Backstage Magazine, Digital Edition: September 9, 2021

09.09.21

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Broadway Is Back!

Everything you need to know about

the Main Stem’s strongest season in years

Aaron Tveit, Sharon D. Clarke, Daniel J. Watts + more

ring in their return to theater’s biggest stage

7 Pages OF CASTING NOTICES

Celebrating the 2020 Tony Awards —finally

Sound Stories A NARRATIVE CONTEST Accepting Submissions August 30 - September 28 Create a narrative project using only sound. Choose your theme, write your story, cast your voice talent and submit your project for a chance to win cash and prizes. join.backstage.com/soundstoriessummer2021

Contents

vol. 62, no. 26 | 09.09.21

Broadway Is Back!

Cover Story

After a grueling shutdown, the Main Stem returns with old favorites and splashy new shows alike. Presenting: your fall 2021 theater guide! page 12

The Green Room 4 Equity and the Off-Broadway League reach a new deal

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

6 Aaron Tveit on “Schmigadoon!” and taking risks in auditions

Advice 9 CRAFT

Take it from a pianist

10 #IGOTCAST

Zamaire Shuman

10 CAREER DISPATCH Pump the breaks

Features 3 BACKSTAGE 5 WITH...

Sharon D. Clarke

8 MEET THE MAKER

Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, “Pass Over” playwright

9 THE ESSENTIALISTS

Lileana Blain-Cruz, resident director

11 IN THE ROOM WITH

James and Rosie Pearson and Ian Subsara

14 THE SHOW MUST GO ON…

EVENTUALLY How the theater industry’s tumultuous year has affected its awards

22 ASK AN EXPERT

Joseph Pearlman on how to charm casting directors

Casting 15 New York Tristate 18 California 19 National/Regional Photograph by Mario Lisovski/shutterstock.com.

Cover designed by Ian Robinson.

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Backstage 5 With...

Sharon D. Clarke

By Allie Volpe

Sharon D. Clarke has lived with Caroline, the maid for the wealthy Gellman family in “Caroline, or Change,” since 2017. She earned an Olivier Award for playing the character in the West End. Last March, she was prepping for her Broadway debut as the musical was getting ready to open at Studio 54, but the pandemic had other plans. A year and a half later, Clarke will finally make that debut when performances begin Oct. 8.

How did you get your Equity card? I went to college and did social work training. It was while I was waiting for my exam results that there was a copy of the Stage in the common room.

I picked it up, [looked at the classifieds], and went for the job.

It was a job at Battersea Arts Centre. Jude Kelly was directing, and Jude Kelly is a major player over here [in the U.K.]. Jude gave me my first job with my Equity card. When I went for the audition, they were like, “We don’t know if we can employ you, because it’s an Equity job.” But she gave me my card.

said, “Babe, Rufus, I hear you’re doing ‘Ma Rainey.’ That’s all I’m saying,” and walked away.

What performance should every actor see and why? The show was called “No Child….” Her name is Nilaja Sun, and I saw her at the Edinburgh Festival [Fringe] in a small space. It’s a show that she’d written from the No Child Left Behind Act. She played 20, 30 characters—one woman onstage, absolutely breathtaking. Just the way she morphed into each of these characters in a blink of an eye was a joy to behold.

ILLUSTRATION: NATHAN ARIZONA/PHOTO: DARREN BELL

What’s your worst audition horror story? The only thing I can think of—and it’s nothing to do with me—but a friend of mine was auditioning, and the directors were sat out in the front in the darkness. She’d finished her piece and the light was shining on her face and they tried to talk to her, and she couldn’t quite hear them. So she stepped forward and they continued to talk to her, and she still wasn’t quite hearing. So she kept stepping forward until she stepped off the edge of the stage.

What advice would you give your younger self? Don’t be so afraid of confrontation. My mom was a strong woman—very forthright, very outspoken—and was not afraid of confrontation in any way, shape, or form, which made me really admire that quality. But it’s not always so great when you’re on the receiving end of that as a kid. Then I had the opportunity to play a character called Dr. Lola Griffin in a series over here called “Holby City.” Lola I based very much on my mom, and Lola was very opinionated and strong. People loved her…. It gave me the validation to go: You know what? Speak your truth.

What’s the wildest thing you ever did to get a job? I had been doing “The Amen Corner” at the National [Theatre] with a director called Rufus Norris, who, at that point, we found out was up in the leadership to become the artistic director, which he got. I heard they were going to be doing “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” There was some event at the National, and I saw Rufus across the room. And I headed to him, and I just

“I’ve been growing with [Caroline], and I’m hoping to find even deeper, richer points that maybe I hadn’t found before.”

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09.09.21 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!

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The Public Theater

Equity says that actors need to consent to being filmed and will need to be paid based on “the terms of the appropriate SAG-AFTRA contract,” including residual payments.

Rehearsals + Performances Technical rehearsals have also been shortened by two hours daily. Actors can work six days a week during tech week, eight hours a day, with an hour and a half for breaks. (Previously during tech weeks, actors would work 10 hours with two hours of breaks.) Producers will have to pay actors more if they require longer tech hours.

During the first year of the agreement, if producers offer less than seven or eight performances a week, they can pay actors a prorated salary.

Unions

Striking a New Deal

From increased weekly rates to diversity and streaming stipulations, Equity and the Off-Broadway League find common ground

By Diep Tran

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safe and sustainable. Together, we have made important inroads on wages as well as worker safety—both on COVID-19 and as it pertains to bullying, harassment, and discrimination.” Off-Broadway productions are categorized as any production in a theater that has 100–499 seats.

Pay Increases The contracts include pay raises for actors and stage managers.

Actors working a nonprofit contract for a theater with an annual budget below $4.25 million will be paid $662–$861/ week (depending on the size of the house) for the 2021–22 season. The pay rate will increase

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annually to $729–$949/week in 2023–24.

Actors working a nonprofit contract for a theater with an annual budget of over $4.25 million will be paid $689– $1,526/week in 2021–22. The rate will increase to $760–$1,682/ week in 2023–24.

Actors working a commercial contract will be paid $685– $1,217/week in 2021–22. The rate will increase to $772–$1,330 in 2023–24.

Online Streaming A notable change to the agreement is that Equity is finally allowing Off-Broadway producers to make their productions available for online streaming.

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STAGE ACTORS WILL BE GETting raises and producers will be allowed to make their shows available for online streaming, according to a new performance agreement approved by Actors’ Equity Association and the Off-Broadway League. The new three-year contract will apply to Off-Broadway productions and will cover Aug. 1, 2021, through July 28, 2024.

“This agreement builds on the success of our last negotiation with the Off-Broadway League,” said Equity executive director Mary McColl in a statement. “The Off-Broadway League agreed that simply returning to work is not enough; the work needs to be

Diversity + Inclusion The agreement also contains a commitment from the OffBroadway League to ensure that productions are cast with diversity in mind. Equity and the League will co-sponsor an annual networking event for actors of color and actors with disabilities specifically for the Off-Broadway arena, where actors can meet with representatives from Off-Broadway theaters.

The new agreement also contains language saying that actors are not obligated to work in an environment where bullying and harassment occur.

Additionally, producers must have a designated person to handle harassment and discrimination complaints. Per the new agreement: “There shall be no retaliation against an employee for the good-faith reporting of alleged prohibited conduct.”

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Cole, suffering from amnesia and on a mission to recover his lost memories. After being beaten and left for dead in a mysterious Ohio town, he sets out to find his way back home to a life he can’t remember but is trying to reclaim. The ensemble is being filled out by Jennifer Venditti Casting. Directed by Duke Johnson (“Anomalisa”), the literary adaptation has its sights set on an early 2022 start date, with filming most likely taking place in early to mid-January. The project currently has no exact filming location; however, production will take place in the United States.

What’s Casting

Men” co-star John Slattery is producing and directing, with a script from Paul Bernbaum (“Hollywoodland”). Production on the project is set to start sometime in October in Albuquerque.

Maggies in the Morgue Tina Fey and Jon Hamm will star in murdermystery comedy “Maggie Moore(s)”

“The Actor” Ryan Gosling is about to step into his next unforgettable role in “The Actor”—even though his character won’t remember it. The film is based on the novel “Memory” by Donald E. Westlake. Set in the 1950s, it finds Gosling’s character, Paul

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!

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MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

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.

“Maggie Moore(s)” An upcoming feature starring Tina Fey and Jon Hamm takes the name game to a killer new level. “Maggie Moore(s)” is a

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dark comedy set in a small town where two women with the same name have both been murdered. As the local sheriff investigates, he begins to wonder if the two homicides are linked. Susan Shopmaker Casting has already brought on Fey and Hamm, while additional actors are likely to be announced closer to filming. Hamm’s “Mad

FILM

Very Nice New Role for ‘Borat’ Breakout

Get cast!

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

By Casey Mink

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“Armageddon Time” Focus Features is taking us into the lives of New York’s 1980s elite with “Armageddon Time.” Set at the esteemed, notorious KewForest School in Queens (the alma mater of former President Donald Trump), the film will follow the life of a student there.

Written and directed by James Gray, who attended the prep school, “Armageddon Time” is a semi-autobiographical take on his time there. The project has certainly drawn the attention of A-list actors; Douglas Aibel Casting has brought on Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Oscar Isaac, Robert De Niro, and Donald Sutherland to star.

Filming on the drama is set to start in October in New York.

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

MARIA BAKALOVA, THE BULGARIAN actor who went from obscurity to an Oscar nomination thanks to her role in last year’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” has lined up her next gig. Bakalova will star in “The Honeymoon,” a romantic comedy that is already filming in Rome and Venice. The film will be directed by Dean Craig from a script he also wrote, and will additionally star “Emily in Paris” breakout Lucas Bravo.

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

Aaron Tveit on “Schmigadoon!”

Backstage Live

Back in the Spotlight

“Moulin Rouge!” Tony nominee Aaron Tveit talks “Schmigadoon!” and returning to the stage

By Liza Rash

The following interview for our on-camera series Backstage Live was compiled in part 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.

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numerous talents and his knack for musical theater. He recently sat down with us via Instagram Live to talk about the series, getting back to Broadway, and his latest appearance on “American Horror Stories.”

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In some ways, performing in “Schmigadoon!” fulfilled a years-long desire for Tveit.

“I’ve always wanted to play Billy Bigelow [the main character in “Carousel”], so I’m really getting to live my Billy Bigelow dreams a bit. I was fascinated when I got this material, because I was only sent a

Light Teams With Taylor-Joy

By Casey Mink

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Tveit is looking forward to returning to the Broadway community after a long time away.

“I’m so grateful that I love so deeply what I get to do every night. That experience with the audience—when you don’t have it, you miss it. When it’s been ripped away the way it’s been, it’s even more so. But more than anything, to re-feel that sense of community. The Broadway community is such a symbolic thing in New York. There was a lot of chatter around places that New York was gone and that New York was never gonna come back. I can be the first to say, because I was here the whole time: New York never went anywhere.”

Want to hear more from Tveit?

Watch our full interview at backstage.com/magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.

JUDITH LIGHT HAS JOINED THE already stacked cast of “The Menu,” an upcoming dark comedy from Searchlight Pictures. The two-time Tony Award winner has been added to a previously announced slate that includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, John Leguizamo, Nicholas Hoult, and Hong Chau, among others. Following a young couple who travels to a remote island, the feature will be directed by Mark Mylod (“Succession”), with a script by Will Tracy (also of “Succession”) and Seth Reiss (“Late Night With Seth Meyers”).

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ROBERT FALCONER

BROADWAY ICON AARON Tveit is the definition of a triple threat. His performances seem effortless, as if the characters he plays live and breathe inside him, and he’s got the résumé— both on- and offstage—to show for it. From his breakout role in “Next to Normal” to his recent Tony-nominated performance in “Moulin Rouge!” (which is returning to the Great White Way later this month), it’s hard to find a role Tveit can’t master.

Audiences can now catch him on the new Apple TV+ musical series “Schmigadoon!” in which he gets to show off his

couple scenes, because it was under lock and key. But I read it, and halfway through the first scene, I said, ‘This really becomes the bench scene in “Carousel.” ’ Just knowing that Cecily [Strong] and [KeeganMichael Key] were attached, and [after] getting a few clips from some musical pieces, I called my manager and said, ‘I think this is what they’re trying to do. I think they’re trying to use these takes on these classic musicals, but all set against these two very contemporary, sarcastic comics.’ That, to me, was so fascinating. That’s the thing that I’d never been aware of or seen done before.”

Tveit took a big risk during his audition for the series.

