Backstage Magazine, Digital Issue: August 12, 2021 by Backstage

08.12.21

BACKSTAGE.COM

At Home With

Audra McDonald

A peek at where the theater legend is focusing her time, talent, and advocacy

Inside

“Ted Lasso,” “Girls5Eva,” “Hacks,” “Pose” + more must-watch Emmy-nominated series

9 Pages OF CASTING NOTICES

STARS AREN’T BORN, THEY’RE MADE

Hard-core training for Musical Theater performers who want to realize their potential as great actors. Earn a college degree while working all day, every day on your craft. Find out how at nycda.edu

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Contents

vol. 62, no. 23 | 08.12.21

Cover Story

Still Cover Just Story Audra Prospecting for Gold She’s a theater legend with a robust TV and film career. But Audra McDonald has Your official guide to the never been more grounded 2020 Oscar nominations than she is right now page page 16 16

The Green Room 6 Broadway to require

vaccinated + audiences The Greenactors Room

8 week’s audience roundup of who’s 6 This Broadway’s boom casting what starring whom

8 T his week’s roundup of who’s 10 S tephenwhat Amell and Alexander casting starring whom Ludwig talk “Heels”

10 Annie Murphy reflects on “Schitt’s Creek” Advice

13 NOTE FROM THE CD Advice

What’s really expected

self-tapes 13 on CRAFT

Survive and thrive

14 # IGOTCAST Montez McDade 13 Paul #IGOTCAST Mark Beauchamp

14 C AREER DISPATCH are not your MAN type 14 You SECRET AGENT

The power of intention

Features Features 4 BACKSTAGE 5 WITH... Waddingham 4 Hannah BACKSTAGE 5 WITH...

12 12

David Alan Grier MEET THE MAKER Meredith MEET THEScardino, MAKER “Girls5Eva” creator and showrunner Cathy Yan, “Birds of Prey”

13 14

director THE ESSENTIALISTS Barry Lee Moe, hair THE ESSENTIALISTS department head Jeremy Woodhead,

andROOM makeup designer 15 hair IN THE WITH Robert Sterne

15 I N THE ROOM WITH Thomas BIG STORIES 21 Victoria SMALL SCREEN, Our exclusive voting guide to

21 the OUR2021 DREAM BALLOT Emmy-nominated

And the 2020 Oscar SHOULD series you need to know have gone to… 32 ASK AN EXPERT 32 Angela ASK ANPeters EXPERT on how to Amy Russinon principal and network London background work

Casting Casting

23 New York Tristate 22 New York Tristate 26 California 27 California 29 National/Regional 28 National/Regional Audra McDonald photographed by Emily Cover illustration John Jay Cabuay. Assiran on July 7 inbyCroton-on-Hudson. Cover designed Robinson. Hair and makeupby byIan Tiffany Garlick. Cover designed by Ian Robinson.

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08.12.21 BACKSTAGE

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EMMY NOMINEES ®

outstanding character voice-over performance

tituss burgess

stanley tucci

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B: 9.5” x 11.25”

SHOW: EMMY FYC - CENTRAL PARK

Backstage 5 With...

Hannah Waddingham By Benjamin Lindsay

Hannah Waddingham is having the kind of mid-career breakout that actors dream of. As one of the whopping seven acting nominees for Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” the longtime staple of London’s West End is gracing magazine covers, celebrating a currently airing second season, and already has a Critics’ Choice Award on her mantel. “Let’s hope it goes my way,” she remembers thinking after her audition for Rebecca Welton, the owner of the series’ AFC Richmond team. “And thank God it did.”

What’s your No. 1 piece of audition advice? Particularly with self-tapes, I make sure that I have a really good working knowledge of it, but I don’t ever make sure that I’m completely off-book. I stick it up on the wall behind the camera—like, really crudely. I cut out the script bit, get all the rest of the paper out of the way so that my eyeline’s not budging here and there. I think that keeps it more fresh and more coming from your gut; that kind of nervous energy on it is more honest than having it completely in your skin.

What is one performance every actor should see and why? The first person that came to mind for me was Zubin Varla in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Lyceum Theatre. I had never been a crazy fangirl of anyone until I saw him, and I saw it three times in one week. If people don’t know who he is, check him out. What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self? I think I was always quite good at checking in with whether I was doing this because I loved it or because I felt like other people thought I should. I would say that I was glad that I followed my gut. Whether it’s playing a nasty shit or someone softer, I always go for the heart of the character, rather than what they look like or having any vanity onscreen. I’m happy to lay myself bare on camera, and I think that’s come from my grafting in the theater. So I think the biggest thing is to trust my instincts. And when everyone was saying, “Oh, no, but you’re a lovely young woman. You should be playing these glamorous roles,” I was like, “Nope, nope, nope—it’s not about that. I couldn’t care less about that.” And I’m glad that I stuck to my guns.

Do you remember when you first joined Equity? Back in the day, gosh, when I was first doing things and I was, like, 21 and 22, there was actual criteria to get your Equity card. So I suppose in that way it was quite a milestone when you finally did, but the rules have been relaxed now.

“As I was reading the sides that they sent [for ‘Ted Lasso’], I thought: Oh, good lord, I need to not get too attached to this part, but I’m struggling not to!”

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ILLUSTRATION: NATHAN ARIZONA/PHOTO: CUBANKITE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Do you have an audition horror story that you can share with us? When I was about 24, I was exceptionally nervous about auditioning for this one [musical theater] director who was known to be a bit of a harridan. I started singing and was acutely aware that he was half-looking at his watch, half-snoozing. And before I knew it, I went, “Sorry, am I keeping you?” And he jumped out of his skin so much that he didn’t want to continue [the] audition because he was so embarrassed! Needless to say, I didn’t get the job, because he obviously thought: Here [is] this annoying woman.

HAVE YOU BEEN CAST IN A PROJECT THROUGH A BACKSTAGE CASTING NOTICE? Share your story with us and you might be featured in an upcoming issue! Just tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast and we’ll be in touch to hear your success story! @BACKSTAGE

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Theater

Broadway Will Require Actor + Audience Vaccinations

As reopening looms, Equity and the Broadway League have announced new protocols By Diep Tran

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statement. “We are grateful to the League for their partnership on these protocols. We all feel this plan is robust, adaptable to changing conditions, and in line with the science. Vaccines work, and those who are vaccinated will protect both themselves and those who can’t be at this time.” Vaccinations will be mandatory, with exceptions for people who cannot do so because of age or health risks. The mandate applies to any FDA- or World Health Organization–approved vaccine, which includes the Johnson &

Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines. Vaccinated actors and other workers will need to be tested weekly for COVID-19, and unvaccinated workers will need to be tested twice a week. Actors and stage managers who test positive will receive additional paid sick leave for up to eight performances. They will need to isolate and can only come back to work after being cleared by a health professional. Notably, the safety agreement does not require a production to shut down if there is a positive COVID-19 test. Fully vaccinated workers will

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BROADWAY ACTORS WILL need to be vaccinated for COVID19, according to new health guidelines from Actors’ Equity Association. After months of negotiations, the union and the Broadway League have come to an agreement on COVID-19 safety protocols. The new rules include mandatory vaccinations for cast and crew members as well as theater staff, plus weekly COVID-19 tests. “This is an important milestone on the path to getting all our members safely back to work,” said Equity executive director Mary McColl in a

not need to wear masks backstage, “except as recommended or required by the CDC, WHO, OSHA, [or] state and/or local DOH, or otherwise directed by the employer,” say the guidelines. If masking is necessary, masks will be provided for free to actors and other employees. Wardrobe and makeup personnel will need to be masked regardless of vaccination status. Actors and stage managers who violate the safety protocols will be fined $50. If they accrue four violations in a 12-month period, they will be “subject to termination.” “The secure return of our casts, crews, and employees is our top priority,” said Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin in a statement. “The Broadway League and Equity, faced with ever-changing COVID-related variables, have agreed on health and safety protocols for actors and stage managers returning to Broadway. We will continue to partner with our union colleagues as we work together towards raising all of our curtains again.” Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s “Pass Over” was the first play to open on Broadway; it began performances on Aug. 4. The COVID-19 safety agreement is in effect until March 27, 2022. Equity says it will revise the guidelines as necessary. The Broadway League also recently announced that it will require audience members to be vaccinated. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio also announced a vaccine mandate for any public indoor activity in the city, including live performances, beginning Aug. 16. NYC will be the first city in the U.S. to require vaccinations for entry into public indoor spaces.

disappearance. While on the hunt for her missing classmate, she learns surprising truths about both the case and herself. The dark comedy thriller will be directed by Sophie Kargman and written by William Day Frank, based on a short film the two previously collaborated on. Meredith Tucker is casting the project, which has attached Kiersey Clemons to act and executive produce. Filming is set to take place in New York City in September.

What’s Casting

a decade as a preacher. Betty Mae is casting the film, which has already brought on Khris Davis as Foreman and Sullivan Jones as Muhammad Ali. George Tillman Jr. will direct. The film is set to start shooting in early October in New Orleans.

Going for the Gold Boxer George Foreman is getting the biopic treatment 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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FILM

Kerry Washington Heads Back to Netflix

Get cast!

For more upcoming productions and casting news, visit backstage.com/news/casting

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!

KERRY WASHINGTON IS ONCE AGAIN teaming with Netflix. The Emmy Award winner, whose Broadway play “American Son” streamed on the platform and who appeared in Netflix movie musical “The Prom,” will next star in and produce “Rockaway.” The film, which is based on Diane Cardwell’s memoir “Rockaway: Surfing Headlong Into a New Life,” will be adapted by Nichelle Tramble Spellman (who created AppleTV+’s “Truth Be Told”). There’s no word yet on who will direct the project.

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MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

“Heart of a Lion” The name George Foreman may now be synonymous with a handy grill that cuts out grease, but before he became known

“Susie Searches” A new mystery is hitting the big screen with “Susie Searches,” the story of Susie Clemons, a college student who tries to gain fans for her true crime podcast by solving an on-campus

for the kitchen staple, he took home some of the most coveted awards in sports. “Heart of a Lion” will tell the story of Foreman’s life and career as a boxer and preacher, from his beginnings as a troubled child to his 1968 Olympic gold medal win to his retirement in 1997. The biographical film will also look at Foreman’s mid-career return to boxing after spending

“Take the Ice” Netflix is capitalizing on Olympic fervor with “Take the Ice.” The film follows 15-year-old Tisha Moore, an aspiring figure skater with a rebellious streak. While busking in a park near her Brooklyn home, the teen gets the chance of a lifetime when a local synchronized ice-skating team offers her a spot. But as a Black woman, she must overcome prejudice in the sport. Deborah Swisher is penning the script and Charles Randolph-Wright is directing, with former Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano producing. Kim Coleman is casting the project, which has yet to announce any actors. Production on the film is set to start in 2022. No filming location has been announced.

E M M Y®

A W A R D

N O M I N E E

OUTSTANDING

COMEDY

SERIES Maya Erskine A

Anna Konkle

ORIGINAL

Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig on “Heels”

Amell believes that, at a certain point, actors need to relinquish control. SA: “You have to keep going and eventually get to a spot where you only worry about the things you can control, because I’ve walked into an audition room and I’ve [gotten] down to the final three choices, and I look at the two other guys in there, and it’s very clear we passed the point of the interpretation of the character. Now we’re at the point of how they want the character to look and how they want the look of the ensemble. I look at the other guys, and they are distinctly different from me. So, just focus on what you can control, and try to keep the extraneous stuff [in] the background.”

Backstage Live

No Stopping Them

Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig notch another TV hit with Starz’s “Heels” By Rebecca Aizin

The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate 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 your questions.

BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

the industry, and the advice they have for young actors. Though Ludwig wanted to move on from TV, when he read the script for “Heels,” he was hooked. Alexander Ludwig: “I just fell in love with the story and the characters. It’s such a colorful world and such an incredible story. We were definitely reluctant to hop onto another TV series, but at the end of the day, it’s about telling great stories, and I think Stephen and I really connected with this world.”

FILM

A Throwback Project for Kutcher + Witherspoon By Casey Mink

Want to hear more from Amell and Ludwig? Watch our full interview at backstage.com/ magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.

IN A HEADLINE THAT COULD HAVE been plucked out of 2002, Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon have signed on to star opposite each other in an upcoming romantic comedy. “Your Place or Mine,” a feature written and directed by “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” alum Aline Brosh McKenna, follows two friends who live on opposite coasts and participate in a life-changing weeklong housing swap. Witherspoon will co-produce the film under her Hello Sunshine banner, along with Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films.

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QUANTRELL COLBERT

WITH THEIR UPCOMING pilot season of “Heels” set to premiere on Starz Aug. 15, Alexander Ludwig (of “Vikings” fame) and Stephen Amell (of the long-running “Arrow”) have a new legacy to look forward to. The two play brothers and wunderkind wrestlers Ace and Jack Spade, who are navigating their complicated relationship and professional aspirations. We sat down with both actors as part of our first-ever Instagram Live Room to talk about the new series, their journeys in

Amell admits that he started performing in high school for girls’ attention, but now it’s all about his love for the job. Stephen Amell: “[Acting] was a chance to go from outside of Toronto to Ottawa and hopefully meet girls. I noodled around with it in Canada for seven years, but then, moving to Los Angeles… They always say: Find something you love and make that your career. I love being on set; I love a really hard physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding day and the night’s sleep I get on the other side of it.”

Ludwig’s best advice is to not get caught up in the idea of a dream job. AL: “Get rid of that fantasy. If you fantasize when you get an audition and think about how the movie is going to go—first off, that never happens. It’s just not real; it’s a fantasy. But second of all, if you don’t get the job, not only did you lose the job, but you lost the whole dream of what was going to come with it. I think the key for me is trusting that, with persistence, it will happen—just never how I expect it to or when I expect it to.”

