Superpower

BY ERICA ARVOLD

Erica Arvold is a film/tv casting director and multi-hyphenate screen artist. She recently won an Artios Award and was Emmy nominated for the limited series Dopesick. Erica’s been nominated five additional times for Artios Awards and has contributed to over 150 films and 90 episodic projects throughout her 33 years in casting.

As the strikes continue, screen artists in the Southeast region have been actively picketing, meeting, coming together in community, supporting, and standing in solidarity with WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

I've had the opportunity to reflect on not only the vital importance of writers and actors, but also what I, as a casting director, bring to the table for both studio and independent projects. I began to ask myself, what is the superpower of a casting director? Why are we so very essential to the process of filmmaking?

I don't want to assume that every casting professional feels the same way I do, but I’ll put it out there knowing that we are probably more aligned than not. I’m going to use ‘we’ throughout this piece because it just feels weird to say ‘I’ especially as we are all in this together

That said, I believe the essential superpower of casting directors is shapeshifting. And, this precise and practiced skill is gonna get us through this strike, and whatever else comes our way

Shapeshifter quality #1. We are able to become the person needed in different situations. Let me clarify, a zillion situations. We morph throughout the day and certainly throughout a project, filling the shoes of an actor, a director, a producer, a writer, an AD, a coach, an editor, a negotiator, a lawyer, a mentor, a time-keeper, a referee, a confidant, an advocate, an entrepreneur, and a creative collaborator We have the skills of a crisis negotiator, and those come in very handy when needed Especially now

Shapeshifter quality #2. Our muscles are agile, all the time. While juggling multiple balls in the air, our brains are able to discern, with lightning speed, which one of our muscles is needed to work at any specific moment Whether it is providing the time and space for creativity to emerge, facilitating a nuanced chemistry read with an actor and a precise director, or navigating a last minute frantic call about a schedule change that requires an actor be cast and on set in only a couple of hours, we handle all of these things, easily. It’s a dance. And that is why casting is an art form. It’s also why it takes so many years to mature into a full casting director. When I was little, my dad used to say, either you find something where you have to do many things, or you’re not going to be happy. I found a place where I am happy.

Shapeshifter quality #3. We’re smart. We are forced to be technical wizards whether we want to be or not. To do our jobs, we have to understand the basics of software, cloud storage, camera equipment, lighting setups But, the amount of technology we have been presented with in the last decade that ‘helps’ our jobs requires us to understand the zeroes and ones and even a bit of programming to make things go smoothly And we DO keep up Because we shapeshift into technical wizards when needed We figure things out I have to admit some days I really want to go back in time to my giant circular rolodex of cards and a push button phone next to an electric typewriter. Alas, time travel is not a shapeshifter quality…yet.

Shapeshifter quality #4. We are nurturers Some of us, like me, by default. And in our own independent style, confirming that we are artists. Our mark on the screen comes through nurturing the vision of a project. We nurture our staff, our clients, and every actor who walks through the door (virtually or in-person). Some of us even nurture writers and AD’s and series regulars who come and hang out in our offices. These days, we are only occasionally housed in the production office, but I remember fondly the days of in-person casting offices well Many times a showrunner or actor would stop by, plop down in a chair in my office, and sit to just get away from it all and think In silence, we are nurturing, holding space, and using our superpowers

Shapeshifter quality #5. We listen to our gut That’s what has guided my casting and my art all of these years. And that’s the most important thing I aim to share today, here, in this Zine article with you. We are a collective of gut-listening artists. We are casting professionals. We cannot do our jobs any other way. We see potential, we see the future, we see charisma and connection and chemistry. We can’t help it, and it’s wonderful.

Casting isn’t just a skill, it’s an art form. It’s as necessary to the filmmaking and streaming industry as it is for our fellow artists, writers and actors, whom we stand with, in solidarity