“I immediately leaned into the ‘Carousel’ upness of it, and in fact, I wasn’t supposed to sing in my audition. But at the end of that first scene, I added ‘If I Loved You’—a little [snippet] of the song. I like to go big or go home when I audition for stuff, so that was either totally going to crash and burn, or they were gonna say, ‘No, that’s what we’re trying to do.’ Luckily for this—and I later found out from [co-creator Cinco Paul]—that’s exactly what they were trying to do. He told me that showed them that I knew what this was.”

In The Envelope The Actor’s Podcast

Recent guests include: Hugh Grant, John Boyega, Nicole Byer, Aidy Bryant, & Maya Rudolph

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Meet the Maker

Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, “Pass Over” playwright

By Allison Considine

Namir Smallwood and Jon Michael Hill in “Pass Over”

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Layers of history, enslavement, and the fight for liberation fold into each other as the two characters pass the time.

“We know we’re making history; we know that it’s ‘a moment’; we know the hubbub and the wonderfulness and the community around it. But it’s also just a bunch of makers and actors and creators just doing the work,” says Nwandu. “The core of it feels very familiar, but everything around the edges feels kind of stupendous.”

Indeed, those edges are fringed with new sets of protocols, including an on-staff epidemiologist and a COVID19 safety task force. The production requires proof of vaccination upon arrival and mandates masks throughout the 85-minute run. But while a

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team is handling safety backstage and in the house, Nwandu is taking care of “the heart and spirit of the play.”

The Broadway iteration of “Pass Over” differs from its previous productions, including its 2017 world premiere at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company (captured by Spike Lee for Amazon Prime) and an Off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater in 2018. For one, the ending is new: “I had to change what the play is actually saying to meet this moment and do so in a way that invites people back into what we’re calling the Promised Land—to the new world,” says Nwandu.

Over the past five years, Nwandu has been listening to the play and letting the characters and their journeys evolve

throughout the presidential election, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the pandemic. Another historic update is the addition of Andrea Syglowski to the cast, the first woman to understudy a male role on Broadway.

(She covers the dual role of Mister/Ossifer for Gabriel Ebert). “It’s a real juicy thing for her as an actress to lean her body and her voice into that character,” says Nwandu, noting the layers of gender, race, and class in the casting.

Nwandu hopes this latest version leaves audiences “dreaming into the vision of a future-present United States and a future-present world where Black people are safe, happy, content, and joyful,” she says. She credits director Danya Taymor with helping to bring light to the play, which is filled with movement. “I’m so heady, and I think working with her has really freed me into my body,” says Nwandu. “She’s a director who is always considering the body first.”

For Nwandu, the process of bringing a play from the page to the stage is a true group effort.

“We are all stewards of the play, keepers of the play,” she says.

“Every moment, the play is saying, ‘This is what I want to be; this is what I am.’ ” While “Pass Over” has been evolving into its final form, Nwandu has also been working her writing muscles and honing her craft in a television writers’ room. However, her “blessing mode,” she clarifies, isn’t easily replicable; she wouldn’t wish her wayward path on other aspiring playwrights. She finished grad school amid the housing crisis and spent six years as an adjunct professor while writing.

“It’s about craft, and it’s about time,” says Nwandu. “People are like, ‘How did you make this happen?’ I didn’t. I stood still, and it happened.”

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JOAN MARCUS

PLAYWRIGHT ANTOINETTE Chinonye Nwandu is currently in self-proclaimed “blessing mode.” Her play “Pass Over” is the first to open on Broadway after the pandemic forced an industry-wide shutdown in March 2020. The history-making production is rising to the occasion, and Nwandu is ready to bring the piece, which premiered in 2017, to audiences.

The epic play, running at the August Wilson Theatre through Oct. 10, follows Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Namir Smallwood), two young Black men dreaming up futures for themselves as they idle on a Chicago street corner. The duo talks about someday reaching the Promised Land as the story harks back to ancient Egypt and the antebellum South.

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THE ESSENTIALISTS

LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ resident director

After a year and a half of uncertainty and empty stages, Lincoln Center Theater resident director LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ is ready to move forward.

Here, she discusses what the future of theater should and could look like, how she works with actors, and more.

Directing actors is not one-size-fits-all.

“There are some [actors] who have a strong sense of an interpretation of the role, so for them, it’s about shaping and supporting that process. And then there are some people who enjoy figuring it out and might want to try lots of different things. I

JOAN MARCUS

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Craft

Take It From a Pianist

By Joel DeCandio

AS A BROADWAY COLLABOrative pianist, I’m often asked for audition advice. The majority of artists who come into calls are talented, so how do you stand out? It’s not about how high you can belt. It’s about the artists who can come in and tell a story, who can be intimate and connect; those are the ones you notice.

Choose a piece you’re passionate about that fits the style of the show. You’ll always do better work on something you love than on something you don’t care about.

Sixteen bars, 32 bars, a short song… Do you actually have to count out the bars? No. This is how we understand these terms now: Sixteen bars is about 30 seconds (a chorus); 32 bars is about a minute (a verse

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and chorus); and a short song is about a minute and a half (verse, chorus, bridge, chorus— or something to that effect).

Before entering the room, breathe. It will clear your mind and center you. Then find the pianist and go straight to them. Toss off a hello as you’re entering if it feels natural, but your first priority is the pianist.

Hand them your music; show them your start, finish, and cuts; and give them the tempo.

Say something along the lines of, “Hi, I’m singing X. We start here, cut here, and end here.

The tempo is…”

The most effective way to communicate tempo is to pick a section and tap out the beat while singing. Singing alone gives us a nebulous idea of tempo if you don’t include

can help them and be a more constant kind of presence in their shaping, but I respect and have fun playing with the many different ways in which people might talk.

I don’t have one consistent way of working.

This is a collective art; nothing is happening independently of somebody else.”

The pandemic pause has posed big questions.

“It’s hard not to process all of the things about who we are as Americans, who we are in relation to the exclusions that have happened in the American theater, who gets to occupy

the beat. Just giving a beat without singing can be tricky if you’re not subdividing the beat correctly. Telling your pianist “allegro” isn’t helpful either— something as general as that could mean any range of fast tempos. So be sure to communicate with both tapping and singing. If you do this, it should take all of two to four beats for your pianist to pick it up.

Unless specifically instructed to do so, you don’t need to slate.

The table has your headshot and résumé in front of them.

Say the name of your song, or if it’s a pop song, just the artist who sings it.

Breathe. Nod to your pianist.

If there’s an intro—I’m a fan of intros over bell tones—use the intro to transition your view from the pianist into the world of your piece. Trust that less is more. Be present, be honest, and communicate. When you finish singing, say thanks, grab your music while thanking your pianist, and leave the room.

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By Rebecca Aizin

those stages, and thinking particularly of people of color, how we think about whose stories get told and when and where and how—that’s all part of it. We’ve had this time to wrestle with our deep stillness as a country. And then the question becomes: How do we continue?”

You’re done! Now move on and forget it. The only audition you should be thinking about is the next one.

The demands we place on ourselves for our industry take an immense toll on our mental health and well-being, and at the end of the day, it’s just not worth it. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. There’s no way to know what the table is looking for, and you’re not being an artist if you’re constantly trying to give what you think other people want. Never forget that you do this because you love it. In everything you do, there should be love.

Joel DeCandio is a collaborative pianist, musical director, actor, and Backstage Expert.

Want more?

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

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Pump the Brakes

By Daniel J. Watts

YOU KNOW THOSE MOVIES like “Unstoppable” and “Speed”?

Those movies where there’s this large, potentially destructive vehicle hurtling forward at an incredible speed, and all these great minds are trying to figure out how to stop it before it crashes, but ultimately, it’s up to our heroes on board to figure out how to save the day?

That’s how I felt about my life before the pandemic. I felt the speed; I felt the inertia; I felt the reckless, out-of-control sensation of knowing there

BACKSTAGE 09.09.21

was some potential destruction awaiting me. But I didn’t know how—or didn’t want to know how—to stop myself or even slow myself down. Eventually, I realized the ultimate truth: that somewhere along the way, I had cut my own brakes. In my own personal runaway-train movie, I was the villain.

The thing that saved me was learning how to survive a global pandemic that was killing millions of people worldwide. The only goal became learning how to take care and be careful, i.e., be full of care for myself and recognize that it would help save lives—including my own.

So I took care. I isolated. I sequestered. I said yes to the things I wanted to do. I said no to the things I didn’t. And

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I didn’t know how—or didn’t want to know how—to stop myself or even slow myself down.

Zamaire Shuman

By Jalen Michael

ZAMAIRE SHUMAN went from making YouTube shorts parodying Netflix’s “Stranger Things” to actually landing a gig on Season 4 of the Netflix hit. Here’s how he did it with the help of Backstage.

“Stranger Things” was his first-ever professional gig. “[My character on ‘Stranger Things’] is a basketball player for Hawkins High School, and he experiences a lot of things, which you’ll see. This was my first project. It was a little challenging, but I would want to do it again. It was a great experience.”

Stick with Backstage.

“I use Backstage pretty often—almost every day. I had a good, easy experience: I was just searching online, and I came across [the ‘Stranger Things’ notice]. I checked it out to make sure it was real, and then I applied. It was a virtual [audition]. It was nice and very exciting!”

Make your own opportunities.

“I’ve been making YouTube videos since 2017.

I’m looking to do some more skits and vlogs now, too.”

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; “STRANGER THINGS”: COURTESY NETFLIX

The following Career Dispatch essay was written by Daniel J. Watts, who plays Ike Turner in “Tina—The Tina Turner Musical.” He’s currently nominated for a Tony Award.

#IGOTCAST.

RAQUEL APARICIO

Career Dispatch

though it wasn’t easy, I did something I’d never done before: I embraced a slower pace.

Though surrounded by hardship (COVID-19, police killings, 45 and his insurrectionists, limited interactions with family and friends), my time in the pandemic came with its fair share of triumphs, too.

Some highlights include an artists’ residency, promoting my one-man show “The Jam” on “Today,” returning to my alma mater as commencement speaker, giving a TED Talk, and just to keep things spicy, getting a Tony nomination!

Amid the accolades and virtual everythings, I had to figure out how to unlearn the unnatural: that ever-present sense of urgency that, in my opinion, has plagued humanity since the invention of the clock.

The irony of spending the last 18 months trying to slow down while Zooming every single day is not lost on me.

As Broadway “returns” (though I prefer “comes forward”), I am immediately reminded of some of the rooms, spaces, and practices we left behind—the ones of extreme urgency; bottom lines; blatant disregard for others; and the optics of diversity rather than true, invested equality and inclusion. If I have any fears at all, it is for those who plan to return instead of come forward—those still choosing villainy over heroism and standing by to cut the brakes.

As for me, I plan to bring along what I’ve learned, remembering that sacrifice and martyrdom are not one and the same. And instead of piling into an overcrowded, speeding locomotive, it might be best for everyone—myself, especially— to rent a car instead.

culture +

Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know In the Room With

James and Rosie Pearson and Ian Subsara

The newly formed U.K.-U.S. operation defied a pandemic shutdown to create new opportunities for performers

By Elyse Roth

Zoom thing, I think, is great so we can meet people. I think it’s a really great way to be able to see lots of people who only need a smartphone in order to audition; and most people have one of those.

RAQUEL APARICIO

ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; “STRANGER THINGS”: COURTESY NETFLIX

PEARSON CASTING WAS DOING JUST FINE AS IT WAS. RUN BY husband-and-wife team James and Rosie Pearson, both former performers-turned–casting directors, they had a long list of work to their name, especially in the London theater world, with shows like smash hit “Six” as well as live performance experiences and film and television work. Their profession took them around the globe and had them casting in the U.S. enough that they felt they needed to open an office across the pond. They ultimately connected with Ian Subsara, a New York–based casting director who they felt shared their interests and audition-room ethos. Together, the three CDs spoke with Backstage about expanding Pearson Casting and how COVID-19 affected their operation.

What changed for you when COVID-19 hit? Rosie Pearson: Everything just ground to a complete halt for us. We’ve been lucky to cast some feature films through lockdown, which was done mostly by self-tape. We won a grant that we applied for, and we were able to start a free training platform for the

backstage.com

industry. We managed to connect with so many incredible people across the industry that we just haven’t worked with, and we met actors we didn’t know. We all had to reprogram our brains around Zoom auditions. Singing auditions on Zoom are very tricky, with sound issues and lagging and all kinds

of stuff. It’s been a real process for everyone in theater to pivot their mindset around that. You have to adapt; you have to keep moving forward and working with what you have. Now, we can see so many more people without forcing them to travel across huge chunks of countries.