24 EMMY NOMINATIONS ®

I N C L U D I N G

O U T S TA N D I N G D R A M A S E R I E S LEAD ACTRESS OLIVIA COLMAN

LEAD ACTRESS

LEAD ACTOR

EMMA CORRIN

SUPPORTING ACTRESS EMERALD FENNELL

JOSH O’CONNOR

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

SUPPORTING AC TOR TOBIAS MENZIES

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

GILLIAN ANDERSON

HELENA BONHAM CARTER

GUEST ACTRESS CL AIRE FOY

WINNER

GUEST ACTOR CHARLES DANCE

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

CRITICS CHOICE

BEST DRAMA SERIES

GOLDEN GLOBE ®

BEST DRAMA SERIES

WGA AWARD

BEST DRAMA SERIES

PGA AWARD

BEST DRAMA SERIES

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Meredith Scardino, “Girls5Eva” creator and showrunner By Casey Mink

Paula Pell, Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Busy Philipps on “Girls5Eva”

BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

stars—is being reexamined gives it a subtle but real bite. “Everything is a little bit more absurd, and it helps highlight the truth, in some ways, when you turn the volume up,” says Scardino, who is Emmynominated for writing on the show and is a veteran of Fey and Carlock’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” “I knew I always wanted to make a really jokey show; but to sustain a show, you need to care about people. What’s wonderful about being on streaming is that things have a bit longer to breathe. You can have these moments where you really feel for these women and root for them, and it’s not just some joke explosion.” The women themselves are a crucial component of the

show’s marriage of pathos and humor. Led by singer-songwriter-actor Sara Bareilles, the group is rounded out by “Hamilton” Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry and comedy icons Paula Pell and Busy Philipps. “Our actors are so good at making these people come to life and making you care about them,” says Scardino. “Even Renée’s portrayal of Wickie, who can be super selfish and narcissistic at times—she can make you feel empathy for her in a way that makes you feel connected to that character. Sara has amazing timing and kills every line. Paula and Busy are just complete comedy pros but also have the ability to be really good dramatic actors. I feel like I have all of these

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HEIDI GUTMAN/PEACOCK

“GIRLS5EVA” IS FIRST AND foremost a comedy, which is why you may not notice it’s also a sly commentary on misogyny and the ways it has destroyed women for generations. “I didn’t shy away from telling the truth about how women are treated,” says Meredith Scardino, who serves as creator and showrunner. The series, which premiered on Peacock in May, follows four members of a former girl group who reunite in their 40s, older and varyingly wiser. Hailing from executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the show sits firmly in the duo’s hyperbolic, joke-fueled milieu. But the fact that it arrives at a cultural moment when the treatment of all women— especially 2000s female pop

amazing ingredients, and I’m just hoping not to mess it up.” Scardino had always wanted to create her own series, and she was kicking around various ideas while at a writers’ space she frequents in Manhattan called the Writers Room. (“There are self-tortured-looking people just milling around this space, silently on deadlines,” she says.) She knew she wanted her show to be about a group of women approaching middle age who could all be hilarious. And then, she recalls, “I happened to see a news story about the Spice Girls reuniting, doing some sort of reunion tour without Posh, and a bunch of lightbulbs started going off.” She knew the concept had legs—the way she always does when “you just keep thinking of ideas and you can’t take down your notes fast enough.” She pitched it to Fey and Carlock, and they were sold. But to be a first-time showrunner—not to mention on a project that features original songs in every episode, which Scardino co-wrote with Jeff Richmond— was no easy feat. Oh, and there was a pandemic to contend with, too. Mistakes were made and lessons were learned—which Scardino will continue to put to use, with a second season on the way. But ultimately, the show got made and people liked it. That is its own huge accomplishment. “I kind of still can’t believe that’s how everything gets done: Someone has an idea, and suddenly it’s on TV and in the movies, and you’re like, ‘Oh, someone just decided they wanted to make a “Thor” movie,’ ” she says. “And now we watch a ‘Thor’ movie. It’s thrilling. And to be able to do it with a group of people who all come together for a shared goal—it’s just amazing.”

ILLUSTRATION: MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON; “POSE”: ERIC LIEBOWITZ/FX

Meet the Maker

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THE ESSENTIALISTS

BARRY LEE MOE

hair department head “You don’t expect these things to happen,” says “Pose” hair department head BARRY LEE MOE of his Emmy nomination. “Especially with it being the show’s final season and receiving the most nominations that we’ve ever had, it’s such a humbling moment.” Hair has added significance to “Pose.” “When you’re working with a group of Black actresses and women of color in general, and then you add another layer to it—working with women who are of trans experience—hair is incredibly important to their story…. It was super important to me

By Casey Mink that every actress felt authentic but also beautiful at the same time, and that their vision of these characters was brought to life through their hair, and that they felt uplifted by it, not held down by it. It was such a collaborative effort to talk with each actress—to talk through their hair journey.” Actors can—and should—bring their ideas to the table. “It’s always part of my process to make time to have a conversation with the actors, like: ‘Here’s what I was thinking. I’d really like to do this. What are your thoughts? How can

we do this together?’ I receive input so that we’re kind of working together to create the look. Sometimes, the actor brings something to the table that I’d never even thought of, and I’m like, ‘That’s genius. Let’s make that happen.’ ”

Note From the CD

What’s Really Expected on Self-Tapes By Marci Liroff

HEIDI GUTMAN/PEACOCK

ILLUSTRATION: MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON; “POSE”: ERIC LIEBOWITZ/FX

This week, I’m digging deep into questions from my Twitter followers. Many of these actors have their fingers on the pulse of what’s happening right now in our community. It’s no surprise that a lot of these questions have to do with self-taping. Here’s one that I particularly liked: Does the video quality of auditions subconsciously affect viewers? Are actors not filming on DSLR cameras at a disadvantage, even if casting and creatives aren’t consciously thinking that way? We live in an age when technology is progressing at a rapid pace. The minute you buy a piece of equipment or software, there is already something new about to be released. You can’t spend all your money on trying to keep up with the latest video equipment. But in the age of

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the self-taped audition, the actor is asked to also be both a producer and director. This means that they’re responsible for lighting, sound, wardrobe, hair, and makeup, plus providing a decent scene partner. It’s a lot, I know. I had lunch with an actor friend of mine who complained that this is unfair. She insisted that actors are meant to act, not be responsible for producing minifilms. This leads me back to the question. Technically speaking, I have seen all different levels of quality on self-tapes— from auditions recorded on a handheld phone by an actor who’s saying their lines and waiting while their nonexistent scene partner would be saying theirs, to those professionally shot with the most up-to-date equipment. In the middle of 2020, at

the height of the pandemic, I attended a Zoom meeting with several casting colleagues to discuss this very subject. What do we expect from a self-taped audition during these times, when actors are isolated at home? The consensus was that we should cut actors lots of slack. We know that getting a scene partner can be difficult, even not during quarantine. Now, we are seeing auditions filmed on Zoom, and actors are getting series regular roles by having chemistry reads on the platform. We do not expect you to spend money and go to a professional taping facility. At minimum, you need good lighting. That means either natural lighting, a ring light, or an inexpensive light box. Most cameras and camera phones have a built-in mic, which works fine, although an additional mic can also be purchased inexpensively. You can hang a sheet on the wall for a backdrop—we even do this in my casting office.

Most newer phones have great video-recording abilities—but make sure to record horizontally! A tripod or other support is needed so that the camera remains stable. For me, the essential element for a good audition is a great reader. For my coaching clients, I’ve been patching myself in as the reader through Zoom. Actors will have their cameras set up to shoot, and it generally turns out very well. When it comes to quality, we’re not looking for Oscarworthy cinematography. We want a good performance, which means your best take and an audition room–level reader—however you can safely make that happen. Don’t worry, we don’t need to see you on a soundstage to know if you’re right for the part.

Want more?

Read our full Note From the CD Want more? at backstage.com/ Allarchives our Backstage Experts can be magazine found at backstage.com/magazine

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#IGOTCAST. Paul Montez McDade By Jalen Michael

You Are Not Your Type By Carl Clemons-Hopkins

The following Career Dispatch essay was written by Carl Clemons-Hopkins, who is a firsttime Emmy nominee for their role on HBO Max’s “Hacks.”

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Do not let the limitations and boundaries of the past dictate the blessing that is your future.

Take chances and push yourself! “Take advantage of all the listings. Keep building your résumé and trying new types of roles that you may not have ever considered, be it a music video or independent movie. I prefer a project that stands out and is atypical—maybe it’s an unusual character that I’d like to go for.” Backstage has options—lots of them. “I’ve been using Backstage since 2016. The variety of project listings runs the gamut—theater, features, student films, established artists’ films, talent agencies— and I like those options.” Make bold choices and stick to them. “The audition [for my recent project] felt fairly normal, and very quickly I realized [that the director] was very interested in what I did with the character in terms of research and practicing the scene, if I remember correctly. So he spent more time sort of sussing me out.”

TO SEE YOUR SUCCESS story in print, tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast, or email us at igotcast@ backstage.com.

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ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; MCDADE: CHRISTOPHER BEYER

I WAS ASKED TO PUT DOWN some words of advice or lessons I have learned in my career so far. To be completely honest, I feel as though I am just now beginning to learn how to work in this industry—how to differentiate between industry and artistry, and how I can best serve my spirit and communities in the work that I do. It has been an honor and a joy to work on the character of Marcus in the world of “Hacks,” and I am still learning from this experience. That said, there is one lesson I was taught many years ago that

I wish to share with you today, reader. I learned this lesson in college, when a fool of a man who called himself a professor insisted that if I didn’t keep my focus on roles centered around Black oppression, I would not have much of a career. As many of you know, Black artists have had historically limited avenues of expression. It is only in recent years that we’ve had the opportunity to expand beyond the tropes and confines of 20th-century portrayals onstage and onscreen. Therefore, I do not fully blame that fool for his limited thinking. And

PAUL MONTEZ MCDADE likes to mix it up, and he uses Backstage to find different projects and keep things fresh.

RAQUEL APARICIO

Career Dispatch

I am grateful that, early in my training, I was able to learn this lesson: Don’t ever let somebody else tell you what your God has in store for your life. Do not let the limitations and boundaries of the past dictate the blessing that is your future. If you’re not careful, someone else’s dream for you may overtake your focus and change the entire framework of your imagination and expression. Do not give anyone that power. If someone sees your work and wants to help you improve, excellent. If someone has something constructive to add or a new approach for you to explore, please do explore and play and adventure away! But if someone’s assessment of who you are or will be is based on the values of hate-based hierarchy and social constructs that benefit the few, get as far away from them as you possibly can—quickly. Our institutions of study and development need to stop employing fools like that man; I have encountered far too many of them. Maybe you have, too. If so, I hope you are healing well. There are so many incredible stories to tell, and they need each and every kind of person to tell them—not just the “conventional” or the “all-American,” but all of us. We each have the gifts of our own experiences to bring, and it is paramount that we develop those gifts so we can grow into the beings we are, not the types we supposedly fit into. You are not a type. You are a beautiful spirit having a human experience that includes artistic expression. Please do not allow outside assumptions to dictate your possibility.

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In the Room With

Robert Sterne

As time passes on “The Crown,” this veteran CD finds cast members to help the royal family grow up By Elyse Roth

your mind that you’re going to have to find, in a couple of years, somebody to play these characters. But I do think that you should go with what you’ve got at the time and get the best possible one.

RAQUEL APARICIO

ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; MCDADE: CHRISTOPHER BEYER

FEW SERIES HAVE ATTAINED THE INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM enjoyed by “The Crown.” Audiences have watched Queen Elizabeth II grow into a monarch, as prime ministers cycle through her reign and the royal family weathers the storms of inner turmoil and devotion to country. Season 3 debuted an all-new cast of family members who were slightly older than the actors in Seasons 1 and 2, and Season 4 added two very highly anticipated historical figures to the mix: Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana. Robert Sterne, along with partner Nina Gold, has been populating the royal world on “The Crown” since the very beginning, pulling from his vast experience casting high-profile projects. He shared his process and advice with Backstage. What did the casting process look like after the first cast turned over? Getting the new people in is [about] people using qualities that are complementary to [the actor] who did the role before. The amazing thing about Claire Foy, and what Olivia Colman did

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as well, is that the thing about the queen is that nobody has any sense of what she’s really like behind closed doors. What I have done is think about the queen as an actor who can play an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. What they haven’t done on “The

Crown” is make her very grand and regal. That quality seems to be the thing that stitches them together, in terms of the kinds of actors that we get. Does knowing how the series’ real events played out affect who you choose for a role? I think you’ve got to do it by who’s the best get at that time and go for it. We’ve always had in our head some of the key characters that will be appearing in some shape or form. You do have it swirling around in

Want more?

Read the full interview at backstage.com/magazine

How do you bring your experience as a performer to your work as a casting director? You’ve got to be open to whatever the actor wants to bring in. The whole process of auditioning—[it has] no relation to when you’re actually doing the job. When you’re doing the job, it’s so much to do with what happens between people. The chemistry you get from the other actor coming back at you informs what decisions you make. You’re going into a completely false environment where you’ve got a camera pointing straight at you, you haven’t got another actor opposite you, and you’re kind of under a microscope. I try to be as open as possible. What advice do you have for actors? I think that you have to remember that when you go in the room, it’s your time and it’s your opportunity to do what you need to do. Make sure that you get the opportunity to say what you want to say about it, to ask the questions that you want to ask about it. Give the performance in the room that you want. Then you’ve got to have the confidence to say, “I want to go again and try it this way, because this is what I want to do with this scene. And this is what I want to achieve with it.” Just make sure that you own that time.

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Still Just Audra She’s a theater legend with a robust TV and film career. But Audra McDonald has never been more grounded than she is right now By Casey Mink - Photographed by Emily Assiran ANY PROFILE OF AUDRA MCDONALD might as well just acknowledge it right off the bat: With six Tony Awards to her name, she’s won more than any actor in history. She’s also the only actor ever to win Tonys in all four performance categories (lead and supporting roles in both a musical and a play). But if you suggest that those achievements have made her impervious to the grind of working in the arts, she’ll laugh. “There are five jobs within the past year that I have not gotten. It’s always a rat race,” McDonald says on a recent video call. Even with each subsequent Tony notched, she thinks of the experience as external, like it is happening to someone else: “I’d come home, and I wouldn’t feel changed. I was still—and am still to this day, in my 51 years on Earth—just Audra, just trying to figure shit out.” She’s chatting from her home in Westchester, New York, where she, like most of us, has spent 17 months mostly inside, waiting out the pandemic. Maybe it’s having gone without theater for well over a year, or maybe it’s the industry’s ongoing reckoning with foundational racism, or maybe she’s BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

just at a point in her life and career where she feels she can do so; but this morning, McDonald is speaking candidly about the ways in which this business has let its kin down, herself included. “There are a lot of us out there coming from the same place: We recognize there are changes that need to be made, that this is an imperfect system, this is a systemically racist industry that needs change,” she says. “You have people who are agitators, you have people who are in there trying to make the change, you have people who are just being vocal about the fact that changes need to be made. All of that is necessary, I think, to reform this industry. But in my mind, you can’t redecorate one room if the whole house is on fire.” To that end, last year, McDonald—along with Billy Porter, Vanessa Williams, and other prominent Black theater artists— founded Black Theatre United, a grassroots organization whose activism focuses on dismantling anti-Black racism in the theater as well as in communities nationwide. “As theater starts to open back up, there will be

accountability, because we’re not going to be silent. We’re not just going to go, ‘Man, that’s really racist, the way they do that,’ ” she says. “We’re going to continue to raise awareness [and] speak out. ”I’m just using my voice,” she adds. It’s a self-possession that stems, more than anything, from McDonald’s impulse to advocate for others, which is informed by her own earlier, tougher days of moving up in the business. Though there’s an idea that McDonald was a Tony-winning icon right out of the gate, that’s just not the case. “While it may have looked like something else from the outside,” she recalls, “from the inside, it was very much me pounding the pavement.” In fact, thinking back on her 20s, when she had already won two Tonys (for “Carousel” and “Master Class”) she remembers receiving a lot of attention but not a lot of work. “I can attribute that to me not being ready for my close-up, me not being in the right place at the right time, me not being as prepared as I needed to be for the things I auditioned for,” she says. It also doesn’t help that achieving any sort of superficial form of success comes backstage.com

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with pressure—in McDonald’s case, from herself more than anyone else. In many ways, though, she knew what to expect of her early career peaks and valleys, having already gone through the ringer of sky-high stakes. McDonald grew up in Fresno, California, and when the time came, she was accepted to and attended Juilliard, where she studied classical voice. But she pretty quickly gained the reputation back home of “the local girl who made it to Juilliard but didn’t succeed”; while at the notoriously grueling institution, she suffered a mental breakdown that included a suicide attempt. So by the time she began working professionally, “I had, in some ways, already been through the pressure of having to succeed in a big way,” she says. “The one thing I keep coming back to is that it’s never a straight road. Everybody has their challenges. Everybody has their mountains they need to BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

climb. Everybody has lots and lots of failures. It’s so fickle, this business. The only thing you can do is work on yourself, your art, and your craft. That’s the only thing you have any control over.” For McDonald, then as now, that control has always come down to being present. Of course, advising an actor to be present is like advising a banker to make money or a lawyer to win their case: obvious but not inevitable. But McDonald has two practical means to make it happen. The first is to breathe—no, really breathe. “That sounds so simplistic, but to breathe, it sits you down in the moment. If you focus on taking a deep breath, you can only be in the present at that moment,” she says. The second step in her two-step guide to being in the moment is more eccentric, but she swears by it: Look left. It isn’t a metaphor; she literally advises performers to turn their

head to the left. “Every night, you do it a certain way: At this point, you look right, to the character or whatever,” she says, painting a picture of an actor onstage. “Sometimes, on a certain night—I’m not saying to change up the choreography—but just look left instead of right. That centers you in the moment, and you’re not going by rote. There’s no other place that I can be. When I do those two things, whatever is true can come up. I guess that’s another way of looking at it: Both of those things are getting me out of my way.” “Getting in her own way” was a trap McDonald says she fell into frequently as a young actor, in that she tried to play the emotion of the character rather than their objective. If a scene said she needed to cry, for example, she’d cry, but she wouldn’t necessarily have done the work to understand why she’s crying. Today, she treats her character development like a research paper, backstage.com

Everybody has lots and lots of failures. It’s so fickle, this business. The only thing you can do is work on yourself, your art, and your craft.

