September 2023 | CASTING STORIES | THE ZINE

Editor's Note

The air is changing and nighttime is coming upon us faster; you just can’t shake that feeling that summer is over, but the good news is that everyone loves Fall! It’s time to pack away your swim suits and start digging out those cozy cable knits, hoodies, and fleeces! Autumn is just the perfect time to take a brisk walk through the leaves and head into your local theater to take in incredible talent. Yes…this is the Theater issue! This month we have such an engaging feature on New York member Xavier Rubiano interviewed by his mentor Tara Rubin! Nicole Arbusto takes us through some of her favorite Los Angeles theater haunts and highlights. In this issue, you will also meet CSA's first member to cast for opera, Cory Lippiello, and so much more! Thanks to all of you for stopping by, and we are loving your feedback so please keep reaching out and feel free to share within your Casting Office.

As always with all our love and unity,

T H E A C A D E M Y M U S E U M

T H E A C A D E M Y M U S E U M

P O D C A S T P O D C A S T

David Rubin, Kim Taylor-Coleman, Lora Kennedy, Kimberly Hardin, Kerry Barden, Mary Hidalgo, John Papsidera, and Sarah Halley Finn featured on The Academy Museum Podcast, Close Up on Casting.

C A S T I N G N E T W O R K S C A S T I N G N E T W O R K S

Allison Estrin Talks Breaking into Casting, ‘Billions’

Jodi Angstreich Talks Breaking into Casting, ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’

Maribeth Fox on Casting ‘Bottoms,’ the Spark that Lit Her Casting Journey

G O L D D E R B Y

G O L D D E R B Y

Meet the Experts: Casting Director Panel with Wendy O’Brien, Charlene Lee, & Claire Koonce, Laura Rosenthal & Jodi Angstreich, Susie Farris, and Erin Tomasello

V A R I E T Y V A R I E T Y

Arconia Assembled: How Only Murders in the Building Found a Killer New Cast

‘Beef’ Casting Directors Charlene Lee and Claire Koonce on Keeping Kindness in the Audition Room

‘Jury Duty’ Casting Director Reveals the Audition Tapes That Built Its Bizarre Ensemble

V A R I O U S S O U R C E S V A R I O U S S O U R C E S

Best of Summer 2023: Emmy-Nominated Casting Director Theo Park on Fielding the Perfect Squad for “Ted Lasso”

Casting Director Sharon Bialy Reminisces on 30th Anniversary of Rudy and Looks Back on Own Career Beginnings

Every ‘Succession’ Actor Needed This Ability, According to Casting Director Avy Kaufman

Finding the Magic of Casting the ‘Abbott Elementary’ Classrooms with Casting Director Wendy O’Brien

What the Casting Team Behind How to Dance in Ohio Discovered During Their Eye-Opening Process

DAVID RUBIN

KIM TAYLOR-COLEMAN

JODI ANGSTREITCH

MARIBETH FOX

AVY KAUFMAN

BENTON WHITLEY

WENDY O’BRIEN

SHARON BIALY

Do-Re-Meet Cory Lippiello!

Devon Brady + Cory Lippiello sit down to discuss her journey into casting for Opera

Devon: When did you get your start in casting? Did you work in another field of entertainment prior?

Cory: I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that I started out as a performer. However, this baby triple threat had absolutely no idea how to get a job after college – thank goodness for that campus job in the costume shop! I got my start sitting on the filthiest stairwells of New York catching sweaty drag queen clothes at the Ridiculous Theatrical Company and then I found my way to producing concerts and special events at GMHC and then Broadway Cares. While I was working at BC/EFA, I met Charlie Hamlen, the former classical super-agent who ran Classical Action. As a fellow opera fan, he saw something in me and encouraged me to work in the vocal division of IMG Artists, which led to working in casting at New York City Opera for 10 years

I think casting has always been in my blood though. As a book-loving kid who was obsessed with movies, I used to have a blue spiral notebook where I would write down names of actors that I liked. When I read a good book and imagined it being made into a movie I would refer to these lists for my fantasy casting It never ceases to amaze me that making those lists is what I get to do for a living It is such an honor to be a newly minted member of the CSA, this is a secret dream come true.