Those processes will become more streamlined as we all work together to forge new ways of casting. I don’t think online [casting] is going anywhere.

What changes will stick going forward? James Pearson: I think self-tapes are here for a while. In a normal audition process, we can see maybe 100 people in the first round. Now, we can have 200 people tape in their own time. The whole

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What can actors expect from auditioning for you?

Ian Subsara: Performers can always expect me to be kind to them. An audition setting is a vulnerable place for an actor; and having been a performer myself, it’s essential that actors can feel safe and comfortable in order for them to be at their best and most successful. I also want to think that my audition process is extremely organized.

I have learned from some of the best in the industry. My passion for casting has led me to a process that I believe is as efficient, clear, and warm as possible. JP: Unless we’re running crazy behind, we will hear the material that we send to you. We’re always very respectful of trying to give people time—not just in the room, but to prepare as well. There’s a big culture of sending material out the night before and asking people to prepare, like, 15 pages of sides. We’re trying to manage that as much as possible. Where possible, we’ll get feedback on auditions. You will always hear from us, whether we’re taking you for the project or not. That should be a standard expectation of coming into our audition room.

Want more?

Read the full interview at backstage.com/magazine

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

After a grueling shutdown, the Main Stem returns with old favorites and splashy new shows alike. Presenting: your fall 2021 theater guide!

By Diep Tran & Casey Mink HISTORY IS HAPPENING IN MANHATTAN AS BROADWAY WAKES from an unprecedented year-and-a-half shutdown. After former Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave New York theaters the go-ahead to reopen at full capacity beginning on May 19, Broadway shows began to announce their return dates. In a joint announcement, “Hamilton,” “Wicked,” and “The Lion King” shared on “Good Morning America” that they would all be resuming performances on Sept. 14.

Those shows join other productions that have also locked in their returns, including “Six,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Chicago,” “Come From Away,” and “Company.”

The return of Broadway means many new protocols that would have been unimaginable to prepandemic theatergoers. Most

notably, all Broadway actors and audiences will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Additionally, audience members will be required to wear masks when seated and moving about the theater; they can only be removed when eating or drinking.

Many productions will now allow ticket buyers to refund or

exchange their tickets for any reason, in contrast with prepandemic rules. Furthermore, the Nederlander Organization— which owns nine Broadway theaters, including the home of “Hamilton”—says it has upgraded its air filtration systems “to comply with CDC guidelines for hospitalgrade filtration and [increased] fresh outdoor air and air exchange to the greatest extent possible.”

Interestingly, some shows will be operating on a truncated schedule. Instead of the usual eight shows a week, “Six” on Broadway will be doing six shows a week, with some exceptions for

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BACKSTAGE 09.09.21

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backstage.com

ROBERT DEMARTIN

Back on Broadway

holidays and previews. “Chicago” will be running five shows a week most weeks, beginning Sept. 14.

The 2021–22 season will be filled with opening nights, as shows that were in previews in 2020 but never got to open (such as “Six” and “Company”) will finally get the red carpet treatment. There will also be entirely new productions headed to the Great White Way, including “MJ: The Musical,” a new jukebox musical about Michael Jackson, and a revival of “The Music Man” starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster (the latter, notably, no longer driven by disgraced producer Scott Rudin).

What follows is a list of Broadway shows that have announced their return or premiere dates. Some shows will also have a preview period, in which case their official opening date is subsequently noted. This list will be continually updated on backstage.com as more productions confirm their dates.

Returning Shows

Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen in “Springsteen on Broadway”

“Springsteen on Broadway”: JUNE 26

Who better than the Boss to reopen Broadway? He did just that earlier this summer. His oneman show played a limited return engagement at the St. James Theatre, which concluded on Sept. 4.

“Pass Over”: AUG. 4; OPENED AUG. 22

“Waitress”: SEPT. 2

Singer-songwriter-actor Sara Bareilles is bringing her bakedfrom-the-heart hit back to Broadway, even though it closed in January 2020, months before the pandemic-induced shutdown.

Bareilles is once again starring.

“Chicago”: SEPT. 14 “Hamilton”: SEPT. 14 “The Lion King”: SEPT. 14 “Wicked”: SEPT. 14

“To Kill a Mockingbird”: OCT. 5

“David Byrne’s American Utopia”: SEPT. 17

“Freestyle Love Supreme”:

“Six”: SEPT. 17; OPENS OCT. 3

“Caroline, or Change”:

When Broadway abruptly shut down on March 12, 2020, “Six” was literally hours away from its official opening night (and subsequently, its reviews). The pop tuner, about the six wives of Henry VIII—all of whom are modeled here after various pop stars—is finally getting its royal opening this fall at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

“Come From Away”: SEPT. 21 “Chicken & Biscuits”: SEPT. 23; OPENS OCT. 10

“Moulin Rouge!”: SEPT. 24 “The Lehman Trilogy”: SEPT. 25; OPENS OCT. 14

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ROBERT DEMARTIN

“Aladdin”: SEPT. 28

Director Sam Mendes is following up his last familial epic, “The Ferryman,” with another one.

Stefano Massini’s “The Lehman Trilogy” (adapted by Ben Powers) opens on Broadway following sold-out runs in London as well as in New York at the Park Avenue Armory.

backstage.com

OCT. 7

OCT. 8; OPENS OCT. 27

“Tina—The Tina Turner Musical”: OCT. 8 “Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations”: OCT. 16 “Jagged Little Pill”: OCT. 21 “Mrs. Doubtfire”: OCT. 21; OPENS DEC. 5

“Diana: The Musical”:

NOV. 5

committed to bringing their Neil Simon farce to Broadway.

Another show that was in previews at the time of the shutdown, “Plaza Suite” finally opens next spring at the Hudson Theatre under the direction of John Benjamin Hickey.

“Flying Over Sunset”:

“Paradise Square”: FEB. 22,

NOV. 11; OPENS DEC. 13

2022; OPENS MARCH 20, 2022

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”: NOV. 12

“The Minutes”: MARCH 2022;

“Company”: NOV. 15; OPENS

“Take Me Out”: MARCH 9,

DEC. 9

2022; OPENS APRIL 4, 2022

NOV. 2; OPENS NOV. 17

“Clyde’s”: NOV. 3; OPENS NOV. 22

“The Book of Mormon”:

Phone rings, door chimes, in comes…Patti LuPone, Katrina Lenk, and the rest of Marianne Elliott’s gender-swapped cast of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company.”

“The Phantom of the Opera”: OCT. 22

OPENS FEB. 1, 2022

“Trouble in Mind”: OCT. 29;

“Dear Evan Hansen”: DEC. 11

OPENS NOV. 18

Whether Broadway’s reckoning with systemic racism will spur lasting industry change remains to be seen. However, there is a marked, invigorated push to produce more work by Black writers on the Great White Way than in years past; this includes the Broadway premiere of Alice Childress’ “Trouble in Mind,” starring Tony winner LaChanze.

“MJ: The Musical”: DEC. 6;

“The Music Man”: DEC. 20; OPENS FEB. 10, 2022

“Skeleton Crew”: DEC. 21; OPENS JAN. 12, 2022

“Plaza Suite”: FEB. 25, 2022; OPENS MARCH 28, 2022 Real-life husband-and-wife duo Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are

13

OPENS APRIL 7, 2022

“Birthday Candles”: MARCH 18, 2022; OPENS APRIL 10, 2022

“How I Learned to Drive”: MARCH 29, 2022; OPENS APRIL 19, 2022

If all had gone according to schedule, Mary-Louise Parker would likely have been in Tonys contention with herself for the 2019–20 Broadway season, for her fall run in “The Sound Inside” and her spring turn in “How I Learned to Drive.” The pandemic, of course, had other plans for Parker; she’ll finally open Paula Vogel’s two-hander opposite David Morse next April.

“Funny Girl”: SPRING 2022 (EXACT DATES TBA)

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

Leslie Odom Jr. and Katharine McPhee onstage during the 2018 Tony Awards nominations announcement

The Show Must Go On…Eventually How the theater industry’s tumultuous year has affected its awards

By Jack Smart DEAR BACKSTAGE READERS, AWARDS ENTHUSIASTS, AND THESPIANS: It’s been a while since I’ve posted a dispatch from the frontlines of theater. In my neck of the Backstage woods, there’s been very little to cover since March 12, 2020, the day Broadway’s lights went out.

Where do the theatrical arts stand now, a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic as the entertainment biz is still figuring out how to innovate and recover?

BACKSTAGE 09.09.21

Theatre Wing and the Broadway League named contenders in October 2020…without any indication of when they would be honored, except “in coordination with the reopening of Broadway.”

Finally, the 74th Tony Awards will be airing on Paramount+ Sept.

26—titled, by the way, “The Tony Awards® Present: Broadway’s Back! A Multi-Platform Celebration of the Best of Broadway.” They are indeed timed with reopening—albeit a gradual, uncertain, and still fearful

14

Sincerely,

Jack

backstage.com

LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

As usual, I look to awards to answer such questions. First, let’s break down the status of the 2020 Tony Awards—namely, that they’re in 2021. The timing of New York City’s shutdown meant that many of the productions hoping for recognition on theater’s biggest stage arrived too late or not at all, leaving a thinner than usual, but still viable, list of 2019– 20 Broadway season contenders.

Instead of the usual nominations announcement in May and ceremony in June, the American

reopening. From my standpoint, producing a celebration of live theater pegged to its return sounds logical, even wonderful.

But I can’t recall another example of an awards show announcing nominations without a plan for its awards. Instead of canceling altogether or delaying slightly and producing a remote ceremony (as the 2020 Emmy Awards did, for example), the Tonys waited half a year for nods, then another year for a ceremony, all tied to hopes of theater’s return.

Every theater insider I’ve spoken to in the past year is similarly befuddled. Is there any point in trying to assign blame in an unprecedented situation like this, when the biggest, most obvious culprit is an infectious virus?

Looking at other NYC awards’ various plans, how else should

such an impossible situation be approached? Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards aired pre-taped YouTube events, while the Drama Desk Awards managed a virtual ceremony without delaying dates. The Drama League rejiggered its 2020 nominations into a ​​one-timeonly digital fundraiser dubbed the Gratitude Awards, and this year honored digital and socially distanced productions. Across the pond, the Oliviers aired a special presentation of past ceremony highlights before honoring winners remotely last fall.

Though my inner cynic has thrived in the last 18 months, I’m keeping an eye on silver linings outside of the awards circuit: The return of theater in NYC offers several reasons to hope that this community, like Hollywood and others, has indeed taken advantage of the opportunity to reevaluate and rebuild stronger.

Among the encouraging news is that Jujamcyn Theaters is upgrading its facilities in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, joining Broadway’s other landlords, the Shubert Theatres and Nederlander Theatres, in creating more accessibility (albeit due to lawsuits). The Broadway League and Actors’ Equity Association have signed Black Theatre United’s pact, called “A New Deal for Broadway,” committing to inclusive creative teams, renaming theaters for Black artists, and apparently establishing diversity requirements for future Tonys eligibility. And in a commonsense move, all Broadway venues are requiring masks and proof of vaccination against COVID-19, while unvaccinated artists are being fired for putting others at risk.

I hold onto the hope that such safety measures will keep this virus at bay enough that we can all revel in live theater’s magic again.

This upcoming “Broadway’s Back!”

Tonys celebration will have to walk the line between promising that return to normal and honoring the theater community’s vision for its talent, its resilience, and most of all, its future.

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

Submit a Notice |

New York Tristate Plays ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ Non Equity National Tour

• Casting “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” a

non Equity national touring musical.

Production states: “’A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is the classic Christmas Cartoon TV special reimagined live on stage. This production will maintain the nostalgic, childlike feeling of the original cartoon but accurately represent the playground of today in its diversity and charm. We are especially seeking a diverse and inclusive cast of comedic actors, singer/movers and musicians with engaging personalities and fun special skills that are on a professional level. Special skills featured in this show could include instruments, singing, tumbling, dance, circus skills and any unique silly tricks. We are excited to build a showcase for the individual talents of our cast. Though we are seeking strong dynamic singers for some roles, this is not a traditional book musical.

Evan Bernadin Productions and Gershwin Entertainment in partnership with W/S Casting is committed to creating an atmosphere that engages and promotes diversity and inclusion in all areas. We strongly encourage performers of all ethnicities, races, gender identities, ages, body types and abilities to submit for this project. We are actively seeking a cast which is inclusive and strive to promote a process and production that expresses the multidimensional society in which we live.”

• Company: wojcik/seay casting. Staff:

G. Seay, coord.

• Rehearsals begin Nov. 1; runs Nov.