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04.02.20 BACKSTAGE

absorbing every speck of information about the circumstances. From there, “you have to sort of filter it through your psyche.” “When I was doing Bess”—in “Porgy and Bess,” for which she won her fifth Tony—“there are a lot of people that Bess could have been, so I made sure I really knew the era, made sure I understood the options available to Black women at that time in that particular community,” she says. “When I was playing Billie Holiday”—in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” which earned her Tony No. 6—“I was able to have all of that, plus very specific, documented recordings of her voice, documented moments in time.”

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Bess and Billie, and McDonald’s preparation to portray them, also exemplify a crucial aspect of the way she builds a character: It does not make a difference whether the person she’s playing is fictional or a real figure. So for her latest role as Aretha Franklin’s mother, Barbara, in “Respect,” a biopic about the Queen of Soul, the actor again approached it from an academic place. It was “studying what I could about the circumstances that led to the divorce of Barbara and Aretha’s father, and the circumstances in which she was trying to get her kids back and make a new start as a single woman and still be in her children’s lives, which was very

difficult, especially in that era,” she says. “I was able to put it all together with that. And to have her die so young is just devastating for those children. Must’ve been.” The movie stars Jennifer Hudson as Franklin, features a script by Tracey Scott Wilson, and is directed by Liesl Tommy. “It’s a beautiful film, and I love that it is about a Black woman, directed by a Black woman, written by a Black woman, starring a Black woman. Come on,” says McDonald. It’s finally due in theaters Aug. 13 after being pushed back a year due to the pandemic. Thinking about what a given project has to say—and who is saying it—is more topof-mind than ever today, when McDonald is negotiating what is and is not worth her time. She paraphrases a quote that she loves from opera singer and actor Renée Fleming: “I get paid for the time that I am away from my family. That costs me something, to be away from them.” “That makes a lot of sense to me,” McDonald says. “In terms of what I will spend my time doing now, it really needs to be something that I feel like I’m going to have some growth with—whatever it is that can be sort of the most economical as far as time is concerned, because family is so important to me.” She adds that whether or not she signs on to a project is based on her asking: “Is this something I’m going to learn from? Is it something that’s going to compensate me as well as it can possibly compensate me, as far as the time away from my family is going to cost?” By that same merit, McDonald’s other current project, Paramount+’s “The Good Fight,” which she has starred on since 2018 and which just wrapped its fifth season, is a zerosum game; it has given back to her as much as it’s taken. “When I first started doing television, I didn’t know what I was doing at all, but I learned on the job. I feel like that’s one of the important things ‘The Good Fight’ has given me,” she says. “Also, I very much believe in the work that [creators Robert and Michelle King and Phil Alden Robinson] are doing and the stories they are telling, and the fact that they are unafraid to go right up to the line, step on it, over it, and then say, ‘Where’s the third rail?’ and then step on that. And they walk the walk backstage; it’s a very diverse set.” In the vein of compensation, when it comes to theater specifically, McDonald clarifies that her decision-making process is decidedly not rooted in finances. “You do theater for experience and for evolution as an artist—never for money,” she insists. But needless to say, the most Tony-winning actor in history believes that theater’s spiritual compensation is, at the end of the day, more than fair. “What is happening on a nightly basis, us connecting and having this holy communion with the audience, telling the story, everybody being in the same place at the same time,” she says, pausing to sum up the thought. “Experiencing something.” backstage.com

Small Screen, Big Stories

Our exclusive voting guide to the 2021 Emmy-nominated series you need to know By Backstage Staff

THE ARRIVAL OF THE SECOND PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS ceremony of the COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of a comforting fact: There is no shortage of compelling television to watch. As Television Academy members consider which of the 2020–21 TV season’s dramas, comedies, and limited series deserve the distinction of being the most outstanding of the 73rd annual awards, we’re presenting your handy cheat sheet to all of the Emmy nominees. Read on for a refresher on which series are nominated—and why.

Outstanding Comedy Series “Black-ish” (ABC) For a family sitcom on a traditional network, “Black-ish” manages to cover an impressive amount of ground, tackling hotbutton sociopolitical issues facing today’s Americans—especially Black Americans—without sacrificing comedy or coming off as didactic. The Johnsons remain as charming yet flawed as any real-life family thanks to Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Laurence Fishburne, and the hilarious Jenifer Lewis.

“Cobra Kai” (Netflix) First on YouTube Red and now on Netflix, “Cobra Kai” may be the most thrilling action series currently on TV. The sequel to the “Karate Kid” films brilliantly finds ways to build on the original story, expanding to include a fun ensemble that features Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, and Jacob Bertrand. Meanwhile, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka haven’t missed a step, both in terms of physical prowess and zippy comedy. “Emily in Paris” (Netflix) Darren Star is back and right where he belongs: writing about charming

fashionistas navigating life’s ups and downs while flaunting finery. This time, the urban backdrop is Paris, with the irresistible Lily Collins as Emily, as much a fish out of water as a hopeless romantic. The series’ fun supporting cast, including Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo, and Kate Walsh, help make “Emily in Paris” the perfect all-pleasureno-guilt binge.

knows exactly what it’s doing and how to best showcase its players from the jump. Set in swelteringyet-fabulous Las Vegas, the dynamic between Hannah Einbinder’s young comedy writer, Ava, and Smart’s established trailblazer, Deborah Vance, ignites the screen. And Carl ClemonsHopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Meg Stalter, and co-creator Paul W. Downs generate laugh-out-loud moment after laugh-out-loud moment.

“The Flight Attendant” (HBO Max) HBO Max’s first big hit, a comedythriller–character study about an alcoholic flight attendant entangled in a gruesome murder, is surprising for more than just its absurdly entertaining plot twists. Just when you think it’s too silly to feel substantial, producer-star Kaley Cuoco reveals another authentic, poignant layer to her Cassie amid all the mayhem. The cast, which includes Michiel Huisman, Zosia Mamet, Michelle Gomez, and the inimitable Rosie Perez, makes this series’ tonal whiplash work.

“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix) Michael Douglas gives one of the most lived-in performances of his career as acting coach Sandy Kominsky. He generates a kind of onscreen magic opposite Alan Arkin’s dry Norman Newlander in Seasons 1 and 2, and in the third and final season, opposite Kathleen Turner as his ex-wife Roz. With Paul Reiser, Sarah Baker, Nancy Travis, and many other actors playing Sandy’s students, Chuck Lorre’s homage to Hollywood and its wacky characters continues to create frivolous, feel-good TV.

“Hacks” (HBO Max) Within moments of Jean Smart’s introduction, “Hacks” stakes its claim as the rare comedy that

Jean Smart on “Hacks”

“PEN15” (Hulu) Don’t let the winking prankster title fool you: “PEN15” grapples with more than the facile concerns of the teen spirit. Its success rests on the shoulders of its creators and stars, Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who do the kind of comedic character work as 30-somethings playing middle schoolers that shouldn’t work on paper—but somehow has—for two hilarious seasons.

JAKE GILES NETTER/HBO MAX

“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+) Jason Sudeikis puts his everyman aptitude and whip-fast comedy chops to glass-slipper use—or leather-cleat use—on the Emmysdominating comedy he co-created, playing an American college football coach hired to lead the other kind of football across the pond. Thanks to its ensemble (including Emmy nominees Brett Goldstein, co-creator Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, and Hannah Waddingham), “Ted Lasso” will make you believe.

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Outstanding Drama Series “The Boys” (Amazon Prime Video) The title of Eric Kripke’s darkly twisted superhero series is a little misleading given its emphasis, particularly in Season 2, on some scene-stealing women: Erin Moriarty, Aya Cash, Colby Minifie, and Karen Fukuhara are all as nuanced as they are heroically kick-ass. Also walking that line are Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, Tomer Capon, Chace Crawford, and a sociopathic Antony Starr, taking this screen adaptation to dizzying, dazzling new heights. “Bridgerton” (Netflix) Adapted by Chris Van Dusen from Julia Quinn’s pulpy tales of Regency-era London, Shonda Rhimes’ first Netflix hit is a gorgeous period drama running on the chemistry of an equally gorgeous cast: Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page sizzle as the 1813 social season’s buzziest couple, while Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, Jonathan Bailey, Ruby Barker, Nicola Coughlan, Claudia Jessie, Golda Rosheuvel, Polly Walker, and Julie Andrews as the voice of the mysterious Lady Whistledown make this freshman series iconic. “The Crown” (Netflix) Ever since Peter Morgan’s royal drama was announced back in 2014, fans have been waiting for Season 4’s introduction of Diana Spencer—and Emma Corrin doesn’t disappoint in her portrayal of the princess’ public-private dichotomy. Equally compelling is Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher, alongside the ensemble of Windsors: Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, and the wondrous Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II.

Handmaid’s Tale” is as urgently distressing as ever. Emmy nominees Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Yvonne Strahovski, Bradley Whitford, Samira Wiley, and producer-star Elisabeth Moss continue to lead the revolution. “Lovecraft Country” (HBO) No expense was spared on Misha Green’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s novel “Lovecraft Country,” a story of segregated 1950s America that both draws inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s world of literary horror and grapples with its creator’s racism. Led by Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett as the romantically entangled Tic and Leti, the ensemble believably swings between moments of painful intimacy, epic action, and hilarious B-movie jump scares. “The Mandalorian” (Disney+) The launch of Disney+ has allowed Television Academy members to consider a “Star Wars” property that, two seasons in, feels like both an artful drama and pure mainstream entertainment. Creator Jon Favreau crafted “The Mandalorian” to exist in a galaxy far, far away but also expand into other genres—namely, Westerns—to showcase the adventures of Pedro Pascal’s armored warrior and his adorable sidekick Grogu, (very popularly) known as Baby Yoda. “Pose” (FX) What were our TV-watching lives like before Mj Rodriguez, Billy Porter, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, and the other talents of “Pose” graced our screens? Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad

Falchuk, and Steven Canals and featuring a record number of transgender actors and collaborators, this FX drama about New York’s Black and Latinx ballroom scene, LGBTQ families, and the excesses and heartbreaks of the 1980s has given voice to stories we rarely hear. “This Is Us” (NBC) Since 2016, Dan Fogelman’s complex, generation-hopping tale of the Pearson family has resonated with the prevailing American mood and revitalized the viability of network dramas. It requires unflinching, gutsy performances from its cast; when Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chrissy Metz, Chris Sullivan, and more crank up the emotions, just try to keep your eyes dry.

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series “I May Destroy You” (HBO) Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” is an unflinching look at consent, race, and friendship that somehow manages to be both harrowing and funny. After Arabella’s carefree London life is upended in the aftermath of a sexual assault, flashbacks dance between those broken memories, her Hackney school days, and sunkissed Italian beach breaks. Cast members Coel, Weruche Opia, Paapa Essiedu, Marouane Zotti, and more fearlessly take us where few stories have gone before. “Mare of Easttown” (HBO) Writer Brad Ingelsby, director Craig Zobel, and producer-star

Kate Winslet have left an indelible mark on the small-town murder mystery genre with a limited series that’s as dedicated to intricate character study as edge-of-your-seat twists. As the titular detective investigating both suspicious neighbors and her own ghosts, Winslet turns in career-best work alongside an ensemble that feels homegrown in Pennsylvania’s Delaware County (those accents!), including Julianne Nicholson, Evan Peters, Jean Smart, and Guy Pearce. “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix) Scott Frank’s adaptation of Walter Tevis’s novel about a female chess prodigy owes much of its success to casting Anya Taylor-Joy in the leading role and centering almost every sequence around her giant, captivating eyes. This hit Netflix series is designed around her Beth Harmon’s gaze and features performances from a nuanced Marielle Heller, a charming Moses Ingram, a rebellious Thomas Brodie-Sangster, a poignant Bill Camp, and more. “The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)

Colson Whitehead’s magicalrealist reimagining of the American South’s underground railroad stars the magnetic Thuso Mbedu as Cora, an escaped Georgia slave braving the journey north to freedom on a literal train. It’s all guided by the steady hand (and heart and mind) of adapter-director Barry Jenkins, cultivating what feel like the most intimate possible relationships between actor and camera lens; those slow zooms reach all the way into your soul. “WandaVision” (Disney+) Thanks to witty yet deep performances from Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, some witchcraft courtesy of scenestealer Kathryn Hahn, and, most of all, its loving homage to TV sitcoms of every era, “WandaVision” has earned the Marvel Cinematic Universe its first Emmy recognition. Creator Jac Schaeffer swung for the fences, dreaming up a story whose premise ups the game for high-concept TV.

Mj Rodriguez and Billy Porter on “Pose”

“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu) The dystopian world Margaret Atwood created in her 1985 novel—a military theocracy that uses female bodies as breeding vehicles—has always packed a political punch. Now, four seasons in, Bruce Miller’s “The

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BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

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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. The roles of Nat Miller, Lily Miller, Richard, David Mccomber, Muriel, Arthur Miller, Bartender, and Salesman have been cast.

Casting picks of the week

• Hartford Stage is an Equal Opportunity

Employer and encourages actors of all backgrounds and abilities to audition.

BY LISA HAMIL

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

Plays ‘Ah, Wilderness!,’ Pics/Res

• Seeking Equity actors for roles in “Ah,

Wilderness!”

• Company: Hartford Stage Company

Inc. Staff: Eugene O’Neill, writer; Melia Mensussen, dir.; Alaine Alldaffer, casting dir.; Lisa Donadio, assoc. casting dir. • Rehearsals begin Sept. 14; runs Oct.

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.

stage

‘Ah, Wilderness!’ Be “born ten days ahead of your time” in this CT production

musical

‘The Office! A Musical Parody’ Off-Broadway Confine your coworker’s stapler in jello in NYC

• Pays $1,008/wk. Equity LORT B Non-

Rep Contract.

14-Nov. 7 in Hartford, CT.

