lighthearted Entertainment. • Shoots February 2021 at a TBD tropical

location (up to four weeks).

• Seeking—Upbeat and Charismatic

Single Divorcees: all genders, 21-40, all ethnicities, fun, attractive, and charismatic single men and women who are divorced. Looking for dynamic individuals who are divorced and looking for love. • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to chadryanmoore@

gmail.com.

• Put in notes box your age, Instagram

handle, and how long have you been divorced. Must be divorced. Don’t apply if you are not divorced. • Paid, TBD.

Reality TV & Documentary ‘I Love My Phone’

• Seeking real people to depict reality for

“I Love My Phone.” Producer states: “Looking for someone who truly is addicted to their phone (even their computer and/or TV). We want to know how much you use your phone on a daily basis, what you do on your phone and why it’s so important to you. What do you think you would do if you didn’t have access to your phone for an hour, a day or even a week?” • Company: Conde Nast Entertainment.

Staff: Rory Adele Halevy, sr. creative dir.

• Shoots Aug. 31-Sept. 5 in NYC, Chicago,

or Atlanta (no exceptions and talent must be within 90 minutes driving distance from these locations). Note: This video will be shot outdoors with a small crew, proper protective gear and consistent with social distancing guidelines.

• Seeking—Phone Addict: female, 18-35,

Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, to accurately depict their obsession with their phone. This is not an acting role. • Seeking submissions from NY, IL and

GA.

• Send submissions to cnebrandedcast-

ing@condenast.com.

• For consideration, in your cover letter

describe your obsession with your phone and why it’s so important to you, as well as what you think you would do if you didn’t have your phone for an hour, a day or even a week. • Compensation is TBD; all meals and

transportation are covered. Nonunion only.

The Divorcee Dating Project

• Casting single divorcees for a new rela-

tionship show. Production states: “Are you divorced and having trouble jumping back into the dating game? A new show from Lighthearted Entertainment (creators of MTV’s smash dating show, ‘Are You the One’) is currently looking

Multimedia ‘Red Table Talk’ Hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith

• Seeking real people nationwide to be

featured on “Red Table Talk,” an Emmy nominated talk show. Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow, and mother Gammy – three generations of women open their home for a series of candid conversations with family and friends about the most important and provocative topics of the day. • Company: Facebook Watch. Staff:

Carlellé Mercedes Parr, prod.

• Records remotely via self-tape. • Seeking—African American Police

Officers: all genders, 18+, Black / African Descent, to speak with active AfricanAmerican police officers about what life has been like in today’s climate. Do you feel caught between two worlds? Are you on the front lines being called names or pelted with rocks? Are family or friends encouraging you to quit and can’t understand your career choice? If you are a black police officer or have a relative who is, we’d like to hear from you. Must be real stories (no actors). Relative of a African American Cop: all genders, 18+, Black / African Descent, families of police officers who are estranged or are in conflict with a family member because they are cops. Must be real stories; real families of police officers only. Red Table Talk Fan: all genders, 18+, all ethnicities, putting together an important video montage of people (all ages, genders, races), simply stating what comes to mind when they think of the police. The final, edited video tape package, consisting of many unique voices, will become an important segment in an upcoming episode. What do you think of when you hear the word Police? • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to carlelle.parr@red-

tabletalk.com. • No pay.

VO Artists Needed for English Learning App • Casting a number of voiceover artists

to play members of a sustainable task

force, as part of an interactive English learning app. Production states: “We are looking for people from all over the world, but those who have a neutral native accent, so that it could be widely understood by beginners to the English language. In the majority of cases, the recording will be done remotely.” • Company: Box Media. Staff: Clare

Munn, dir.; Ludovica Musumeci, prod.dir.; Hannah Westall, PA-casting. • Records TBD dates between

September-December remotely.

• Seeking—Developer: female, 30-40,

the developer of a fast-growing and successful sustainable tech company. Production states: “We are open to any accent, but you will be required to speak neutrally and clearly, so that beginners to English would be able to easily understand what is being said.” English Teacher: male, 20-30, a young, passionate English teacher who advocates for equal access to education.Production states: “We are open to any accent, but you will be required to speak neutrally and clearly, so that beginners to English would be able to easily understand what is being said.” Head of Technology: female, 40-55, the head of technology at a renewable energy company.Production states: “We are open to any accent, but you will be required to speak neutrally and clearly, so that beginners to English would be able to easily understand what is being said.” • Seeking submissions worldwide. • Send submissions to casting@boxme-

dia.io.