19-Dec. 22 in NYC. Note: Strict covid protocols and guidelines will be followed for audition/ rehearsal process and touring. Evan Bernardin Productions is promoting a fully vaccinated environment for the cast and creative team of this tour.

• Seeking—Charlie Brown: 18-30, all

ethnicities, height 5’4”-6’0”, vocal characterization must evoke, resemble the iconic cartoon. Must be willing to cut hair short to resemble Charlie Brown. backstage.com

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.

Charlie Brown is gentle, insecure and lovable. He possesses significant determination and hope, but frequently fails because of his insecurities, outside interference or plain bad luck. Melancholic, sweet and determined. Strong singing –baritone or tenor, strong mover. Linus: 18-35, all ethnicities, 5’4”-6’0”, vocal characterization must evoke, resemble the iconic cartoon. Must be willing to cut hair for character. Linus is Charlie Brown’s best friend. He is wise. He always means well and tries to smooth over any storms that arise amongst the gang. Actor must have a strong sense of honesty and vulnerability. Strong singing - baritone or tenor, strong mover. Snoopy - Dancer/Physical Comedian: all genders, 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’0”-5’6”’; a strong dancer with comedic instinct. Physical comedian who can adapt to comedic physical routines. Snoopy is bittersweet. He is an independent character. He can win, lose, be a disaster, a hero or anything and yet it all works out. Actor should be an inventive free spirit with a repertoire of skills, Especially seeking a performer with special skills - gymnastics, acrobatic, juggling, balancing etc... strong dancer. Non-singing track.

Lucy: 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”-6’0”, the older sister of Linus. She is bossy, crabby but with her psychiatrist booth comes up with solutions. She pushes other characters to listen to her.

Strong singing - soprano, mezzo soprano, mover. Frieda - Dancer: 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”-6’0”, singing a plus. Frieda is vain and girly and talks about her naturally curly red hair. Has naturally curly red hair. Strong dancer.

Instrument a plus, singing is a plus, but not required. Violet/Patty- Dancer: 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”-6’0”, dark hair, Violet is not very nice. She thinks Charlie Brown is a walking disaster.

Sings a solo in the concert. (Not Peppermint) Patty is Violet’s best friend who talks about how much they don’t like Charlie Brown; strong dancer. Singing is a plus, but not required. Pig Pen- Dancer: 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”- 6’0”; Dancer with personality. Pig Pen is known for being constantly dirty, insulted constantly by everybody. He is very cool and accepts himself regardless. Singing is a plus, but not required. Franklin/ShermyDancer: 18-30, Black / African Descent, 5’4”–6’0”; dancer with personality. Singing is a plus, but not required. Schroeder/Touring MD -

Casting picks of the week

BY LISA HAMIL

stage

‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ Nonunion Nat’l Tour Find the perfect Christmas tree

tv

‘Chicago P.D.’ Serve and protect in Chicago, IL

musical

‘Some Like It Hot’ Discover why “nobody’s perfect” in this NY Equity production

chorus call

‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ Bring a killer performance to this murderous romp in Bellport, NY

musical

‘Mary Poppins’ Join this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Franklin, MA production

Musician: 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”6’0”; touring MD, must play advanced jazz piano in the style of the TV special and classical at level to play Fur Elise.

Sings with group. No solo singing required. Respects Charlie Brown who is a friend. Must play piano in a jazz style – specifically the score of the TV special by Vince Guaraldi. Singing is a plus, but not required, as advanced piano skills and acting are more important to this track. Female Presenting Swing: 18-30, all ethnicities, must be a versatile musician and actress. Would cover all the female roles. Soprano, Mezzo. Character voices to portray the various characters. Male Presenting Swing: 18-30, all ethnicities, must be a versatile musician and comedic actor

15

with physical comedy chops. Would cover all male roles. Baritone, tenor, character voices to portray the various characters.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • To be considered for a self-tape

request, e-mail a headshot and resume, along with any relevant demo clips that show your special skills or musical instrument abilities to charliebrownxmastour@gmail.com. Initial audition will be self-tape. Callbacks will be held Sept. 23-24 as needed.

Callbacks may be live in a socially distanced environment or via Zoom as needed.

• Pays rehearsal salary: $525/wk., per-

formance salary: $625/wk. plus $35/ day per diem. Accommodations on entertainer sleeper coach.

‘Charles Brown Christmas,’ Jazz Musicians

• Casting jazz musicians for “A Charlie

Brown Christmas.”

• Production states: “The classic

Christmas cartoon TV special reimagined live on stage. This production will maintain the nostalgic, childlike feeling of the original cartoon but accurately represent the playground of today in its diversity and charm. We are especially seeking a diverse and inclusive cast of comedic actors, singer/movers and musicians with engaging personalities and fun special skills that are on a professional level. Special skills featured in this show could include instruments, singing, tumbling, dance, circus skills and any unique silly tricks. We are excited to build a showcase for the individual talents of our cast. Though we are seeking strong dynamic singers for some roles, this is not a traditional book musical.

• Note: Some tracks in this cast will make

up a jazz trio that will play the timeless music of Vince Guaraldi live during the show. If you are an advanced jazz musician playing piano, double-bass or drums, please submit as a possible Schroeder/MD, Frieda/Musician, Violet/ Patty- Musician, Pig Pen/Musician or Franklin/Musician. These characters have limited lines and may become the musician tracks for this show.

• Evan Bernadin Productions and

Gershwin Entertainment in partnership with W/S Casting is committed to creating an atmosphere that engages and promotes diversity and inclusion in all areas. We strongly encourage performers of all ethnicities, races, gender identities, ages, body types and abilities to submit for this project. We are

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

casting New York Tristate actively seeking a cast which is inclusive and strive to promote a process and production that expresses the multidimensional society in which we live.

• Company: wojcik/seay casting. Staff:

an imagination of the relationship between Benjamin Franklin and Anne Louise Hardencourt Brillion during Franklin’s ambassadorship in France from 1776 to 1782.

• Rehearsals begin Nov. 1; runs Nov.

dir.

G. Seay, coord.

19-Dec. 22 in NYC. Note: Strict COVID protocols and guidelines will be followed for audition/ rehearsal process and touring. Evan Bernardin productions is promoting a fully vaccinated environment for the cast and creative team of this tour.

• Seeking—Schroeder/Tour MD - Pianist:

18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”–6’0”; touring MD, must play advanced jazz piano in the style of the TV special and classical at level to play Fur Elise. Sings with group. No solo singing required.

Respects Charlie Brown who is a friend.

Must play piano in a jazz style – specifically the score of the TV special by Vince Guaraldi. Singing is a plus, but not required, as advanced piano skills and acting are more important to this track.

Pig Pen- Jazz Bassist Or Drummer: 18-30, all ethnicities, 5’4”–6’0”. Pig Pen is known for being constantly dirty, insulted constantly by everybody. He is very cool and accepts himself regardless. This is a musician track - must play either advanced Double bass or drums in a jazz style. Singing is a plus, but not required. Franklin/Shermy - Jazz Bassist Or Drummer: 18-30, Black / African Descent, height 5’4”-6’0”; musician, this is a musician track - must play either advanced Double bass or drums in a jazz style. Singing is a plus, but not required. Frieda - Jazz Bassist Or Drummer: 18-30, all ethnicities, height 5’4”-6’0”, singing a plus. Frieda is vain and girly and talks about her Naturally curly red hair. Has naturally curly red hair. This track could be part of the jazz trio playing advanced drums or double bass. Singing is a plus, but not required.

Patty/Violet - Jazz Bassist Or Drummer: 18-30, all ethnicities, height 5’4”-6’0”; dark hair, Violet is not very nice. She thinks Charlie Brown is a walking disaster. Sings a solo in the concert.

(Not Peppermint) Patty is Violet’s best friend who talks about how much they don’t like Charlie Brown. This track could be a member of the jazz trio playing advanced drums or double bass.

Singing is a plus, but not required.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, for a self-tape

request, e-mail a headshot and/or resume, along with any relevant demo clips that show us your special skills or musical instrument abilities to charliebrownxmastour@gmail.com.

• Initial submissions will be self-tapes.

Callbacks will be held Sept. 23-24 as needed. Callbacks may be live in a socially distanced environment or via Zoom as needed.

• Pays rehearsal salary: $525/wk.

Performance salary: $625/wk. plus $35/ day per diem.

• Accommodations on entertainer

sleeper coach.

‘L’amour A Passy’

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

actors for roles in a staged reading of “L’amour A Passy.” Synopsis: The play is

BACKSTAGE 09.09.21

deadline is Sept. 10. Video Preparation Instructions: Prepare a two to threeminute monologue that best showcases your skills and artistry. Video should be linked in the provided form – Vimeo or YouTube. State your name and what you are going to perform at the top (this intro does not count towards your three minutes). Note: Additional tour dates and venues for “The Medium” to be confirmed through June 2022.

Additional rehearsals will take place in NYC as needed. Other Company members include: Akiko Aizawa, J. Ed Araiza Will Bond, Gian-Murray Gianino, Kelly Maurer, Barney O’Hanlon, Samuel Stricklen, and Stephen Webber.

• Company: GW Reed. Staff: GW Reed, • Rehearses Sept. 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m.;

reading will be held Sept. 23, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Guild Hall of The Little Church on the Corner in Brooklyn, NY. Note: All Covid protocols will be strictly enforced at this reading and are required by the Guildhall. Audience members will be checked for proof of Vaccination at the door and required To wear a mask. Social distancing will also be in effect.

• Note: SITI is not currently hiring - the

majority of roles throughout the season will be cast with SITI Company members and associates. At this time, the company is not seeking new members.

Some roles will have understudies. The Viewpoints and the Suzuki Method of Actor Training are two methods of training used in building and staging SITI productions. It is through the dialogue between Suzuki and Viewpoints, these two distinct, yet complementary approaches to the art of acting, that the philosophy and technique of SITI Company is continually explored, revitalized and articulated. For more info about SITI, the Suzuki Method and Viewpoints, visit www.siti.org.

• Seeking—Benjamin Franklin: 18+, to

play 72; portly 5’10”-6’0”. Commissioner Plenipotentary to the country of France. Responsible for securing millions of dollars in loans from France during the Revolutionary War. Madam Anne Louise Hardencourt Brillion: 18+, to play 33-38, a small attractive woman, Aristocrat, Composer speaks French or capable of using a French accent and can handle 20 speeches in French.

Married to Jacques Brillion owner of an estate in Passy. Two children. Good comedy skills. A Reader: 18+, capable of reading stage directions and adapting to the actors.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit a video audi-

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion to gwreed521@gmail.com. Men: Prepare a contemporary monologue.

Women: Prepare a contemporary monologue in a French accent.

Submissions deadline is Sept. 10.

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Pays $926/wk. Equity LORT C Non-Rep

Contract.

Musicals

• Pays $50 for one rehearsal and reading.

Equity Staged Reading Code.

‘CoComelon Live’ NY & Nat’l Tour

SITI Company Season

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

• Casting “CoComelon Live,” a new, high

actors for roles in SITI Company 202122 Season. Season includes “The Medium” (SITI Company, creators; Anne Bogart, dir. Rehearses Oct. 18-30 in NYC; runs Jan. 3-Feb. 13, 2022 at City Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA; runs Mar. 28 Apr. 1 at The Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH) and “A Christmas Carol Radio Play” (SITI Company, creators; Anne Bogart and Darron West, dirs. Rehearses Nov. 29-Dec. 4 in NYC; runs Nov. 29-Dec. 19 at Fisher Center, Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson in New York).

energy concert style show based on the popular YouTube channel CoComelon. Note: All talent must have a valid Passport (Must be at least 18 years of age). All performers must be physically fit and adept. Especially seeking physically strong performers, dancers and/or movers with physical character acting abilities. Also seeking mature male / female presenting singers to play the parents and teacher. Non Union only.

• Company: Wojcik/Seay Casting. Staff:

S2BN Entertainment, prods.; Amy Tinkham, creative dir.; Jaimie Selke, dir.-choreo.; Randy Glass, music dir.; Wojcik/Seay Casting, casting.

• Company: SITI Company. Staff: Anne

Bogart, Ellen Lauren, and Leon Ingulsrud, artistic dirs.; Megan E. Carter, prod. dir.

• Rehearsals Nov. 10-21 in NYC; tech Nov.

22-Dec. 1 in Purchase, NY; premieres Dec. 4 and 5 in in NYC; additional December 2021 dates in Pennsylvania; full tour launching March 2022 for an open-ended run.