• Seeking—Essie Miller: female, 50-59,

all ethnicities, the “ideal mother” of O’Neill’s dreams. She is soft, maternal, but runs the family. She is easily in charge at home, and her family counts on her for everything. Intuitive, patient, loving, with a sly sense of humor. Ability to play instruments and/or sing is helpful. Mildred Miller: female, 18+, all ethnicities, to play 15; the younger sister - has an ease and pleasure in life, thinks her brother takes the world too seriously. She likes everyone, but is happy to tease and be teased. Ability to play instruments and/or sing is helpful. Wint: male, 18+, an overly confident 20-year-old; extremely pleased with himself, but at this moment in great need of someone’s help for his plan to work out. A bit arrogant, he’s up on all the current slang and loves throwing around his knowledge. At heart he’s a good guy, in a bit over his head. Norah: female, 18+, fresh off the boat from Ireland. She cannot do anything right as hard as she tries. The more instructions she is given by Essie or anyone really the more harried and anxious she becomes, and the more she messes up. She is young, enthusiastic and has a truly cheerful demeanor - she just gets confused easily and scared even more quickly. Tommy: male, 10-11, a good natured, fun-loving boy. • Seeking submissions from CT. • For consideration, submit headshot/

resume to alldaffercasting@gmail.com with union status in the subject line. Feel free to indicate in your email if you have already sent in a video submission. Submissions deadline is Aug. 13. • Note: We are requiring that all Actors

and Stage Managers be vaccinated. backstage.com

Musicals

student film

‘Left Hook Ladies Club’ Find out the first rule of female fight club in Topanga, CA

‘Americano’

• Seeking Equity actors for principal

roles in “Americano.” NYC/Tri-State area performers encouraged to apply. There are no available stage manager positions.

musical

‘Footloose’ Defy your family through dance in this Equity show in MN

• Company: Amas Musical Theatre Inc.

Staff: Donna Trinkoff, artistic prod.; Jason Rose (Quixote Productions), assoc. prod.; Antonio Voldovinos, inspired by; Fernanda Santos & James Garcia, creative consultants; Michael Barnard, Jonathan Rosenberg, & Carrie Rodriguez, book; Carrie Rodriguez, with Jonathan Rosenberg & Michael Barnard, lyrics; Carrie Rodriguez, music; Ken Davenport, exec. consultant; Michael Barnard, dir.; Sergio Mejia, choreo.; Jonathan Ivie, music dir.; Michael Cassara, casting dir.

short film

‘The Longest Breath’ Breath deep for this Los Angeles short featured in Hulu’s Huluween programming

well. Guitar ability is a plus. Jessica Flores: female, 18+, Latino / Hispanic, early 20s; smart, a bit of a geek, naïve, funny, loves Fro, dances: Mezzo/alto ensemble vocals with features, and strong dance. Fro (Hector) Voldovinos: male, 18+, Latino / Hispanic, early 20s; very smart, a bit socially awkward, very loyal to family, funny, dances. Ensemble vocals with features, and strong dance. Marsha Gomez: female, 45-59, Latino / Hispanic, very smart politician, very professional, plays the political game well. a survivor. Also plays Dolores Mezzo/belter. Mostly ensemble vocals with some features.

• Runs Nov. 8-20 at a Manhattan

rehearsal studio/TBA in NYC.

• Seeking—Tony Voldovinos: male, 18+,

Latino / Hispanic, 20s, our hero. Tough, brawny, smart, driven, aggressive, knows what he wants. Charismatic, but not good with women, a heart of gold. Terrific singer, soaring tenor - strong mover. Ceci Rodriguez: female, 18+, Latino / Hispanic, early 20s; strongwilled, tomboy. Smart, driven, beautiful. She loves Tony. She knows what she wants. Strong belter and strong mover. Martin Voldovinos: male, 45-55, Latino / Hispanic, Head of the family, very opinionated. Strong-willed and stubborn, but has a sensitive heart. Believes in family, knows only what he knows. Baritenor, has two solos - should sing

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit video

through this form: https://form.jotform.

com/212014119965149. If you encounter any technical difficulties, you may submit via e-mail to submissions@michaelcassara.net; but only use that if you are unable to use the form or have any questions. Submissions deadline is Aug. 10. Note: Callbacks will be held (via video self-tape and live virtual auditions) in August/September; once you have submitted your materials, we will not follow up unless we need anything further.

• Video preparation instructions: Prepare

a brief singing selection or two (ideally each about a minute long) in the style of the score – contemporary pop/Latin/ etc. – demos are available for reference at the Americano! website. In the event that a performer does not have access to audition accompaniment tracks of their own, the theatre has provided audition accompaniment cuts of Irving Berlin’s “Always,” now in the public domain, which you are welcome to use as a general singing audition. Per Equity rules, it has been provided in 4 separate keys (Soprano/Alto/Tenor/Bass) and tracks/sheet music can be obtained from: https://www.dropbox.com/ sh/1a4ff2936tn2wcf/ AAALsljpkIdBCzETdyi6ulVna?dl=0. • In order to fulfill Equity safety plan

approvals, a fully-vaccinated company will be required. An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition. Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination. 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 attend every audition. • Pays $580/wk. plus health/pension.

Equity Mini Contract.

‘The Office! A Musical Parody’ Off-Broadway

• Casting comedic actors in “The Office:

A Musical Parody”. Synopsis: It’s a typical morning at Scranton’s third largest paper company until, for no logical reason, a documentary crew begins filming the lives of the employees of Dunder Mifflin. • Production states: “This hilarious unau-

thorized parody of the hit TV show, The Office, had been running at Theatre Center for over a year before the shut down. The Office! The Musical! is reopening with strict safety protocols.

08.12.21 BACKSTAGE

casting New York Tristate We are looking for actors who can embody the characters from TV, but don’t necessarily have to physically resemble them.”

• Casting is open to any age, ethnicity, or

gender identity. Show is currently open-ended.

• Company: The Theater Center. Staff:

Michelle Vincents, casting dir.

• Performances TBD at The Jerry Orbach

Theater in Times Square at The Theater Center. • Seeking—Jim/Andy: 25-40, all ethnici-

ties, actor/singer/comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. Must sing comfortably in full voice up to a G#4, but must also be comfortable with lower harmonies. Jim is the boy next door type. If your boy next door had completely unmanageable hair and a pension for pranks. Andy is most known for his explosive outbursts of anger and his explosive outbursts of banjo playing. Guitar/banjo ability a plus. Kelly & Others: 25-35, AAPI actor/singer/ comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. Strong pop belter who also has the agility to riff comfortably. Must be able to belt up to a F5 but also comfortable singing alto harmonies. Kelly has a million things to say and can fit them all into the span of a minute. She’s in love with The Temp and the Kardashians and herself, in that order. Michael Scot: female, 25-45, actor/ singer/comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. Alto with a strong belt and tight harmonies. He’s the World’s best boss—made official by the coffee mug he purchased, Michael is a managerial force of nature. When he’s not busy doing work—which is never—he’s telling inappropriate jokes, doing impressions, singing song parodies. Very strong character work and comedic timing is a must! Pam/Erin: 20-35, actor/singer/comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. Legit Soprano with strong belt and tight harmonies. Pam is the heart and soul of the office (AKA the Secretary). She’s been engaged to Roy for 18 years but she also loves Jim…it shouldn’t cause any problems! Pam longs to be an accomplished artist, her preferred medium is finger painting. Erin is an orphan born without a family or a brain. She’s looking for both at Dunder Mifflin. Must be able to handle comedy and drama and Michael’s dry cleaning. Dwight & Others: 25-40, actor/singer/ comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. Tenor with tight harmonies. Dwight loves three things: Bears, Beets, and Battlestar Galactica. Dwight is the Assistant to the Regional Manager and has his priorities in order: he’s a farmer first, a paper salesman also first, a Volunteer Sheriff’s Deputy (also first), and a black belt in Karate, first as well. Total and complete commitment to this character is the single most important thing about this role. Phyllis/Meredith & Others: 25-40, actor/singer/comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. MezzoSoprano with strong belt and tight harmonies. Looking for an actor who can be a wide range of comedic characters of all ages, genders – this includes your best “Kevin” voice. Angela & Others:

BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

20-35, 20 to 35 years old, Actor/ Singer/Comedian who moves well. Improv experience desired. Legit soprano with strong belt and tight harmonies. Looking for an actor who can be a wide range of comedic characters. Comedic timing is a must as well as singing range and no cat allergies. Stanley/Darryl: 20-40, Black / African Descent, 20-40 years old. African American Actor/Singer/Comedian with excellent comedic timing. Stanley hartes everything, except for pretzel day. Darryl is making moves on management, and also Kelly. This part will also be responsible for male swing roles.

work comfortably. Music backing tracks for each choreographed combination can be obtained from https://www. dropbox.com/sh/k57lxwziarumkx6/ AABcUwP0O4AfhFneHuHGxL4Ga?dl=0 use the relevant track for your video.

‘Who Is Christmas Eve?’, Extras

“Mover” combination, counting from the back https://youtu.be/N16I16unYiw Americano! - “Mover” combination, counting from the front https://youtu. be/cZltCuszhgQ Americano! - “Mover” combination, with music from the back https://youtu.be/qtt2vNNma_c Americano! - “Mover” combination, with music from the front https://youtu.be/ jW0zbNYbKN8

• Shoots between Aug. 12-21 in northern

• “Mover” Combination Americano! -

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Pays $80/perf., minimum 5 perfor-

• Note: Callbacks will be held (via video

self-tape and live virtual auditions) in August/September; once you have submitted your materials, we will not follow up unless we need anything further.

mances/wk., $400/wk. rehearsals.

• In order to fulfill Equity safety plan

Chorus Calls ‘Americano,’ Chorus

• Seeking Equity actors for chorus roles

in “Americano.” NYC/Tri-State area performers encouraged to apply. There are no available stage manager positions. • Company: Amas Musical Theatre Inc.

rehearsal studio/TBA in NYC.

• Seeking—Singers: 18+. • Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit video to sub-

missions@michaelcassara.net. Submissions deadline is Aug. 10. • Video preparation instructions:

Singers, prepare a brief singing selection (ideally a minute or less) in the style of the score - contemporary pop/Latin/ etc. - demos are available for reference at the Americano! website. If you do not have access to audition accompaniment tracks of your own, the theatre has provided audition accompaniment cuts of Irving Berlin’s “Always,” now in the public domain, which you are welcome to use as a general singing audition. Per Equity rules, it has been provided in 4 separate keys (Soprano/ Alto/Tenor/Bass) and tracks/sheet music can be obtained from: https:// www.dropbox.com/ sh/1a4ff2936tn2wcf/AAALsljpkIdBCzET dyi6ulVna?dl=0. • Dancer - Record our combination, cho-

reographed and taught by Sergio Mejia, the choreographer of Americano! We have a “Mover” combo and a more advanced “Dancer” combo - pick whichever is most appropriate for your skill level. Feel free to wear whatever shoes work best for you, and we encourage you to film this anywhere you are able to

Equity Mini Contract.

• Casting nonunion extra roles in the fea-

ture film, “Who Is Christmas Eve?”

• Company: Bounce TV/Bradley Baron

Casting. Staff: Pamela Kramer, casting dir.

New Jersey (Union Township, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark). Shoot dates vary by role; see breakdowns for specifics. • Seeking—Fuller Family: 7+, Black /

African Descent, shoots Aug. 13 & 14. Seeking Grandpa (60+ with full gray/salt & pepper beard & head of hair) and Kids (boy and girl, ages 7-13). Teen Choir: all genders, 14-21, shoots Aug. 17. Young Eve: female, 16-18, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, shoots Aug. 17. Santa: female, male, 18+, White / European Descent, shoots Aug. 16. Male or female; will be wearing Santa suit. Waitress: female, 18-32, Asian, South Asian / Indian, shoots Aug.t 12. Cashier: female, 18-32, Asian, South Asian / Indian, shoots Aug. 16. Maureen’s Son: male, 13-17, White / European Descent, shoots Aug. 21. Church Goers: all genders, 18-55, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Latino / Hispanic, shoots August 20. Grandma: female, 59-69, Black / African Descent, In the Fuller Family scene. Snap shot is ok. Cashier: female, 21-32, Asian, South Asian / Indian, Female Cashier. Asian or Indian Extra. • Seeking submissions from NJ. • Send submissions to bradleybaron-

cast@aol.com.

• Submit a picture with your application -

Feature Films ‘Corduroy,’ Single or Twin Newborn Babies

• Seeking single or twin newborn babies

for “Corduroy,” a feature film that chronicles the efforts of journalists to bring to light decades of abuse and harassment within Hollywood.

• Company: Grant Wilfley Casting. Staff:

Belle GWC, casting dir.

• COVID test on Aug. 21 and Sept. 6

(Labor Day); works Aug. 23 and Sept. 8 in NYC/Brooklyn. Mandatory COVID testing provided by production for guardians and babies. • Seeking—Single or Twin Newborn

Babies Born in July/Early August 2021: all genders, 18+, White / European Descent, single or twin newborn babies born in July/early August 2021 to portray newborn baby of principal characters. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to gwcasting@gwc-

nyc.com.

• For consideration, email gwcasting@

gwcnyc.com, title the subject line “Backstage Newborn,” and include the following in the body of the email: guardian name, baby name, phone number, current length and weight, date of birth and current age, candid photos that show what your baby current looks like, and confirm availability on all work dates.

• Pays $250 per baby for the work dates;

$100 stipend for COVID testing date.

headshot or cell phone shot is fine. • Pay provided.

Student Films ‘HoD’

• Casting “HoD,” a student docu-fiction

loosely adapted from Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. It tells the story of a Chinese pilot, Ma Luo, who is sent on a mission to West Africa under a stateowned enterprise in military aviation. Questioned by the African scholar Chinua Achebe, Ma Luo departs on a profound journey into his dream, guilt and disillusionment as he reveals the dark secret behind the mission. • Weaving verbatim interviews, authen-

tic documents and real events with fiction, HoD explores a series of questions on the racial aspect of economics, geopolitics, and cultural cognitions: What do colonialism and imperialism look like in our time? And how do they function in today’s global political-economical agenda? • Seeking collaborative artists who have

a background in Film and Theatre.

• Company: Columbia University MFA. • Rehearses one Zoom session plus two

in-person sessions between Sept. 18-22; shoots Sept. 23-26 in NYC.

• Seeking—Chief/ Party Member 2:

male, 25-30, Asian, Chief: He is a senior official at a Chinese state owned enterprise and the head of the representative office in West Africa. He is an backstage.com

New York Tristate casting

old acquaintance of Ku Erci. Party Member 2: He is a marketing representative at a Chinese state owned enterprise and is currently in his third year posted in West Africa. He is a philistine, wanting to make the most out of his undesirable job in Africa. Ku Erci/ Party Member 3: male, 30-40, Asian, As Ku Erci: He is a young, successful Chinese diplomat stationed in a Chinese Embassy in West Africa.As Party Member 3: He is a pilot posted in West Africa, working for a Chinese state owned enterprise. He is disillusioned upon witnessing traumatizing events in West Africa. MFA Official/ Party Member 4: male, 30-40, Asian, As MFA Official: He is an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Chinese government. He is in charge of the investigation of Ku Erci’s secret in West Africa.As Party Member 4: He works for a Chinese state owned enterprise and is currently posted in West Africa. He is an experienced aircraft engineer. Ma Luo’s Fiancee: female, 25-30, Asian, She is a PhD candidate in French literature. She is an ambitious woman, born to a lowermiddle class family in Beijing, China.

are challenged to explain a scientific concept at increasing levels of complexity to five different people (including a child and a teen).

gmail.com.

• Pays $100 stipend.

• Auditions will be held in . • Send submissions to hodcasting2021@ • Pay TBD.

