Backstage Magazine Digital Edition: September 10, 2020

09.10.20

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The Showrunners Issue 7 industry players shaping TV today

5+ Pages OF CASTING NOTICES

How

Kenny Ortega finds the stars of tomorrow

Luca Guadagnino on creating queer stories, from the Oscars to HBO

The great

Suzan-Lori Parks

spreads her “Genius” wealth

MFA Programs in Theatre Acting, Directing, Dramaturgy, Playwriting, Stage Management, Theatre Management & Producing Directing Application Deadline December 1, 2020 All Other Concentration Application Deadlines January 5, 2021

Offering Joint JD/MFA with Columbia Law School

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Full-time Faculty include Anne Bogart, James Calleri, Steven Chaikelson, Peter Jay Fernandez, David Henry Hwang, Brian Kulick, Lynn Nottage, Christian Parker, Michael J. Passaro

Contents

vol. 61, no. 22 | 09.10.20

Cover Story

Why She Shows Up Suzan-Lori Parks, a firsttime showrunner with “Genius: Aretha,” would like you to remember: “Black women are also in the genius category”

page 12

The Green Room 4 How to apply to the Broadway

Advocacy Coalition’s inaugural Artivism Fellowship

6 This week’s roundup of who’s casting what starring whom

7 Travis Fimmel on “Raised by

Wolves” and his favorite kind of character to play

Advice 9 CRAFT

Using a TV monologue

10 #IGOTCAST

Brooke Norbury

10 SECRET AGENT MAN

3 questions, 3 answers

Features 3 BACKSTAGE 5 WITH...

Wunmi Mosaku

8 MEET THE MAKER

Luca Guadagnino, “We Are Who We Are” showrunner and director

9 THE ESSENTIALISTS

Kenny Ortega, executive producer and director

11 RUNNING THE SHOW Elle Johnson

17 WHO TO KNOW TO RUN

THE SHOW From industry vets to up-andcomers, these showrunners should be on your radar

24 ASK AN EXPERT

Matthew Del Negro on how to interact with showrunners

Casting 18 New York Tristate 20 California 21 National/Regional Suzan-Lori Parks photographed by Kwaku Alston/National Geographic.

Cover designed by Ian Robinson.

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Backstage 5 With...

Wunmi Mosaku

By Allie Volpe

After studying at the U.K.’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Wunmi Mosaku dove into a London stage career before making the transition to the screen on BBC Two’s “Moses Jones” in 2009. “I Am Slave” marked her feature film debut a year later, “Damilola, Our Loved Boy” earned her a BAFTA in 2017, and Netflix scooped up her Sundance indie “His House” earlier this year. Now, she’s stealing scenes on HBO’s genrebending hit “Lovecraft Country.”

ILLUSTRATION: NATHAN ARIZONA/PHOTO: ASHLEY RANDALL PHOTOGRAPHY

What advice would you give your younger self? Embrace the journey. Embrace all your mistakes and falls. I’ve realized I have not been completely honest with what I need and what I want and how I’ve been treated, and I haven’t necessarily stood up for myself. I’ve not always stood completely in my power and spoken the truth. I needed the journey to get to that realization.

she’s acting; I feel like she’s really truly there and feels it. I [also] remember a piece of theater, “Dying City” with Andrew Scott and Sian Brooke. I was at the Royal Court Theatre next to a stranger, and I was so inconsolable that [the] stranger put their arm around me and was like, “You’re alright. You’re OK.” That was just a magical experience in the theater.

What is your worst audition horror story? I did a musical audition for a job I really, really wanted, and I forgot my sheet music for my contribution. Then they started playing their song, and I had practiced it really, really slowly. I had never heard the original, and that was a mistake. It was so fast, I literally broke out into a sweat. I couldn’t get the words out.

They said to me, “That was so brave of you to come in. It’s not easy for a TV actor to come in for a musical audition.” I got on my bike to cycle home. Usually you don’t hear about an audition for two weeks. I had barely crossed Waterloo Bridge in London, and I got a call from my agent, like, “You didn’t get this.” [Laughs] I watch that musical now, and it’s amazing. I did not do it justice.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done to get a role?

I’m a firm believer that what’s mine won’t pass me by. When I was younger, I would do everything I possibly could for an audition, and I would find it difficult to let go of the audition. You can’t take all that emotion with you. I go into every audition and I come out and I say, “I did my best.” Even in that audition where I really messed it up, I still did my best. My “Hamilton” audition truly was my best that day. If I had an audition for “Hamilton” today, I would prepare completely differently and still do my best.

What musical was it? “Hamilton.” [Laughs] I went to see it in London and it was amazing, and I was like, “Wow, I really messed it up.” I didn’t even know there was a soundtrack to get!

How did you first get your Equity and SAG-AFTRA cards?

I have Equity in the U.K. I joined that before I got my first job because in the U.K., you need Equity to copyright your name.

SAG, I joined with “Lovecraft Country.”

What performance should every actor see and why?

First, I would say anything with Aunjanue Ellis. I don’t feel like

“Nothing is truly mine unless it’s mine—and even when you think it’s yours, it really might be destined for someone else.”

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09.10.20 BACKSTAGE

HAVE YOU BEEN CAST IN A PROJECT THROUGH A BACKSTAGE CASTING NOTICE? Share your story with us and you might be featured in an upcoming issue! Just tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast and we’ll be in touch to hear your success story! @BACKSTAGE

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Adrienne Warren and company in “Shuffle Along” Industry

Broadway Advocacy Coalition Announces Fellowship

The inaugural Artivism Fellowship is accepting applications through Sept. 22—and we have the details on how to apply

By Casey Mink

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

workshops, the fellowship is intended to nurture “artist-activists focused on issues related to systemic racism and criminal justice reform, and using narrative or stories in their work.”

In order to apply, you must be located in the United States.

However, you do not need to have an extensive portfolio of work; any examples of art-as-activism you can provide are welcome. The six-month program will begin this December and go through May 2021, culminating in a final presentation that you will work on and develop throughout the session.

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The program will also include regular gatherings of fellows with BAC staff and mentors (held virtually, at least initially). A calendar of activities and events—monthly at first, and then with increasing frequency—will be provided, and it is expected that fellows be present for all programming.

“At BAC, we believe in the power of the arts to support and promote social change,” the application continues. “We believe that if more artists were given the tools, resources, and relationships to use their skills towards promoting change,

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JULIETA CERVANTES

THE BROADWAY ADVOCACY Coalition is currently accepting applications for its inaugural Artivism Fellowship.

Through Sept. 22, eligible artist-activists are encouraged to apply; this year’s fellowship is specifically intended to support both cisgender and transgender Black women.

The opportunity has been “created to support artist-activists using their tools to have an impact on the world around them,” the application reads.

Through financial assistance, mentorship, opportunities for networking, and various

the world would be a more just and equitable place. We hope to uplift, support, and amplify the work of these fellows and artists.

We also know that we’re not the only ones doing this work, and it’s important that we acknowledge and uplift the Black women already existing in this space.”

The nominating committee for this first class of fellows will include a mix of BAC members and industry professionals including Zakiyah Ansari, Amber Iman, Andy Jean, Imani Mfalme, and Liza Jessie Peterson. The selections will be announced in November.

The Broadway Advocacy Coalition was founded in 2016 by members of the Broadway musical “Shuffle Along,” in part as a response to the murder of Eric Garner at the hands of police. Following the swell of Black Lives Matter protests that have been occurring throughout the world since this past spring, BAC has reinvigorated its efforts to combat systemic racism, and, specifically, to make Broadway a less antiBlack space.

“We’re in a pandemic, there aren’t any distractions, and Broadway is in a moment of pause right now, so it is an opportunity for us to reflect,” Adrienne Warren, a founding member of BAC, told Backstage earlier this year. “[It’s a chance] to investigate what has gone on thus far and to move forward, because people now have the time and are willing to listen, because you’re going outside and you’re passing protests every single day. You see the pain—literally. You turn the TV on, you can see it in front of you. Of course it’s influencing what is going on in the industry right now; there’s no question about it.”

The Slate

The Actor’s Remote Resource We’re not letting creativity + productivity stop in the face of coronavirus. We’re taking you directly to industry power players through Instagram takeovers and Q&As, YouTube Lives, and most excitingly, Zoom-hosted seminars for interactive group classes!

Guests include: Actor Rachel Brosnahan Actor Maisie Williams Casting Director Alexa L. Fogel Casting Director Linda Lamontagne Talent Agent Laura Thede of DDO Artists Agency Casting Director Avy Kaufman Casting Director Carmen Cuba Actor Ricky Gervais Actor Anthony Mackie Voiceover Actor Laurie Burke Actor Samira Wiley and more!

To get all the details and view the full schedule, please visit backstage.com/magazine.

hospital. The series shows the ups and downs of the medical profession, both professionally and personally. “Triage” was created by David Cornue in partnership with Erica Messer (“Criminal Minds”) and John M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”).

April Webster & Associates is casting the pilot, and currently, no actors have been attached.

Production will likely begin this year in Los Angeles, though no exact dates or locations have been announced.

It’s Pilot Season…Again Paused productions are starting to pick back up

By Rebecca Welch

STAY IN THE LOOP ON INDUStry and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles!

Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change.

Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.

For more upcoming productions and casting news, visit backstage.com/news/casting

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“Triage” Combining a character-driven story with a look at the history of modern medicine, a new drama from ABC follows a surgeon through three decades of her career at the same

FILM

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Movie Finds Its Moms

By Casey Mink

For the latest news, check out backstage.com/resources to find thousands of production listings, casting directors, acting classes, agents, and more!

THE FILM ADAPTATION OF HIT BROADway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” has cast two pivotal roles with A-list stars.

Julianne Moore has signed on to play Heidi Hansen, a part originated onstage by Tony winner Rachel Bay Jones, while Amy Adams is confirmed as Cynthia Murphy, played on Broadway by Jennifer Laura Thompson. They, along with Danny Pino in a stepfather role that’s been reconceived for this version, complete the film’s principal cast, comprised entirely of new actors—with one notable exception: Ben Platt will reprise his Tony-winning performance in the title role.

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MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

Get cast!

“B Positive” Love is blooming from deep inside—literally—on CBS’s “B Positive.” The sitcom centers on a therapist in need of a kidney transplant who’s also navigating single parenthood in the wake of a divorce. After a woman from his past reappears and offers to be his organ donor, they embark upon a life-altering journey together.

Chuck Lorre and Marco Pennette, who previously worked together on “Mom,” are helming the multicamera comedy. Valko/Miller Casting has already lined up actors for most of the regular roles, including Thomas Middleditch

and Annaleigh Ashford in the leads, plus Sara Rue, Kether Donohue, Kamryn Kunody, and Maggie Elizabeth Jones. The series is set to begin filming in Los Angeles later this month.

COCO VAN OPPENS

What’s Casting

“The Sky Is Everywhere” Based on the young adult novel of the same name by Jandy Nelson, “The Sky Is Everywhere” follows a talented teenage clarinetist dealing with the sudden death of her beloved sister. In her grief, she finds herself torn between her late sister’s boyfriend and a new student at school. Directed

by Josephine Decker (“Shirley”) and written by Nelson, the project is casting with Chrystie Street. Grace Kaufman is set to star in the film. Shooting for the A24 drama is tentatively scheduled to begin in the United States this month.