• Rehearses in NYC. • Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+, all

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, complete form with

video link via https://forms.gle/ G489fWT87S5naLa3A. Submissions

• Seeking—Mom / Grandma: female,

18-35, White / European Descent,

16

(female presenting, Caucasian, 20s30s, 5’7”-5’10”); strong mature singer / actor that can move well; gentle, kind with a mother like quality. Dad / Grandpa: male, 18-35, White / European Descent, (male presenting, Caucasian, 20s-30s, 5’10”–6’2”) strong mature singer/actor that can move well; outgoing and strong; host like quality; basic-advanced guitar playing a huge plus, but not a requirement; actor will, most likely, play nursery rhyme songs in the show. Ms. Appleberry: female, 18-35, all ethnicities, (female presenting, all ethnicities, 20s-30s, 5’7”–5’10”) school kids’ teacher with a mature and guiding presence; strong, mature singer/actor; this track may double as other characters in the show; we are especially seeking a performer of color for this track. Understudies For Main Characters: all genders, 18-35, (female and male presenting, all ethnicities, 20s-30s, 5’7”-5’10”), fun, outgoing performers who have strong improvisational skills; these tracks will be involved in the start of the show and should have a host sensibility, but also cover the roles of Ms. Appleberry, Mom/Grandma and Dad/Grandpa; strong Singer/ Actors. JJ - Dance Track Only: all genders, 18-35, 4’10”-5’0” or shorter, strong performer with great physical character acting instincts; this will be a full costume character, so we are especially seeking performers with costume character experience; dance track only.

Tom Tom - Dance Track Only: all genders, 18-35, all ethnicities, 4’10”-5’3”, strong performer with great physical character acting instincts; this will be a full costume character, so we are especially seeking performers with costume character experience; dance track only.

Yo Yo - Dance Track Only: all genders, 18-35, all ethnicities, 4’10”-5’3”, strong performer with great physical character acting instincts; this will be a full costume character, so we are especially seeking performers with costume character experience; dance only track.

Featured Ensemble - Dance Track Only: all genders, 18-35, all ethnicities, 4’10”-5’2”) school kids; these will be full costume characters, so we are especially seeking performers with costume character experience; strong character dancer/movers to portray different characters and animals; puppetry skills, and acro a plus, but not required; dance only track: Nico, Cody, Nina, Cece, Bella. Dance Track Swings: all genders, 18-35, all ethnicities, 4’10”– 5’3”, strong, athletic performer with great physical character acting instincts; this will be a full costume character, so we are especially seeking performers with costume character experience; dance only track.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Initial auditions are taped submissions.

For consideration submit online or email s2bncasting@gmail.com with your headshot/resume. If you are submitting to be considered for a “Dance Only Track” please also include a dance reel or clip in your submission. All talent must have a valid Passport (must be at least 18 years of age.) Callbacks will be held Sept. 14 and 15 in NYC.

• All performers must be physically fit

and adept. Especially seeking physically backstage.com

New York Tristate casting

strong performers, dancers and/or movers with physical character acting abilities. Also seeking mature male / female presenting singers to play the parents and teacher. Non Union Only.

S2BN Entertainment in partnership with W/S Casting is committed to creating an atmosphere that engages and promotes diversity and inclusion in all areas. We strongly encourage performers of all ethnicities, races, gender identities, ages, body types and abilities to submit for this project. We are actively seeking a cast which is inclusive and strive to promote a process and production that expresses the multidimensional society in which we live.

Must be available for full contract (including second leg of the tour beginning in March 2022) – confirm dates before coming in. Note: actors must have access to their own NYC housing for the rehearsal process for this show.

Strict covid protocols and guidelines will be followed for audition/ rehearsal process and touring. S2bn entertainment is promoting a fully vaccinated environment for the cast and creative team of this tour.

• Non-Union Only. Salary: $650-750/wk.

plus $50 per diem for touring & $550650/wk. for rehearsals.

‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood’

• Casting “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,”

a live, musical performance based on the children’s program of the same title.

• Note: All adult actors are playing chil-

dren, adults and animals. Note that all roles will sing and dance. All talent must have a valid driver’s license and Passport (Must be 18+). All performers must be physically fit and adept.

• Mills Entertainment in partnership with

W/S Casting is committed to creating an atmosphere that engages and promotes diversity and inclusion in all areas. We strongly encourage performers of all ethnicities, races, gender identities, ages, body types and abilities to submit for this project. We are actively seeking a cast which is inclusive and strive to promote a process and production that expresses the multidimensional society in which we live.

• Company: wojcik/seay casting. Staff:

G. Seay, coord.

• Rehearses Dec. 26, 2021-Jan. 5, 2022; tech Jan. 6-12, 2022; runs Jan. 12- May 7, 2022 nationwide in the U.S. Note: Strict covid protocols and guidelines will be followed for audition/ rehearsal process and touring. Mills entertainment is promoting a fully vaccinated environment for the cast and creative team of this tour.

• Seeking—Track #5- O The Owl/Music

Man Stan/Baker Aker/King Friday/ Various Puppet Characters: 18-35, Black / African Descent, (male-presenting, Black) O the Owl is one of Daniel’s friends, who lives right next to Katerina Kittycat in the same tree. O loves to read books and is usually seen with a book. O is also a curious child who is always on the lookout for new things. Music Man Stan is Miss Elaina’s father and owns the music shop of the neighborhood of MakeBelieve. Stan lives life to a jazz-filled backstage.com

beat. Baker Aker owns and runs the neighborhood bakery. King Friday is the leader and a main role model of the neighborhood of Make-Believe.

King Friday rules with kindness and compassion. Physical dexterity a must. Excellent singer/dancer. Full voice Baritone. Track #6 - Katerina Kittycat: 18-35, all ethnicities, a Kindergarten-aged cat with white fur who loves playing dress up and pretend but loves ballet the most. When Katerina likes something or is excited, you will see a signature twirl and hear the signature “meow meow”. Excellent singer/dancer with strong ballet.

Soprano. Female-Presenting Universal Swing: 18-35, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, female-presenting universal swing: (5’4 or shorter) Seeking a performer of color for this track. Strong character actor/singer to cover all female characters. Must be adept at dance and willing to cover a full Costume Character track and learn puppetry.

This is an off-stage swing track.

Performer will be hired for the initial six weeks of the tour, with an option to extend. Male-Presenting Universal Swing: 18-35, Asian, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, Indigenous Peoples, Latino / Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, male-presenting universal swing: Seeking a performer of color for this track. Strong character actor/singer to cover all male characters. Must be adept at dance and willing to learn puppetry. This is an off-stage swing track. Performer will be hired for the initial six weeks of the tour, with an option to extend.

• Work Session dates tentatively run Jan.

10, 2022-Feb. 19, 2022 in NY.

• Seeking—Sweet Sue: female, 40-59, all

ethnicities, bandleader, a human bullhorn, a woman withincredible drive and ambition. Vocal range(bottom-top): E3-C#5.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit your photo/

resume and video in a downloadable format (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) to auditions@thetelseyoffice.com with the subject line “Some Like It Hot” EPA -Full Name.” Submissions deadline is Sept. 11.

• Prepare a contemporary musical the-

atre song (no longer than one minute) that shows your style and vocal range. If you do not have access to accompaniment, you may sing your song of choice a cappella. If you are not able to sing a song of your choosing, feel free to prepare the provided song. Sheet music and accompaniment MP3 are available at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ytm7n4nq6qw7yb1/ AACcFf9Oz-SsJicy1BmqemiMa?dl=0 • Taping Instructions: If you are using an

iPhone to video record, be sure to film horizontally and in a well-lit space (not backlit). At the top of the video, slate your name and height. Title your video: “Full Name - Some Like It Hot.”

• Actively seeking diversity of every kind

and in every role; trans, gender nonconforming, and actors with disabilities of every ethnicity are encouraged to submit.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Initial submissions will be taped sub-

• Pays approx. $1,300/wk. Equity Tier 3

Development Agreement.

missions. For consideration for an initial self-tape, submit headshot/resume to millspresentsauditions@gmail.com.

Callbacks will be held Oct. 14-15.

Callbacks may be live in a socially distanced environment or via Zoom as needed.

high style, English romantic farce, set in the Edwardian era. The piece requires trained actors who sing beautifully and have great comic skills. All roles are similar stylistically to characters in Oscar Wilde plays. English accents required for all roles.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit a video audi-

tion and resume to casting@thegateway.org. Submissions deadline is Sept.

10 at 5 p.m. EDT. • Singers: Prepare one song in the style

of the show, with own accompaniment, or a song from the show found at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ 1nvllLvT2VjvX2m8HkbQ3mMl3ZQmcQA GD?usp=sharing. Dancers: Prepare the Dance combo found at https://drive. google.com/drive/folders/1nvllLvT2VjvX 2m8HkbQ3mMl3ZQmcQAGD?usp=shar ing. Only submit an unlisted YouTube (not private) or Vimeo link. Film your audition in front of a clean background, with no backlighting. As much as possible, limit ambient noise including air conditioners and other electronics. Use a secondary audio source to play the accompaniment music to avoid interference.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Pays $571/wk. plus housing provided.

Equity LOA ref COST Contract.

Scripted TV & Video ‘Westworld,’ Season 4

• Casting season four of the HBO TV

Chorus Calls ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’

• Pays $684/wk. plus $40 per diem while

on tour.

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

actors for chorus roles in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

‘Some Like it Hot’

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

actors for the role of Sweet Sue in “Some Like it Hot.” “Some Like It Hot” encourages gender diverse and color conscious casting. Performers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, gender identities, and abilities are encouraged to apply.

• Company: The Gateway. Staff: Paul

Allan, exec. artistic dir.; Michael Baker, assoc. artistic-casting dir.; Peggy Hickey, dir.-choreo.; Charlie Reuter, music dir.; Robert L. Freedman, booklyrics; Steven Lutvak, music-lyrics; Kaitlyn LaGrega, casting assist.

• Company: Nobody’s Perfect Limited

• Rehearsals begin Nov. 2; runs Nov.

Liability Company/The Shubert Organization. Staff: Neil Meron, prod.; Casey Nicholaw, dir.-choreo.; Matthew López & Amber Ruffin, book; Marc Shaiman, music; Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman, lyrics; Mary-Mitchell Campbell, music supervisor; Darryl Archibald, music dir.; 101 Productions, Ltd., general mgr.; Bethany Knox, CSA (The Telsey Office), casting; John MacInnis, assoc. choreo.

17-Dec. 5 in Bellport, NY. This production will be rehearsed indoors and on property at The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport Village, NY, and performed indoors at The Patchogue Theater in Patchogue, NY with the support of state and union guidelines.

• Seeking—Ensemble: 18+, a diverse of

amazing comedic actor/singers who move well and dancer/singers who are great actors for ensemble roles.This is a

17

series “Westworld,” starring Thandiwe (Thandie) Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris & Aaron Paul. Project description: “Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, explore a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.”

• Company: HBO, Bad Robot, Jerry

Weintraub Productions, Kilter Films, Warner Bros. Television. Staff: Jonathan Nolan, prod.; Barbara McNamara, CSA, casting dir.

• Shoots Oct. 2-7 in NYC. Will work one

or multiple days. Fittings Sept. 13-24, in Brooklyn, NY.

• Seeking—General Background: female,

male, 20-40, all ethnicities, seeking fabulous, beautiful, model types for city street scenes.

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

gmail.com.

• Pays $165/10hrs. Fitting pays $30.

COVID-19 test prior to fitting, pays $30.

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

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

casting California

Online Commercials & Promos People.com, Real People with Inspiring Mentors • Casting real people from the New York

tri-state area who have had a positive mentor in their life for an inspirational video series for People Magazine digital platforms. Casting asks: “Do you have a mentor who has been your rock? Did your mentor help you to make a big life decision or provide support to help you succeed? Did your parent, teacher, friend (etc.) help inspire you to become the successful person you are today?

This digital project will share the emotional first-person stories of the amazing things people were able to accomplish with the help of their mentor or their ‘rock’. All selected talent will be compensated and must be fully vaccinated in order to film on set.”

• Company: Paired Up Media.

• Shoot dates TBD in NYC. • Seeking—Inspired People: 18-75, all

ethnicities, looking for real people from the New York tri-state area only who have had a positive mentor in their life for an inspirational digital video series.

Individuals will be asked to share the emotional first-person stories of the amazing things people were able to accomplish with the help of their mentor or their “rock”. Note: Selected candidates will be asked to show proof that the have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, email martin@

pairedupmedia.com and fill out the casting questionnaire at https://forms. gle/Vkx32F6wUxHMGskN9.