Music Videos ‘Stay the Night’

• Casting “Stay the Night,” a collabora-

tion between EDM artist Geller and indie-singer Justin Jones. Synopsis: Justin Jones dozes off in detention while being yelled at a teacher. He daydreams about his high school crush. Later, he plays basketball, unable to take his mind off of her. His head severs and the teams proceed to use it as the ball. After this, Justin and his band play at a backyard concert where Justin sees his crush get with another guy. • Company: OSI Films. Staff: Chadrick

Jared, dir.

• Shoots early-September in the Los

Angeles area.

• Seeking—Girl: female, 18-25. Rival Guy:

male, 18-30. School Teacher: 40-77. Gym Coach: 35-57.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to clp453@nyu.edu. • Note your availability for August and

September.

• Travel and meals provided. Credit &

copy (4k, colored, mastered) will be provided upon completion.

Multimedia Wired Magazine’s ‘5 Levels,’ Children/Teens

• Seeking kids (ages 7-10) and teenagers

(ages 13-17) to appear on camera and have a science expert explain a new concept to them for Conde Nast and Wired Magazine’s next installation in their “5 Levels” series, in which experts backstage.com

• Pays $300/day, plus Metro North train

ticket reimbursement. Must have receipts for any reimbursement.

• Production states: “Please check out

‘Quantum Computing Expert Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty’ on WIRED’s YouTube Channel to see an example of a previous episode -- we’ll be following the same format.”

Print & Digital Modeling

• Company: Conde Nast. Staff: Thomas

Bridgewater Chocolate Lifestyle Shoot

Giglio, casting dir.

• Shoots Sept. 9 in NYC. • Seeking—Boys: 7-10. Girls: 7-10. Teen

• Casting photo shoot for Bridgewater

Boys: 13-17. Teen Girls: 13-17.

Chocolate - looking for emotional, precious moments.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to nick_sawyer@

• Company: Six+One. Staff: James Hill,

condenast.com.

prod.

• Parents/guardians should include their

• Shoots TBD date in NYC. • Seeking—Older Couple: all genders,

contact info as well, in addition to info about your child -- you may be asked to coordinate a quick video call with you and child.

50-65, Looking for an older couple. Younger Couple: all genders, 30-40, Younger couple. Female: female, 30-39. Young Lead: all genders, 14-18.

• Parents must be able to report with

child to the NYC shoot location on Sept. 9. Child/teen should be smart, engaging and a good listener. Bonus points for an interest in science and math.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to james@sixplu-

sone.com.

• Pays $200 for the day (3-4 hours are all

that is needed)

• Parents must send their phone number

and email address for their children to be considered. Send some info about your child and her interests as well.

Product Shoot, African American/Descent Male Model

• Casting an African American male

model in his 30s-40s for a product shoot. Must have at least 1-2 inches of hair on top.

National Commercials

• Company: Collective Casting. Staff:

Giuseppe Beninato, casting dir.

• Shoots in NYC. • Seeking—Model: male, 30-50, Black /

‘Solo’

African Descent.

• Casting “Solo.” Logline: A young, hand-

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to info@collective-

some Latino man is working and demonstrating that with hard work, anything is possible.

casting.co.

• Include your phone number and email

in your cover letter.

• Company: Brooklyn College. Staff: F.

Gonzalez, coord.

• Rate: $3,000+.

• Shoots Aug. 28 in Brooklyn, NY. • Seeking—Marco: male, 18-30, Latino /

Rowdy Energy Drink, Fall

Hispanic, young Latino man.

• Casting a social media photo shoot for

with other entertainers on special presentations. Dancers will represent the Knicks at special events, viewing parties, clinics / camps, charity events and promotional engagements, and occasionally perform during halftime shows together with other Knicks Performance Teams. • Company: New York Knicks. Staff:

Kristina Lapinski, mgr. entertainment & event presentation. • Works in NYC. • Seeking—7th Ave Squad: 18+, all eth-

nicities, entertain and energize crowds at Knicks home games; engage with fans during promotions on the court and in the stands; communicate directly with large groups of fans during Knicks home games; work with other entertainers on special presentations; represent the Knicks at special events, viewing parties, clinics / camps, charity events and promotional engagementsOccasionally perform during halftime shows together with other Knicks Performance Teams. Enjoy entertaining in a familyoriented environment, and be able to interact with large crowds, small groups and individuals, especially children. Be energetic and outgoing. Strong personal skills. Be prompt, with a flexible schedule. Professional, respectful & punctual. Team-player. Previous leadership experience in the sports/ entertainment industry preferred. A live performance background is encouraged. Dancing, break-dancing and tumbling experience is a plus! Be a Knicks Fan. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to kristina.lapinski@

msgsports.com.

• Schedule Zoom interview with casting

person.

• Follow this link to apply: https://

careers-msgsports.icims.com/ jobs/14586/event-presentation-interactive/job. • Pay rate is event based.

Rowdy Energy Drink.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to Fridayfridahh@

• Company: Six+One. Staff: James Hill,

gmail.com.

prod.

• Email resume, reels, photo, and any

• Shoots TBD in New York City, NY. • Seeking—College Athletic Lead: all

other work you will want production to consider to fridahgonzalezproductions@gmail.com.

genders, 18-25, athletic ability is a must; if you can ride a skateboard; huge plus; note if you can skateboard. Young Adult Lead: all genders, 25-35. Adult Lead: all genders, 35-45.

• Stipend and meals will be provided.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to james@sixplu-

Online Commercials & Promos

sone.com.

• Pays $200 for a day of work. Standard

days are four-six hours.

Theme Parks & Attractions Legoland Character Performer

• Casting character performers at

Legoland NY. In this role you will ensure guests are having a great time in the park, entertain guests though LEGO costumes, take photos in costume with guests and interact with kids in form of high fives and posing.

• Company: LEGOLAND New York Resort.

Athletic Apparel Promo

Dancers & Choreographers

• Casting actors for a series of promo

videos for athletic apparel. Casting personnel state: “Will need to work out. We will also use Glycerin on skin to create water droplets.”

‘7th Ave Squad’ Knicks Dance Team

• Staff: Cindel, prod. • Shoots August in Beacon, NY. • Seeking—Happy Man: male, 25-45.

• Seeking dancers for the “7th Ave

Squad” to perform at New York Knicks home games. Dancers will communicate directly with large groups of fans during Knicks home games, and work

Happy Woman: female, 25-45.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to cindel@stg6.com.

Staff: Jennifer George, human resources business partner.

• Runs TBD dates at 420 Harriman Dr,

Goshen, NY.

• Seeking—Legoland Character: 18+. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Include a video audition with a

monologue.

• Paid weekly. $13.25 when out of cos-

tume, $14.25 when in costume Seasonal position through November.

08.12.21 BACKSTAGE

casting California

Stage Staff & Tech

tours to Washington DC, Saratoga Springs NY, and other national/international tours.

‘Ah, Wilderness!,’ Stage Manager

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to MHappel@

• Seeking Equity stage managers for “Ah,

Wilderness!”

• Company: Hartford Stage Company

Inc. Staff: Eugene O’Neill, writer.; Melia Mensussen, dir.;. • Rehearsals begin Sept. 14; runs Oct.

14-Nov. 7 in Hartford, CT.

• Seeking—Stage Manager: 18+, all

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from CT. • For consideration, submit resume to

Bryan Holcombe (Director of Production) Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford, CT 06103. Submissions deadline is Aug. 10. Note: We are requiring that all Actors and Stage Managers be vaccinated. Hartford Stage may record each production and make a recording available for ticket buyers in accordance with the LORT-Equity Extended Media Side Letter. Performances at the Hartford Stage Theater. • Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

Rep Contract.

Ladies Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor

• Seeking—Ladies Assistant Wardrobe

Supervisor: 18+. NYCBallet.com.

resume to Marc Happel, Director of Costumes (mhappel@nycballet.com) and Norma Attride, Ladies Wardrobe Supervisor (normajacqueline@aol.com as soon as possible. An in-person interview at the theatre will follow.

‘Martyr of a Forgotten Dream’

• Seeking a gaffer for “Martyr of a

Forgotten Dream,” a short film from upand-coming director Benjamin Rummans about how when the people have nothing to eat, they will eat the rich. • Staff: Waleed Sokkar, DP; Andrew

Vecchio, 1st AC; Mona Mekkawi, production designer; Benjamin Rummans, dir.; Seika Paradeis, Saher Shakir, and Rose Lane Sanfilippo, producing team. • Shoots Aug. 31-Sept. 6 in upstate New

York.

• Seeking—Gaffer (Crew): 18+. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Housing and meals provided.

• Seeking to fill the position of Ladies

Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor at the NYC Ballet immediately. Along with assisting the Ladies Wardrobe Supervisor this person will be responsible for helping to lead a team of stitchers and dressers as well fitting and dressing the women of the company. • Job requirements/responsibilities

include: Running of shows as well as quick changes. Organizing dry cleaning both going out and coming into theatre. Working in theatre costume storage room as well as off-site warehouse restocking/pulling costumes. Excellent organizational skills. Experience with fitting and altering costumes. Excellent machine/hand sewing skills. Comfortable dealing with large amounts of in-house laundry. Some shopping. Comfortable with large groups of children (Nutcracker season). Always prepared to work long hours, much of this time spent on foot. Wardrobe 764 Union membership. Computer skills a plus. • The season starts in Aug./Sept. and

runs thru June, split into fall, winter, “Nutcracker,” and spring seasons at the theatre followed by possible tours during the rest of year. • Company: NYC Ballet. Staff: Marc

Happel, dir. of costumes.

• Runs August/September 2021 through

June 2022 at the David H. Koch theatre at Lincoln Center along with annual

BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

Gigs

streetmeetpromotions.com. • For consideration, submit a resume and a cover letter noting why you want to be part of the team to craig.s.buckley@ streetmeetpromotions.com.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Submit a two-three minute monologue

• For more info, visit: www.streetmeet-

vacation time, etc. NYCB is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

Film & TV Crew

• Company: Coachella Valley Repertory.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to craig.s.buckley@

• If interested send cover letter and

• Union pay: $1704.14/wk. with benefits,

Covid-19 safety measures and protocols as required by Broadway theater owners and the Broadway League, and verify vaccination status and explain mask mandates to all guests entering the theater. Applicants that speak multiple languages are encouraged to apply.

promotions.com

premier promotions agency focusing on increasing short-term walkup sales by providing the friendliest and most knowledgeable team members on the street. • Pay TBD.

Broadway houses in the theater district. Offering weekday and weekend shifts from 1.5-3 hrs per day. Some sample hours include: 5:30-7 p.m., 5:30-8:30 p.m., 6-7:30 p.m., 7-8:30 p.m., 12:30-2 p.m., 1-2:30 p.m. and more. • Seeking—COVID Safety Marshal: 18+,

Qualifications: Be able to work outside in all weather conditions and on your feet for shifts from 1.5-3 hours. You must also understand and implement

50-59, a Broad who smokes and drinks and usescurse words with ease. Lionel Percy: male, 60-70; elegant, refined grayhaired gentleman. of your choice by Aug. 20 to rcelona@ cvrep.org. • Pays $508/wk. (SPT 6.) Equity SPT

Agreement.

Musicals ‘Baby, The Musical’

• Casting “Baby, The Musical.” Synopsis:

Hillel Simon, server.

Staff: Candace Gray, prod.

• Company: Specialty Staffing. Staff: • Offering both Zoom and in-person

interviews in Hawthorne, NY.

• Seeking—Banquet Server: 18-55.

Banquet Bartender: 18-55.

• Seeking submissions from NY and NJ. • Send submissions to office@specialtys-

taffingllc.com.

• Weekly pay - every Friday.

Southern California

• Company states: “As we welcome audi-

• Openings begin in early Sept. at

• Seeking—Maude Gutman: female,

moonlight as hospitality professionals for Specialty Staffing. Note: You will join a team of seasoned hospitality staffers that are committed to client satisfaction. Our app based scheduling system and increase in daily events makes choosing your own schedule a reality, offering you the flexibility to work as many hours as you’d like while pursuing your career. Our training incorporates videos, clinics, and on the job support to ensure your onboard experience is enjoyable and easy.

• Seeking artistic personnel seeking to

vice-oriented applicants to join a team of Broadway COVID Safety Marshals. All applicants must be fully vaccinated for this position.

Staff: Craig Buckley, owner.

9-21, 2021 in Cathedral City, CA.

Winner of the Drama Desk award, and nominated for a Tony in 1984, Baby is about three couples each expecting a child and dealing with the painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of the universal experience of pregnancy and upcoming parenthood. There are the college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined to try and the middle-aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college, when a night of unexpected passion lands them back where they started.

Server

• Seeking attentive and customer ser-

• Company: Street Meet Promotions.

• Rehearsals begin Oct. 18; runs Nov.

• Street Meet Promotions is Broadway’s

Broadway COVID Safety Marshals

ences back to Broadway, this is the perfect side gig. All applicants should be energetic, comfortable talking to theater-goers and be detail-oriented. A small team of marshals will work together in this outdoor job and must be able to work in all types of weather, while wearing a mask during all shifts, all while maintaining a smile.”

Staff: Ron Celona, dir.

Plays ‘Bakersfield Mist,’ Equity Video Submissions

• Casting Equity actors for “Bakersfield

Mist.” Synopsis: Maude, a fifty-something unemployed bartender living in a trailer park, has bought a painting for a few bucks from a thrift store. Despite almost trashing it, she’s now convinced it’s a lost masterpiece by Jackson Pollock worth millions. But when worldclass art expert Lionel Percy flies over from New York and arrives at her trailer home in Bakersfield to authenticate the painting, he has no idea what he is about to discover. Inspired by true events, this hilarious and thought-provoking comedy drama asks vital questions about what makes art and people truly authentic.

• Company: Conejo Players Theatre.

• Rehearsals will be from 7:30-10 p.m., at

CPT Monday-Thursdays beginning on Sept. 2 (weekend rehearsals only if needed); runs Nov. 5-21 (Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., and Sat Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.) in Thousand Oaks, CA.

• Seeking—Danny Hooper: 18-29, all eth-

nicities, College junior, music major, punk rock performer. In a serious relationship with Lizzy. Lizzy Fields: 18-30, all ethnicities, College junior, wants to be a writer. In a serious relationship with Danny. Alan McNalley: 45-65, all ethnicities, Middle aged man. Married to Arlene. Empty nester. Arlene McNalley: 45-64, all ethnicities, Middle aged woman. Married to Alan. Empty nester. Pam Sakarian: 25-45, all ethnicities, Athletic and active 30 something. Married to Nick. Nick Sakarian: 25-44, athletic and active 30 something. Married to Pam. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Prepare 32 bars of any song from a

musical (Not from Baby, the musical). Bring your own audio device with the accompaniment music (no voices on your accompaniment). You will also be given a short script to do a “cold read” after you sing. Note: Masks will be required once you enter the theatre and may only be removed once on stage during your audition. Note: CPT is a nonprofit, non-Equity, and no pay community theater. All rehearsals and performances will be in person at the theatre in Thousand Oaks, CA. We are expected to meet together within the safety guidelines established by the State of California and the County of backstage.com

California casting

Ventura. This show calls for the performers to be in brief but close contact with each other. Please take this into consideration before auditioning. If you are cast, you will be Required to be fully Vaccinated. Also, please contact us if you have contracted COVID-19 or have recently been in contact with someone who has contracted COVID-19. The Conejo Players Theatre will take every step to ensure the safety and comfort of everyone involved. Audition Dates: Aug. 21, 22, and 28, 2021 at 5 p.m. in person at Conejo Players Theatre, 351 South Moorpark Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91361. Producer: cancangray@ gmail.com. • No pay.