The Slate

In It for the Journey

Travis Fimmel teases his latest larger-than-life epic, “Raised by Wolves”

By Gillian Russo

Travis Fimmel on “Raised by Wolves”

like to watch things that just bring you down. We’re in the entertainment business. I don’t like people that like to be so dramatic and [make audiences] walk out of a film all mopey.

So anything that’s not that, I’m happy to do.”

The worlds of “Vikings” and “Raised by Wolves” aren’t all that different from ours.

“It doesn’t matter what world you’re in; it’s still got the same emotions. I have relationship problems in this Ridley Scott thing [‘Wolves’]. I have a child that I’ve got to care for and who I want to love me, and I want my wife to love me. I want to be a success. I want to make people that I love proud of me, which is all the same stuff in life now. It’s just a different backdrop. In ‘Vikings,’ I had a family that I was trying to take care of. I had a wife, and I had children. Everybody relates to that stuff.”

The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate was compiled by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit your questions.

TELEVISION

They’ve Got It ‘Maid’ MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

COCO VAN OPPENS

By Casey Mink

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FOLLOWING HIS STAR TURN as Ragnar Lothbrok on “Vikings,” Travis Fimmel is returning to the small screen as Marcus on HBO Max’s “Raised

by Wolves” from director–executive producer Ridley Scott and creator Aaron Guzikowski. In an interview with Backstage, Fimmel talked about what

draws him to a character—and what doesn’t.

Fimmel’s favorite characters to play are imperfect ones.

“I always want a character who’s flawed as can possibly be and has a lot to overcome. This character [Marcus], growing up, is a child soldier, and he never had any help. He’s just so busy surviving the whole time. And through a bunch of incidents on this show, he becomes a father figure to a child, and I think that really messes with his head and really brings out his insecurities. The character’s got a great journey.”

MARGARET QUALLEY HAS SIGNED on to star in “Maid,” a new series heading to Netflix from writer Molly Smith Metzler. Produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment along with Warner Bros. Television, the dramedy is based on Stephanie Land’s memoir “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.” It will additionally feature “Love, Simon” star Nick Robinson, who previously worked with Qualley on HBO film “Native Son.” Other casting, as well as a production timeline, is not yet known.

Still, he draws a line between dark and dismal.

“I don’t want to play anybody that’s all depressive. I don’t

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Acting, football, and medicine have one thing in common: training.

“The best thing I ever did for my career was study a lot, go to acting class a lot…. A lot of ‘cool actors’ say that they never went to class and all that. Most of them are lying all the time; everybody goes to class. It’s like, imagine playing in the NFL and not having a coach. You’re just going to be a doctor? You’ll need to study if you want to be a good doctor. I don’t know why it’s a cool thing for people to say that they didn’t study. So many people say it. They don’t want to give credit to anybody else.”

Want to hear more from Fimmel? Watch our full interview at backstage.com/ magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.

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Luca Guadagnino, “We Are Who We Are” showrunner and director

By Benjamin Lindsay

Jordan Kristine Seamón and Jack Dylan Grazer on “We Are Who We Are”

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

Zoom. “I was interested in the mini-world as a template for what is at large: our sense of self, our idea of a social bond.

It textualized the world of the military base; it’s so wonderful and filled with possibilities.”

He admits that the microcosm of the military base and the families within it were the main draw for him to make his showrunning debut. It’s a feat that included directing all eight episodes, but he says it wasn’t all that different from his film work. (“I was resolute to be able to speak a language that could

“Forget about acting, and completely forget the idea of tropes. It should almost be like showing me non-acting.”

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be cinematic, even if this is for TV.”) Focusing on just the teens would have been “almost like a genre in itself that I was not interested in,” but the opportunity to rewind his lens from Timothée Chalamet’s 17-yearold protagonist of “Call Me

by Your Name” to Jack Dylan Grazer’s 14-year-old of “We Are Who We Are” was enticing enough to make him bite. “[I] find the age of 14 as a real fruitful moment in the life of these characters,” he says.

“They’re just starting to mourn the death of [them]selves as kids, as infants. I think that is a very, very powerful and deeply resonant moment in life for all of us.”

By that same token, it was important to Guadagnino and casting director Carmen Cuba

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YANNIS DRAKOULIDIS/HBO

THE FIRST THING YOU MIGHT notice about Luca Guadagnino’s new HBO series, “We Are Who We Are,” is the way it frames its heroes as outsiders in the context of structured, long-standing conformity. After all, there isn’t a teenager in the world who hasn’t felt misplaced or outcast at some point during their coming-of-age. But it’s especially easy to see how those feelings would be exacerbated in the show’s setting—an American military base in Italy.

“When you do something that strives for universality, it’s always better to find the universal within the specific instead of trying to make something generic,” the Oscarnominated “Call Me by Your Name” filmmaker explains via

to find actors who were representative of that transition.

Grazer, best known for the “It” horror film franchise and DC Comics’ “Shazam!” adaptation, is a 17-year-old with natural talent beyond his years. But he is still, for all intents and purposes, a child, and he plays central character Fraser Wilson with heart-on-his-sleeve sincerity. The same can be said of his co-lead, first-time actor Jordan Kristine Seamón, who stars as Caitlin Poythress, a seemingly confident teen who, at the series’ opening, is navigating the nuances of her gender identity.

Guadagnino believes that it’s always best for his actors’ ages to match those of their respective characters. “But at the same time,” he clarifies, “it’s also important to find the right person to play the role. In this case, we married almost perfectly the ages and the roles.”

As far as what he looks for in his actors (“We Are Who We Are” also features Chloë Sevigny, Kid Cudi, and Alice Braga), he advises that they stop thinking so much.

“Forget about acting, and completely forget the idea of tropes,” he says. “It should almost be like showing me non-acting. Try to dig down into [your] knowledge of life more than anything else.”

He caps our interview with his most important big-picture acting advice: “It’s a very delicate position, [that] of the actor. And I think that’s why I have the greatest respect for an actor, because you are frail in front of the camera, but you are even more frail in front of the one who chooses you,” he says.

“For me, I tell actors who ask for advice: Make sure that you do not allow anybody to be disrespectful to you.”

“GAME OF THRONES”: HELEN SLOAN/HBO; “JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS”: KAILEY SCHWERMAN/NETFLIX

Meet the Maker

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Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know

Craft

Using a TV Monologue

THE ESSENTIALISTS

KENNY ORTEGA

YANNIS DRAKOULIDIS/HBO

“GAME OF THRONES”: HELEN SLOAN/HBO; “JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS”: KAILEY SCHWERMAN/NETFLIX

By Ajarae Coleman

WHEN ASKED TO PREPARE A monologue, what springs to mind? Perhaps you immediately think of your favorite Shakespeare soliloquy, or you fantasize about delivering an iconic film speech like Jack Nicholson’s in “A Few Good Men.” But there’s a chance you’re overlooking a rich source of monologue material: TV and streaming series.

If your acting career goals center on television roles, start paying attention to TV monologues. Monologues are used as a device by storytellers in this medium almost as often as in films and plays. You may be able to find a great TV speech to use at your next meeting, workshop, or audition.

When can you break out a TV monologue? Well, television casting directors almost always send specific sides for the show they’re holding auditions for, so this type of monologue won’t really come into play. They can, however, be considered for other auditions.

Peter Dinklage and Conleth Hill on “Game of Thrones”

What do you need to consider when choosing a TV monologue? Here are some things to keep in mind.

Your monologue should be able to stand alone.

You won’t find many TV monologues in books, so you may have to transcribe material from a show you’ve watched. Make sure the monologue stands alone outside the context of the scene. It should be interesting and dynamic, have an arc, and allow you to go on an emotional journey as the character.

Double-check the requirements of the assignment.

As with any situation involving your acting career, professionalism and attention to detail are paramount. You want to ensure you’re honoring the specific wishes of the person who requested the monologue. Casting directors will often outline their requirements for the length and type of material they want to hear.

If the casting director requests a three-minute monologue

executive producer + director With his new Netflix musical series “Julie and the Phantoms,” KENNY ORTEGA (of “High School Musical” fame) continues his tradition of discovering untapped talent and then watching as they turn into superstars.

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Being yourself will get you cast.

“Don’t abandon yourself in the process of striving to be in this industry.

Those colors are important. Bring those colors into the room with you.

Study, of course. Study technique, get a great foundation, a really good education; all of it’s going to come in handy for you as an actor to

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draw upon…. And then you bounce into the room with those [unique colors]—or maybe not bounce. When I met Leonardo DiCaprio all these years ago, he came through the door shuffling, and 20 minutes later, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, who is this guy?’ ” You can’t fake star quality. “[Performers] turn themselves into stars.

That’s the biggest thing for me to know: When that person is in the room, they have the intelligence, the generosity, the enthusiasm, the passion, and the bravery, the courage, to jump in with me. I’m

from a classical play, for example, you should not bring a TV monologue.

Make sure it’s not iconic.

There are some monologues that most TV viewers will recognize, either because of the popularity of the show or the specific nature of the content. You don’t want the casting director or agent to get distracted by comparing you to the original actor who played the role. For example, the monologue from “Game of Thrones” in which Varys explains how he became a eunuch is probably not a great choice, because your audience will be thinking about how amazing Conleth Hill was in the role.

Make sure you’re passionate about the material. Any monologue you choose should be something

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By Casey Mink

looking for that potential, that promise. And then all I do, really—not to say that I don’t guide or steer or do my best to be an influence—but what I do is try to create an environment that makes them feel like real partners who have real voices, where they feel safe and can take risks and be fearless.”

you actually enjoy working on.

As with any performance, the more excited you are to dive deep and make it your own, the better the result will be. We don’t often have the opportunity to choose our material as actors. So when you do, take full advantage of it!

The bottom line is this: The material you select can make all the difference. With so much quality programming available now, performers who need great material will be well-served by sourcing monologues from TV or streaming series.

Coleman is an actor and Backstage Expert.

Want more?

All our Backstage Experts can be found at backstage.com/magazine

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Secret Agent Man

3 Questions, 3 Answers

How many clients do you have?

This is one of the lamest questions you can ask in a meeting with an agent. First of all, the answer’s right there on IMDb. You’re lazy if you don’t look it up; and you don’t want to seem lazy, do you? Second of all, will the answer really have an effect on your decision if I offer to sign you? I mean, think about it.

You don’t have representation.

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

You need representation. So what’s the magic number that will force you to pass when you have nowhere else to go? 100?

150? 200?

Also, numbers can be misleading. For example, there might be an issue if one agent is working with 150 actors.

That’s a heavy load to carry. But I wouldn’t be too concerned if that same list were being serviced by three agents.

Do you have any clients like me?

This one’s about conflicts. The concern is that if an agency has too many actors in the same category, some of them aren’t going to get enough attention.

There’s some truth to this, but the first thing we have to consider is the word “category.”

For better or worse, the category with the highest casting demand is always going to be young women. So, for instance, if I represent three women in

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You have half an hour to make an impression.

Don’t waste that valuable time by asking me the same pointless questions.

Brooke Norbury

By Franchesca Viaud For U.K.based child actor BROOKE NORBURY, all it took was a week on Backstage to land the first project she applied to.

Backstage is family-friendly.

“My mom put my details in the search engine: gender, age range, location. The project [I ended] up booking came up, along with some other films. The character I play is more complex than a lot of children her age, so it seemed like a fun challenge!”

