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

Terminology Tuesday: Taft Hartley

September 30, 2022August 24, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

What exactly does “Taft Hartley” mean and how do you jump on the coveted bandwagon? Grab some popcorn, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳…⁠ ⁠ Once you book your first union job, the producer or CD will need to draft up Taft-Hartley report. You might have heard this referred to as “being Taft-Hartleyed.”⁠ ⁠ There are few ways to become SAG-eligible without being “Taft-Hartleyed.” One way is to do background work and receive (3) union vouchers. ⁠ ⁠ The other …

Monday Myth Debunkers: We Need to Know Acting is Your #1 Focus.

September 30, 2022August 23, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Let’s call this one exactly what it is…⁠ ⁠ A big. Fat. 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛. ⁠ ⁠ We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we want you to be human first and actor second. ⁠ ⁠ For many of you, acting comes 4th or 5th in your life. ⁠ ⁠ 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙊𝙆.⁠ ⁠ Acting does NOT need to be your #1 priority or focus in life in order to have a successful acting career 🤯⁠ ⁠ It IS possible …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Need to Give Them the Take They Are Looking For.

September 30, 2022August 16, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Let’s start of by asking this:⁠ ⁠ 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕗 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖’𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣?⁠ ⁠ That’s not to be confused with the notion that doing the work, having strong text analysis skills and using the information we give you to make smart choices is NOT the way to go. ⁠ ⁠ What we want you to take away is this:⁠ ⁠ Don’t give us the take you think we want to see. 𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 …

Terminology Tuesday: Nudity Rider

September 30, 2022August 10, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

A nudity rider, or “nudity clause”, is a contract between an actor and production that defines what will happen on set while filming nude, intimate, simulated sex, or simulated sexual assault scenes. It might also be called a nudity waiver, simulated sex act rider, simulated sex waiver, intimate scene rider, or proposed written consent.⁠ ⁠ Any actor filming a nude, intimate, simulated sex, or simulated sexual assault scene, or appearing nude or simulating a sex act on set (even if …

Monday Myth Debunkers: We Need to See the Types of Characters You Can Play.

September 30, 2022August 9, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

When crafting your reel, what criteria comes to mind?⁠ ⁠ Showing us the best of the best, most likely, and also making sure you’re showing enough range. ⁠ ⁠ But what exactly do we mean by “range?”⁠ ⁠ A range of characters? Range of emotion?⁠ ⁠ We sort of mean both. The range of 𝗬𝗢𝗨 and your ability as an actor.⁠ ⁠ But what we don’t mean, is a digital pie chart of characters you could play. ⁠ ⁠ You …

Terminology Tuesday: Episodic Season

October 3, 2022August 3, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

It’s August!⁠ ⁠ It’s a great time for actors to start focusing on getting their start in TV. Whereas pilot season can be a bit more competitive, episodic season is most likely when you’ll be going in for (and booking!) that first co-star role. traditionally means… 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕪 𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕔 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟!!!⁠ ⁠ Once pilots have received their pickups and series have received their rewnewal notices, writers go back to work. Typically, casting goes back to work a month or so after the …

Monday Myth Debunkers: Breakdowns Don’t Matter.

October 3, 2022August 2, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴅᴏ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋᴅᴏᴡɴꜱ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ?⁠ ⁠ Before we release a breakdown, we always have a thorough, in-depth discussion with the creative team in order to narrow down certain traits as we go through a sea of thousands of submissions. We try to get as specific as possible in the discussion (even if we don’t end up listing all these details in the breakdown)⁠ ⁠ Generally speaking, we try and put the most important requirements of the role in the …

Terminology Tuesday: Imposter Syndrome

October 3, 2022July 27, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Double-tap if you’ve heard of or even struggle with imposter syndrome. ⁠ ⁠ Imposter syndrome (IS) is the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications. It’s usually characterized by chronic feelings of inadequacy, incompetence, and fraudulence. ⁠ ⁠ It can feel hard to internalize success and genuinely hold the belief that you’re competent and capable.⁠ ⁠ Many actors, creatives and really anyone with goals and dreams struggle with imposter syndrome. ⁠ …

Terminology Tuesday: Guest Star

October 3, 2022July 20, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Hard to believe we haven’t covered this term yet but let’s get right to it:⁠ ⁠ A guest star is the term used to describe the type and size of a role in episodic television. ⁠ ⁠ Typically, a guest star will perform in multiple scenes and have a character arc in the episode. ⁠ ⁠ Importance of the character to the episode, how much dialogue the character has, who they are in the scene with, and budgetary concerns are …

Monday Myth Debunkers: You Need A Stage Name.

October 3, 2022July 12, 2021 by Ramani Leah, CSA

Do you NEED a stage name? SHOULD you change your name?⁠ ⁠ Does your name correlate with the auditions you get and jobs you book?⁠ ⁠ For the most part, we’d say the answer is a resounding “NO” to most of these…⁠ ⁠ With one exception. ⁠ ⁠ The only time you might want to consider a SIMPLE name change (or even just addition of your middle name) is if someone already has your first & last name in the …