Short Films ‘The Longest Breath’

• Casting “The Longest Breath” a short

film that will be part of a series of spooky shorts titled “Bite-Size Halloween” as part of Hulu’s Huluween programming. The film is about a competitive swimmer who struggles to maintain her sanity as the pressure becomes too much to bear. • Company: Hulu. Staff: Victoria Rivera,

dir.; Camila Zavala, prod.

• Shoots for one day (overnight shoot)

between Aug. 25-27 in L.A.

• Seeking—Janitor: male, 50-80, all eth-

nicities, an old wise man with a hint of malice and a strong gaze.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com • Note your availability between August

25th and August 27th and note if you would be ok with an overnight shoot. Add a video with your submission using the sides attached. • Pays $150 for one day of shooting.

Meals and crafts services provided during the day.

Student Films ‘Jenna Has To Live’

• Casting “Jenna Has To Live, “ a student

short film. Synopsis: A diabetic young woman’s health plummets after illegally selling her insulin to make rent. To survive she must choose between rationing her insulin alone or accepting support from a pestering coworker who doesn’t understand living at the mercy of a disease. • Company: Last 2 Brain Cells, Loyola

Marymount University. Staff: Katie Hopkins, dir.; Sasja Smith, prod.; Andrew Van Heusden; casting dir. • Rehearses late September/early

October; shoots Nov. 12-14,19-21 in Los Angeles, CA.

• Seeking—Jenna: female, 24-26, White

/ European Descent, Type 1 Diabetic and independent to a fault; she wants to survive physically in both security and health while remaining unattached to anyone who might get in her way; ultimately needs a spark of playfulness in her life to remind her that surviving is backstage.com

not living; works as a waitress at a 50’s themed diner; Jenna’s sexuality is queer. Note: An actor with type 1 Diabetic or autoimmune disease preferred, but must have knowledge of the care required for Type 1 Diabetes including medical technologies such as continuous glucose monitors (CGM), and multiple daily injections. Julian: male, gender-nonconforming, 27-30, Black / African Descent, easy going and dependable, yet naive to the complex struggles Jenna faces with Type 1 Diabetes; Julian has a soft spot for Jenna since his sister has Type 1, but he sees Jenna as too serious for their age and wants to see her smiling and enjoying life; Jenna’s coworker at the diner. Note: Actor must have a working knowledge of Type 1 Diabetes. Mary: female, 30-35, White / European Descent, a put-together mother who is buying Jenna’s insulin for her young son; she reminds Jenna that while they are in a similar struggle, Mary’s son has someone to care for him while Jenna is alone. Note: Actor must have a working knowledge of Type 1 Diabetes. Jonathan (Mary’s Son): male, 6-10, White / European Descent, just a kid playing with his action figures. Able to remain a child amidst his health struggles because of Mary’s vigilance. Note: This is a non-speaking role, but actor will have the chance to be expressive on camera. Sarah: female, 19-22, all ethnicities, aA waitress at Jenna’s place of work, Sarah is a kind soul but young in maturity and untouched by hard struggles in life; she knows Jenna has a health condition, but is unaware of how consuming her struggles are; close friends with Sam and Vik. Sam: male, 19-22, White / European Descent, possesses the carefree ignorance Jenna will never have; sees diabetes as the joke portrayed in the media and his actions towards Jenna show it; a twin personality to Vik. Vik: male, 19-22, South Asian / Indian, possesses the carefree ignorance Jenna will never have; sees diabetes as the joke portrayed in the media and his actions towards Jenna show it; a twin personality to Sam. Ron: male, 50-60, all ethnicities, the large and gruff manager of the diner; he is concerned more with efficiency than the wellbeing of his employees.

in late August/early September.

• Seeking—Barbara: female, 18-28, all

ethnicities, never without a smile, Barbara’s natural athleticism combined with her pure love of boxing makes her the most talented of the group; in another time she could’ve gone pro, but in the 50s their club is the only time she can spread her wings and refine her abilities; she wants to share the joy and freedom she feels with the others women and takes more pride in helping the others improve than winning. Betty: female, 18-24, all ethnicities, the newest addition to the group, Betty is equally excited and frazzled; what she lacks in technical ability she makes up for in enthusiasm; naive and kindhearted, she finds that boxing is a cathartic outlet for a deep rage she didn’t know she had until she stepped into the ring; plus she lives with her mother and needs to get out of the house. Cheryl: female, 18-28, all ethnicities, is just happy to be here, mostly because she doesn’t have anywhere else to be; she loves boxing and has a sense of pride in her ability to take hit after hit, but she is truly there for the company and connection that exists no where else; she thrives in the energy and ambiance of the club, even if that includes a bloody nose and buried jaw.

• Company: Chapman University. Staff:

Ben Escobar, dir.

• Shoots TBD date in Topanga area, north

of LA. Won’t be needed for more than 4 hours. • Seeking—Old Woman: female, 65+,

Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, White / European Descent, Old woman with long silver hair that sits beside a harp. Tender, quiet, at peace.

• Company: UCLA. Staff: Maria Valdez,

• Shoots Aug. 24 for role of Homeless

• Seeking—Homeless men in a dystopian

LA: male, 60+, Black / African Descent, Latino / Hispanic, homeless men living in a homeless encampment in a dystopian LA. This is an action film. Women in a dystopian shelter: female, 18-35, Latino / Hispanic, women who live in an underground encampment in a dystopian LA. This is an female-led action film. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to mvaldez9@g.ucla.

• Shoots Sept. 4-5 and 11-12 in Topanga,

CA. Note: One day of stunt choreography and rehearsals in Los Angeles, CA

edu.

• No pay.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to lisas@halfyardpro-

ductions.com.

• Confirm you are nonunion, send mea-

surements (shirt, pant, and shoe sizes), and a recent full-body shot.

• Pays $250/day plus mileage reimburse-

ment and meals on set provided.

• Casting Anderson Auto dealerships

marketing campaign. Featuring a customer browsing for a new vehicle, a pleasant receptionist who welcomes all the potential buyers, and a sales rep who wants to make sure the customer gets the best deal. • Company: Think Out Loud Studio. • Locking dates for the last week in

August (dates TBD) in Los Angeles or Burbank.

• Seeking—Customer: 25-50, The cus-

outloud.studio.

dystopian L.A.

Arts. Staff: Alexandra Miller, writer-dir.; Caden Hollander, prod.; Kiara Simmons, DP.

White / European Descent, medium/ stocky build, brown hair and mustache. Older Couple: all genders, 60-80, White / European Descent. Patricia: female, 65-75, White / European Descent, shoulder-length hair, thin build.

Men. Shoots Aug. 27-30 for role of Women.

• Casting “Vida,” an action film set in a

• Company: USC School of Cinematic

• Shoots Aug. 21 or 22 near L.A. • Seeking—Young Burt: male, 30-45,

dir.; Savana Vagueiro da Fonseca, prod.; Keenan Kunst, prod.

‘Vida’

story of a group of 1950s housewives who form a secret boxing ring in the woods to escape their restrictive personal lives and find freedom through excelling at a sport typically reserved for men.

Lisa Steinberg, dir. of casting.

tomer is someone who is looking for a new car and Anderson Autos is something they have started looking into for a new vehicle. Receptionist: 25-50, The friendly receptionist is here to welcome all customers in Anderson Auto and help them get setup with a sales rep. Sales Rep: 25-50, The Anderson Auto Sales rep is a friendly attentive person who is there to help the customer get the best experience when trying to purchase a vehicle.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Copy, credit, and meals provided.

• Casting “Left Hook Ladies Club,” the

• Company: Half Yard Productions. Staff:

Anderson Auto Marketing Campaign Video

for a brief role for an old woman with long silver hair - no lines.

‘Left Hook Ladies Club’

ation roles for a true crime docuseries on a major streaming network.

‘Morning’

• Casting “Morning,” a student short film

• Meal, copy, and credit provided.

• Casting a variety of nonspeaking recre-

ography, stage combat training, or boxing. Reels for these talents are highly encouraged. • Copy, credit, and meal provided.

resume, please feel free to explain why this role grabbed your attention.

True Crime Docuseries on Major Streaming Network

Online Commercials & Promos

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Include any experience in stunt chore-

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • In addition to sending a reel and

Reality TV & Documentary

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to morgan@think-

• Share your general availability and any

current photos if headshots are not current. Production company may reach out with a script and request a video of your reading.

• One day shoot with a flat rate of $700

for the day.

Dancer for Branded Commercial

• Casting a dancer. Seeking someone

with a lifelong passion for dance and movement, who actively makes an

08.12.21 BACKSTAGE

casting California effort to stay healthy and active on a daily basis. This is for a branded commercial about people struggling with joint health issues and aims to show different ways to stay moving and engaged. The role would include working with a physical therapist to demonstrate different exercises, sharing your testimonial on camera, and performing simple dance rehearsal visuals.

healthy diet, and finding joy in new hobbies like painting, yoga, and surfing, she has been able to create a daily routine that challenges her and fulfills her simultaneously.

Elayda, prod.-prod. mgr.

shoot times TBD.

• Company: Scale Media. Staff: Sean

• Shoots Aug. 18-19 in Los Angeles, CA. • Seeking—Dancer: 45-65. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to sean.elayda@

scale.tech.

• Submit a self tape of you answering the

following questions: 1.) What is your name and where are you from? 2.) What is your background in dance? 3.) How important is mobility to you? 4.) Do you have any joint health issues? 5.) How do these issues affect your everyday? 6.) Have you taken joint health supplements before?7.) If so, what do you look for in a supplement? • Pays $350 for each shoot day.

Halloween Game Commercial • Casting a Halloween-themed commer-

cial for well-known game company. • Staff: Emma, coord. • Tentatively shoots Sept. 7-8 near

Pasadena, CA. Majority of the scenes to be filmed at night. • Seeking—Protagonist: all genders, 18+,

all ethnicities, we follow our protagonist as they attempt to outrun a group of masked attackers, using their parkour skills to escape their pursuers and find refuge in a (albeit haunted-looking) mansion. But just when they think they’ve barricaded themselves in, the mob creeps up behind them. Now they’ve got to fight their way out. Note: Stunt or parkour background required, include experience in your cover letter. Key Background: all genders, 18+, all ethnicities, a member of the masked mob who charges our protagonist in a coordinated fight scene. Note: Stunt or martial arts background required, parkour skills a huge plus. Include experience in your cover letter. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Pays $200-$500. Daily rate commensu-

rate with role, plus travel and meals provided.

Health and Wellness Commercial

• Casting a commercial for a new prod-

uct released by Organifi - a San Diego based health and wellness company. The commercial will display the idea of mind, body, and spirit in three different scenes. Talent will be running, painting, and doing yoga.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to kyle@organifi.

gmail.com.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to michael.cabrillo@

in your submission as well as direct contact information.

• Submit a resume and contact info. • Pay per show contract.

and/or professional reel.

• Pays $150-$250/day depending on

‘Mannkitchen’ Scripted Video Ad

Dancers & Choreographers

which is a line of minimal, function focused kitchenware for men.

21-22 LA Clippers Hoop Troop Audition

Alexandra Slade, lead prod.; Marisa Glaser, photographer.

enthusiastic and energetic people to join the 2021-2022 Hoop Troop Entertainment Team for the LA Clippers 2021-2022 NBA season. Looking for hype people who can energize a crowd of 20,000, throw t-shirts from center court, have on camera persona, attend appearances in the community, interact with fans of all ages, and bring their best to every LA Clippers home game!

• Casting video ad for Mannkitchen,

• Company: LaunchBoom. Staff:

• Seeking Southern California’s most

• Shoots Aug. 19th for a half day (4hrs) in

San Diego, CA.

• Seeking—Spokesman #1: male, 25-35,

all ethnicities, traditional “masculine” type. Tattoos, beards, and muscles are welcome but not necessary. Must be comfortable and natural on screen as this is a speaking role. Spokesman #2: male, 25-35, all ethnicities, traditional “masculine” type. Tattoos, beards, and muscles are welcome but not necessary. Must be comfortable and natural on screen as this is a speaking role.

• Entertainment coordinator states:

“Please pass along this information to any person ages 18+ who may be interested in auditioning for an NBA Entertainment Team. No experience is required but participants must be willing to learn and be an active team player.”

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com • In your submission, submit a self-tape

answering the following question: What is your favorite thing to cook and why?

• Company: Los Angeles Clippers. Staff:

Vaoesea Leota, entertainment coord.

• Pays a flat rate of $375 + $25 travel

• All LA Clippers home games will be held

comp for talent coming from LA.

at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles, CA.

Mini Photo Printer Road Trip Travel/Influencer Shoot - LA

• Seeking—LA Clippers Hoop Troop: all

genders, 18+.

• Casting a road trip lifestyle video/

• Auditions will be held Aug. 22 at 10 a.m.

photo shoot for client’s Mobile Mini Photo Printer. Seeking energetic, stylish, and gen-z talent for this production. Will take place at 3-4 different locations over the span of 1 or 2 days.

(Park in the open lot on the Sepulveda side; check-in, 9 a.m.) at Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.

• Send submissions to vleota@clippers.

com.

• Company: Grow With Bamboo. Staff:

Stavro Victor, content prod. at Bamboo. Production states: “Bamboo is proudly one of the top growth marketing firms in consumer technology. We produce paid social ads for online advertising.”

• Pre-registration and up to date infor-

mation can be found here: https:// laclippers-forms.formstack.com/ forms/hoop_troop_20212022_auditionm as well as on the official NBA website: https://www.nba.com/clippers/hooptroop.

• Shoots late to last August/ early

September (will be between Monday-Friday).

• Share recent photo or headshot. • Pays $600-$700/ day and video/photo

use in perpetuity.

• Casting three blonde models (or willing

Diego, CA.

• Seeking a set designer/builder for The

Cabrillo Playhouse in San Clemente, CA.

• Seeking—Blonde Lead #1: all genders,

• Company: Cabrillo Playhouse. Staff:

18-27, all ethnicities. Blonde Lead #2: female, 18-27, all ethnicities. Blonde Lead #3: male, 18-27, all ethnicities. 70s Party Extra: all genders, 18-30, all ethnicities.

Michael Lopez, artistic dir.

• Show opens Sept. 17 in San Clemente,

CA.

• Seeking—Tech Person: all genders, 18+,

all ethnicities, help directors design

Piano” (working title), a short film. Synopsis: A musician and singer’s spontaneous collaboration becomes a worldwide hit, but the sudden fame unleashes the singer’s dark past. • Company: Rowlbertos Media. Staff: Jen

Rubin, prod.

• Shoots Aug. 22-23 in San Diego, CA. • Seeking—Production Assistant: all gen-

ders, 18+, all ethnicities. Gaffer: all genders, 18+. Hair + Makeup: all genders, 18+. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Submit reels/examples of previous

work.

• Pays $100/day for PA; $200/day for

HMU and gaffer.

Gigs 21-22 LA Clippers Slam Squad Audition

• Seeking Southern California’s most

high-flying and enthusiastic men and women to dunk at the staples center for the LA Clippers 2021-2022 NBA season.

• Company: Los Angeles Clippers. Staff:

Vaoesea Leota, entertainment coord. • There will be weekly rehearsals at a

gym in West Covina; game day performances will be at every LA Clippers home game in 21-22 season at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

• Seeking—Slam Squad Dunker: all gen-

ders, 18+, Must have experience in dunking.