Humans are adaptable—actors even more so.

“The director was lovely, and he really put me at ease. It wasn’t the best way to start an audition, as we couldn’t get through to him on Skype. But we managed in the end. I was really confident and relaxed.

It was my first-ever audition from home.”

All it takes is one yes.

“The director asked me to do the script a few different ways, which I did, and then an hour later, he emailed and asked me for a self-tape to show to the producer and production team!”

TO SEE YOUR SUCCESS story in print, tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast, or email us at igotcast@ backstage.com.

backstage.com

ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; NORBURY: NDC PHOTOGRAPHY

LET’S DO SOME MATH. I’VE been an agent for 12 years. On average, I meet five actors each week. Not counting holidays or my vacation time, that’s 240 actors every year for 12 years, which gives us a total of 2,880 meetings, give or take. Looking back, a lot of those people have asked the same three questions in those meetings, and I’m here to put an end to it. These are pointless questions that never lead to actionable information.

Let me tell you what they are and why you should avoid them.

What’s the best way for clients to stay in touch?

This one makes no sense. The options seem fairly clear. It’s not like I’m going to suggest smoke signals or those cool ravens from “Game of Thrones.”

As far as I know, you have two choices: You can call or you can email. Most agents prefer the latter, because emails allow us to respond when we have time.

But, hey, calls are fine, too. I would just be selective about the frequency. Clients who call every day just to check in don’t last long as clients.

In conclusion, most meetings are just 30 minutes long. That means you have half an hour to make an impression. Don’t waste that valuable time by asking me the same pointless questions I’ve already heard 2,880 times. You’re a creative individual, right? So be creative. Be original. And most of all, be yourself.

#IGOTCAST.

RAQUEL APARICIO

their early to mid-20s, I can confidently sign a few more and get them all work. Why? Because there are opportunities to go around. When you factor in diversity and different experience levels, I wouldn’t be comfortable with fewer than 10 choices. On the flip side, there are other categories for which I don’t need a lineup that extensive.

The ultimate truth here is that I already considered all of this before I set up the meeting. So if you’re sitting in my office, that means you’ve got a clear runway for takeoff; you don’t have to worry about conflicts, because I already did.

culture +

Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know

Running the Show

Elle Johnson

The “Self Made” showrunner explains why you need to be a writer before you can be a showrunner

By Elyse Roth

RAQUEL APARICIO

ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; NORBURY: NDC PHOTOGRAPHY

WHEN ELLE JOHNSON SIGNED ON TO BRING “SELF MADE: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” to Netflix with co-showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, both women were already working on other projects. Still, they decided to spend their after-work hours plotting the passion project miniseries, adapted from A’Lelia Bundles’ biography of America’s first Black female self-made millionaire, “On Her Own Ground.” The production had Johnson flying up to Toronto to oversee the headaches and triumphs of a scrappy period shoot with a notable ensemble led by Octavia Spencer. After years spent on network police procedurals, as well as executive producing Amazon’s “Bosch,” Johnson was more than ready to take the top spot on a TV series in which every aspect of the show came down to her.

How did your collaboration with Barrois work? I was already on “Bosch” as an executive producer, and Janine was running a show called “Claws.”

In order for her to do “Madam C.J.,” she needed somebody who could share the showrunning

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responsibilities. We had what we called the secret room, which would meet after both of us were done with our day jobs.

Nicole Jefferson Asher, who is a fantastic screenwriter, had never worked in television. That was why Janine and I were

brought on to shepherd the project through the process. The three of us would meet from 5 p.m. until 10 or 11 at night and hash out what the character arcs were, what the stories that we wanted to tell were, how to take this epic life from a 500-page book and condense it down into themes that would work within four episodes. We did that for about three months before we actually started our official [writers’] room.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a showrunner? Be a writer first.

You want to learn the craft, to understand how to tell stories, to make sure you can tell stories

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in the way that you want. You have to learn how to get them down on the page in the way that you see in your head, but also in a way that translates to production. Forget about being a showrunner. You will learn over time how to do that. You are learning a craft; that has to be the thing that fuels you. You get one or two weeks to get it down on the page exactly the way you want it to be; then you start getting studio notes, network notes, actor and producer notes, and you have to start changing things. If you focus on the craft, the other stuff will come—especially now, because we’re in a time where there are so many more opportunities, and people are willing to take chances. They’re not going to take a chance on you unless you’re a good writer.

What don’t people realize about being a showrunner?

How all-encompassing it is.

You’re responsible for everything. Every decision comes to you. You really have to think your decisions through down the line and the implications for them—not just for the story, but for production, for what you’re putting out in the world.

I think people don’t realize what a tremendous responsibility it is to run a show. It’s wonderful because you’re finally doing it, but it doesn’t leave room for anything else. I never stopped thinking about the show. It’s in your head all the time. That’s why it’s important to be really passionate about what you’re working on, because it’s too hard not to be. It’s your baby, and you’ve got to treat it as such.

Want more?

Read the full interview at backstage.com/magazine

09.10.20 BACKSTAGE

Why

She Shows Up

Suzan-Lori Parks, a first-time showrunner with “Genius: Aretha,” would like you to remember: “Black women are also in the genius category”

By Casey Mink Photographed by Kwaku Alston/ National Geographic

FIRSTS DON’T INTIMIDATE SUZAN-LORI Parks. She is, of course, the first Black woman to ever win a Pulitzer Prize for drama, in 2002 for her play “Topdog/ Underdog.” This year, she adds first-time television showrunner to her résumé, helming the third season of National Geographic’s “Genius” anthology series, this time centered on Aretha Franklin.

“And like Aretha Franklin, I try new things,” Parks says.

But the writer’s tenacity was evident long before “Genius” or her celebrated playwriting career, spanning, among other works, “Venus,” “In the Blood,” and “Fucking A”; before James Baldwin, who taught her in college, told her she would become “one of the most valuable artists of our time.” (“I didn’t have the heart to prove him wrong,” she recalls.)

Parks’ approach to storytelling—and to each day, really—was cemented back when she was in kindergarten in West Texas. “I got perfect attendance, and they gave me a little framed certificate: ‘Suzan-Lori Parks: perfect

attendance,’ ” she remembers. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s my thing! I’m just gonna keep showing up.’ As a writer, I believe in two things: listening and showing up for the work.”

She has continued the practice ever since. Take, for example, her play cycle “365 Days/365 Plays,” derived from the year in which she wrote a play every single day, simply to prove that she could. And though Parks won’t be scared away from doing something just because she hasn’t done it before, she is also woman enough to admit that she didn’t necessarily arrive on the job knowing how to do it. She’s written plenty for television, including adaptations of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and Richard Wright’s “Native Son” for ABC and HBO, respectively.

But in some ways, showrunning proved to be a whole different ballgame. “We are creating a beautiful show with ‘Genius: Aretha.’

Is it easy? Fuck no,” Parks says of the series, which stars Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo as the musical powerhouse and is coming soon

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get to show that Aretha Franklin’s a genius and that Black women are also in the genius category. And that, for today, is something people ought to start penciling into their personal dictionary,” she says. “Because genius is not only a singular quality; it’s also the ability to bring different peoples together.

The mindset and the spirit you have to have to unite different peoples is amazing.”

By that definition, Parks is unequivocally a genius herself. (She is by many other definitions, too, including that of the MacArthur Foundation, which named her one of its “Genius” Grant recipients in 2001.) Her own ability to commune with others through her work can, at least in part, be traced to her nomadic origins. Growing up in a military family, she spent her early life moving throughout the U.S., as well as spending a brief stint in Germany. She eventually made her way to Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where, at first, she resisted playwriting. Enter Baldwin.

She cites the celebrated writer-activist’s appraisal of her work—that grand assurance that she’d be one of the greatest creative minds of her generation—as the best feedback she’s ever received. “Unfortunately, it would’ve crushed most writers,” she says.

“Would I give that to a writer today? No, I wouldn’t. I think you have to be real tough to get a compliment of that nature. And I found out just how tough I am by getting it.”

Today, Parks finds herself in the position of educator, teaching writing at both NYU and as part of the Public Theater’s “Watch Me Work” master class series. The way she teaches—along with telling students to show up and listen, of course—is by acting less as a professor and more as a “guru.” (She

also only hands out A’s: “The grade is just a grade because that’s what the academic institution requires.”)

“I’m just going to hold the lamp to light your way and say, ‘Good job. Keep going. Oh, you kinda fucked up there a bit. You’re lying there. Why are you lying?’ ” she explains.

“And then, the writer, she learns by doing it. Yes, good writing—great writing—can be taught. The question is, how? It’s taught by practice. The blank page will teach you everything—well, 75% of what you need to know. Or maybe 85%. And then you can learn the rest by observation.”

In writing, observation means reading, which Parks has done voraciously—playwrights like Shakespeare, August Wilson, and Edward Albee, as well as classic novelists like Dickens and Melville (“Yeah, some of the dead white men, but, hey, they’re good”).

Reading the greats, she insists, will also teach you structure and technique; without those, you can have the best ideas in the world or be able to construct truly gorgeous sentences, but you’ll still write “like the Mississippi: making a mess because it’s all overflowing,” Parks says.

“Writing is craft, just like for actors. It’s not just, ‘I’m pretty and I have a lot of raw emotions.’ Who the fuck cares? Do you have craft? Do you have technique? Skill? Reading Shakespeare taught me technique, how to channel that shit,” she says. “That’s when you can take it and you can ground that shit, and not only write a play that works one night, but write a play that works 100 nights in a row for all kinds of different actors, all kinds of different languages. To be a great writer or a great craftsperson, it’s a combination of the passion, the drive, and technique. Every

Cynthia Erivo, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Patrice Covington on “Genius: Aretha”

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RICHARD DUCREE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

to the small screen after being delayed due to the coronavirus. Speaking on a summer’s day in tangential, energetic spurts, it isn’t hard to tell (even over Zoom) why Parks takes so naturally to storytelling. “One of my mantras is: There are a million ways to the finish line—just pick one.”

Another of her mantras, which she did not generate for showrunning, specifically, but she may as well have, is: “Notes always make it better.” “Notes,” in showbiz vernacular, are suggestions from higher-ups. (Well, they are sometimes suggestions, sometimes requests, and many times just demands phrased as a question for courtesy’s sake.) Regardless of the format in which they’re delivered, they are hardly a part of the process relished by creative teams.

“I’m not saying tears haven’t been shed, like, ‘Boo-hoo! They didn’t like that moment,’ ” Parks says. “Oh, all the time, even in a play: ‘The play’s too damn long! Wah! Cut that big monologue! Wah!’ Same with a film script; many fits have been pitched, that kind of shit. But at the end of the day, if I believe in my core that the notes—or the way I take the notes—are going to make it better, then that gives me a path for success.”

Asked whether that very Zen mentality was learned throughout her career or if it comes naturally, she pauses for just a moment.

“Part of it is called: Black woman living in America. Am I gonna let every fucking thing that happens in this fucking country fuck me up?” she asks, nailing every consonant like a hammer. “Or am I gonna keep on keeping on some way, somehow, ain’t nobody gonna turn me around?”

