"The Art of Being Seen: Perspectives on the Casting Process"

by Doug Strassler

[As readers of Rick On Theater know, I occasionally post articles on this blog that examine aspects of theater production about which most people who aren’t in the business—whom one of my teachers used to call  “civilians”—don’t know much.  The current edition of  Equity News (Autumn 2018), the member magazine  of Actors’ Equity Association, the stage actors’ and stage managers’ union, ran a detailed article about the auditioning process.  I suppose most people with any contact with theater, even as casual audience members, know that auditioning is the sometimes intimidating procedure every actor goes through in search of acting jobs.  It’s the actor’s equivalent of a job interview, and it can be daunting and, sometimes, dispiriting.  One of the most talented actors I ever worked with—I acted with him twice and directed him twice—has never become as well-known as I believe he should have because he hates auditioning and, by his own estimation, isn’t good at it.  (I also auditioned with him when he, another actor friend, and I used a three-character scene a few times as a group audition piece.)  In other words, an audition can make or break an actor’s career.

[Members of Equity have a carefully organized  and monitored audition process and the union is always making adjustments as it gets feedback from working—or work-seeking—actors.  The union audition, known as an Equity Principal Audition, or EPA (as distinguished from an Equity Chorus Call, or ECC), is hectic and, to a novice, disorienting, but it is standard from one casting call to the next, as required by the Equity contract governing the production being cast.  (Non-union calls don’t follow the same rules and have no authority to monitor and organize them and are thus often haphazard and frustrating.)  Because it’s in the union’s interest to see that its members get jobs, a benefit of union membership is that it offers assistance and advice to members in any number of professional aspects of the business.  In this instance, the union queried a number of casting directors, the member of the production staff who usually begin the selection process, and in this article, passes the guidance and advice on to members.

[Some of what’s posted below is esoteric and “inside-baseball,” but I believe it’s mostly clear enough for the non-actor to glean some of what the auditioning process entails.  You will see a little of what an actor has to go through just to get to try out for a part.  You’ll probably find that it’s not like what’s sometimes portrayed on TV and in movies.  Just like most things about real life . . . .]

A host of casting directors and performers reflect on the casting process

“Access. Access. Access.”

That one word, in a nutshell, is what every auditioning performer longs for: the chance to be seen, at their best, in the hope of landing a role and providing for themselves. In this instance, it was uttered by Stephanie Gould, a performer with a mild form of cerebral palsy, who discussed her own path in navigating the casting process.

But this quest applies to all members who have ever walked into an audition space. Anyone who has ever been in an elevator with or walked in a hallway past someone rehearsing sides knows just how fraught and nerve-wracking the process can be. From getting an audition to getting to the audition to feeling that a casting director (CD) may not have seen enough of what someone can do, it’s a frustrating journey. Like college admissions, there can be many disappointments, as casting directors must choose from far too many performers for far too few opportunities. [. . . .]

“One time I went in for a required call for a new Broadway show,” Actors’ Equity 1st Vice President Melissa Robinette said. “I had worked for weeks before this EPA [Equity Principal Audition] for this gig. I got up at 6am; I knew I was right for it.”

Anyone who has been to an EPA probably knows what happened next. Not only did Robinette not get the job, while in the audition room she felt that the person on the other side of the table wasn’t giving her full and open consideration for the job.

“I was so angry, I went home and cried,” she remembered. But that’s not where the story ends.

“And the next day I got a callback from that audition for another Broadway show.”

This anecdote just goes to show amid all the nerves and adrenaline, it’s hard to know for sure just what the CDs across the table are seeing. A series of conversations with those on both sides of the audition room helped to shed light on the overall process.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

The casting experience doesn’t have to be an adversarial one. Many of the CDs interviewed for this article sang a similar tune, emphasizing that they really are on the side of those across the table from them.

“We do want the actor to be good so we can get behind everyone we show to our team,” Merri Sugarman, a casting director with Tara Rubin, said. “The truth is that it’s about wanting to be good at our jobs, so the creative teams are happy with our work.”