• Provide a voice reel with your submis-

sion. Successful applicants will be contacted to submit a self-taped recording. • Pay provided.

Local Commercials BMW Lifestyle Commercial

• Seeking talent to be in a lifestyle com-

mercial. You will need a valid driver’s license and must comfortable driving a vehicle on camera. This is a two day shoot. • Company: Caldwell and Kerr

Advertising. Staff: Patrick Mahoney, prod. coord.

• Shoots the first week of September in

Sarasota, FL.

• Seeking—Husband: male, 30-45, a hus-

band picking up a new BMW to surprise his wife. Wife: female, 30-45, a wife going out on the town with her husband only to be surprised with a new BMW. • Seeking submissions from FL. • Send submissions to pmahoney@

caldwellandkerr.com.

• Send headshot and demo reel. Must

be local to the Sarasota area. Automotive commercial experience is a plus. • Pays $300/day ($600 total for shoot).

Per diem, travel and lodging is negotiable.

08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

casting National/Regional

Online Commercials & Promos

having lunch. Catering Recipient: female, 35-60, all ethnicities, looking for a woman to portray a customer receiving a catering order at home.

Alco Electronics: eMotion Bike Lifestyle Shoot

• Pay rate may vary depending on how

Our productions are very small crew size, typically no more than 4 people on set; we strive to follow COVID recommendations by requiring masks and distance while on set.

Laser TV Crowdfunding Video

Print Modeling

paign video for an upcoming Laser TV Projector.

Movember Shoot

• Casting three actors for a lifestyle

shoot for Alco Electronics electric bike. • Company: Captiv Creative. Staff:

Captiv Creative, owner.

• Shoots Sept. 8-10, one talent per day, in

Houston, TX. Note: We have yet to finalize which talent will be filmed on which specific date. • Seeking—Fitness Girl: female, 25-35,

this role is featuring a young, fit woman riding the eMotion bike on the seawall in Galveston; must be physically fit and able to ride a bike. Working Man: male, 25-40, this role will depict a physically fit male using the eMotion bike as their mode of transportation to work in the city. Leisure: all genders, 25-40, the role will depict one talent to use the eMotion bike in a suburban area, lesiurely riding their bike through the neighborhood. • Seeking submissions from TX. • Send submissions to casting@cap-

tivcreative.com.

• For consideration, include a note stat-

• Seeking submissions from GA. • Send submissions to ogmentedatl@

gmail.com.

much time will be needed. Each role will be staggered by call times and will only work for a few hours.

• Company: Captiv Creative. Staff: S.

Rossiello, owner.

• Shoots Sept. 1, 9-a.m.-5 or 6 p.m. in

Houston, TX.

• Seeking—Male: male, 25-35. Female:

female, 25-35.

• Seeking submissions from TX. • Send submissions to casting@cap-

tivcreative.com.

• For consideration, confirm your avail-

ability for the shoot date in your submission.

• Pays $250/talent for up to 10 hours of

production.

Digital Ad for Restaurant

• Seeking—Father And Small Child: male,

4-45, all ethnicities, looking for a father and child for a small part in the ad; would be nice to have a real father and child duo; but can piece together if need be. Mother And Teenage Daughter: female, 15-50, White / European Descent, looking for mother and daughter duo for ad; would like to have real mother and daughter but can piece together if needed. 2 Female BFFs: female, 20-35, all ethnicities, looking for ladies to portray two friends

BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

£800 + 20%.

• If chosen for video it will be shown on

YouTube and Spotify - 6 months £800.

Commercial & Fit Modeling

• Pays $25/hr. Meal provided. Makeup

com.

• Pays $150/day.

• Casting a web commercial for a lighting

owner.

schedule.

• Company: Tree Petts Casting. Staff:

• Seeking—Grandma: female, 65+, White

/ European Descent, this is a FaceTime style call where the family calls Grandma for a small chat and banter; we need footage of the Grandma saying a few different things and interacting with the family in the call.