Fortunately, on “Genius,” one voice overrides all others—the one belonging to the Queen of Soul—and Parks tried more than anything to simply listen to it. “I’m like, ‘Sister, show me the way,’ ” she says. And executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer—the latter of whom first reached out to Parks about the project via FaceTime (“His hair, as always, was standing on end because he’s just that excited about life, and he said, ‘You wanna showrun it?’ ”)—trusted Parks to lead the troops. “They’re like, ‘We want you to fly the plane and land the plane.’ I’m like, ‘Wow, this is fucking cool.’ That’s the fun thing about showrunning: I get to have a say in all the aspects of what it is that we’re making, which is really beautiful.”

In addition to creative agency, another aspect of showrunning this series that Parks calls beautiful is the chance to expand the knee-jerk definition of “genius”—both who has it and what they look like. Seasons 1 and 2 of the series focused on Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, respectively, both of whom certainly fit the “genius” bill but do little to defy cultural precedent. In other words, “Genius isn’t just a white man in their study, shuttered away from the world.”

The way Parks sees it, a genius is also someone whose work transcends barriers and can serve as a cross-cultural unifier. “We

To be a great writer or a great craftsperson, it’s a combination of the passion, the drive, and technique. Every comma gets sweated over, every beat.

RICHARD DUCREE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

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04.02.20 BACKSTAGE

comma gets sweated over, every beat—it’s like rhythm in music.”

Though “Genius” is the most overtly musical project Parks has ever worked on, rhythm has always factored prominently into her writing. It’s why she always reads her work out loud to herself long before any actor sees it. Swilling the words around in her own mouth, she believes, is her authorial duty, just as if she were making a boat instead of an episode of television. “I wouldn’t want to tell an actor, ‘Hey, get in the boat! I just slapped this together. How about it?’ ” she says. “Nah, man. I don’t want you to get into the boat until

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

I’ve deemed it seaworthy. Because then they’d be getting water out of the boat in buckets.

And that’s not their job. It’s my job to make it seaworthy. It’s your job, as the actor, to row.”

Parks always has the actor in mind when writing. She likens the writer-actor relationship to that of the composer to the orchestra—the latter interpreting but ultimately amplifying the work of the former.

What she never consciously thinks about when writing is the “message,” that reduction of “what people should take away with them after seeing this play.” Parks paraphrases Sam Shepard, another playwright-philosopher of

16

the American id, who was seminal in forging her writing identity: “I know what it’s about by writing about it.”

“It’s tricky, this whole thing of branding, like, ‘That’s my style,’ or, ‘That’s my voice,’ ” she says. “I’ve talked to a lot of writers, especially up-and-coming writers, who want to find their voice, their ‘thing.’ And I’m like, ‘Do your thing so that I may know you.’ That is how you find out what your voice is. You don’t decide beforehand.”

So, what is Parks’ “thing”? What makes a piece of work a Suzan-Lori Parks work? “I don’t know what my style is, except to keep showing up. It might be edgy and sexy and raw and irreverent and fantastical, and you can dance to it,” she says. And in tackling matters of race and gender, suffering and death, the ultimate mark of Parks’ work is its nuance and the very fact that you can’t reduce it to just one thing.

There’s an element, however, you can always count on: “I try to introduce the fact of humor, because otherwise, people just take it like, ‘This play is about racism. Oh, my God!’ and it’s like, you’re missing it, baby,” she says. “I think I can deliver the shit that I deliver because I’m laughing so much.”

backstage.com

Who to Know to Run the Show

From industry vets to up-and-comers, these showrunners should be on your radar

By Allison Considine

A SHOWRUNNER IS MORE THAN JUST A LEAD PRODUCER. A showrunner, well, runs the show. They’re often the creators or co-creators of a television project, and even more often serve as head writers. Showrunners outrank episodic directors and have creative and managerial control over a series—from the writers’ room to costume choices, from lighting to camera angles. Here are some of the most successful showrunners behind your prime-time favorites, as well as some up-and-comers you should know. Because, hey, you may be working with them one day.

Kenya Barris

Barris is the creator and original showrunner of the critically acclaimed ABC comedy series “Black-ish” and its two spinoffs, “Grown-ish” and “Mixed-ish.”

The “-ish” trio all centers on the Johnsons, an upper-middle-class Black family. The single-camera comedies confront hot-button issues of race, class, and culture, and put a fresh spin on parenting.

Barris has added TV actor to his résumé with his new show, “#BlackAF,” a Netflix series about an affluent Black family and their experience in America.

Liz Feldman

the creative force behind a number of cultural television touchstones since, including “Glee,” “American Horror Story,” and “Pose.” No matter the genre, Murphy-led shows all share a cinematic feel, as well as highly stylized costumes and sets. His star-studded series have been harbingers of more diverse representation on TV, both onscreen and behind the camera.

Shonda Rhimes

Rhimes is perhaps TV’s most successful female showrunner, with a résumé that boasts the long-running medical drama

“Grey’s Anatomy” and its spinoffs, “Private Practice” and “Station 19.” Her showrunning credits also include the thriller “Scandal,” and her production company, Shondaland, has been the umbrella under which “How to Get Away With Murder,” “The Catch,” and “Off the Map,” among others, have been created.

Rhimes’ TV empire champions women and people of color.

Her next executive producing project, “Bridgerton,” starring Julie Andrews, is slated to kick off this year.

Tanya Saracho

Saracho is a playwright and TV writer who created “Vida” on Starz, a drama about two Mexican-American sisters living in Los Angeles. Saracho’s other writing credits include “Looking,” “Devious Maids,” “Girls,” and “How to Get Away With Murder.” Her work spotlights Latinx characters and creators behind the scenes— all three seasons of “Vida” featured Latinx directors and writers. Saracho recently inked an overall deal with Universal Content Productions, where she’ll create television projects

and podcasts as well as lead an incubator initiative to support other Latinx voices.

Amy Sherman-Palladino

Sherman-Palladino was the creator and showrunner of the long-running “Gilmore Girls,” as well as “Bunheads.” Currently, she’s helming the award-winning “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

Sherman-Palladino is a worldbuilder, creating settings that inspire fans’ devotion, from the fictional town of Stars Hollow to the pink-hued universe of Midge Maisel. Her shows are known for long master shots and rapid dialogue dotted with pop culture references. She and her husband, Daniel Palladino, who serves as co-showrunner on “Maisel,” have an overall deal with Amazon Studios.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Waller-Bridge is best known for BBC Three’s “Fleabag,” which she created, wrote, and starred on. Her first project, “Crashing,” showcased her wry humor as a writer and actor. While both of these shows are comedies set in London, her talent spans genres.

She’s the creator and Season 1 showrunner of spy thriller “Killing Eve,” which has been renewed for a fourth season, and served as executive producer of HBO’s “Run.” Universal Pictures also tapped Waller-Bridge to assist on the script for the latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die.”

KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK

Feldman served as a writer on multiple seasons of the the multicamera daytime series “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” then created NBC sitcom “One Big Happy.” She also wrote on “2 Broke Girls” and continues to flex her funny bone as the creator and showrunner of dark Netflix comedy “Dead to Me.” Feldman’s work is distinctly female-centric; and while it wrestles with emotionally fraught topics, it’s always infused with humor.

Ryan Murphy

Murphy splashed into the television industry as the co-creator of teen comedydrama “Popular” in 1999.

Next, he created and ran FX series “Nip/Tuck.” He has been

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Kenya Barris

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09.10.20 BACKSTAGE

Plays Musicals Film TV & Video Commercial Modeling Variety Voiceover Gigs Events

Submit a Notice |

New York Tristate Plays ‘My Big Gay Italian Christmas’

• Casting an Avenel Performing Arts

Center production of “’My Big Gay Italian Christmas.”

• Production states: “A hilarious new

installment from the creator of ‘My Big Gay Italian Wedding’ and’ My Big Gay Italian Funeral,’ to be presented at The Avenel Performing Arts Center in Avenel, NJ. ’My Big Gay Italian Christmas’ is one of the latest in a series of ‘Big Gay Italian’ shows. ‘My Big Gay Italian Christmas’ brings the holidays into the mix for the continuing adventures of the Pinnuziato family. This time, it’s Christmas and on the menu is a bisexual love triangle, heated political conversations run amuck, over-the-top characters, and a crushing snow storm.

Written by Anthony J. Wilkinson, this show is filled with all of the perfect ingredients for a hilarious night out.

• “Note: The state of NJ is permitting live

entertainment beginning in October with limited capacity and strict guidelines for safety of audience and actors.

Producers are committed to enforcing all guidelines as set in place by the state of New Jersey, including distancing, masks, reduced capacity, regular testing, disinfecting rehearsal space and theater, etc. Considering the uncertainty of our current situation, all dates are subject to change.”

• Company: Avenel Performing Arts

Center, NJ. Staff: Anthony Wilkinson, prod.-dir.-writer; HDB Casting, casting.

• Rehearsals begin on/around Nov. 20;

runs Dec. 2-9 (all dates are subject to change) in New Jersey.

• Seeking—Angela Pinnunziato: female,

18+, all ethnicities, female-identifying, late 50s-60s or younger to play older.

Over-the-top and overbearing Italian mother. Wildly funny comedic actress.

Lead. Josephine: female, 18+, all ethnicities, female-identifying, 40s-50s or younger to play older. Angela and Toniann’s first cousin who is a neurotic hypochondriac and always the bearer of bad news. A very unassuming les-

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

SUBMIT YOUR CALLS FOR CAST AND CREW: Visit backstage.com/findtalent and click on “Post a Notice.”

Include all relevant project requirements, including any pay, fees, dues, costs, required ticket sales or nudity. bian; supporting. Victorio: male, 18+, all ethnicities, male-identifying, late 30s40s or younger to play older. A distinguished and very handsome educated doctor who has a winning personality and charm; supporting. Maria: female, 18+, all ethnicities, female-identifying, late 20s-early 30s. Anthony’s younger sister. Nine months pregnant and very emotionally unstable; supporting.

Casting picks of the week

BY LISA HAMIL

stage

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Collecting self-tape submissions for

‘My Big Gay Italian Christmas’ Celebrate the holidays in style in Avenel, NJ

initial audition appointments. For consideration, submit materials to hdbauditions@gmail.com. Submissions deadline is Sept. 25. Callbacks will be held via Zoom, as needed.

film

‘Eating With The Enemy’ Break some bread in TX this Spring

• For more info, visit https://avenelarts.

com/shows/.

• Pays $80 per performance, $10 per

hour for rehearsals, plus some meals and lodging provided. Seeking actors local to New Jersey and NYC actors willing and able to take public transit to New Jersey. Nonunion only.

commercial

Adult Gaiter Shoot Safely mask up in NYC

multimedia

Short Films

‘Hunt A Killer’ Game Sleuth your way through this remote shoot for the popular game

‘Shit Storm’

• Casting “Shit Storm,” a short film about

a couple disconnected from each other who are forced to deal with each other when stuck together in the house during a big storm. “Shit Storm” is a romantic-comedy, with a bit of drama.

commerical

‘Evil Jack’ Papa John’s Halloween 80’s Horror Movie Ad Salute pizza in the 1980s in Los Angeles, CA

• Company: Neymarc Visuals. Staff:

Sarah Verstraete, prod.

• Shoots TBD dates (most likely end of

September or in October).

Leo wants his permission. But really Leo just wants advice.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to jk48227n@pace.

edu.

• Pays $125/day.