The art of creating work in the arts is actually a very delicate science, replete with scheduling logistics and keeping stakeholders happy and informed. “I’m always hopeful that performers trust our understanding of our project’s needs,” New York casting director Michael Cassara said, “and that we’re there seriously considering them with a number of variables in play. There are a lot of people who do excellent work but don’t get called back that time around due to oversaturation. I may only see six people for one role [at an invited audition], and the challenge is how can I fit everyone in? There are a lot of people who are truly brilliant who might feel rejected – but being the seventh out of thousands is not a bad place to be.”

CDs have producers, directors, sometimes choreographers and musical directors to please, meaning the invited audition space is the only time a casting director fully holds the reins. Sugarman said she will do everything she can to see performers at their best. “I work really hard on prep for the auditions,” she said. “I try to make sure there is natural light in the room, and that everyone has coffee and water. If an actor hasn’t had a chance to put his bag down, sign in and take a breath, I’ll bring someone else in, so they have time to get ready. But no matter how much you try to tell people that we are rooting for them, they don’t believe it.”

Empowering performers in the room is vital. “If I could wave a magic wand, I would make all of the performer’s fear and nerves disappear,” Eric Woodall, Producing Artistic Director at North Carolina Theatre, said. “We want actors to be their best, and that usually comes from them feeling confident and ‘in the moment.’”

Kyle Atkins, Associate Producer for Riverside Theatre, revealed that his biggest pet peeve is when performers who have scheduled an audition time do not show up. Or show up at a different time. “I get it, lives are crazy, but commitment and respect are integral,” he said. “Someone canceled twice on me and then just walked in. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me right now?’ Or if you have a 3:30 appointment but you show up at 11:10am, you have to ask the casting person is this okay.”

THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS

Casting directors are quick to discuss their overall role in the puzzle and what they do on their end to secure a safe and positive audition environment. But what exactly are they looking for from the actors who come in?

“That they would be familiar with the entirety of the piece they are auditioning for,” Justin Bohon, a casting director at Binder Casting, said, “and that they take as much time as possible to be sufficiently prepared, make strong choices about the character and that the material that they choose to sing in the room is appropriate to the piece.”

Center Theatre Group Casting Associate Andrew Lynford does his best to assuage those who audition for him. “I know people get nervous, so I do my best to chat with them and make them less nervous,” he said. “Be polite and confident, but don’t try to be funny or over-talk. We want to stay focused on you – there’s no need to shake hands with everyone.”

Honesty and punctuality are of supreme importance, but so is preparation – yet perfect practice with the wrong material can hinder a performer’s chances. “I don’t feel actors spend enough time taking apart their audition material, making intelligent, bold choices and putting it back together again,” said Mark Brandon, another casting director at Binder.

Christopher Pazdernik, Casting Associate at Chicago's Porchlight Music Theatre, echoed Brandon’s sentiment. “When we audition for classic theatre, and they come in with the latest pop hit, which won’t help me evaluate you in terms of the world of the play. That’s not to say they aren’t talented, but they are missing the mark in terms of coming in with something that will help you get cast. One season we produced shows from no later than 1964, and one actress came in and slayed, quite honestly, ‘I Know the Truth’ [from Aida]. But I didn’t know what to do with that.”

WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO SHINE

All CDs interviewed contend that it is indeed worth the performer putting themselves out there at EPAs and at Equity Chorus Calls (ECCs). [. . . .] But do those people who put themselves on the line agree?

“Of course it is a bit more challenging and you deal with quite a bit of volume, but it is worth the investment of time,” said Western Region member Bets Malone. “I have a friend whose agent tried and tried to get her an appointment for a show, and the casting director wouldn’t give her a time because she was ‘wrong for the project.’ She went to the open call and booked the show. Perseverance is the key!”

Western Region member John San Nicolas lives in Portland and sees a different side of EPAs in the smaller cities. “EPAs seem like they are more of a perfunctory requirement sometimes begrudgingly complied with by the small number of Equity houses in town, and I think that it is a relatively rare occurrence that local actors book jobs as a result of EPAs,” he said. “Most companies have a core of people they trust that they hire over and over again, and it can feel like a real uphill battle for those on the outside looking in. EPAs can feel a little bit like a shot in the dark as a result.”