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to Ben@BXFilms.tv. • Casting states: “Would love to see audi-

tion tapes, which will very much so represent the actual footage. Act like you are taking a call and chatting with Grandkids.” • Pays $100 flat rate. Filmed at home by

you on your iPad, iPhone or computer. This will be footage of a FaceTime type call.

commercial ad for an upcoming ‘Massage Gun’ device. Looking to target high-end demographics.

roles will be needed on Sept. 2 with one needed on Sept. 4.

• Usage print and online 6 months Spain

Tree Petts, casting dir.

• Seeking submissions from GA. • Send submissions to russ@russkiel.

• Company: FOCUS Brands. Staff:

• Shoots Sept. 1-4. Note: Most of the

Germany £800 + 20%.

• No rehearsal; self-tape/remote on own

man who has it all: great job; great apartment. Only the finest satisfy his tastes. It’s only natural he’d want the greatest home theater experience to boot. Classy Woman: female, 25-35, a young, professional woman to appear in an upscale home. One day of filming and one day of a photo shoot required.

Massage Gun Digital Ad

Octevius Gorman, content prod.mgr.

• Usage print and online 6 months

• Company: BX Films. Staff: Ben Sanders,

• Shoots Sept. 10-15 in Atlanta, GA. • Seeking—Classy Man: male, 25-35, a

• Casting actors/models to be patrons in

a restaurant ad.

£800 + 20%.

Hip Optical Eyewear Fashion Shoot

product.

Coffee Gator products, making coffee and pouring, using the Mark Roberts Motion Control Robotic arm.

• Agreements: Shoot fee £400 + 20%. • Usage print and online 6 months UK

It’s almost that time of year again as we come to the wonderful movember month. Production is looking for eight guys. One of the eight guys will be in a video as opposed to stills. Production is looking for approachable looking, positive guys, with warm facial expressions, E.G. below. You’ll need to look straight to camera, so ideally have experience in photography shoots The shots will be close up head and shoulder shots. You must have stubble/a beard/mustache currently and be able to also provide a recent headshot where you are clean shaven (within a year/assure us that is a current likeness). This is due to the fact the shoot will require them to have beard/stubble at the beginning and throughout the day will shave down to a mustache, and then completely clean shaven. You must also be willing to do this on the day.

Staff: Russ Kiel, prod.

ing per talent.

• Casting two actors to interact with the

• Casting movember still photography.

• Company: Launch Light Films, LLC.

Light Product, Web Commercial

Coffee Gator: Motion Control Robot Shoot

• Pays $150/day.

• Casting for a short, crowdfunding cam-

ing if you can ride a bike, and if you are available for the production date(s).

• Pays $250 for up to eight hours of film-

• Seeking submissions from GA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Note: COVID: Safety is our concern.

• Casting a short, low budget online

• Company: Launch Light Films, LLC.

Staff: Russ Kiel, prod.

• Shoots Sept. 5-15 (one day of shooting

and one day of photography) in Atlanta, GA. • Seeking—Professional Male: male,

25-40, an average-to-athletic build to demonstrate use & function of the massage gun in a mix of environments. Well-groomed, high end appearance-dressed sharply. Must be able to supply own wardrobe options. Professional Woman/Yoga Enthusiast: female, 25-35, a young, high-end professional woman and yoga enthusiast.

• Shoots Sept. 3-4 (photo shoot) and

Sept. 7-8 (video shoot) in London, UK.

• Casting “Eyewear Reinvented,” a fash-

ion shoot showcasing the latest in prescription eyewear from Hip Optical. Production states: “Shooting eye-stopping, high-fashion, uniquely crafted advertising photography to apply toward marketing for the Hip Optical brand.” • Company: HipOptical. Staff: Hendrick

Lau, photographer; Chris DeTorres, editor; Florencia Gonzalez, fashion coord.; Michael Campbell, project mngr. • Four potential shooting dates: Aug. 21,

24, 26, and 27 (11 a.m to 5 p.m. EST) at Hip Creative Studio, 56 McCulloch Ave., Etobicoke, ON, Canada. • Seeking—Fashion Model: female,

18-40.

• Seeking submissions from ON. • Send submissions to hlau@hipoptical.

com.

and wardrobe provided.