‘There’s Something Wrong with Paul’

• Casting principal roles for an indepen-

dent short film, “There’s Something Wrong With Paul.” Synopsis: Recently released from prison, Paul is reunited with his siblings over dinner. Most of the family is not ready to forgive just yet.

• Company: Grey Machine Films. Staff:

Mark Clauburg, dir.

• Shoots TBD 2021 in northern New

Jersey.

• Seeking—Paul: male, 40-60, all eth-

nicities, recently released from prison for a heinous crime, Paul struggles to find normalcy in the real world. He’s consistently pensive, self-deprecating, and riddled with guilt. Rebecca: female, 35-50, all ethnicities, Paul’s free-spirited, career-oriented younger sister. She’s caring and selfless but employs an unabashed and impassioned protectiveness toward her brother. Dominic: male, 45-65, all ethnicities, Paul’s judgmental, smartass older brother. He wears his politics on his sleeve and doesn’t think much before he speaks. Mother: female, 60-80, all ethnicities, she’s the strong matriarch of the family.

Mother is gracious, supportive, and loving but demands civility from her children.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to mclauburg@gmail.

com.

• Seeking—Ty: male, 26-44, Asian, Black

/ African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander. Gina: female, 26-44, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander.

• Self-taped video required. In-person

ferent family member. We are casting for an episode on the stepfather. There will only be two actors in the scene. The stepfather and hopeful husband to be.

Our production will operate under COVID-19 compliance with limited crew.”

• Company: paper frame productions.

Staff: Liann Kaye, dir.; Joyce Keokham, prod.

• Seeking submissions from NJ and NY. • Send submissions to sarah@neymarcvi-

suals.com.

• Rehearses TBD dates; shoots Oct. 2-4

in NYC.

• Submit video samples.

• Pays $250/day.

• Seeking—George: male, 70-80, White

/ European Descent, treasures his adopted Chinese daughters but often agonized over the challenges of intercultural/interracial parenting. When his step-daughter’s white boyfriend is ready to propose, he assumes that

‘The Blessing,’ Ep. 5

• Casting “The Blessing,” a love story

between a man and his future in-laws.

Production sates: “Every episode is around ten minutes and features a dif-

18

callbacks to follow (when permissible).

May cast several months in advance of production.

• Pays SAG minimum plus travel.

Student Films ‘Night Ship’

• Casting “Night Ship,” a graduate stu-

dent short film.

• Company: Feirstein Graduate School of

Cinema/Brooklyn College/CUNY. Staff: Malene Schjoenning, filmmaker.

• Rehearsals via Zoom; shoots Sept. 18-19

in a parking lot close to the GWB in Bergen County, NJ. Note: COVID-19 safe set. backstage.com

New York Tristate casting

Multimedia

• Seeking—Woman: female, 30-49, Latino

/ Hispanic, an essential worker during COVID-19. Working in a COVID unit as a doctor or nurse. She loves what she is doing and is good at it. While doing what she loves the most, she realizes how much she misses her husband and daughter. Man: male, 30-49, all ethnicities, lost his job due to COVID. He was a manager at a restaurant. As his spouse, an essential worker, is busy working in a COVID unit, he is taking care of their daughter, who is immunocompromised.

Feeling a bit fed up. The situation is getting to him.

BuzzFeed, ‘Would You Date My Ex?’

• Casting Black identifying ex-couples to

participate in “Would You Date My Ex,” a new online dating show with ex’s.

• Company: BuzzFeed’s Cocoa Butter.

Staff: Alicia Pitts, casting.

• Shoots on location in NYC with COVID-

19 precautions. Note: BuzzFeed will be taking COVID-19 precautions - limited personnel in studio, mandatory masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and 6 ft. social distancing.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to malene.schjoen-

• Seeking—Ex-Couple: 18+, Black /

ning@feirstein.film.

African Descent.

• Seeking talent with experience in act-

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Apply on Backstage.com.

• For consideration, fill out the casting

ing and a knowledge and love for South American rhythms, such as the Argentina Tango and Bossa Nova.

application at https://airtable.com/ shrZMDaiskO60nCfn.

• Transportation and food provided.

• Casting “Sparks Lampini” a grant-win-

Adult Gaiter Shoot

website, online, and YouTube. Must be local and have a car to self-report.

adult gaiter shoot.

heart monitor from Rhythm Medix.

Film Program. Staff: R. O’Neill, casting.

• Casting a man with a full beard for an • Company: Lucky 13 Creative. Staff:

Melissa R., casting prod.

Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, bright, irreverent, and intimidating; too proud to admit that she may have made the wrong choices, too ashamed to ask for help when she needs it most. She exhibits a rare, frightening ability of being emotionally available-- unfortunately, most often, to people who don’t deserve it. Now, deeply and blindly submerged in her most intense relationship yet, Izzy risks not only squandering full potential but her sense of self and safety altogether. Unlike most college-aged adolescents her age, Izzy has not allowed herself the time, space, or the bandwidth to fully discover what exactly her full ‘potential’ is. Paige: female, 24-35, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, overeducated and yet incredibly naive; often confuses self-righteousness with ‘good intentions’ and spoiled, erratic behavior as ‘wit’. Her lack of self-awareness in addition to her lack of life experiences (especially in comparison to her little sister, Izzy) do not help Paige’s compulsion to give advice on things she knows nothing about, or to try and fix things she has no idea how. These stubborn, neurotic instincts may have served Paige elsewhere, but with Izzy, they only harm. We hope Paige can realize that Izzy needs a sister and a friend, not another disapproving mother.

• Shoot date TBD (potentially early-mid-

September) near Central Park in NYC. • Seeking—Man with Full Beard: male,

33-55, White / European Descent.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to nycasting13@

gmail.com.

• Pays $200 for up to four hours.

Online Commercials & Promos Australian Cider Brand, Online Campaign

• Casting an online campaign for an

Australian cider company. Seeking talent of all genders and ethnicities, ages 25-30s. Fun, cool, adventurous, with an outgoing personality and great energy.

Real groups of friends welcome. The video will show groups of friends hanging out, exploring the orchard (walking/ running around), and having a cider.

Talent must feel comfortable with these scenarios.

• Company: The Sweet Shop. Staff: Tom

Gould, dir.; Sophia Rothbart, prod.

• Shoots overnight (12 hours) Sept. 21-22

or 23-24 in Upstate NY.

• Seeking—Cool NYC Talent: all genders,

25-35, all ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to casting@casting-

double.com.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to rfo2106@colum-

• For full usage details and other info,

visit: http://castingdouble.com/cider.

For more info on the director visit (https://tomgould.com. For more info

bia.edu.

• SAG Student Agreement / Deferred pay.

backstage.com

19

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit a cover note

Rhythm Medix Commercial/ Print Shoot

National Commercials

• Shoot January 2021 in the NY / NJ area.

• Seeking—Izzy: female, 15-22, Asian,

cable). Rate Breakdown: Session: $1000/session day + 20% agency fee (if applicable)* Buyout: $1500/buyout + 20% agency fee (if applicable)** Usage is Australia National for 12 months plus 1 x Video launch 45/60” + Cut-downs (incl. product/VO/super/ format versions/ variations), 2 x key visual stills + Screen grabs from final film and/or photographs taken on-set (online social channel use only).

Online buyout (client & 3rd party websites, Youtube, on-demand/catchup TV, social channels, pre-rolls/banners, eDM etc), OOH/DOOH (SML/LGE format incl. X-track, shopping centers etc). Internal corporate, PR, Award shows (in perpetuity).

male, 54-78, all ethnicities, healthy active senior for print and video.

Needed for both shoot days.

Production will be placing a heart monitor on actor’s chest. Very little chest hair or willingness to shave preferred. Comment on this in your submission. Must submit a picture of you in a tank top to send to the client.

Female Healthy Active Senior: female, 54-78, all ethnicities, healthy active senior for print only. Union or nonunion. Needed for one day only.

State your availability in your cover letter. Actor will have a heart monitor placed on her chest. Will most likely be seen in a tank top. Actor may need to submit a picture in a tank top to send to the client.

to renew applicable to recognizable talent only.

ning thesis script to be shot in January 2021. Synopsis: A suspiciously broken foot and other hints of possible abuse bring twenty-six year old Paige to the greasy pizza joint where her teenage sister’s boyfriend works.

• Company: Columbia University MFA

• Pays $2500 + 20% agency fee (if appli-

• Seeking—Male Healthy Active Senior:

that includes your city, state, if you have a car to self-report, and confirmation that you are available for the full days listed to HBGCasting@gmail.com.

Actors may be asked to submit a selftape. Note: Must be local to the Rhinebeck, NY area. Must have a car to self-report.

• Paid, nonunion only.

‘Sparks Lampini,’ Columbia University MFA Film

on the producer visit www.sophiarothbart.com. For more info on the production company visit https:// thesweetshop.tv/us/.

09.10.20 BACKSTAGE

• *Session rate is inclusive of a 12-hour

shoot day plus additional transportation hours to/from NYC (2-4 hours approx), this is an overnight shoot.

• **Guaranteed buyout, however options

• Casting a commercial/print shoot for a • Company: Roger Tully Productions.

Staff: Hilary G., coord.

• Shoots Sept. 16-18 in the Rhinebeck,

NY area.

• Pays $500/day. Usage in perpetuity:

VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

casting California

Print Modeling

• Staff: Cole W, prod.

• Shoot Sept. 17 (afternoon) in the

from Brandon who comes clean and reveals what he’s been hiding.

Outdoor Nature Photo Shoot

• Seeking—Male: male, 18-70. Female:

Facetime film series that will be directed remotely. Actors will be given video recording and sound equipment.

We are looking for actors who are willing to film themselves for this production.

• Casting male and female models for an

outdoor photo shoot with two New York-based photographers.

• Company: North South Television.

Staff: Jay M, Producer.

• COVID-19 test on Sept. 10; photo shoot

on Sept. 14 in Staten Island, NY.

• Seeking—Male Model: male, 18-45.

Female Model: female, 18-35.

• Seeking submissions from NY and NJ. • Send submissions to bridgetscasting@

gmail.com.

Montclair, NJ area.

• Note: This production is a part of a

female, 18-70.

• Seeking submissions from NY and NJ. • Send submissions to bridgetscasting@

gmail.com.

• Pays $150 daily (cash).

• Company: Dream Factory Productions.

Staff: Nicole Thompson, dir.-prod.

Southern California

• Shoots remotely Oct. 3-5.

• Seeking—Lucy: female, 20-35, Black /

African Descent, a smart, and hard working college student who has a love for Egypt and Pyramids. Brandon: 20-35, Black / African Descent, a handsome and intelligent college student who is often perceived to be a jock because of his looks but cares more about books than sports. He also loves Egypt and Pyramids. Sasha: female, 20-35, Black / African Descent, a caring and helpful individual who is best friends with Lucy. She is taking college classes with Lucy. Mike: male, 20-35, African American. Note: This is a voice over role solely. An ambiguous individual. Mike is Sasha’s mysterious boyfriend. He is very caring and helpful. He provides comedic relief with his questions.

• Must be able to self-report to Staten

Island with personal vehicle and agree to a COVID-19 test prior to the shoot (paid for by production).

People Who are HIV+

• Seeking people in the NY Tri-State area

who have been diagnosed with HIV to participate in a photoshoot for a pharmaceutical company.vThose selected for the final project will be compensated.

• Production states: “We are asking peo-

ple to fill out a survey about their HIV journey, which includes their health and other personal information. GENUINE is a HIPAA compliant company.”