Casting directors are certainly sympathetic to the cattle call-like atmosphere of auditioning. “I appreciate that coming to open calls is a bit of a ball-ache, as we would say,” Lynford said. “It’s very easy for actors to say, ‘When I get there, it will be a bit of a scrum; I wait two hours for three minutes in the room.’ But I don’t want them to think it isn’t a worthwhile experience. One actress who had just moved from New York to Los Angeles came to a season EPA and got a role in a show at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. ‘I’m so glad I didn’t think I was above the opens,’ she said. And she is getting great work here because she came to the open and did that show.”

In New York, Cassara says that it is rare for him not to call many performers back out of an ECC or EPA. “I would say half of the shows we work on potentially have someone, or many people, who were cast when the initial audition was the EPA. Perhaps between 25 and 50 percent.”

REVIEWING THE SITUATION

Technology has certainly provided options for the casting process. Self-taping auditions has allowed increased visibility for performers regardless of where they live. “This provides me a chance to see those outside the New York community,“ Chad Murnane of Binder Casting said. “Selftaping also offers a convenience for both actors and creative teams with last-minute emergencies or busy schedules.”

Performers themselves offer a mixed take. Western Region member Idella Johnson felt that “self-tape auditions rob casting directors and directors of really getting to know an actor, and it robs actors of re-direction which gives insight on what the director may be looking for.” However, Robinette said that “auditions and callbacks via video have saved me a lot of money and stress.”

Self-tape certainly worked for San Nicolas. “A friend knew folks at Fusion Theatre in New Mexico who were looking for an actor for their production of Disgraced,” he said. “She suggested me to them and passed on my contact information. I learned a couple of scenes, sent my videos, was given adjustments and sent again. That worked out great, and we repeated the process when I returned to be in their production of Old Times.”

Lynford cautions that those who self-tape should make sure the size of their work reads as though it is for the theatre and not for film or television. “Treat it like you’re filming a theater show,” he said. “I would encourage not to do a cinematic version, or do two versions – the intimate camera version, then show me you can be a good theatre actor and be more expressive than you would be in a close-up shot.”

MAKE THEM HEAR YOU

As both a performer with a disability (she has been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and epilepsy) and as the Development and Media Relations Manager at Addison, Texas’s WaterTower Theatre, Debbie Ruegsegger has seen the casting process from both sides firsthand. She says the most important step to remove barriers to casting of actors with disabilities is to create a dialogue, transforming the audition room into as a safe a space as possible.

“Just by asking simple questions, you can learn a lot about what certain actors have to navigate,” she said, adding that invisible disabilities such as chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis fall under that rubric as well. “Casting directors have no idea what is going on in someone else’s body – sometimes fluorescent lights made me forget everything, and they might think they I am unprepared.

“If I don’t know someone who I am auditioning for, it’s difficult to feel safe to disclose,” she continued. “We have to feel safe to ask for those accommodations. Adding that to audition notices could be a big step for theaters of letting certain communities know that they are confidential and not a deal-breaker. Many theaters are in the first steps of creating that, though we have a ways to go. Progress comes through a listening ear.”

Gould agrees that more transparency between actors with disabilities who audition and casting directors would be beneficial. “Consideration for nondisabled roles is probably the biggest challenge. We can play the girlfriend, lawyer, protagonist — anything, really. Theaters say they are looking for performers with disabilities, and then end up going with a non-disabled actor.

“But if you specifically seek out disabled talent, cast disabled talent,” she said. “I don't think people realize the amount of preparation that goes into auditioning for a disabled actor. Not just preparing sides or a monologue, but travel time – it can take us double the amount of time to get to an audition that might only last a few minutes.” (Gould credited her manager, Brandon Cohen of BAC Talent, and agent, Gail Williamson in Kazarian Measures Ruskin & Associates Diversity Department, for helping her get seen for both disabled and non-disabled roles.)

