December 2021 - The Casting Director's Cut

Terminology Tuesday: Day Player

October 13, 2022December 29, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

What is the difference between a day player and a co-star role?⁠ ⁠ Well, nothing really. ⁠ ⁠ A co-star refers to the 𝗦𝗜𝗭𝗘 of the role. A day player refers to the type of 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧. ⁠ ⁠ 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣𝕤 (𝕚𝕟 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖) 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕠-𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠-𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣𝕤.⁠ ⁠ Deciding which co-star roles are “day player” roles comes down to an assessment of the script and ultimately, a locked DOOD. ⁠ ⁠ This is why, for …

Monday Myth Debunkers: A Self Tape Extension Means…

September 29, 2022December 28, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

So the holidays have a us a little behind. We’re switching things up and coming in with a TUESDAY Myth Debunker. We promise it’ll be a good one 😇⁠ ⁠ Double-tap if you’ve ever gotten a cmail notification only to be let down by another pesky self tape extension notice. ⁠ ⁠ 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥.⁠ ⁠ This was the audition you felt you nailed. ⁠ ⁠ CLEARLY they must have extended the deadline because no one did it for …

Monday Myth Debunkers: In Order to Succeed…

October 13, 2022December 28, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

This might be our biggest myth of all. ⁠ ⁠ But first, here are a few things we don’t want you to be confused about:⁠ ⁠ YES, the time and energy you put into your career will yield more favorable results⁠ ⁠ YES, you should make the things that are important to you (your acting career included) ONE of your priorities. ⁠ ⁠ YES, other people will rely on you to make acting {A} priority (your team, productions hiring you, …

Terminology Tuesday: Submission Notes

September 29, 2022December 21, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Submission notes are a feature that AA/BD offers that allows both actors and reps to include a note to casting when submitting yourself to a project. ⁠ ⁠ Seems like a great opportunity to make your submission stand out or communicate with casting, right?⁠ ⁠ Maybe… 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵.⁠ ⁠ Sometimes an office may specifically ask you to notate a special skill or level of experience (i.e. military experience or dance). In that case, please do use the submission notes to …

Monday Myth Debunkers: Casting Directors Don’t Watch Every Self Tape.

October 13, 2022December 21, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Sometimes turning in a self tape can feel like your hard work is going into a black hole. ⁠ ⁠ 𝕀𝕤 𝕚𝕥?⁠ ⁠ If the tape was actually requested and is turned in on time, the chances of it being watched are VERY high. ⁠ ⁠ However, the main difference between self-taping and live auditioning (besides the obvious), is that with a self tape, we CAN stop watching. ⁠ ⁠ 𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘱.⁠ ⁠ That’s the big fat caveat that comes with …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Must Follow the Rules.

September 29, 2022December 20, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Don’t be fooled—as CDs, we love love 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 when actors follow each and every bit of direction we give them. ⁠ ⁠ What we’re talking about today are the unspoken rules of casting. ⁠ ⁠ You know… the ones in the official Casting Rules For Actors Handbook. ⁠ ⁠ Never heard of it?⁠ ⁠ 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩. 🙊⁠ ⁠ Folks: 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠 𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕣.⁠ ⁠ This industry is filled with conflicting opinions, get-rich-quick-schemes, …

Terminology Tuesday: Cast-Contingent

September 29, 2022December 14, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Have you heard today’s #terminologytuesday before?⁠ ⁠ If you’re in casting, you’ve probably heard this term more times than you’d like.⁠ ⁠ Cast-contingent means that the green light by a studio or production company for a project is dependent on which actor(s) are attached. ⁠ ⁠ A cast-continent order can be made for a feature film (both studio and indie) or a pilot.⁠ ⁠ If a pilot is cast contingent, we’ll work our butts off to fulfill those 1-2 lead …

Monday Myth Debunkers: The Shorter the Reel the Better.

September 29, 2022December 13, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Alright folks, buckle up for this one.⁠ ⁠ Double-tap if you’ve ever heard this (very made-up) statement. ⁠ ⁠ This “rule” might have been accompanied with something like “because CDs don’t have time to watch long reels.”⁠ ⁠ This is true!⁠ ⁠ Do you know what else is true?⁠ ⁠ We also don’t have time to watch 1-minute reels 🙃⁠ ⁠ 𝘎𝘢𝘴𝘱.⁠ ⁠ That’s right—with 10k+ submissions per episode/project and very little time to spare, we’re looking at seconds. ⁠ …