• Company: Genuine Casting. Staff:

Genuine Casting.

• Works in the NY area.

• Seeking—Participants: all genders,

18-70, all ethnicities, all people, all types.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, email casting@gen-

uinerp.com or fill out the form at https://form.jotform. com/202364782888166. Submissions deadline is Sept. 11.

• Pays $1000 if chosen for the photo-

shoot. Potential for additional money including usage and location.

Commercial & Film Voiceover NYU Voice Acting Demo

• Casting a series of videos for Ride-

Share drivers. Seeking a voice-over actress to narrate a demo of an animated video. If the series if picked up, there is the possibility of working on the entire series.

• Company: NYU. Staff: M. Di Gregorio,

casting.

• Project will be completed in a week in

NYC.

• Seeking—Narrator: female, 18+.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to mdg473@nyu.edu.

• For consideration, include voice sam-

ple, possibly reading something with an ‘instructional’, ‘training’ video tone.

• Pays: $30 dollars for VoiceOver demo.

Real People for Voice Over PSA

• Casting real people for a voiceover PSA

to be recorded in person near Montclair, NJ. People must be able to self report by car.

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

Short Films ‘El Sombreron’

• Casting “El Sombreron.” Logline: On a

plain street in the desert, on the side of the road at Palmdale. This is a horror/ mystery film.

• Company: Lila Films. Staff: Lila Lossi,

writer-dir.

• Shoots Sept. 12 (11 a.m.-9 p.m.; likely in

Palmdale or a place located on the side of an empty road) in Los Angeles, CA. • Seeking—Jason: male, 18-25, Latino /

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to nlthomps@usc.

Hispanic, looking for an actor to play Jason in a film about an old hispanic folktale. Jason is the friend of the lead role who knows a lot about folktales and helps Alejandro ( the lead role) figure out what is going on. El Sombreron: 18-25, Latino / Hispanic, he only has one line in the film. He is the mysterious villain in the film but only appears twice.

edu.

• For consideration, submit a self taped

audition of you performing the script of the character you are applying for. You can have someone off screen read the opposite character’s lines for you.

Perform with your eye contact directly to the camera.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to losimarta9@gmail.

‘Jack’

• Company: Land Ahoy! Films and

‘Conversation Under the Stars’

• Shoots mid-October (over the course of

two-three TBD days ) in Los Angeles, CA. • Seeking—Male Supporting: male,

27-37, multiple characters. Wealthy, young, and arrogant tech entrepreneurs. Female Lead: female, 25-35, main character’s girlfriend. Female Supporting: female, 23-30, female supporting roles for a high class call girl and prostitute.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com.

• Pay provided.

‘Mr. Wrong’

• Casting “Mr. Wrong,” a short film.

Synopsis: Honesty is the string that keeps friendships together. When Lucy video calls her best friend for an early morning study session, to her surprise she sees Brandon, a handsome stranger who talks with her but weirdly withholds information. Lucy senses something is off and hangs up on Brandon. After Lucy finally connects with her best friend Sasha and Sasha’s boyfriend Mike, she gets a call back

‘Entanglement’

• Casting “Entanglement,” a short film

about the story of an aspiring news journalist. Synopsis: This news journalist makes the move to Los Angeles to work at a news station, leaving behind her small town and her boyfriend, Brent.

She meets a new coworker, Harper, in L.A. whom she begins to develop feelings for. She must now come to terms with who she really is and decide whether to stay with her boyfriend or begin a relationship with Harper.

• Company: CSUN. Staff: Betsy De La

Cruz, prod.

• Shoots on dates TBD in Northridge, CA. • Seeking—Alizee: female, 20-24, smart

cruz.285@my.csun.edu.

Student Films

Phoenix 4 Entertainment.

• Online audition is available.

• No pay.

shoots October (TBD dates) in Victorville, CA.

• Casting “Jack,” a mixture of horror and

satire blended together into a punchy, short film.

gmail.com.

Staff: Elena Tcherkas, dir.

tured on camera and $100 flat stipend for voice-over actor.

• No pay.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to tcherkaselena@

and independent but can also be insecure at times. She has been with her boyfriend Brent for as long as she can remember but she comes to the realization that she is bisexual when she meets Harper. Brent: male, 22-26, Alizee’s boyfriend. He is super sweet and supportive of her and her career choices. He is genuinely in love with Alizee but begins to notice that she becomes distant with him. Harper: female, 20-25, a strong and very secure woman. She knows what she wants and goes after it. She takes an interest in her new coworker Alizee when she arrives. Katherine: female, 27-35, Harper and Alizee’s boss. She is very demanding and organized. Expects the very best from her employees but seems to have a bit of a soft spot for Alizee.

• Pays $200 flat stipend for actors fea-

com.

European Descent, a man in his mid-50s with a working style. He is very determined and can change the tire.This is a strong and kind man. He drives along a desert road and sees a girl who needs help with changing a flat tire. It’s getting dark, and he can’t leave her alone on the roadside. He helps her, and while he changes the tire, they talk. He is not a very educated person, but he understands simple truths very well. A casual conversation turns into a lifechanging revelation for the girl.

• Casting “Conversation Under the

Stars.”

• Company: The Los Angeles Film School.

• Rehearses September (TBD dates);

• Seeking—Alice: female, 20-30, White /

European Descent, a woman with light brown hair in her mid-20s. Her clothing reflects her romantic personality. She is stuck in a one-way relationship with her boyfriend. They’ve been dating for five years, and she wants to start living together. She is driving through the desert on the way to her parents. In a phone conversation with her boyfriend she realizes that he doesn’t want to change anything right now. She gets upset, and her phone loses reception.

On top of everything, she gets a flat tire, so she is stuck alone in the desert without any help. She tries to fix the tire, but the situation becomes beyond her control, until a stranger stops and helps her to put on a spare. A casual conversation turns into a lifechanging revelation. Man: male, 45-55, White /

20

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to betzaida.dela• Pay amount TBD.

‘When a Honeybee Stings’

• Casting “When a Honey Bee Stings,” a

CSUF-based student production. The short film will be submitted to the Newport Beach Film Festival. Story centers around Joanne Hudson, a recovering alcoholic who is trying to provide the best home for her son, but doesn’t know if she can become the parent he needs.

• Note: There will be one day dedicated

to a camera test, two weekends dedicated for prinicipal photography and one weekend reserved for any needed pickups.

• Company: California State University,

Fullerton. Staff: Daniel Lomboy, dir.; Samantha Drews, prod.; • Amir Hajirnia, CD.

backstage.com

National/Regional casting

• Rehearsals TBD. Dates; shoots Oct. 2-4

and Oct. 9-11; pickups Oct. 30-Nov. 1.

• Seeking—Joanne Hudson: female,

30-50, single mother, whose heart is in the right place but is held back by the demons she faces from within. She tries to be a strong parental figure for Armie but secretly she is just as scared and clueless as her son. A kind heart but loose cannon. A recovering alcoholic who tries her best to stay sober, for her son. Armie Hudson: male, 18-27, although a young high schooler, he has had to mature much faster than most.

He feels like he needs to be the foundation in the Hudson household, which always feels like it is one day away from being a complete dumpster fire. He loves his mother but feels like he has given her a chance time and again to be the parent he needs but does not know if she will ever step up to the plate. Nino Aguilar: male, 18-27, the emotional support that Armie lacks at home. He is quirky and funny, able to always put a smile on Armie. Resents Joanne for how she treats Armie. A youthful rebel.

Cassie Hudson: 18-27, young girl with a free spirit and childlike innocence. She is the daughter of Joanne and represents what could have been for this family. Officer Gale Carter: 30-50, an experienced police officer who has not let themself become desensitized to the lost lives they have experienced while on the job.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to ahajirnia@hotmail.

com.

• In order to keep cast and crew safe

from COVID-19, production will be conducting auditions virtually. Upload your reel online. Auditions will be done with self-tapes and Zoom meetings.

• Meal, copy, and credit provided.

Reality TV & Documentary ‘American Greed 194’

• Casting “American Greed 194.” Note:

Actors will be seen largely from behind, side, silhouetted, blurred or otherwise obscured. Ability to express emotion non-verbally important. Must bring most of own wardrobe which is business casusal/casual. Willing to be shot clean shaven and with stubble/ some facial hair.

• Company: Kurtis Productions. Staff:

Marcy Marzuki, assoc. prod.

• Works Sept. 20-24 in the Orange

County area (most likely Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Laguna Beach), CA. • Seeking—Ed: male, 32-38, Asian,

Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, looking for actor who can appear of Asian descent. Thin, fit build, dark, short, swept-back hair, long enough to gel into spikes lift style.

Production states: “If you have a pair of Buddy Holly style glasses, great, otherwise prop will be provided.” Chris: male, 29-39, White / European Descent, very good-looking, all-American, athletic surfer type, very fit, young Tom Cruise backstage.com

type, brown hair, may ask actor to get stubby for some scenes (patchy facial hair) and shave for others. Short to medium brown hair that can be styled.

Production states: “If you have any surfboard/waterboard gear, that’s a plus. Must provide own business casual wardrobe. May require scene with shirtoff surfer gear so upper body ideally should not be overly tattooed -- this is not a deal breaker, however, note your upper body tattoos when applying.”

ported into a surreal garden where she relaxes and drinks tea.

• Will only consider actors who have

michel.com.

TB06 Product Campaign

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to studio@thejean• All-in fee 10- to 12-hour day.

some kind of video reference.

• Pays $600/day.

• Casting a product campaign (video and

stills) for a fitness-related product.

• Company: Origin Point LLC. Staff: Kelly

Online Commercials & Promos

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to mmarzuki@kurtis.

com.

• For consideration, include headshot or

selfie showing your current hair and facial hair.

Commercial, Real Families

active union member. Non-speaking role. Must have car and be able to drive to Orange Co. location(s). Must provide own business casual wardrobe.

• Staff: Caroline Sinclair, casting dir.;

• Casting real families for a non-union

video for PETRO.

• Nonunion role; you must get a waiver if

Dina Engel, casting assoc.

• Shoots Sept. 23 in either Shrewsbury or

Colts Neck, NJ.

• Pays $350-450 day rate (will be paid via

• Seeking—Mom & Dad: 40-45, White /

invoice; W-9 required) net 30, meals provided on set. Production states: “Reasonable mileage reimbursed, but actors must be local to the LA area and be able to drive to locations. Note: If you are active union, you must obtain a waiver to take this non-speaking role.”

European Descent, casting entire family; casting specs: early 40’s, Male, Caucasian; early 40’s Female Caucasian; Boy, 7–10 Caucasian; Girl, 7–10 Caucasian.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to dinaengel1@

icloud.com.

Cesar Milan’s ‘Cesar’s Way TV’

• You must include all of the following

information to be considered: names of all family members; cellphone #; email address; recent digital family photo; audition tape per instructions below; all tapes must be downloadable. Audition Instructions: One slate for entire family.

Adults: State name, where they reside, and agency if applicable. Children: State name, age, whether or not they can swim. Take 1: Mom has a mug in her hand while kids are snuggling up to her.

The kids can say something but it’s not about the words. We are looking for natural expressions. Take 2: Then Dad holds a mug and does a little improv on the lines of …as a homeowner, I love it when my home is warm. Note: One of the children will need to swim as there is a shot of the child jumping into a pool.