Still, times have changed. Anita Hollander, an amputee actress and National Chair of SAG-AFTRA Performers With Disabilities Committee, remembers, years ago, a Broadway casting director who “watched my monologue at an EPA, sighed aloud, and said, ‘It's a shame that you're so talented...’ The unspoken end of that sentence was ‘because I'll never be able to cast you, because you're disabled,’” she remembered. That kind of language would be shockingly out of place nowadays.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Many theaters have also increased their efforts to be more diverse and inclusive in casting, although there remains room for growth there as well. “I do feel that there aren’t many opportunities and roles for people of color,” African-American performer Idella Johnson said, while Manu Narayan, an American actor of Indian descent, said “I feel very, very fortunate that the jobs and the wonderful career that I’ve had have been against type,” and credits his persistence in attending EPAs with helping to open that door.

Equal Employment Opportunity Committee Chair Christine Toy Johnson believes that performers of color most often get hired through open calls when casting directors pursue a specific type. “Many people of color I know have actually gotten obs through open calls, and I think this is especially true when a production is looking specifically for a certain type of actor,” she said, “but I do think that people lose faith in the system, and stop going because they feel that when a show is not looking for their specific cultural background, they will not be given full consideration. Then it becomes a sort of vicious circle. They can’t be considered if they don’t go, but they get tired of going and feeling it’s a waste of their time because they’re not really being considered.”

Eastern Chorus Councillor Lauren Villegas also advises that casting directors can’t shoulder the full burden of representation. “The real root of the problem is the work getting produced,” she said. “The solution is less about the casting process and more about making sure the work being done in the industry is fully representative of the population.”

Idella Johnson agrees. “I do believe that there’s been progress, but there’s room for improvement, and that starts with screenwriters, playwrights and directors abandoning stereotypes and seeing us in roles that are normally cast or written for white people,” she said.

For their part, the casting directors interviewed here have amped up deliberate plans for greater inclusivity. “There is not a single project that we cast in our office in which one of the first conversations with the team doesn’t involve a serious and determined plan to cast as many ethnically diverse performers as possible,” Bohon said, and Murnane agreed that he, too encourages creative ethnic casting. “Our commitment to diverse casting, in every sense, is unwavering,” Woodall said. “We encourage our creative teams to cast in progressive and contemporary ways and encourage all actors to be submitted.”

“Our programming strives to be diverse and inclusive, but then, with each production we strive to make sure that directors are presented an inclusive group of potential hires at both the idea and audition phases of each process,” Adam Belcuore, Managing Producer at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, said. “In an effort to invest in the Chicago casting community we have hosted the Casting Society of America open call for actors with disabilities, as well as other local casting calls that specifically provide opportunities to under-represented talent.”

While steps have been taken to create greater accessibility and inclusiveness in the casting process, work remains to be done. Robinette cautions those with the power to cast to make sure they embrace inclusion, not tokenism. Still, both sides agree that the more performers get seen, the likelier they are to get cast.

“Even for required calls where I have heard they ‘aren’t looking,’” Robinette said, “I have had some awesome wins of getting called in for other things from those auditions or even being cast in other projects just because I was allowed to go in and remind them I’m alive.”

From the other side of the table, Lynford agrees. “It really is worth it and people have had great results doing EPAs,” he said. “Please keep bringing your talent to my door.”

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STAGE MANAGERS OFFER ADVICE: NETWORK! Actors hope that through auditioning, they can create positive relationships with casting directors. Stage managers also recommend building up a stable cadre of friends in the industry:

“Shadow stage managers and have coffee with PSMs [production stage managers] on big shows. Talk about how they got where they are and what their career trajectory was.” —ERIN MAUREEN KOSTER

“Never let fear stand between you and seeking professional stage managers for advice. Observing the work of our colleagues enriches a formal education.” —AMANDA SPOONER

[Doug Strassler is the editor of Equity News.  He writes and podcasts frequently about film, theater, television, literature, and other realms of pop culture.]