Ramani Leah, CSA, Author at The Casting Director's Cut

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Need a Theatre Degree.

September 29, 2022October 25, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁.⁠ ⁠ Getting a theatre degree or going through a BFA/MFA program can be an incredibly rewarding and educational experience. ⁠ ⁠ 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥’𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕣.⁠ ⁠ In fact, majoring in something else can sometimes be even more fruitful for an acting career. ⁠ ⁠ Friendly reminder: more knowledge and lived experiences will lead to a more interesting POV on life, which in turn, leads to more interesting acting choices.⁠ ⁠ Regardless …

Monday Myth Debunkers: There Are Too Many Actors.

September 29, 2022October 18, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Double-tap if you’ve ever heard the amount of submissions a CD gets only for it to cause your stomach to churn. ⁠ ⁠ 𝕀𝕥’𝕤 𝕒 𝕝𝕠𝕥.⁠ ⁠ And understandably, numbers can sound overwhelming and even make you feel small. ⁠ ⁠ So let’s talk about different numbers today.⁠ ⁠ Let’s talk about the numbers that actually 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.⁠ ⁠ How many of those submissions (especially for smaller roles) are filled with trained actors who have materials that showcase their strongest abilities?⁠ …

Terminology Tuesday: Beat

September 29, 2022October 12, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Keep reading if you’re looking for some fresh beats…⁠ ⁠ #castingjokes⁠ ⁠ A beat is a moment in the script that propels the character’s story forward. ⁠ ⁠ Each scene may be comprised of several different beats. Some beats are subtle, while others are obvious.⁠ ⁠ There are hundreds of beats within the pages of a feature-length film. Every time the action of a character changes, a new acting beat begins. ⁠ ⁠ Your job: to never miss a beat. …

Monday Myth Debunkers: Attitude is Irrelevant.

September 29, 2022October 4, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Dear sweet, passionate, talented actors, let’s have a chat 🍿⁠ ⁠ Put your feet up, fill up your mug—we hope you’ll stay until the end. ⁠ ⁠ 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮.⁠ ⁠ Having undeniable talent, working hard at your craft, constantly training and learning new ways to grow & improve are all extremely valuable (and necessary) prerequisites to having a successful acting career. ⁠ ⁠ But actually, there’s more…⁠ ⁠ First, let’s take …

Terminology Tuesday: Breakdown Services

September 30, 2022September 28, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

To piggyback on yesterday’s Monday #mythdebunker, let’s dive a little deeper into all things Breakdown Services. ⁠ ⁠ Breakdown Services and Actor’s Access are part of the same company. ⁠ ⁠ Breakdown Services is what casting directors use to distribute film/TV breakdowns and how we receive actor submissions from agents and managers. Actor’s Access is what YOU (the actor) use to house your materials and/or self submit to projects. ⁠ ⁠ When we release breakdowns, we have the option to …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Need A Website.

September 30, 2022September 27, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

This might be one of our top 10 biggest questions:⁠ ⁠ “𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦?”⁠ ⁠ The TLDR version? 𝗡𝗼, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁.⁠ ⁠ Remember: you are (probably) already paying for an acting website that houses all of your materials (Actor’s Access). ⁠ ⁠ And we are primarily going to be viewing your materials via Actor’s Access alone (it’s Breakdown Services for us). ⁠ Unfortunately, AA does charge by the minute (we truly wish this was not the case), …

Terminology Tuesday: ULB (Ultra Low Budget)

September 30, 2022September 21, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

For the next few #terminologytuesdays we thought we’d do a SAG theatrical film agreement series. ⁠ ⁠ SAG-AFTRA low budget agreements were created with input from filmmakers and actors to make it even easier to hire professional performers in lower budgeted films. ⁠ ⁠ There are 4 main theatrical film contracts under SAG. They are:⁠ ⁠ 1️⃣ SAG Basic Theatrical Agreement⁠ 2️⃣ SAG Low Budget Agreement ⁠ 3️⃣ SAG Modified Low Budget Agreement (MLB)⁠ 4️⃣ SAG Ultra Low Budget Agreement …

Terminology Tuesday: Dummy Sides

September 30, 2022September 14, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

You may not realize it, but you could be auditioning with “dummy” sides. ⁠ ⁠ Dummy sides are sides that are 𝙣𝙤𝙩 part of the film script or episode. ⁠ ⁠ They could be sides from another previously aired film/TV show—they could be sides written by one of the writers specifically for the audition—they could even be sides from the show/film you are auditioning for, but extensively edited that you’d never know. ⁠ ⁠ 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕕𝕠 𝕨𝕖 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕕𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕤?⁠ …

Terminology Tuesday: Background

September 30, 2022August 31, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

A background actor is someone who performs in a nonspeaking role, usually in the background. Background actors (BG) help make movies, TV shows, and other productions look and feel more authentic. ⁠ ⁠ Doing BG can give you a unique opportunity to see behind the scenes on a variety of productions. In some cases, you’ll be able to observe the actor/director dynamic and how an actor deals with blocking/marks during a scene. ⁠ ⁠ Many actors make the decision to …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Must Follow the Rules of the Business.

September 30, 2022August 30, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Listen up—today’s #mondaymythdebunker is an important one:⁠ ⁠ The notion of “following rules” isn’t to be confused with following the directions that casting gives you for an audition or self tape:⁠ ⁠ Please always, always, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 READ everything and follow those directions to a tee. ⁠ ⁠ What we’re referring to is the “rules” of the industry. ⁠ ⁠ We’re not talking about SAG rules or employment rules or the law. ⁠ ⁠ We’re talking about INDUSTRY rules. ⁠ ⁠ …