• Auditions will be held Aug. 15 at 12 p.m.

com.

‘The Light in the Piazza,’ Tech Person

• Company: Taylor & Pond, LLC. • Prep Aug. 18; shoots Aug. 19 in San

• Seeking crew members for “Poet and a

Hoop Troop Orientation.

Stage Staff & Tech

Olaplex 70s Lifestyle Video

‘Poet and a Piano’ (Working Title), Crew

in place, so please bring a face mask and your vaccine card, if obtained.

• Compensation will discussed at 21-22

bamboo.com.

Film & TV Crew

(Free parking on-site in the open lot; check-in, 11 a.m.) at Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.

• All LA County safety guidelines will be

• Seeking—Talent: 16-25, all ethnicities. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to stavro@growwith-

• Seeking—Chloe: female, 28-36, Asian,

BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

• Provide your current hair and hairstyle

lorpond.com.

for leads.

• Send headshot, portfolio of photos,

to dye their hair blonde) and five-eight extras for an 70s inspired lifestyle shoot shot in San Diego, CA.

Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, a late 20s to mid 30s woman who is seeking a healthier, more joyful lifestyle. Through fitness, a

sets and then build them at the theater.

• Pays $150/day for Extras. Up to $6000

com.

• Company: Organifi. • Shoots Aug. 17-18 in San Diego County.

Most likely Sunset Cliffs, Ocean Beach, and North Park area.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to madison@tay-

• Send submissions to vleota@clippers. • Bring ID, face mask, and vaccination

card if you have it. RSVP and pre-register at this link https://laclippersforms. formstack.com/forms/slam_ squad_20212022_audition. Pass along this information to anyone ages 18 years or older who is interested in auditioning to be a member of this season’s Slam Squad Dunk Team. • Compensation details will be revealed

to performers who make the 21-22 Slam Squad team. VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

backstage.com

National/Regional casting

Northern California Online Commercials & Promos Mini Photo Printer Road Trip Travel/Influencer Shoot, SF • Casting a road trip lifestyle video/

photo shoot for client’s Mobile Mini Photo Printer. Seeking energetic, stylish, and gen-z talent for this production. Will take place at 3-4 different locations over the span of 1 or 2 days. • Company: Grow With Bamboo. Staff:

Stavro Victor, content prod. at Bamboo. Production states: “Bamboo is proudly one of the top growth marketing firms in consumer technology. We produce paid social ads for online advertising.” • Shoots late to last August/ early

Local Bay Area stage managers encouraged to submit. Submissions deadline is Aug. 19.

‘Witch,’ Equity Photo/ Resume Submissions

to equity, diversity, and inclusion in casting and uses a color and culturally conscious approach to casting. Stage Managers of any race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, and ability are encouraged to submit their materials.

Company. Staff: Jen Silverman, playwright; Rebecca Bradshaw, dir.; Alaine Alldaffer, Lisa Donadio, casting dirs.

• San Jose Stage Company is committed

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

Tier 3 Contract.

National/ Regional

‘The Comedy of Errors’ & ‘Thunder Knocking on the Door’ Equity Video Submissions

Stage Staff & Tech San Jose Stage Company 2021-22 Season, Stage Manager

• Seeking Equity stage managers of all

ages, ethnicities, and genders for San Jose Stage Company’s upcoming inperson 2021-2022 Season. Season includes “The Great Leap” (Lauren Yee, writer. Rehearsals begin Sept. 7; runs Sept. 29-Oct. 24); Frank Capra’s “Meet John Doe,” a world premiere (Kenneth Kelleher, adaptation. Rehearsals begin Oct 26; runs Nov. 17-Dec. 19); “Strange Courtesies” (L. Peter Callender, writer. Rehearsals begin Jan. 11, 2022; runs Feb. 2-27) “August: Osage County” (Tracy Letts, writer. Rehearsals begin Mar. 8; runs Mar. 30-Apr. 24); and “The Tooth of Crime” (Sam Shepard, writer. Rehearsals begin May 3; runs June 1-26, with possible extension through July 10, 2022). • Company: San Jose Stage Company.

Staff: Randall King, artistic dir.; Cathleen King, exec. dir.

• Rehearses and performs in San Jose,

CA.

• Seeking—Stage Manager: 18+, all

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • For consideration, submit via https://

zfrmz.com/EusQz5N6HPyZR8ErzFmd. backstage.com

50-69, all ethnicities; character’s pronouns: he/him; a wealthy and powerful man looking for a suitable heir to continue his legacy; commanding; has taken a liking toFrank as a possible heir; he secretly worries about his son, Cuddy, and how to guide him; his softer, more vulnerable side emerges when he talks to the portrait of his late wife.. Frank: male, 25-35, all ethnicities; character’s pronouns: he/him; a confident and successful young man, charming and ruthless; he’s secretly married to Winnifred but will leave her if it means inheriting Sir Arthur’s inheritance; his ambition knows no bounds.

• Seeking submissions from MA. • For consideration, submit headshot and

Equity LORT Non-Rep Agreement.

bamboo.com.

use in perpetuity.

• Seeking—Sir Arthur Banks: male,

• Company: Ten Thousand Things. Staff:

Plays

• Share recent photo or headshot. • Pays $600-$700/ day and video/photo

Oct. 9; runs Oct. 15-Nov. 14 in Boston, MA.

• imaginative casting. Most actors will

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to stavro@growwith-

• Rehearsals begin Sept. 14; tech begins

resume to alldaffercasting@gmail.com with your union status in subject line. Feel free to indicate in your email if you have already sent in a video submission. Submissions deadline is Aug. 13. For “Witch,” although pronouns are defined in the text, we welcome actors of any gender expression to audition. This production also contains hand-to-hand violence and intimacy. There will be an intimacy coach and fight choreographer on the production. The Huntington Theatre Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages actors of all backgrounds and abilities to audition.

September (will happen between Monday-Friday).

• Seeking—Talent: all genders, 16-25, all

• Casting Equity actors for “Witch.” • Company: Huntington Theatre

• Casting up to four Equity Actors and/or

swing/understudies in “The Comedy of Errors” and “Thunder Knocking on the Door.” Multi-racial and gender play multiple roles.

Marcela Lorca, dir.; Nancy Waldoch, prod. mgr. • “The Comedy of Errors” rehearsals

begin Sept. 13; runs Oct. 14-Nov. 21. “Thunder Knocking on the Door” rehearsals begin Feb. 28, 2022; runs March 31-May 8, 2022 in Minneapolis, MN. • Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+. • Seeking submissions from MN. • For consideration, submit video sub-

mission through email at nwaldoch@ tenthousandthings.org or mail to Nancy Waldoch, 1430 Concordia Ave #40216, St. Paul, MN 55102. Required: Classic monologue, two-minute max. Additionally, send one-minute contemporary/contrasting monologue and/or up to 16 bars or a song of your choice, a cappella welcome. Keep total audition submission six minutes or less. Submissions due Aug. 12. • Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

Agreement.

• Pays $1,008/wk. minimum (LORT B.)

Warehouse Theatre 2021-22 Season • Casting Equity actors for roles in

Warehouse Theatre’s 2021-22 season. Season includes: “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (John Cameron Mitchell, text; Stephen Trask, music-lyrics; Andrew Scoville, dir. Rehearsals begin Sept. 7; runs Sept. 24-Oct. 17), “Sense and Sensibility” (Kate Hamill, playwright; Kerrie Seymour, dir. Rehearsals begin Oct. 26; runs nov. 19-Dec. 19), “The Lotus Paradox” (World premiere. Dorothy Fortenberry, playwright; Jay Briggs, dir. Rehearsals begin Dec. 28; runs Jan. 21-Feb. 6, 2022), “Native Gardens” (Karen Zacarias, playwright; Patrick Torres, dir. Rehearsals begin Feb. 15, 2022; runs Mar. 11-27), “The Wolves” (Sarah Delappe, playwright; Anne Kelley Tromsness, dir. Rehearsals begin Mar. 29, 2022; runs Apr. 22-May 7), “Appropriate” (Branden JacobsJenkins, playwright. Rehearsals begin May 17. 2022; runs June 10-26), and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (Rachel Sheinkin, book; William Finn, music-lyrics; Shelley Butler, dir. Rehearsals begin June 28, 2022; runs July 29-Aug. 21). • Company: Warehouse Theatre. Staff:

Mike Sablone, producing artistic dir.; Jason D. Johnson, managing dir.; Kerrie

Seymour, dir., “Sense and Sensibility”; Jay Briggs, dir., “The Lotus Paradox”; Patrick Torres, dir., “Native Gardens; Anne Kelly Tromsness, dir., “The Wolves”; Shelley Butler, dir. “The 25th… Spelling Bee”; Meghan Reimers, music dir, “The 25th…Spelling Bee” • Season rehearses and runs in

Greenville, SC.

• Seeking—All Roles: 18+. • Seeking submissions from SC. • Actors are asked to prepare a 60 sec-

ond monologue. If singing, prepare a 45-second monologue and no more than 16 bars of a song. Audition participants are encouraged to sing whatever they wish (please no Green Day), but we have also provided the following link for use if needed: https://drive.google. com/drive/ folders/1lvq6MSNJL8uNNjHX_ yLowHz2cLoVkiLa?usp=sharing This is arranged to accommodate all vocal parts and genders. (Our enormous thanks to Bree Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan for the materials from “Holding On” from THE BAD YEARS.) For your video, slate with your name and selections • To submit a video, email Jason D.

Johnson at jason@warehousetheatre. com. Also include a headshot and resume with your emailed submission by Aug. 14. See breakdown for production dates. Performance weeks for each show are typically Thursday–Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Occasionally there will be a Wednesday show at 8 p.m. • Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

Musicals ‘Footloose,’ Equity video Submissions

• Casting Equity actors for “Footloose.” • Company: Chanhassen Theatres LLC,

The. Staff: Michael Brindisi, dir.; Tamara Kangas Erickson, choreo.; Andy Kust, music dir.; Nick Haug, casting admin.

• Rehearsals begin Jan. 4, 2022; runs Jan.

28-Sept. 10, 2022 in Chanhassen, MN.

• Seeking—Ren McCormack: male, 18+;

tenor; energetic, emotional, rebellious, likeable; emotes his pain through quirky sarcasm and dance; strong dancer. Reverend Shaw Moore: male, 35-55, baritone; the powerful, traditional local church leader; strict, stern, and solemn, still struggling with the death of his son. Ariel Moore: female, 18+, mezzo-pop; smart, a bit of the bad girl with an edge, sweet, the rebellious minister’s daughter; role requires strong belt, must be a strong singer/dancer. Vi Moore: female, 30-50, soprano; Reverend Moore’s loving, supportive, resilient wife. Rusty: female, 18+, great soprano/pop voice;

08.12.21 BACKSTAGE

casting National/Regional Ariel’s friend; a bit scatterbrained, sweet, fun, knows everything about everything; role requires strong belt, strong comedic timing and dance. Willard Hewitt: male, 18+, tenor; a simple country bumpkin with a warm heart and a big smile; comedic timing and dance a must. Ethel McCormack: female, 18+. Chuck Cranston: male, 18+, tenor; the local bad boy and Ariel’s boyfriend. Urleen: female, 18+, mezzo/alto; Ariel’s friend; the smart one of the group; role requires strong belt, comedic timing, and dance. Wendy Jo: female, 18+, mezzo; Ariel’s friend; strong belt, comedic timing, and dance required. Ensemble: female, male, 18-70, townspeople, students; need strong character people (all age ranges) for many roles (listed below); teenage through adults; chorus singing, dancing parts; all teens dance, all adults dance at the prom.

and is also a retired Navy Seal. Tremaine: male, 18-40, all ethnicities, servant of Shaka. Takishia: female, 40-50, Black / African Descent, wife of David.

from the score or in the style of the show) and one 60-second contemporary dramatic or comedic monologue of your choosing. You may use the accompaniment provided at ChanhassenDT.com/auditions to record “Footloose.” Video submission instructions available online at ChanhassenDT. com/auditions by Aug. 13. All roles are open - none have been pre-cast. All non-ensemble roles are understudied within the cast. Local actor/singer/ dancers encouraged to submit. BIPOC performers are strongly encouraged to audition, and all roles are open to inclusive casting. CDT is committed to becoming a more anti-racist organization on stage and throughout the company, and shall conduct all auditions in a manner that promotes fair consideration to persons of all races, ethnicities, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, ages, ability statuses, and body types. To learn more about the work that we are doing, visit the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page on our website. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Experience: male, 11-13, Black / African Descent, White / European Descent.

• Seeking submissions from MN. • Prepare 60 seconds of a song (either

• Pays $848/wk. Equity Dinner Theatre

Agreement.

‘Shaka,’ Hip Hop Opera

• Casting “Shaka,” Hip Hop Opera set

around a 1000 year old Black Vampire “Shaka” a very cruel vampire who falls in love with a runaway destined to take her life for his own as her family is desperate to save her before she becomes a shadow of the night! • Company: One Family Media Group,

LLC. Staff: Thomas Ford, president.

• Shoots TBD in Atlanta, GA. • Seeking—Shaka: male, 25-35, Black /

African Descent, a very cruel 1000 year old Black Vampire “Shaka.” Terica: female, 18-35, Black / African Descent, a young runaway who is torn between her family and the manipulative Shaka. David: male, 40-60, Black / African Descent, the retired Navy Seal and father of Terica. Nee Nee: female, 18-35, Black / African Descent, is the best friend of Terica and a informational expert vampires. Bill (William): male, 40-60, Asian, Latino / Hispanic, White / European Descent, the friend of David

BACKSTAGE 08.12.21

female, 30-40, is the lawyer. Maria: female, 40-50, is the DOT inspector. Susan: female, 50-60, is a family member. Matthew: male, 30-40, is the driver.

• Send submissions to thomas@ofmgllc.

• Seeking submissions from IL. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Note your availability on the tentative

com.

• In your cover letter add your availabil-

ity. We require a full body photo and head shot. Singing and Rapping is a requirement.

shoot days. Also send your reel or resume with a recent photo of yourself. Thank you!

• Pay is $100 up to $550 based on talent

• Reed (On-Screen Narrator): $750/shoot

and part. Meals provided.

day. All other Characters: $500/shoot day. Lunch will be provided on all shoot days.

Nickelodeon Live-Action Projects, Performers with Disabilities

Feature Films Upcoming Feature Film

• Casting boys, 11-13, with theatre experi-

ence for an upcoming feature film.

• Company: Boston Casting Inc. • Shoots in the fall in New England area. • Seeking—Boys with Theatre

seeking young performers for upcoming live-action projects via self-tape from the safety of their own homes.

• Production states: “We are looking for

funny kids with great confidence, fun personalities, and lots of energy. If your child can sing, dance, rap, and/or play musical instruments, we want to see those talents too. We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, race, age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by law. We look forward to watching talent from all over North America through this online open call. Note: Please do not send us any sensitive personal information like financial or health information, or anything else you consider confidential.”

• Seeking submissions from MA, RI, NH,

ME, VT and CT.

• Send submissions to bostoncastingkid-

sandteens@gmail.com.

• For consideration, submit a photo, your

resumé, and your email to bostoncastingkidsandteens@gmail.com. Will be contacting you for further materials. • Pays SAG scale. No travel, no lodging,

local hire. Billing and dressing room at producer’s discretion.

Scripted TV & Video

Printing Services Company Digital Content

• Casting a printing services company’s

digital i.e. website, social, emails, online advertising, etc. (October 2021-January 2022). • Company: Genuine Casting. Staff:

Genuine Casting, CD.