• Seeking—Younger Guys: male, 20-33,

all ethnicities, four guys who are 33 or under - specifically looking around the ages of 20, 25, 30, and 33. All ethnicities - this is for UK, German and Spanish markets so we need to reflect this. Looking for approachable looking, positive guys, with warm facial expressions, E.G. below. They’ll need to look straight to camera, so ideally have experience in photography shoots. You must have stubble/a beard/mustache currently. You must also be able to also provide a recent headshot where they are clean shaven (within a year/assure production that is a current likeness). Older Guys: male, 34-50, all ethnicities, three guys should be between 34-50 yrs. All ethnicities - this is for UK, German and Spanish markets so we need to reflect this.Looking for approachable looking, positive guys, with warm facial expressions, E.G. below. They’ll need to look straight to camera, so ideally have experience in photography shoots. You must have stubble/a beard/mustache currently. You must also be able to also provide a recent headshot where they are clean shaven (within a year/assure production that is a current likeness). • Seeking submissions from England. • Send submissions to assistant@treep-

etts.co.uk.

• Casting from photos - might get some

people to self tape. Be aware, production needs two head/shoulder shots of each suggestion. One with beard/stubble and one without.

Commercial & Film Voiceover ‘Safe, Healthy, and Abused: A COVID-19 PSA’ • Casting “Safe, Healthy, and Abused,” a

student animated PSA. Synopsis: Made in collaboration with a nonprofit organization, this project is about promoting domestic violence awareness during COVID-19. • Production states: “PSA will air on this

non-profit organization’s website and socials by early to mid September.” • Company: NYU Tisch-Kanbar Film.

Staff: Victoria Castro, prod.

• Records remotely. • Seeking—Man #1: male, 18+. Narrator:

18+. Woman #1: female, 18+. Woman #2: all genders, 18+.

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to vac333@nyu.edu. • To be considered, send or post an audio

segment on your reels the role you would like to audition for; 3 takes preferred. You may audition for one role or all roles. Audio clips with high static, white noise, or in general inaudible, will not be considered. The following are notes from the director and for your guidance: • For the 3 main characters: You are in a

relationship with somebody who, since COVID-19 began, has started showing backstage.com

National/Regional casting

signs of domestic violence. They show more signs of aggression, like throwing objects at you; and they are also more controlling, for example: regulating when you can and can’t leave the house, supposedly to combat the virus. You are offput by this behavior, and you have a hunch that it isn’t normal, but you are still hesitant to identify it as abuse. Think of it as though you are speaking to a close friend about this topic. You are concerned about your partner’s behavior, but at the same time, you are worried about 1. being judged by your friend as well as 2. getting your partner in trouble. And so, there is a little bit of uncertainty behind your voice as you say these lines.

• Company: vialucci.com. Staff: K.

the empathetic narrator: say your lines in a formal, narrator-like way, while at the same time sounding concerned about the seriousness of the situation.

plete. After investors are brought in wages and share in company will be provided.

• For the narrator: Think of yourself as

Harper, prod.-casting.

• Works part-time, mainly Sundays in

London.

• Seeking—One Exceptional Person

Needed For New Media Company: 18+, with basic computer skills and social media knowledge. More than anything you need to be ready to take on a challenge and put your mark on society. • Seeking submissions from England. • Send submissions to casting.harper@

mail.com.

• For consideration, include any specific

details regarding relevant media experience, and confirm which part of London you live in, that you are available most Sundays, and that you understand that the role is (for now) unpaid. • No pay until proto-products are com-

Gigs

dir. of talent.

• Company: Sanzan. Staff: Alex Berman,

actor.

• Rehearsal over Zoom later this month,

records remotely.

• Seeking—Abraham Lincoln (Thinny &

Fatso): male, 18+, think fast talking Laurel and Hardy types. Marilyn Monroe: female, 18+, a know-it-all who coordinates the missions. Albert Einstein: 18+, a no-nonsense scientist. Various German Scientists: male, 18+. gmail.com.

Film & TV Crew Media Producer

• Seeking a Cross Media Producer (onto

Exec. Producer) with basic computer skills and social media knowledge for Valucci Media. Company asks: “Sick of getting involved with things which go nowhere? Sick of getting into projects which nobody else takes seriously? Sick of waiting for something you can put your mark on and drive it into success with people just like you? Then this is what you’ve been waiting for! The first products are based in Magazine Development - Podcasting with some filming. You need to be extremely diligent, hardworking, ambitious, trustworthy and seeking to be an integral part of something new, interesting and possibly huge.” backstage.com

• Send submissions to aaron@wavemedi-

Lianne Robertson, events manager.

