Casting Directors

I am beginning to realize that casting directors, much like actors, yoga instructors, and people in general, come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some are cheery and hopeful for young prospectives such as myself; some are realists, admitting the climb is treacherous; and some, like the one I met today, seem downright negative. I suppose that, in the end, they all balance each other out in some form or fashion.

On Saturday, I attended my first casting director workshop with the 'House of Actors', starring casting director Scott David, a head CD with April Webster Casting. The session was bizarre, to say the least. Once I parked my car and headed to the second story of the little apartment building, guided by colorful, handmade posters resembling a yard sale or children's birthday party advertisement, I was accosted by no less than five different people, all exclaiming loudly, "It's SO nice to meet you!" and enveloping me in giant bear hugs. At this point, my brain began to nervously question the professionalism of this establishment.

The little room we sat in was filled with pictures of famous actors and actresses, ranging from a collage of Marilyn Monroe to snapshots of James Dean and advertisements with Marlon Brando. There was a small refreshments (or "crafty", aka craft services) table set up in the corner, with slices of homemade cake, a tin pf Planter's peanuts, a jar of candy, and several banana halves, as well as tea, coffee, and hot chocolate packets. There was also a little station with actor-friendly work goodies, like a three-ring hole punch, highlighters, and a stapler. I highlighted the copy of the sides I had brought in for my reader, passed it off to a very cheerful man in his fifties, and found a seat in the middle of the conglomerate of blue plastic chairs.

After Scott arrived, he came in, sat down, and asked us if we had any questions or things we wished to talk about. It was at this point in time that it became clear to me I was surrounded by 'actors' from all backgrounds. A cute girl around age eleven started talking about her pet goldfish, which earned a slight chuckle from the crowd. The adolescent's tale of her carnival fish (which had perished) prompted an adult in the room, wearing a bright red dress and a very enthusiastic demeanor, to profess her unyielding love of her four pet rats, and to then explain rat birthing processes and how lovable rats truly are. Finding this bizarre, I was stunned to hear a woman behind me jump into the conversation with a remark about her anxiety-ridden, prescription-popping cat, who had to be medicated in order to stop peeing in the owner's bed, which the vet had attributed to "separation anxiety." A few actors laughed, a few tried to chime in with their own, "Listen to ME!" stories, and a couple of us - I'm being optimistic that I wasn't the only one in this predicament - began to question our sanity and the validity of this casting workshop.

I then waited for an hour, as people cycled in to meet with Scott, one by one. When it was my turn, I went in, momentarily handed him my headshot and resume (which he couldn't even keep due to some new law), and did my rape victim scene (recommended to me as, "one of Scott's favorites, because it really let's him know if an actress can act or not). Scott liked my interpretation, asked me to do it again with less presence and more haziness, I did so, we smiled, and that was it. I said goodbye to him forty-five minutes later, getting the impression by his Blackberry scanning as he was hustled by a room of twelve actors, that he was ready to get on with his Saturday. Well, here's hoping that $50 at least made a dent somewhere in his mental library about me.

Today I had a general meeting with Mark Saks, the CD whom I had an audition and callback with for "MEDIUM." More to come on this in a bit.....