• Pays $1,500 flat. Usage is 1 yr. digital.

Print & Digital Modeling Abbott Laboratories Promo • Casting a promo for Abbott

Laboratories. Synopsis: Bringing a new prospective to Oncology Diagnostics.

• Company: Nina Day Casting. Staff: Nina

Day, casting dir.

• Shoots Sept. 21-24 (talent will work

one day. Adult talent 18 years and older will work 10 hour day) in NY. • Seeking—Japanese Grandmother

Blowing Bubbles 45-60: female, 45-60, Asian, grandmother and grandchild blowing bubbles together. Cheerful and loving.Hair: short hair or shaved head/ buzz cut preferred but open if you are comfortable being portrayed as a patient with scarf/wig/head wrap/hat.

Middle Eastern Grandmother Celebrating Birthday 60-65: female, 60-65, Middle Eastern, grandmother celebrating birthday around the cake and candles with grandchildHair: crew cut/age appropriate. Japanese Jogging Man 55-65: male, 55-65, Asian, jogging, hopeful, strong; short hair or

BACKSTAGE 09.09.21

shaved head/buzz cut preferred but open if you are comfortable being portrayed as a patient with scarf/wig /head wrap/hat. Japanese Light Exercise Woman: female, 60+, Asian, walking/ light exercise. Hopeful and strong.

Short hair or shaved head/buzz cut preferred but open if you are comfortable being portrayed as a patient with scarf/ wig/head wrap/hat. Traditional Chinese Square Dancer Chinese Female 60+: female, 60+, Asian, traditional Chinese square dancing. Must know how to traditionally Chinese Square Dance.HeroShort hair/shaved head/buzz cut or bob/medium length hair.

Oct. 18-30 in NYC; runs Jan. 3-Feb. 13, 2022 at City Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA; runs Mar. 28 - Apr. 1 at The Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH) and “A Christmas Carol Radio Play” (SITI Company, creators; Anne Bogart and Darron West, dirs. Rehearses Nov. 29-Dec. 4 in NYC; runs Nov. 29-Dec. 19 at Fisher Center, Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson in New York).

com.

Magan Carter at mcarter@siti.org.

Submissions deadline is Sept. 10. Note: Additional tour dates and venues for The Medium to be confirmed through June 2022. Additional rehearsals will take place in NYC as needed. Other Company members include: Akiko Aizawa, J. Ed Araiza Will Bond, GianMurray Gianino, Kelly Maurer, Barney O’Hanlon, Samuel Stricklen, and Stephen Webber.

• Company: SITI Company. Staff: Anne

Bogart, Ellen Lauren, and Leon Ingulsrud, artistic dirs.; Megan E. Carter, prod. dir.

• Rehearses in NYC. • Seeking—Stage Manager: 18+, all

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from NY and NJ. • Send submissions to nina@ninaday.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit resume to

• Selected talent will be requested to

complete a short video audition.

• Production states: “For all talent: • Usage: 3 Years Global use in all print

(trade, not consumer), digital, and electronic media, excluding broadcast.

Non-exclusive.

• Adult Session: $500 +20%; Child

Session: $250 +20%; Adult Usage: $3000 +20%; Child Usage: $1500 +20% • Usage Fees are guaranteed.

• Exclusivity Option: $5,000 + 20% per

Some tours will be traveling to Canada, so SMs must be able to travel outside of the United States. Some contracts would include an Artist Activity.

• All actors will be signed on as assistant

stage managers. Actor/ASMs are required to unload/load, setup and/or strike the set. No single piece of scenery shall exceed such proportions of height or weight as to make it impossible to be carried reasonably by two members of the company.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Pays $505/wk. Equity TYA Contract.

Southern California

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

year in addition to usage bonus above for Adult Talent.

• Non-exclusive renewal options - stills

only. Adult, $1500 + 20%/yr.; Child, $750 + 20%/yr.

• Pays $1,109/wk. Equity LORT C Non-Rep

Contract.

TheaterWorksUSA 2021-22 Season, Stage Manager

Stage Staff & Tech

• Seeking Equity stage managers for the

TheaterWorksUSA 021/2022 tour season. Season includes “Dog Man: The Musical” (Kevin Del Aguila and Brad Alexander, writers); “Pete The Cat” (Sarah Hammond and Will Aronson, writers); “The Pout-Pout Fish” (Matt Acheson, Christopher Anselmo, Jared Corak, and Fergus Walsh, writers); “Rosie Revere, Engineer & Friends” (Lauren Gunderson, Kait Kerrigan, and Bree Lowermilk, writers); “Charlotte’s Web” (Joseph Robinette, writer); “Warriors Don’t Cry” (Donnetta Lavinias Grays, writer; co-conceived by Donnetta Lavinia Grays and Tamilla Woodard) and New Works (Potential workshop of a new musical based on a popular children’s book, TBA).

‘L’amour A Passy’

• Seeking an Equity Stage manager for

staged reading of “L’amour A Passy.”

Synopsis: The play is an imagination of the relationship between Benjamin Franklin and Anne Louise Hardencourt Brillion during Franklin’s ambassadorship in France from 1776 to 1782.

• Company: GW Reed. Staff: GW Reed,

dir.

• Rehearses Sept. 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m.;

reading will be held Sept. 23, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Guild Hall of The Little Church on the Corner in Brooklyn, NY. Note: All Covid protocols will be strictly enforced at this reading and are required by the Guildhall. Audience members will be checked for proof of Vaccination at the door and required To wear a mask. Social distancing will also be in effect.

• Company: Theatreworks USA. Staff:

Jillian Carucci, assoc. artistic dir./casting dir.

• Touring productions tour various dates

throughout the year. Contract length varies depending on the show. Shows only touring in the fall generally start rehearsing in late September and run until mid-December, and shows touring only in the spring start rehearsing in late December/early January and run until as late as mid-June.

• Seeking—Stage Manager: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit resume to

gwreed521@gmail.com or mail to GW Reed 134 Remsen St. #4A Brooklyn, NY 11201. Submissions deadline is Sept. 10.

• Seeking—Stage Manager: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, submit resume to

• Pays $50 for one rehearsal and reading.

Equity Staged Reading Code.

Production Manager Brendan O’Brien at bobrien@twusa.org or mail to TheaterWorksUSA, 158 W 29th St. 5th fl., New York, NY 10001. Submissions deadline is Nov. 1.

SITI Company 2021-22 Season, Stage Manager

• Seeking Equity stage managers for SITI

Company 2021-22 Season. Season includes “The Medium” (SITI Company, creators; Anne Bogart, dir. Rehearses

• All stage managers must be available to

audition, rehearse, and travel from NYC.

18

Plays Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara Season • Casting Equity actors for roles in

Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara 2021-22 Season. Season includes “Tenderly” a musical (Janet Yates Vogt & Mark Friedman, writers; Jenny Sullivan, dir. Rehearsals begin Sept. 14; runs Oct. 7-24); “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley” ( Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon, writers; Michael Butler, dir. Rehearsals begin Nov. 9; runs Dec. 2-19); “Carmen Jones” a musical (Oscar Hammerstein,creator; Jonathan Fox, dir.

Rehearsals begin Jan. 11, 2022; runs Feb. 3-20); “American Son” (Christopher Demos-Brown, writer; Jonathan Fox, dir.

Rehearsals begin Mar. 15; runs Apr. 7-24); and “Sleuth” (Anthony Shaffer, writer; Jenny Sullivan, dir. Rehearsals begin May 17; runs June 9-26).

• Company: Ensemble Theatre Company

of Santa Barbara. Staff: Jonathan Fox (ETC), artistic dir.

• Rehearses and performs in Santa

Barbara, CA.

• Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • For consideration, submit video at

https://etcsb.org/contact/#auditions.

Submissions deadline is Sept. 14. Video Preparation Instructions: Prepare audition material that may include one or two monologues and/or a song not to exceed three minutes total. Singers may prepare a song of their choice, or use the accompaniment provided which can be accessed online at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tn4dmha4r6c9qpr/ AAAq8e5WVCiFOnxZ6TlbnY-Ia?dl=0.

• Note: Ensemble Theatre Company of

Santa Barbara is a fully vaccinated company, and proof of full vaccination backstage.com

National/Regional casting

as defined by the CDC is required as a condition of employment (following Equity guidelines as required).

Members can email generalmanager@etcsb.org with any questions.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Company: Matthews Media. Staff: Jon

• Rehearsals begin Feb. 8, 2022; runs

Mar. 9-22 in San Francisco, CA. Note: Dates are subject to change.

• Seeking—Fitz: 20-39, a white trans-

masculine man; finds himself at an extraordinary circumstance: a woman calls with instructions to pick up a dead body and dispose of it at an unknown address. Though Fitz has always been a play-by-the-rules kind of a person—a guy with a comfortable life and a steady job as a barista in Portland—he decides to heed the call.

He finds himself at the door of Nellie, a cis woman in her 60s who leads a chosen life of isolation tending to her hog farm in rural Montana; this momentof-first-encounter serves as the starting place in the play.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Actors should indicate interest in audi-

tioning in an email to auditions@magictheatre.org. Theater will respond with appropriate sides within 2 business days. Submit the audition video as a YouTube or Google Drive link.

Submissions deadline is Sept. 17.

• Note: Local Bay Area actors encour-

aged to submit. All auditions will be video submissions. No auditions will take place at Magic’s physical location.

The role of Nellie has been cast.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Pays $689/wk. Equity Bay Area Theatre

Tier 4 Contract.

Feature Films 1920’s Hollywood Film With Oscar Winning Director/Cast • Casting Hollywood’s biggest film,

directed and written by an Oscar winning director featuring a star studded cast.

• Company: Paramount Studios.

• Fittings TBD in Hollywood; shoots TBD

in Los Angeles, CA.

• Seeking—1920’s Movie Goers: all gen-

ders, 18+, all ethnicities, 1920’s Types, backstage.com

Matthews, filmmaker.

Student Films dent film about a high schooler who conducts a heist to steal his ex-girlfriend’s diary (aka a break-up break-in).

Seeking high-school-passing actors with a comedic background/talent.

Gorlin, dir.; Sean San Jose, artistic dir.; Karina Fox, casting dir.

ages 9-11) for a “Sesame Street” liveaction educational short to air on HBO.

• Pays $120/8 hrs. Nonunion.

‘The Kind Ones’

• Company: MAGIC Theatre. Staff: Addie

• Casting a voiceover actor (between

goers@gmail.com.

‘It’s Complicated’

actors for Magic Theatre’s world premiere production of Miranda Rose Hall’s “The Kind Ones.”

‘Sesame Street,’ Voiceover

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

• Pays $638/wk. Equity SPT 8 Contract.

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

Scripted TV & Video

shorter hair for women; no buzzed heads on men; fitting required; all cast members must be vaccinated on this project. Beautiful Jaw Dropping Starlets: female, 18-45, all ethnicities.

• Records in L.A. Local talent preferred.

• Seeking—Child #1: 7-12, voiceover

actor for a “Sesame Street” short film.

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

• “Sesame Street” will own the audio and

• Casting “It’s Complicated,” a LMU stu-

it will be used for an episode airing on HBO in the spring of 2022.

• Company: LMU. Staff: Emma Bartels,

writer-dir.; Devyn MacEachern, casting dir.

• Shoots two days in late Oct./early Nov.

in L.A.

• Seeking—Michael: male, 18-28, a high

schooler who breaks into his ex’s house to search for answers in her diary. Rose: female, 18-28, a high school musician who finds her ex has broken into her house. Atticus: male, 18-28, a high schooler whose best friend has dragged him into breaking and entering into his other friend’s house. Cop: male, 18-35, the capital-A Adult who’s investigating a break-in in a quiet suburban neighborhood.

film about a screenwriter who runs through a series of ridiculous movie pitches for an unamused team of executives. This is a student production as part of CSUN’s Advanced Video Production course.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • For consideration, submit a headshot

and commercial reel (if you have one) to studio@kyrodigital.com.

• Pays $300 net30.

Thanksgiving commercial shoot.

Jonathan Munsayac, sr. prod. mgr.

Magic Theatre’s world premiere production of Miranda Rose Hall’s “The Kind Ones.”

14501 Artesia Blvd, La Mirada, CA 90638.

Gorlin, dir.; Sean San Jose, artistic dir.; Karina Fox, casting dir.

ethnicities. Father: male, 30-40, all ethnicities. Son: male, 5-18, all ethnicities. Daughter: female, 5-18, all ethnicities. Grandmother: female, 50-65, all ethnicities. Grandfather: male, 50-65, all ethnicities. Male Friend: male, 30-40, all ethnicities. Female Friend: female, 30-40, all ethnicities.