‘The Instrumental Membership: Guided Online Practice Sessions’

• Seeking sleep coaches for the WAVE

• Pay provided.

time travel show featuring twin Abraham Lincoln’s that travel through time.

• Company: Actors Pro Expo. Staff:

• Seeking actors for a guided online

workshop. Artistic director states: “Come join our guided, twice-weekly online practice sessions covering the basics of our proven, cutting-edge approach. Each one-hour session includes exercises in presencing, relaxation, impulsivity, sensory work, and instrumental exercises designed to free blocks to experiencing and expressing. Structured like a gym membership to provide each actor with the most powerful workout available regardless of your current way of working, these sessions are ideal for experienced as well as newer actors looking for tools to build their own daily practice.” • Company: The Folster Studio. Staff:

Sean Patrick Folster, facilitator-artistic dir.

• Company: Wave. Staff: Aaron Albert,

• Workshop runs Tuesdays and Fridays

(2:30-3:30 p.m. EST) between Sept. 1-25.

• Runs remotely. • Seeking—Founding Sleep Coach for

• Seeking—Actors: 20-61, advanced

WAVE Sleep App: all genders, 18-40, all ethnicities, requirements: smooth, silky voice; ability to think creatively in real time; good imagination; representative of our world; real and authentic; one of one; connective and relatable; comfortable in front of camera/speaking live to a group of viewers; solid internet connection; believes in our vision of making falling asleep easy and fun; willing to work evenings/nighttime. Production states: “Welcome to Wave, where we make falling asleep easy...and fun. Wave is the first and only mobile app offering LIVE guidance to help you fall asleep every night led by expert sleep coaches. We guide users to sleep using a unique combination of science-backed relaxation techniques, easy breathing exercises and fun visualizations set to sleepinducing music to give them not only better sleep but a healthier sleep rou-

• The event will include seminars, live

• Seeking submissions from CA, New

Workshops

Founding Sleep Coach for WAVE Sleep App

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to Alexberman8@

• Casting “Two Lincolns” a children’s

South Wales, Victoria, OR and WA.

vide a platform in-line with all other events hosted in the past to support actors. Giving attendees the chance to network with each other and connect with service providers that can provide services and resources to develop a career in the arts and yes, this can all be done virtually. Via one simple platform called Whova, we’ll be able to capture the excitement and energy of walking into an event filled with learning and networking opportunities. This will be an engagement-driven experience. An impactful event that extends well-beyond the computer screen.” Q&A, opportunity to be seen by casting directors, live chat with other attendees, meet with exhibitors, and competitions/gamification.

• Pays $70/hour (one session)

Sleep app. Company states: “Welcome to Wave, where we make falling asleep easy...and fun. Wave is the first and only mobile app offering live guidance to help you fall asleep every night led by expert sleep coaches. We guide users to sleep using a unique combination of science-backed relaxation techniques, easy breathing exercises and fun visualizations set to sleepinducing music to give them not only better sleep but a healthier sleep routine they can stick to every night. We are looking for a team of founding sleep coaches who can help us have fun making people fall asleep and help us build an awesome new brand in the world of sleep. All Wave coaches will go through a paid 7-day, 20-hour training course to learn how to be a Wave coach. No formal sleep expertise is required.”

‘Two Lincolns’ Animated Short

• Production states: “This event will pro-

tation.com.

• No pay.

Animation & Videogame Voiceover

tine they can stick to every night. We are looking for a team of founding sleep coaches who can help us have fun making people fall asleep and help us build an awesome new brand in the world of sleep. All Wave coaches will go through a paid 7-day, 20-hour training course to learn how to be a Wave coach. No formal sleep expertise is required. Requirements: Smooth, Silky Voice Ability to think creatively in real time Good imagination Representative of our world Real and authentic One of one Connective and relatable Comfortable in front of camera/speaking live to a group of viewers Solid internet connection Believes in our vision of making falling asleep easy and fun Willing to work evenings/ nighttime”

beginners to professional actors welcome, regardless of prior training or way of working.

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to info@thefolster-

studio.com.

• For complete info regarding this work-

shop and/or other online learning opportunities, visit thefolsterstudio. com.

• Workshop fee: $110/month for eight

one-hour practice sessions.

• Runs Sept. 12-14 remotely. • Seeking—Actors: 16+. • Seeking submissions worldwide. • For more info and to register, visit

www.actorsproexpo.com/virtual.