• Shoots mid-Sept. within an hour or so

from Boston. Talent will self-report.

• Seeking—Family With 2-3 Children:

25-55, all ethnicities, Parents of all ages, but at least two children should be tweens or younger who would be available for the photoshoot. Must be able to self-report to print shoot location which will be within an hour or so from Boston, MA. Must submit via online form: https://form.jotform. com/212164621768154. Same Sex Couple: 25-55, all ethnicities, Same sex couple. All ethnicities and ages.Must have a dog or a cat who could attend the photoshoot. Must be able to selfreport to print shoot location which will be within an hour or so from Boston, MA. Must submit via online form: https://form.jotform. com/212164621768154. • Seeking submissions from MA, NH and

CT.

• Send submissions to research@genuin-

erp.com.

• Must submit via online form: https://

form.jotform.com/212164621768154.

• $1,500 per person all inclusive i.e. print

shoot day, usage, use of personal photos, etc.

• Company: Nickelodeon. Staff: Danielle

Pretsfelder Demchick, CSA, casting dir.; Elizabeth Hay, casting assoc. • Dates TBD. • Seeking—Performers with Disabilities:

Hazmat Training Videos

0-35, open to talent both under and over 18 years old. All talent that identifies as disabled are encouraged to submit. All disabled identities are encouraged to submit. This includes but is not limited to the following: physical, visible, non-visible, mental, neurodiverse, blind/low vision, d/Deaf or hard of hearing, performers who are verbal, performers who are non-verbal, performers who use assistive technology.

• Casting characters for scripted hazmat

training videos. Note: These videos will play out a situation that will show the importance of hazmat training and what the consequences are when not done properly. • Company: Motion Source Video

Production. Staff: Rachael Nielson, assoc. prod.

• On-screen Narrator shoots Aug. 31,

Sept. 1-2 at the Motion Source Studio in Brookfield, IL. Note: All other characters are needed on TBD days and times. Some characters are only needed for one day, others are needed all three days, etc. (Tentative Dates: Sept. 7, 8, and 9.) This shoot will be at the client’s location in Itasca, IL. • Seeking—Reed: male, 40-50, will be

• Nickelodeon Live-Action Casting is

Multimedia

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to

Nickonlineopencall@nick.com.

• Self-tape auditions due by date TBD.

the onscreen Narrator for all of the videos. Nicholas: male, 50-60, White / European Descent, is the owner of the box company. Bentley: male, 45-50, White / European Descent, is the General Manager of the Box Company. Jess: female, 20-29, is the Customer Service Rep at the Box Company. Johnny: male, 20-29, is the salesperson at the box company. Carol: female, 50-60, White / European Descent, the box company has a customer company; Carol is the customer company’s CEO. Roger: male, 30-40, is the customer of the box company. Jennifer:

Note: Do not send any sensitive personal information like financial or health information, or anything else you consider confidential. • Contract details TBD.

Product B-Roll Model for Home Shopping Channels

• Casting product B-roll models for home

shopping channels.

• Company: Bright Lights Media LLC.

Staff: Justin Sochovka, president.

• Video shoots weekly. • Seeking—Product B-Roll Model: all

genders, 1+, all ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from PA. • Send submissions to Justin@

Brightlightsmediallc.com. • Pay provided.

Local Commercials Florida In-State Tourism

• Casting an in-state Florida tourism

campaign seeking talent and real couples for several individual one-day shoots in either the Jacksonville or Central Florida area. Note: Spot will run for eight weeks in-state and online. • Company: SPARK. Staff: Vanessa

Carmona, prod.

• Shoots TBD in FL. • Seeking—Real Hispanic Male & Female

Couple: all genders, 28-40, Latino / Hispanic, looking for a real couple for our Tallahassee-based shoot; shoot will take place at a rooftop bar and couple will need to be a real couple for our “Date Night” shoot. Golfer #1: male, 49-59, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, must be able to golf in real life. Golfer #2: male, 49-59, White / European Descent, must be able to golf in real life. Real Mother and Child (Aged 8-10): 30-45, all ethnicities, casting for a Real Mother and Child duo; preference for a family that has a differently abled Child, to highlight all the wonderful things to do in Florida for those with different needs. Real LGBT+ Couple: 35-49, all ethnicities, preference for real couples that have passion for the arts or pursue creative outlets themselves. Real backstage.com

National/Regional casting

Hispanic Father and Son: male, 30-45, Latino / Hispanic, real Hispanic Father and Son (ideally with a child around 8-12yo); preference for families that have a love of waterparks or the beach. Horseback Rider - Female: female, 29-45, White / European Descent, preference for Talent that has experience or passion for horseback riding. Horseback Rider - Male: male, 29-45, White / European Descent, preference for Talent that has experience or passion for horseback riding. Watersports Guy: male, 20-35, all ethnicities, talent must have love of watersports; whether its kayaking, diving, or fishing -- list all water activities and sports that you have as a hobby.

• Company: Carbon Film. Staff:

us.

• Casting a Medical Device shoot for non-

Carbonfilm.tv, managing partner.

• Shoots one day TBD in Atlanta, GA. • Seeking—Prospector: male, 40+, all

ethnicities, older prospector character with a grizzly look/accent. • Seeking submissions from GA. • Send submissions to casting@carbon-

Golfer Training Product Video

• Casting short testimonial videos of new

golf training products. Ideal candidates would be male golfers over 35 years old, energetic and comfortable on camera. • Company: Blackfish Media. • Shootings will be throughout South

Florida at a multiple golf course locations. Shoots should only take about 15 minutes. • Seeking—Golfer: male, 35-80, all

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from FL. • Apply on Backstage.com. • No pay. Access to over $5,000 worth of

golf training available.

Game Intro, Prospector

• Seeking to shoot some content around

an escape room attraction this month in Atlanta, GA. Note: Filming will take a day and will be filmed on-site in the escape room. Client is looking for an old, prospector type of character. Something very similar to Tom Waitt’s character in “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” Production states: “Script will be short (about a half page, maybe a little more) and a teleprompter will be provided on set, all though we’d ultimately prefer not to have to depend on it. Note that travel will not be included so please only submit if you are in the Atlanta area. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!” backstage.com

• Company: About Faces Models and

Talent. Staff: Lesa Laforce, talent dir.

evenings from 4 p.m. to closing from Sept. 17 through Oct. 31 in Atlanta, GA. Note: There will be one training day prior to your starting. Schedule is flexible but would prefer being able to work every shift.

Print & Digital Modeling broadcast videos and/ or Still Photography.

Online Commercials & Promos

• For open calls, prepare a one minute

• Runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday

• Include any availability conflicts for the

shoot, with $1,500 usage/buyout fee for use of footage in perpetuity. Travel and meals will also be provided.

Six Flags Over Georgia, Scare Actors Fright Fest Atlanta Georgia.

• Pays $750.

Medical Device, Video/Print Shoot

• Pays $500 session rate for one-day

• For an audition appointment (Sept. 3 & 4,

• Casting 100 scare actors for Six Flags

film.tv.

• Seeking submissions from FL. • Send submissions to carmona@spark.

first and second week of August. Prefer candidates to include a self-taped intro that includes your name, where you are based in Florida, and list your favorite thing to do in Florida. Possible Zoom callbacks from reel/headshots first week of August, and second week of August for one day of filming, with possible travel days.

Theme Parks & Attractions

• Seeking—Scare Actors: 16+. • Seeking submissions from GA. • Send submissions to talent@aboutfac-

each day. Payment will be received every two to three weeks.

• Casting actors and musical theater per-

formers for a live, interactive, 60m show based on the Warner Bros. film & book by Chris Van Allsburg. Seeking energetic actors and singers who enjoy working with kids and who embrace audience interaction to create a fun, entertaining and heartwarming experience. • Company: Warner Bros and Rail Events

Productions. Staff: Mike May, prod.; Scott Calcagno, casting dir. • Rehearses Nov. 4-11; performs Nov.

12-Dec. 28. Performances are Friday evening through Sunday except starting Dec. 20-28 performances are daily. See attached schedule. All performances take place aboard a slow-moving train from Oklahoma Railway Museum in OKC. Call time will be one hour before showtime. • Seeking—Ensemble Players: all gen-

ders, 20-35, all ethnicities, actors and actor/singers for various roles; outgoing, joy-filled, team players. Conductor: male, trans male, 25-45, all ethnicities, showman; charming, outgoing, personable; some dance. Hobo: male, trans male, 25-40, all ethnicities, gruff but with kind heart; skilled actor; non-singing role; some dance. Santa: male, trans male, 40-65, all ethnicities, character actor, warm, sincere; full of real joy, able to project. Hero Child: all genders, 12-14, to play 10-13, sincere, ability to interact with others, 5’5” and under. Note: that Hero Child actors are paid $28 per show (plus rehearsal stipend) and are not on a weekly salary. These actors will work shorter schedules due to age and OK labor law guidelines.

• Seeking submissions from PA, NY, IL,

GA, MA, DC and NC.

• Send submissions to pittsburgh@tal-

• Auditions will be held by appt. Sept. 3

entgroup.com.

from 2:30-5 p.m. and from 7-9 p.m. (open call) and Sept. 4 from 12-2 p.m. (open call) and from 2:30-5 p.m. (by appt.) at Embassy Suites, Everest Ballroom, 741 N. Phillips Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73104.

• Make sure to include current photos. • Pay Rate: $3500 to $5700 depending

on number of shoot days per role and usage. Rate includes Travel and Accommodations.

• All adult performing roles will be paid

‘The Polar Express Train Ride’ Oklahoma 2021

• Seeking—Role #1: male, 32-57, Asian,

role will shoot Aug 25, 26, 30, and 31; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $4250 for this role. Role #2: male, 37-58, Black / African Descent, role will shoot Aug 25, 26, 30, and 31; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $5500 for this role. Role # 3: male, 58-75, Asian, role will shoot Aug 25 and 26; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $3500 for this role. Role #4: male, 37-62, Asian, role will shoot Aug. 25-26, 30, and Sept. 2; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $5500 for this role. Role #5: female, 25-45, Asian, role will shoot Aug. 30 and Sept. 1; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $4000 for this role. Role # 6: male, 25-45, Black / African Descent, role will shoot Aug. 30 and Sept. 2; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $4250 for this role. Role #7: female, 45-65, Asian, role will shoot Aug. 30 and 31; do not submit unless you are available for all dates; make sure to take into consideration travel dates/ time to and from Pittsburgh; shoot would pay $4000 for this role.

asks that all performers who are not fully vaccinated please wear a mask during your audition, as well as in the waiting room. For your safety, all Polar Express staff present at the audition are also fully vaccinated for Covid-19.

per show + $150 rehearsal fee, earning approximately $2050 for their scheduled contract; they will be scheduled abiding by all OK labor laws.

• Shoots Aug. 25-Sept. 3 in Pittsburgh,

the schedule. You will need to sign a parking application and a confirmation of a background check.

PA. Note: Talent will be needed for twofour days depending on role.

• COVID 19 Note: Rail Events Productions

• Pays $10/hr. flat. Includes parking pass

• Note your available dates to be put on

Stephen Black, owner.

comedic/light monologue. Singers also prepare short ballad (Musical Theater, Christmas, or Pop) to be sung a cappella. Bring current pic/resumes. Note: There are two open calls: Sept 3 & Sept 4 at same location.

hourly as W2 employees. Presuming you work your assigned performance schedule, by the contract end actors will earn approximately $4,333 (gross) based on an hourly rate of $18. Santa Actors will earn approximately $5,092 for their scheduled contract.

esmt.com.

• Company: The Talent Group Inc. Staff:

2:30-5 p.m.), send headshot, resume, and cover note expressing interest in the OKC cast to OKCPolarExpressCasting@gmail. com. See attached schedule.

• Note: Hero Child actors will be paid $28

• Note: Talent must be local to OKC or

Tulsa. Housing or transportation is not provided.

Commercials (Voiceover) Boot Barn Fall TV Spot ‘The Journey’

• Casting a narrator for the fall tv commer-

cial for Boot Barn.

• Company: Boot Barn. Staff: Boot Barn,

production manager.

• Records in-studio nearest you- date TBD

based on your availabiity.

• Seeking—Male Voiceover: male, 18+. • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Audio usage is full buyout for tv commer-

cial, digital and ads.

Laredo Medical Center, Spanish Speaking VO

• Casting a Spanish speaking female

announcer VO talent to create a SPA TV15 spot. Needing neutral Mexican Spanish accent only for Spanish VO. • Company: The 3 Productions. Staff:

Thom Little, president.

• Records TBD. • Seeking—Female Spanish VO: 26-38. • Seeking submissions worldwide. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Read copy in a warm, friendly style within

15 seconds. Need client supervision on record, ideally via Source Connect, but could make phone patch work. Will lean towards talent that have SC. • Two year non exclusive rights in the

Laredo, TX market for TV and digital. VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

08.12.21 BACKSTAGE

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Moving to London and knowing no one, what are some good ways to meet people in the industry? —@0le_fay0

Our Expert

*Submit questions for our Experts on Backstage’s Facebook, Instagram, 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.

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ILLUSTRATION: MARGARET RULING/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; PETERS: COURTESY ANGELA PETERS

Angela Peters is an actor, voiceover artist, writer, coach, and Backstage Expert.

It can be really daunting, moving to a new city where you don’t know a single human. But fear not! I did it myself 14 years ago, and it all worked out fine. While this industry can initially feel tough to crack, it’s actually one of the most welcoming; everyone wants to help and get to know one another. If you’re just arriving in London and aren’t sure where to start, here are a few ideas: Join networking groups and filmmaking events: A few to consider are Shooting People’s industry events, Shorts on Tap, Emerging Filmmakers Night, U.K. Actors Tweetup, and Kino London. They all combine talks, screenings, and Q&As with networking and mingling. Subscribe to each event’s newsletter to ensure you know when the next one is. Even if some aren’t back to being in-person yet, many are running online—so it’s still a great way to get to know the organizations and get a feel for what they champion. Take classes: The easiest way to meet actors when you’re new in town is through classes. You’re immediately building a bond with other industry professionals, and when you see them weekly, they’ll naturally become part of your circle. Participate in MonologueSlam UK: This event touts itself as “the industry showcase for actors from all backgrounds and profiles.” Talent, casting directors, agents, and even production companies go to MonologueSlam to see the fierce acting competition—and also hang out. Go to festivals: From the very well-known Edinburgh Festival Fringe to the more relaxed Brighton Fringe, from the Aesthetica Short Film Festival to the London Short Film Festival, there are many opportunities to attend the U.K.’s wonderfully eclectic mix of fests and meet industry pros. Many boast networking nights (or even just the chance to mingle at the bar after screenings) to see what’s what and make new contacts. As with any city, the people of London most likely moved there from somewhere else, just like you. The eclectic mix of faces, languages spoken, and accents used means you’ll feel like you belong almost instantly. Don’t be shy.

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We’re taking you directly to acting and casting industry power players through Instagram takeovers, Q&As, live-streamed seminars, and interactive group classes to ensure you’re hitting all the right marks in and out of the audition room!

Celebrity guests include: Nicole Kidman Jodie Foster Jason Sudeikis Elle Fanning Rachel Brosnahan Alison Brie Aishe Dee Ricky Gervais Anthony Mackie Bradley Whitford Nicholas Pinnock Susan Kelechi Watson and more! To get all the details and view the full schedule, please visit backstage.com/magazine.

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Backstage Magazine, Digital Issue: August 12, 2021

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