• Casting people and pets in serious need

of help from Cesar Milan.

• Company: Freelance. Staff: John

McLean, casting prod.

• Shoots in Southern California.

• Seeking—Individuals in Need of Expert

Dog Training: all genders, 18+, all ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to jpmccasting@

gmail.com.

• For more info on the project, visit

https://cesarswaytv.castingcrane.com.

Indicate that you are applying from Backstage.

• No pay.

• Usage/Term/Rate: :30, :15 and :06 ver-

Spec Commercials

sions. 1 Year Regional TV, Digital, Website, and Social. $1000 for each adult, $700 for each child. 2nd and 3rd Year options at the same rate.

Mellow App Ad

‘Evil Jack’ Papa John’s Halloween 80’s Horror Movie Ad

• Casting a digital ad for a Japanese

mobile app that allows users to buy art, such as paintings and photographs. The ad is very cinematic and follows a woman as she walks through a hectic downtown scene but is then transported into a surreal dream after opening the app.

• Casting “Evil Jack,” a Papa John’s

Halloween ad series in the style of a 80’s horror B-movie. Synopsis: An evil pizza spirit possesses his victims.

• Company: John Michael Studio. Staff:

• Production states: “Small crew of 8-9.”

• Company: SkyCorp Home Video.

• Shoots Sept. 12 (likely 7 p.m.-5 a.m.) in

• Shoots during the third week of

• Seeking—Stacy the Babysitter: female,

John-Michael, dir.-prod.

the L.A. area.

September in L.A.

18-24, all ethnicities, angsty; bored late teen chick; 80s high school senior/college freshman; she becomes possessed by an evil pizza spirit. Nerdy Kid: male, 9-13, all ethnicities, being babysat on a night near Halloween; his babysitter becomes possessed by an evil pizza spirit.

• Seeking—Bianca: female, 25-45, Asian,

Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, White / European Descent, 30s, is rushing home during rush hour with a bag of groceries and drops them by accident because she is carrying too much. She opens the app and is trans-

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to rich-

ardrogers215@gmail.com.

21

Pratt, prod.

• Shoots Sept. 14-15 in Burbank, CA. • Seeking—Angela: female, 18-35, Asian,

Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, featured onscreen using fitness products from the comfort of her home; plus-size females.

Walter: male, 45+, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, featured on-screen using fitness products from the comfort of his home. Ryan: male, 18-35, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, featured on-screen using fitness products from the comfort of his home. Laurie: female, 45+, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, featured onscreen using fitness products from the comfort of his home.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com.

• Not holding in-person auditions.

Production may request a video call with the director/creative team in advance.

• Pays $250/day. For online distribution.

Nonunion. COVID-19 safety compliance will be enforced.

National/ Regional Feature Films ‘Eating with the Enemy’

• Casting “Mary Magdalene” for a fea-

ture docu-drama “Eating with the Enemy.”

• Production states: “This film is planned

to be a theatrical release with major global distribution. This is a sequel of sorts to the hit film, ‘Before the Wrath’ (www.BeforeTheWrath.com), which was also written and directed by Brent Miller Jr and narrated by Kevin Sorbo (‘God’s Not Dead,’ ‘Hercules’).”

• Company: Ingenuity Films. Staff: Carrie

Miller, prod. mgr.

• Rehearses TBD in Sacramento, CA;

shoots March 2021 in TX.

• Seeking—Mary Magdalene: female,

18-45, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Latino / Hispanic, Middle

09.10.20 BACKSTAGE

casting National/Regional Eastern, South Asian / Indian, White / European Descent, must be able to present strong emotional agony and weeping. Long dark hair is a requirement.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to carrie@ingenuity-

films.com.

• Pays a flat rate for role of $2,500 plus

travel, food and lodging.

together. Looking for dynamic individuals who are looking for love. Put in notes box - the ages and instagrams of both people and how long have you been separated/divorced. Single Men & Women Who Are Divorced: all genders, 21-40, all ethnicities, fun, attractive, and charismatic single men and women who are divorced. Looking for dynamic individuals who are divorced and looking for love. Put in notes box your age, Instagram, and how long you have been divorced. Divorced Couples Who Remained Friends: all genders, 21-40, all ethnicities, fun, attractive, and charismatic divorced couples who are remained friends and are both currently single. Looking for dynamic individuals who are looking for love. Put in notes box - the ages and Instagrams of both people and how long have you been separated/divorced.

• Seeking—Leona Stevenson: female,

28-45, all ethnicities, the spoiled, pompous daughter of a wealthy businessman. She is bedridden due to a heart condition. One evening, while trying to call her husband at his office, she accidentally overhears a telephone conversation about a murder plot.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to goldstuc@usc.

edu.

• Note your availability on Wednesday

Short Films

evenings in your submission.

• No pay but meals will be compensated

during rehearsals and performances

‘Recipe for Disaster’

‘Together/Apart’

cal look at how a recipe on the internet can send a person into a conspiracy frenzy.

rational person who has been in quarantine too long.

mated short film about a gay couple dealing with the aftermath of a homophobic attack. Synopsis: Things get weird when one of the two develops a condition where his body parts deattach, and take on lives of their own.

This is my thesis project for the MFA in Animation program at the University of Southern California. Currently casting two roles.

edu.

California. Staff: David Amberg, animator-dir.

• Casting “Recipe for Disaster,” a satiri-

• Company: Columbia College. Staff:

Sydney Marion, CD.

• Shoots the weekend of Sept. 25 in

Chicago, IL.

• Seeking—Karen: female, 25-40, a

• Seeking submissions from IL. • Send submissions to smarion@colum.

• No pay.

‘The Fisherman’

• Casting “The Fisherman.” Logline: A

New England fisherman is faced with a dilemma when the body he was paid to dump in the ocean is still alive.

• Company: Kinnane Brothers. Staff:

Daniel Kinnane, dir.-writer.

• Shoots fall (TBD dates) in Little

Compton, RI.

• Seeking—The Fisherman: male, 50-75,

White / European Descent, a humble, quiet man who has found himself in debt to a crime family from Providence, R.I. He has no choice but to dump bodies into the ocean for the mob. The Man: 30-45, all ethnicities, hard to tell if he’s good or bad. An attempt was made on his life by a small crime family from Providence R.I.; at times, he can be empathetic but yet equally selfish.

• Seeking submissions from MA. • Send submissions to daniel@kinnane-

films.com.

• Pay provided.

Student Films ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’

• Casting “Sorry, Wrong Number.”

Production states: “The first scene of the 1948 film ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’ is being reimagined for Zoom as part of a directing class at the University of Southern California. Note: This is not a complete nor original film, it is an adapted scene from an existing film that is being created as an exercise. You will be able to use it for your reel. All rehearsals and performances will take place remotely over Zoom.”

• Company: University of Southern

California. Staff: Jay Goldstuck, dir.

• Rehearsals are flexible, but you must be

available on Wednesday evenings, 7-10 p.m. PST.

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

• Casting for “Together/Apart,” an ani-

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to chadryanmoore@

gmail.com.

• There is pay. Travel and all expenses are

taken care of as well.

• Company: University of Southern

Music Videos

• Note: As this is an animated film cur-

rently in development, I would like to have all of the lines recorded by Nov. 1 at the latest.

‘Real You’

be comfortable reading from a teleprompter on heavy technical topics.

• Production states: “This will be a full-

time role that will involve two weeks of video practice in the office, then two weeks of travel shooting with our professional video team on location at industrial facilities across the nation.”

• Company: EPSCO. Staff: Jason Esler,

CEO; Joe Anderson; Dan B., technical expert.

• Rehearses in Brainerd, MN. Shoot dates

TBD, primarily in MN and WI.

• Seeking—Actor: male, 25-50. Actress:

female, 18-40.

• Seeking submissions from MN. • Send submissions to jason.esler@

epsco.co.

• Audition specifications will be outlined

prior to meeting. Include samples of previous work when applying.

• Sample Electrical Safety Training Video

can be viewed at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=qvwgOgbgyPw (This is the video that introduces one of the training we have produced that you would be replacing the engineers listed. )

• Sample Apparel Modeling Video can be

viewed at https://vimeo. com/446985431 with password “epsco” • Pays between $15-$30/hr. depending

on experience, plus travel and meals.

No participation fees required.

• Casting a blonde woman in her mid-20s

to early 30’ to act as the singer’s “love” interest in “Real You,” a music video.

• Seeking—Michael: male, 18-40, a gay

man in his early 20’s; he suffers from a bizarre condition where his body parts de-attach, and develop personalities; he loves his boyfriend, but is still recovering from the trauma of a homophobic attack; he is an American, of Iranian descent (second generation). Alex: male, 18-30, a gay man in his early 20’s; he loves his boyfriend Michael, but is frustrated that Michael has difficulty imagining their future together.

• Company: Cloverleaf Audio-Visual.

Staff: Matt Grosso, multimedia prod.

• Shoots Sept. 19 (approx. 5-6 hrs.) in the

Minneapolis, MN area.

• Seeking—Love Interest: female, 23-33,

Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, White / European Descent, this girl will be texting the singer in the music video, and then ignore him when they end up at the same house party. The singer confronts her about it at the party, and they argue.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to damberg@usc.

edu.

• Seeking submissions from MN. • Send submissions to matt@cloverleaf.

• No pay, as per the Student Film

Agreement by SAG AFTRA.

audio.

• For consideration, submit samples of

past acting work or similar work that will help us to make a casting decision.

Reality TV & Documentary

• To hear the song, visit http://bit.ly/

realyouzackking.

• Production states: “We’ll pay you a flat

fee upon completion of production.”

‘Dating After Divorce’

• Casting single divorcees for a new rela-

Demo & Instructional Videos

tionship show. Production states: “Are you divorced and having trouble jumping back into the dating game? A new show from Lighthearted Entertainment (creators of MTV’s smash dating show, ‘Are You the One’) is currently looking to help single divorcees find love again, by giving them all the tools they need to settle down with someone new...or maybe even each other.”

Safety Training Video and Apparel Modeling

• Seeking two fun, confident model/act-

ing professionals for ongoing safety training videos and apparel modeling shoots. Casting one male and one female. The male applying for this role should be middle-aged with a healthy grizzled appearance. The female should be 20-30 years old with a healthy confident appearance. Applicants should have awesome camera presence and

• Company: Lighthearted Entertainment.

• Tentative shoot dates February 2021 in

a tropical location.

• Seeking—Divorced Couples Who Are

Both Single & Looking for Love: all genders, 21-40, all ethnicities, fun, attractive and charismatic divorced couples who are currently both single and willing to be on a dating show

22

Multimedia ‘Hunt a Killer’ Adults for In-Game Audio, Video, Photos

• Casting adults ages 20s-40s for multi-

ple roles in a new murder mystery game for “Hunt a Killer.”

• Company: Hunt a Killer. Staff: Melissa

LaMartina, dir. of prod.

• Roles shoot remotely in September and

October.

• Seeking—Mal: male, 32-37, any type,

analytical and rational. He has an oxygen tank and cannula (we will provide props). Note: Appears in photos and video. Lilly: female, 24-29, sarcastic and has no time for BS. She trusts almost no one, is very smart, and doesn’t like dealing with people. She’s a little mysterious. Appears in audio. Jim: male, 33-37, a handsome police detective. He’s friendly but cynical. Appears in video and audio. Erin: 27-33, a sharp journalist who is deliberate and calm. Appears in video, audio, and photos. Ellsworth: male, 30-39, nerdy, uncharismatic, and media-savvy. Think Stephen Miller, but with hair. Appears in audio and photos.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to melissa.lamar-

tina@huntakiller.com.