• General event registration is free; par-

ticipation in the Meals 4 Monologues portion of the event and some other aspects of the event are also free; optional seminars cost $5 each.

‘Meals 4 Monologues’ • Seeking actors for “Meals 4

Monologues,” an opportunity to perform for Casting Society of America’s casting directors and casting associates in support of local food pantries and organizations providing COVID-19 related relief. • Casting Society Cares, the non-profit

501c3 charitable arm of CSA, and Actors Pro Expo are hosting Meals 4 Monologues Virtual. CSA members will be devoting a full day to seeing union and non-union actors online. • Production states: “We encourage all

actors to make a donation to a local food bank – resources for online donations and local drop off locations can be found on the Actors Pro Expo website. Donations are not required to participate in the event.” • Company: Actors Pro Expo. • Runs Sept. 12 remotely. • Seeking—Actors: 16+, prepare a one

minute contemporary monologue or a one minute contemporary song that showcases you as a performer. • Seeking submissions worldwide. • For more info and to register, visit

www.actorsproexpo.com/ meals-4-monologues.

• Note: To participate you will require a

camera device with uninterrupted internet access to join. • Performance time slots will be allo-

cated by random selection and you’ll be notified in advance if you have been selected. • General event registration is free; par-

Festivals & Events Actors Pro Expo Virtual Event • Seeking participants for Actors Pro

Expo’s first ever virtual event.

ticipation in the Meals 4 Monologues portion of the event and some other aspects of the event are also free; optional seminars cost $5 each.

VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

08.27.20 BACKSTAGE

Ask An Expert Agents Auditions Film Finance Television Theater Unions Voiceover

I’m a relatively new actor and voice actor, and I’ve had a recent casting call ask me for my rates, about which I’m clueless. What would you say seems fair for rates? —@DrCM, Backstage Community Forums Our Expert Elise Arsenault is an actor and acting coach.

*Submit questions for our Experts on Backstage’s Facebook or Twitter accounts or via our forums page at backstage.com/forums! The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.

BACKSTAGE 08.27.20

backstage.com

ILLUSTRATION: MARGARET RULING/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; ARSENAULT: COURTESY ELISE ARSENAULT

This is such a great question, and with it come so many variables. A fair rate varies from segment to segment within the industry. A rate for a week working in theater will be different from a week as a principal on network TV. For voice work, a national commercial campaign will garner a different rate than a week in animation. Audiobooks are their own ecosystem. Parts of the industry pay day rates, while others pay hourly and others weekly. Commercials may pay for usage beyond the session fee. TV can pay residuals. So what does this mean for you starting out? Counterquestion: How much do you value your work? How much do you value yourself? For the sake of your own self-respect and to honor the time and experience you’ve put into training, I believe it’s not only important to get paid as an actor, but to get paid what you’re worth! The more actors agree to settle for less than they’re worth, the more low-paying work we’ll see in our industry. This trend toward lower-paying jobs has become the norm, especially in nonunion work. While we all love the craft, we and future working actors deserve to get paid. Just because we’d do it for free doesn’t mean we should be asked to. In determining your personal starting rate for voiceover, you can start your research with the GVAA Rate Guide. Look up the type of job you’re auditioning for, and determine where in the given range feels solid for you based on your experience and training. For on-camera work, you might begin your research by looking at recent SAG-AFTRA rates. If you aren’t in the union, that doesn’t mean you should settle for less than union rates. In fact, I recommend negotiating higher, as you need to cover your own insurance. So what do you think your current work is worth?

The Slate

The Actor’s Quarantine Resource We’re not letting creativity + productivity stop in the face of coronavirus. We’re taking you directly to industry power players through Backstage Forums AMAs, Instagram takeovers and Q&As, YouTube Lives, and most excitingly, Zoom-hosted seminars for interactive group classes! Guests include: Casting Director Robert Ulrich Casting Director Linda Lamontagne Talent Agent Laura Thede Casting Director Avy Kaufman Casting Director Carmen Cuba Talent Agent Chaim Magnum UK Casting Director Sophie Kingston-Smith Makeup Artist Bridie Coughlin Voiceover Actor Laurie Burke Voice Teacher Andrew Byrne and more!

To get all the details and view the full schedule, please visit backstage.com/magazine.

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