• Casting “We’ll Take It,” a short comedy

County, CA. • Seeking—Stationary Bike Rider: female, male, 18-50, Black / African Descent, White / European Descent, people who are fit and can workout on camera. Note: Be sure to include full body shots.

‘The Kind Ones,’ Stage Manager

• Seeking—Mother: female, 30-45, all

‘We’ll Take It’

• Company: Kyro Digital.

• Shoots at a residential house in Orange

2021 Living Spaces Thanksgiving Commercial

• Shoots Sept. 15 (TBD call time) at

• No pay.

tures of a new AI-powered stationary bike. There are no lines. Just someone in workout clothes using the bike.

Looking for one male and one female.

Stage Staff & Tech

• Company: Living Spaces. Staff:

com.

• Seeking actors/models to show the fea-

Local Commercials • Casting 2021 Living Spaces

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to devyn1864@gmail.

Stationary Bike Commercial

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to jonathan.mun-

sayac@livingspaces.com.

• Pay provided.

• Seeking Equity stage manager for

• Company: MAGIC Theatre. Staff: Addie

• Rehearsals begin Feb. 8, 2022; runs

Mar. 9-22 in San Francisco, CA. Note: Dates are subject to change.

• Seeking—Stage Manager: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • For consideration, mail resume to

Jackie Hill, Production Manager, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94123.

• Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.

• Pays $689/wk. Equity Bay Area Theatre

Tier 4 Contract.

• Company: California State University,

Northridge. Staff: Ewan McNeil, filmmaker; Hayden Bushfield, filmmaker

Online Commercials & Promos

• Shoots September (Day one mid-Sept:

est. 6-hour day shoot and day two lateSept: est. 2-hour pickups shoot) in Northridge or the nearby area. Note: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required to participate in the production.

Headspace Digital Content, Real People Casting

• Seeking—Alex: all genders, 25-35, a

new screenwriter who finally got his big break to pitch to the suits. Nervous, but confident, he walks into the office with energy and enthusiasm ready to sell his ideas no matter how bad they are.

Applicants should be ready to perform a long monologue. Must have access to professional attire. Must be 18+.

• Casting real people for a Headspace

user survey digital short video that will be featured on ‘The Wake Up’ in app.

You must have some experience or relationship with meditation and mindfulness to be considered.

• Company: Headspace. Staff: Courtney

Case, CD.

• Seeking submissions from CA. • For consideration, email a video reel

• Shoots in-studio Sept. 13 in Burbank,

CA. Will be staggering talent and following all COVID safety precautions.

and/or resume and cover letter with a short message to ewan.mcneil.327@ my.csun.edu.

• Seeking—Real People: all genders, 18+,

all ethnicities.

• Copy and credit provided.

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

• Submit a short self tape (1-2 minutes

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

is fine) explaining your relationship to meditation and/or mindful living.

• $100 for one hour or less.

19

National/ Regional Plays Farmer’s Alley Theatre

• Casting Equity actors for roles in

Farmer’s Alley Theatre 2021-22 season.

Season includes “Songs For A New World” (Jason Robert Brown, music-lyrics; Jerry Dixon, dir.; Cole P. Abod, music dir. Rehearsals begin Sept. 20; runs Oct. 8-24 with potential holdover through Oct. 31); “Murder For Two: Holiday Edition” (Joe Kinosian, book & music; Kellen Blair, book & lyrics; Kathy Mulay, dir. Rehearsals begin Nov. 8; runs through Nov. 19-Dec. 12 with potential holdover through Dec. 19); “The Lifespan Of A Fact” (Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, writ-

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

casting National/Regional ers; based on the book by John D’Agata & Jim Fingal; D. Terry Williams, dir.

Rehearsals begin Jan. 24, 2022; runs Feb. 11-Feb. 27 with potential holdover through Mar. 6); “The Revolutionists” (Lauren Gunderson, writer; Dee Dee Batteast, dir. Rehearsals begin Feb. 28; runs Mar. 19-Apr. 4 with potential holdover through Apr. 11); “Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill” (Lanie Robertson, writer; Shanesia Davis, dir.; Abdul Hamid Royal, music dir.

Rehearsals begin Apr. 18; runs through Apr. 29-May 15 with potential holdover through May 22); and “Bright Star” (Edie Brickell & Steve Martin, music; Edie Brickell, lyrics; Steve Martin, book; Kathy Mulay, dir.; Cole P. Abod, music dir. Rehearsals begin May 23; runs Jun. 17-Jul. 3 with potential holdover through Jul. 10.).

designers, stage managers, crew members, administrators, volunteers, etc.

Jeremy Koch, artistic dir.

• Company: TimeLine Theatre Company

• Company: Farmers Alley Theatre. Staff: • Rehearses and performs at Farmers

Alley Theatre in Kalamazoo, MI. Note: Performances are usually Thurs.-Sun. with occasional weekday performances and sponsor shows.

• Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from MI. • For consideration, submit video, head-

shot and resume to submissions@farmersalleytheatre.com. Submissions deadline is Oct. 1. Video Preparation Instructions: Slate your name at the top of the video, tell us what you’re going to perform, and add that to all the performance footage together into one video.

Send as YouTube or Vimeo or similar link or just send the video as an attachment. For singer/actors: Prepare one monologue of approximately one to two minutes in length and two contrasting songs of approximately one to two minutes in length that are appropriate for the shows in the season. You may sing from those shows, but it is not required. Provided are some instrumental music tracks www.farmersalleytheatre.com/auditions for auditioners to sing along with. Those four music tracks are as follows: Soprano: “Another Life” from The Bridges of Madison County (Music track for one verse); Alto: “I Didn’t Plan It” from Waitress; Tenor: “Out There” from Hunchback; Bass/ Baritone: “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story. These are just suggestions and a way to help each performer with their audition. Feel free to use these music tracks or sing along with your own accompanist or use tracks of your own. For non-singing actors: Prepare two contrasting monologues of approximately one to two minutes in length that are appropriate for the shows in the season. You may perform material from the shows in the season, but it is not required.

• Artistic director states: “Farmers Alley

Theatre is an award winning, professional theatre based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We are Southwest Michigan’s first and only year-round Equity Theatre Company.” For more info, visit www. farmersalleytheatre.com.

• Performers of all ethnic and racial

background are encouraged to submit.

Note: All employees must be fully vaccinated in order to be employed. This policy includes actors, directors,

BACKSTAGE 09.09.21

Freddy Benson: male, 30-39, the attractive American interloper who crashes Jameson’s heretofore private party. Nakedly ambitious, aggressively loud, hilariously crude, small time con man who relies on street smarts and sob stories to make his pitch. A fearlessly funny young leading man who can pull out all the stops: sing a power ballad, rap like a white boy, pull off outrageous characters and physical comedy… and still endear himself to us.

Andre Thibault: male, 40-49, wry, sophisticated, opinionated, “oh-so French” chief of police. Andre is Lawrence’s right hand man and voice of reason;practical and unflappable until love unexpectedly comes his way. A comic singer with flair and panache, who is also a surprisingly tender song and dance man. Muriel Eubanks: female, 40-49, an extremely wealthy, attractive American; quirky, funny, gullible, and utterly sincere as she willingly succumbs to the thrilling charm of Jameson and later to a surprising and touching romance with Andre. A glamorous comic leading lady with amazing vocal stylings who dances with style and grace. Christine Colgate: female, 20-39, “The American Soap Queen” – The clumsily exuberant, ingratiatingly excited, seemingly innocent heiress from Ohio who becomes the intended victim of Jameson and Freddy’s con.

Christine is however far more than she seems, as she surprises the guys (and the audience) by revealing herself to be the legendary con “man” – The Jackel. A compelling comic actress with amazing vocal chops…able to convince us she’s an innocent abroad falling hard for a guy in a wheelchair-and then able to provide a totally delightful shock as she reveals she’s been turning the wheels all along! Jolene Oakes: female, 30-39, “The Princess of Petroleum” – the luridly wealthy, frequently married, deliciously vulgar Oklahoma oil heiress. A true triple threat – an amazing dancer who belts out a song with guts and gusto and has the comic chops to make Jolene as funny as she is obnoxious.

• Pays $364/wk. Equity SPT 3 Contract.

Housing and travel provided for out-oftown talent.

TimeLine Theatre Company

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

actors for roles in TimeLine Theatre Company 2021-22 Season. Season includes “Relentless” (Tyla Abercrombie, writer; Ron OJ Parson, dir.

Rehearsals begin Dec. 13; runs Jan. 19-26, 2022) and “The Chinese Lady” (Lloyd Suh, writer; Helen Young, dir.

Rehearsals begin Apr. 4; runs May 1-7).

TimeLine is will also be casting TBD readings and possibly workshops throughout the year. For those works, adult actors of all genders and ethnicities will be considered. No roles will be understudied.

2021-22 Season. Staff: Nick Bowling (TimeLine), artistic assoc.

• Rehearses and performs in Chicago, IL. • Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from IL. • For consideration, submit headshot/

resume (include phone number and email address), and a link to your video on a preferred platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) to casting@timelinetheatre.com with the subject line “AEA General Audition.” And answer the following questions in your submission: Do we have your contact information including telephone number; will you share your pronouns with us; are you available for each production; are you open to be considered for an understudy position in any of the productions? Submissions deadline is Sept. 14.

Video Preparation Instruction: Prepare one monologue of your choice that lasts no more than two minutes or two one-minute monologues.

• Pays $510/wk. Equity CAT 3 Contract.

Musicals

• Seeking submissions from FL. • For consideration, email your head-

‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

actors for “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”

Note: No roles will be understudied.

Local actors encouraged to submit.

• Company: Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Inc.

Staff: Mark Martino, dir.-choreo.; David Gringrod, assoc. choreo.; Eric Alsford, music dir.; Jeffrey Lane, book; David Yazbek, music & lyrics; Andrew Kato, prod. artistic dir.; Elois Ferrer, company mgr.-prod. assist.

• Rehearsals begin Mar. 1, 2022; runs

Mar. 24-Apr. 10 in Jupiter, FL.

• Seeking—Lawrence Jameson: male,

40-59, the French Riviera’s classiest con man; elegant, erudite, stylish, British, and hugely successful. Able to charm the jewelry (not to mention the gowns) off of the world’s wealthiest women by “giving them what they want.” A charismatic leading man who has it all: classic good looks, gorgeous voice, graceful dance skills, and the acting and comic chops to go from impeccably suave to outrageously silly and keep us charmed the entire time.

shot, resume, and a link to your video to Eloisa Ferrer at seasonauditions@jupitertheatre.org with subject line “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Video Submission.”

Video should include a recording of the sides and the song assigned to the role you are auditioning for. These materials can be found at https://www.dropbox. com/sh/cr6flgabrp2ze0j/ AACXLiiu7QTRZALE0FcKvQ8Ca?dl=0. If you are not able to find a reader for your submission, you may submit a 1-minute contemporary comedic monologue in the style of the show. When submitting your video, indicate if you live within 50 miles of Jupiter, FL and if you will be able to attend the in-person callback if necessary. Submissions deadline is Sept. 11. Callbacks will be held in person Sept. 16 in Jupiter, FL. • The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is commit-

ted to building diversity, equity and inclusion both onstage and throughout our organization. We encourage all actors to submit video auditions.

Artists who are members of underrep-

20

resented communities are strongly encouraged to audition.

• Pays $1,096/wk. Equity LORT B+ Non-

Rep Contract.

‘Mary Poppins’

• Seeking video submissions from Equity

actors for “Mary Poppins.”

• Company: Franklin Performing Arts

Company, Inc. Staff: Raye Lynn Mercer, dir.; Clay Rice-Thomson, choreo.; Hallie Wetzell, musical dir.

• Rehearsals begin Oct. 4; runs Oct.

15-24 at The Black Box, 15 West Central St., Franklin, MA. • Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+.

• Seeking submissions from MA. • For consideration, submit video to

FPACcasting@gmail.com. Submissions deadline is Sept. 9. Video Preparation Instructions: Slate with name, role for which you are submitting, and if you are local to Franklin. You may audition with a song of your choosing with accompaniment you provide or you may use the cuts and accompaniment provided at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qi751wa88zmtf2c/AADgOPtyFXeVscj3tH7MuKba?dl=0. Subject line should read: Role you are submitting for with Unlisted You Tube or Vimeo link.

• Note: Fully vaccinated company. Proof

of vaccination required.

• Pays $271/wk. Equity SPT Tier 1

Contract.