• Pay varies based on size/demands of

role.

‘Hunt a Killer,’ In-Game Photos

• Casting local Baltimore actors or actors

who submit together in pairs (Murder Beths as a pair; Brady and Erby-Deegle as a pair) for in-game photos for “Hunt a Killer.”

• Company: Hunt a Killer. Staff: Melissa

LaMartina, dir. of prod.

backstage.com

National/Regional casting

• Photo delivery deadline is mid-October.

• Seeking—The Murder Beths: female,

25-35, two modern, professional true crime enthusiasts. They are media savvy and put together. any type. They appear in photo together. Must be local to Baltimore or as a pair. Brady (Baltimore local or Pair with ErbyDeegle): male, 35-50, Dan Abramstype. Appears in a photo with Erby-Deegle. Must be Baltimore local or submitting as a pair with Erby-Deegle.

Note: If applying as a pair, submit photo of the two of you together. ErbyDeegle (Baltimore local or as a Pair with Brady): female, 33-38, any type.

Appears in a photo with Brady. Must be local to Baltimore or submitting as a pair with Brady. Note: If submitting as a pair, include a photo of the two of you together.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to melissa.lamar-

tina@huntakiller.com.

• Note: If you are submitting as a pair,

submit a photo of the two of you together.

• Pays $50/role for one photo each.

Online Commercials & Promos Makeup Subscription Company Shoots

• Casting both remote and in-studio

shoots for a makeup subscription company.

• Staff: E. Kennedy, casting.

• No rehearsals; shoot dates are TBD and

flexible. L.A. area talent may be invited to shoot in the studio or do a remote shoot. Talent outside the Greater L.A. area would be eligible to do remote shoots.

• Seeking—Female Talent: female, 18-65,

all ethnicities, talent will do an unboxing, then discuss and demonstrate some makeup. Novices, experts, and everyone in between are welcome.

Male Talent: male, 18-35, talent will do an unboxing, then discuss and demonstrate some makeup. Novices, experts, and everyone in between are welcome.

Lead Person in a Real Couple: 18-65, attractive couples, 18-65, to do an unboxing, then discuss and demonstrate some makeup on each other. All types and gender combos of couples welcome to apply. Novices, experts, and everyone in between are also welcome. Must be quarantining together for both the audition and the shoot.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to casting@tube-

science.com.

• Pays $150/project for non-union, all

media buyout.

O2O3 Hip-Hop Club

• Casting voiceover artist for upcoming

commercial- a conceptual film for hiphop club O2O3. This film about a famous rapper who answers a mysterious call from a telephone booth. The phone call takes him to his illusional world. backstage.com

ers and instrumentalists. They produce and perform a total of many different concerts, with music in a wide array of genres including big band & swing, 50’s-70’s Rock & Roll, Country, Broadway show tunes, etc.

These are paid positions. The Silver Star Theater prohibits discrimination and engages in policies of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) designed to promote a positive model of inclusion.

• Production welcomes the VO artist to

work and record from home, and send the project through internet.

• Seeking—Unknown Caller: all genders,

18+, the rapper receives an unknown call from a mysterious telephone booth.

The caller only says a few words: “This is O3. Confirm your destination code.”

This phone call brings the rapper into his stream of consciousness.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Send submissions to mhao@sva.edu.

• Pays $30 for four lines.

• Company: The Silver Star Theatre.

Staff: Mark Kleinman, dir.

Online Mortgage Commercial with Well-Known TV Personality

• Runs TBD at 5247 E. Brown Road in

Mesa, AZ. (SE Corner of Brown and Higley Roads.).

• Casting several non-speaking roles in a

• Seeking—Male Singer: all genders,

commercial shoot for Guaranteed Rate, Inc.’s upcoming commercial shoot.

Shoot will be with the company spokesman, who can be recognized from his work on ABC and HGTV. Talent will be asked to provide their own wardrobe (specified in each role description), but hair and makeup will be provided.

25-60, both male and female singers must have advanced training in classical and contemporary singing; need to be able to perform a wide array of genres including big band & swing, Country, 50’s-70’s Rock & Roll, Broadway show tunes, etc.; ability to play one or more musical instruments is a plus, but not required; sight reading and improvisational skills are a plus; comedic skills a plus.

• Company: Guaranteed Rate, Inc. • No rehearsals; shoots Sept. 11 in

Chicago, IL. Specific addresses will be provided upon casting.

• Auditions will be held by appt. Sept. 16

from 4-8 p.m. and Sept. 17 from 3-7 p.m. at Mark Kleinman, 5247 E. Brown Road, Mesa, AZ 85205.

• Seeking—Real Estate Agent: female,

30-45, all ethnicities. Mortgage Loan Officer (Male): male, 35-45, all ethnicities. Mortgage Loan Officer (Female): female, 30-45, all ethnicities. Lawyer: male, 40+, all ethnicities. Young Couple: Man: male, 30-40, all ethnicities. Young Couple: Woman: female, 30-40, all ethnicities.

• Send submissions to mkleinman@sil-

verstartheater.com.

• Pay TBD.

Commercial & Film Voiceover

• Seeking submissions from IL. • Send submissions to rayna.mckinley@

rate.com.

• Submit a professional headshot and

resume.

• Pays $200 for 2-4 hrs, including time

Untitled Spec Spot Voiceover

Product Testimonial

by There We Go Films and feature film director, Rob Meyer for internal use only.

for hair/makeup.

• Casting voiceover artist for a spec spot

• Casting a testimonial for a product.

Production states: “Recording might be remotely. Will need an iPhone 10/11/11 Pro or any of the equivalent Samnsungs, Google phones, etc.”

• Company: There We Go Films. Staff:

Rob Meyer, dir.

• Staff: Daniel Sorochkin, coord.

• Shoots TBD dates remotely.

• Seeking—Testimonial Guy: male,

• Records TBD date remotely.

• Seeking—Spec Spot VO: female, 18+.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Apply on Backstage.com.

• Include your voiceover reel with sub-

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Apply on Backstage.com.

• The recording should not take more

• For more info on the director, visit

25-34, testimonial that has to do with Blockchain and Cryptocurrency.

mission and confirm you have a professional, at-home recording set up. Any additional notes on your previous voiceover experience would be useful.

than 2 hours. Will probably take much less time.

www.imdb.com/name/nm1764800.

• Must include a reel of your work and

have your own professional recording set up to record remotely. Director will call and direct you through your reading of the script.

• Pays $100.

Cabaret & Variety

• $100 flat fee.

Radio & Podcasts

‘Silver Star Theater: Rhythm Cats Show’

• Casting “Silver Star Theater: Rhythm

Cats Show.” Synopsis: The Silver Star Theater is seeking a male and a female vocalist for the 2020-21 Season of the Rhythm Cats Show. The Rhythm Cats Show is comprised of a group of versatile musicians, all sing-

Fictional Audio Drama Podcasts, Voiceover

• Casting voiceover actors with high

quality home recording capabilities for ongoing podcast work.

23

• Production states: “Seeking talent of

any age, over 18, with strong dramatic acting chops and take direction quickly. Must be able to voice different characters & age ranges. Having range is important. No accents: standard American only.

• Currently looking for people in Los

Angeles who can record at home as well as come into our studio in DTLA when safe. Production may consider talented US based (non-LA) VO actors as we may be remote for a while so submit if you fit the above specs. Looking for actors to join our roster, who can work one to four times per month, for a recurring gig. Works PST business hours on weekdays.”

• Company: Confidential. Staff: I. Way,

casting.

• Work ongoing. Will record using your

home studio until it is safe to go back to production’s studio in LA. Must have good internet connection.

• Seeking—Voice Actor #1: all genders,

20-65, Asian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, AAPI Identifying; must be able to voice different characters/types within one episode with strong dramatic acting chops. High quality home studio and ability to deliver high quality audio after each session. Voice Actor #2: all genders, 21-60, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, MENA Identifying; must be able to voice different characters/ types within one episode with strong dramatic acting chops. High quality home studio and ability to deliver high quality audio after each session.

Voice Actor #3: all genders, 21-60, Latino / Hispanic, Latinx Identifying; must be able to voice different characters/types within one episode with strong dramatic acting chops. High quality home studio and ability to deliver high quality audio after each session. Voice Actor #4: all genders, 21-60, Black / African Descent, must be able to voice different characters/ types within one episode with strong dramatic acting chops. High quality home studio and ability to deliver high quality audio after each session.

Voice Actor #5: 21-60, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous/Native American identifying; must be able to voice different characters/types within one episode with strong dramatic acting chops. High quality home studio and ability to deliver high quality audio after each session. Voice Actor #6: all genders, 21-60, White / European Descent, must be able to voice different characters/types within one episode with strong dramatic acting chops. High quality home studio and ability to deliver high quality audio after each session.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• More info and submission form here:

https://airtable.com/ shrgQDyPhbNWRz6To.

• Pay rate to be delivered at time of offer.

Non-union only.

VISIT BACKSTAGE.COM/CASTING for full character breakdowns, script sides, and more casting notices

09.10.20 BACKSTAGE

Ask An Expert Agents Auditions Film Headshots Television Theater Unions Voiceover

Q:

As an actor, how will I interact with a showrunner on a project? Will I see them often or not at all?

—Ben P.

Our Expert Matthew Del Negro is an actor.

*Submit questions for our Experts on Backstage’s Facebook or Twitter accounts or via our forums page at backstage.com/forums!

The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.

BACKSTAGE 09.10.20

24

backstage.com

ILLUSTRATION: MARGARET RULING/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; DEL NEGRO: COURTESY MATTHEW DEL NEGRO

In my experience, our level of interaction with showrunners can vary based on different factors. Some showrunners are director-producers, while others are writer-producers; the latter will typically not be on set as much as the former. On a cable show with fewer episodes than a network season, it’s not uncommon for a director-producer to direct a good share of the season’s episodes, as was the case when I worked on Season 2 of “Goliath” with showrunner Lawrence Trilling. On that season, Trilling directed half the episodes. On top of that, his personality is very collaborative, so he interacted with the actors quite a bit.

Another factor is your particular relationship to the show. As a series regular, you’ll generally have more interaction with and access to the showrunner to discuss big-picture ideas about your character arc. Guest stars and day players will generally show up knowing what they need to do and get most of their marching orders from that episode’s director.

A good rule of thumb is to know that the showrunner is overseeing everything.

While their personal approaches may vary, one constant is that they’re dealing with many major decisions, so I wouldn’t feel underappreciated or overlooked if you don’t interact with them much. If communication on set is good, you’ll hopefully be getting the mandates of the showrunner passed down to you from the episode director—and sometimes the writers, who often visit set for their episodes.

Either way, show up prepared, having made choices so that you can add to the creative process rather than just being a cog in the machine. Fighting for a choice that may not have been thought of by someone in a position above you is part of the game—as long as you can make it work and, if pressed, back up the reasons for your choice. As Sidney Lumet describes in “Making Movies,” the director is the one who sets the tone so that everyone else can be “making the same movie.” On a TV show, the showrunner is the one in that position.

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