‘MJ The Musical,’ Role of Young Michael Jackson

• Casting the role of Young Michael

Jackson in “MJ The Musical.”

• Company: MJP Musical LLC. Staff: The

Michael Jackson Estate and Lia Vollack Productions, prods.; Lynn Nottage, writer; Christopher Wheeldon, dir.choreo.; David Holcenberg, music supervision; Jason Michael Webb, music dir.; Bespoke Theatricals, general mgmt.; The Telsey Office, casting.

• Rehearsals begin in October; perfor-

mances begin Dec. 6; opening night is set for Feb. 1, 2022 in NYC.

• Seeking—Young Michael Jackson: male,

9-12, Black / African Descent, great singer/dancer/actor to portray Michael at age 10. Unchanged voice. Principal.

In the show, we see Young Michael when he is about 10-12 years old. You may be older or younger than that and still send a tape, but you should have an unchanged voice and still be able to sing in the higher octave (like Michael did with the Jackson 5 as a kid).

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• For consideration, tape yourself sing-

ing a Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 song, or a song in the style of Michael. Some examples: “The Love You Save,” “ABC,” “I’ll Be There,” “Rockin’ Robin” -- or any song of your choice! You can sing a cappella or find a Karaoke track on YouTube to sing with. Before you sing, tell us your name, your age, your height, where you are from, and how you heard about the opportunity to audition. If you have any dance experience, be sure to mention that as well. Email a viewable/downloadable link where you’ve uploaded your audition tape with your picture and resume to audition@mjthemusical.com. Dropbox, Google Drive, backstage.com

National/Regional casting

Vimeo tend to work really well and can be kept private. YouTube is not ideal because we can’t download the file, but if that’s the easiest option for you, that’s ok – just make sure to make the link private! Because of the volume of email, casting may not be able to respond to all submissions.

• Pays $2,244/wk. Equity Production

League Contract.

‘Nothing Like Broadway!’

• Casting Equity actors for “Nothing Like

Broadway!” Synopsis: “Nothing Like Broadway!” is a brand new, original musical. There are only four parts, so everyone has a lot of material and lots of opportunities to show off (including several solos and duets each). It’s a farcical musical comedy, rooted in real emotion. Some ability to read music is helpful, but not required. The show needs smart, creative actors who can enthusiastically each carry the show and create a personal relationship with the audience. Some improv experience is helpful, but not required.

• Staff: David Rackoff, writer-composer-

dir.; Bert Rodriguez, music dir.

• Rehearsal begins Oct. 29; runs Nov. 12

and 13 (evening) in Tampa, FL.

• Seeking—Milo: male, 25-45, all ethnici-

ties, sweet, schlubby hangdog guy who runs the lights (but ends up being our hero, and a star!). He is the main character. Someone who can earn the audience’s sympathy; baritone. Annabelle: female, 25-49, all ethnicities, well-bred, warm, smart. Lots of monologues to the audience. Must win us over (before she ends up revealing that she is the villain of the show!). A serious, nuanced actor who can also sing; sweet soprano with a secret belt/mix. Kishka: female, 25-45, all ethnicities, dominating lascivious Russian spy posing as a sexy cabaret singer. Can work a crowd. A major role for a major performer. Someone with the confidence and talent to steal a show; powerful belt/mix alto/mezzo voice.

• Seeking submissions from FL. • In-person auditions will be held Sept. 17

by invitation only. Callbacks will be held Sept. 19.

• For consideration, submit resume,

headshot, and a link to you singing (if you have one) to nothinglikebroadway@ gmail.com. Submissions deadline is Sept. 15.

• Equity 29-hour Staged Reading Code.

There is pay, but no travel or housing will be provided.

Scripted TV & Video NBC’s ‘Chicago PD,’ Featured Background Roles • Seeking talent for NBC’s ‘’Chicago PD’’

episode 905.

• Company: Chicago PD Extras Casting.

Staff: Amy Vachon, extras casting dir.

• Works in Chicago, IL. • Seeking—Chicago Style Steppers: all

genders, 18-70, Black / African Descent, individuals or couples that know how to backstage.com

Chicago style step. The age range for the scene is ideally 30s-50s, but the director will look at submissions from folks in their 20’s as well. If you could send us an example video so we can see that you understand the dance style, that would be great. A short clip is fine keep the file size small so you can attach it to your email submission.

Production states: “Pay: $200/8 + $100 Covid test bump + $25 fitting bump (if applicable).” Nefarious Teen: male, 13-26, Black / African Descent, production states: “We’re looking for young male adults (ideally 18+ who pass for younger) or teens between 14 and 16 years old who can play nefarious neighborhood teenagers - the type that look like they’re headed for a life of crime and trouble. Feel free to get into character and send us those intimidating mean mug photos! If you are 14 or 15 years old, attach a copy of your Chicago PD Extras Casting work permit in your submission if we don’t already have it on file. Teens 16 and older are not required to have a work permit. For anyone 18 years of age, let us know if you’re still in high school or if you’ve graduated.Pay for 17 and younger: $150/8 + $75 Covid test bump + $25 fitting bump (if applicable)Pay for 18 and older: $120/8 + $60 Covid test bump + $25 fitting bump (if applicable).” Studio Bars: all genders, 15-40, Black / African Descent, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, production states: “We’re seeking character faces/looks for a recording studio scene - up and coming young rappers, street smart young adults who have ‘seen some things’ growing up, fangirls/groupies hanging out with the guys at the studio. We’re looking for a range of hairstyles - wigs, dreads/locs, cornrows, twist outs, braids, etc. If you’re comfortable smoking a fake blunt on camera, please let us know in your submission. If you are not okay being around fake smoke (water vapor), please let us know - we want to be mindful of folks with breathing sensitivities. Ideal ages for this scene are 18 to early 30s. PAY: $120/8 + $60 Covid test bump + $25 fitting bump (if applicable) + $15 smoke bump (if applicable).” 905 First Round Call: all genders, 13+, Black / African Descent, production states: “This is what we’ll use for our general submissions for Black and African American background actors that may not fit any of the specific descriptions above, but would still like to submit for other general and featured roles. We have several other roles that the director would like to handselect people for, but it’s impossible to list them all in this post, especially since we don’t know the filming dates yet.

The roles are open to males and females, ages 18+. $120/8 + $60 Covid test bump + $25 fitting bump (if applicable).”

a number we can text, age, height/ weight, sizes (men: jacket, neck/sleeve, t-shirt, waist x inseam, shoe. Women: [ants, t-shirt, bust/waist/hip, shoe).

Vehicle Info (color, year, make and model. If you don’t have a vehicle, please describe your method of transportation to/from set) zip code, tattoos (Send us photos of your tattoos and describe where they’re located), photos (Send a current, unfiltered headshot and full length photo, as well as a photo of your vehicle if you’d like to be booked with your car).”

person. Nice-looking and firm but relatable delivery/tone. Spanish fluent/ Mexican neutral accent. Debt Consolidation Rep: male, 25-55, all ethnicities, Mexican neutral accent, spokesperson. Nice-looking and firm but relatable delivery/tone. Spanish fluent/Mexican neutral accent. Law Employment Rep: male, 25-55, all ethnicities, spokesperson. Authoritative delivery/tone. Business look and inshape (not buff, just in good health) Spanish fluent/Mexican neutral accent.

$120/eight (meaning a guaranteed $120 for up to eight hours of filming, plus time + 1/2 if it goes over eight hours), plus a $25 wardrobe fitting bump (if applicable), and a $60 pre-employment COVID-19 test stipend.

com.

• Seeking submissions from IL. • For consideration, email cpdback-

• Seeking fluent Spanish speakers with a

• Pay TBD by role: Background rate is

• Production states: “The COVID test is

paid for by NBC - we compensate you with a half day’s pay for coming to the studio to take the test.”

year U.S. cable and TV. Local hires only.

Robotic Vacuum Holiday Program

help American couples, parents, and other family members take control of their personal finances (think Marie Kondo for money) to live a financially healthy life on their terms! It’s not focused on minimizing latte budgets (eat that avocado toast), but actually getting to the root of habits and generating an actionable plan to the life they desire! Their own rich life! Seeking people who are struggling to manage their finances in any capacity, whether it be saving to buy a house, big-spending, penny-pinching, saving for a child’s college fund, or just would like to be less stressed about money!”

• Company: Studio Lambert. Staff:

Shannon McCarty, casting dir.

• Works January 2022 nationwide.

• Seeking—Documentary Participant:

21+, all ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions nationwide.

• Apply on Backstage.com.

• To apply, fill out an application at www.

richlifecasting.com.

• Pays per diem and travel costs.

Local Commercials ‘Direct Response’

Mexican neutral accent for “Direct Response.”

• Company: ProMedia. Staff: Bryan R.,

coord.

• Shoot dates TBD (after Labor Day) in

Austin, TX.

• Seeking—Debt Consolidation Rep:

female, 25-55, all ethnicities, spokes-

21

• Pays $700 flat rate. Run/Usage: One

‘The Rich Life’

• Production states: “This series is to

include the following in your email submission: name, email, phone, preferably

name, phone number, and city you live in; confirm fluent Spanish/Mexican neutral accent; and in Spanish, tell a brief funny story or something people would be surprised to know about you (must be in Spanish).

Promotional & Event Modeling

mentary series.

• Production states: “Make sure to

• Include a slate with the following:

Reality TV & Documentary • Casting “The Rich Life,” a new docu-

ground@gmail.com and use the words in quotes (i.e.”Nefarious Teen”) as the subject line of your email so we can easily identify it.

• Seeking submissions from TX. • Send submissions to info@rometalent.

• Seeking brand ambassadors to distrib-

ute promo materials and engage with consumers to help promote a well known Robotic Vacuum company.

• Company: The Lynne Experience -

Experiential Casting Agency. Staff: Lynne Carole, owner.

• Runs every weekend from Oct. 29,

2021-Dec. 26, 2021.

• Seeking—Brand Ambassador: 18-50.

• Seeking submissions from AR, AZ, CA,

OH, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA and WI. • For consideration, submit your name,

number, headshot, and resume to promos@lynnexp.com with the city and state in the subject line.

• Pays $17-$19/hr. varies by location.

Commercials (Voiceover) Promotional Content, Male German Voiceover • Seeking a native German speaking

voice-over talent to read promotional content for a health/fitness app.

• Company: TubeScience. Staff: Hilal

Narin, talent prod.

• Seeking—Native German Speaking

Male Voice-Over Talent: 26-60.

• Seeking submissions worldwide.

• Send submissions to casting@tube-

science.com.

• Only apply if German is your first lan-

guage. The text for the actual ad will be provided once you’ve been cast. The provided document is for audition purposes only.

• Non-union, all media buyout.

09.09.21 BACKSTAGE

Ask An Expert Agents Auditions Film Headshots Television Theater Unions Voiceover

Q:

How can I make a casting director fall in love with me right away in an audition?

Our Expert

*Submit questions for our Experts on Backstage’s Facebook, Instagram, 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 09.09.21

22

backstage.com

ILLUSTRATION: MARGARET RULING/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; PEARLMAN: COURTESY JOSEPH PEARLMAN

Joseph Pearlman is an acting coach and Backstage Expert.

You have to fall in love with you first in order for someone else to fall in love with you. When you fall in love with you, when you do that work, getting someone to like or fall in love with you does not require effort.

Your greatest work should not require you to do a bit—it’s about what you leave behind. There are three things to establish when you walk into any room, whether it’s an audition, a set, or a date: You want to establish that you’re fun to play with, that you’re someone the director personally likes and vice versa (they’re figuring out what it’s going to be like to hang out on set with you for months), and that you don’t seem desperate.

It’s about what you leave behind. Falling in love with yourself will light you up and make it so you don’t have to do anything. If you try to do something, I don’t think it’s going to work.

I would also say to let go of that need to please, to get somebody to like you. When you enter this way, it’s not just casting that’s going to fall in love with you—it’s everybody; it’s the whole production team.

Fall in love with yourself first so that someone else can follow you.

Shel Silverstein said it best: “Underneath my outside face / There’s a face that none can see. / A little less smiley, / A little less sure, / But a whole lot more like me.” That’s it.

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We’re taking you directly to acting and casting industry power players through Instagram takeovers, Q&As, live-streamed seminars, and interactive group classes to ensure you’re hitting all the right marks in and out of the audition room!

Celebrity guests include: Nicole Kidman Jodie Foster Jason Sudeikis Elle Fanning Rachel Brosnahan Alison Brie Aishe Dee Ricky Gervais Anthony Mackie Bradley Whitford Nicholas Pinnock Susan Kelechi Watson and more!

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

BACKSTAGE