D: Where do you cast? Is this your home town?

C: I’m part of the Artistic Department at Lyric Opera of Chicago – my actual title is Director of Artistic Programs. This will be my ninth season with the company, after almost 20 years of working in New York. When you work in opera you have to go where the work is, and I feel very fortunate to be in such a fantastic city, casting for the second largest opera company in North America. Lyric is an international house, so we produce some pretty exciting work with amazing talent onstage and off

D: What drew you to the genre of Opera versus other casting arenas? Or did it maybe happen by chance?

C: I love this art form very much, but at first I was afraid that if I knew how the sausage was made it would make it hard to enjoy in the same way. I’m happy to say I am still a proud opera evangelist! I was also drawn to the fact that in the classical world, you really can’t fake it – either you got it, or you ain’t, as the lady says Good technique is the backbone for everything, but unless an artist has something to say it they aren’t going to stand out. We are looking for artists who are cultivating their own authentic sound and who are fearless about sharing a real point of view. I love the surreal quality of opera, how the music gives you access to interior states, how odd it is that people are singing their stories. When artists take risks and lean into that it is very exciting Naturalism doesn’t really work on the operatic stage

I’m also very lucky to work for an opera company that also produces large scale musical theater work, as well as new pieces that incorporate other musical idioms, all of which requires fluency with many kinds of music-making. We have to be conversant with 400 years of music history, plus many other kinds of performing Even a regular opera production usually requires casting other performers, from dancers and puppeteers to circus performers and stage combatants, and everything in between. I love that there is always something new to learn.

D: Is there anything you think all Casting Pros should know about casting for Opera, especially if they’re considering stage casting for the first time?

C (Cont): Also, an opera audition is usually much longer than a theater audition Each singer usually gets 10 – 15 minutes where they sing two full arias – they are not accustomed to doing 16- or 32-bar cuts! So it takes much longer to hear talent. I am always happy to be a resource to any colleagues looking for opera singers for their projects, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Opera agents don’t use Breakdown Services!

D: Is there something distinctly different about the process of finding talent for Opera, compared to TV and Film?

C: The timeline for opera casting is very different. Most opera companies try to book talent at least a year in advance; because of the level of talent we are booking at Lyric we are casting principals at least 3 years in advance. We do use recordings these days to get to know someone, but when we are casting unamplified voices for a 3500-seat house we really do need to hear people in person to get a sense of the voice in space We travel to hear talent quite a bit – we set up general auditions in New York every fall, and we travel to see specific artists in productions. Many companies have resident young artist programs, so we scout those artists as they are coming up and track them over many years. It’s very important to me to create an audition space that is supportive and kind to our talent, which is one of the reasons I love working with Merri Sugarman and Becca McCracken when we are casting our musicals (which are amplified, and cast with proper musical theater folks on a much shorter timeline).

C: It takes longer to train an opera singer, and it takes longer for an operatic voice to develop. Please don’t be put off by the fact that they have a lot of grad school and some resident artist programs on their resumes, it is just the nature of this process!

D: Are there any actors in the Opera space right now that you feel could cross over into Film / TV, whom CSA members should take note of?

C: There are many charismatic opera singers out there, but I think there are a few things to bear in mind. One is that they are trained to perform in large spaces, so they are not accustomed to the scale of playing in a small box It’s a bit like vaudeville players making the transition to early cinema – everything is a bit broad. The other thing to know is that despite their years of preparation, it is almost criminal how little real acting training most opera singers currently receive. There are very few opera singers I’ve encountered who can deliver spoken text with the same skill as a stage/screen actor They are accustomed to having the composer’s markings to guide their interpretation: when to get loud and soft, when to pause, what syllables to emphasize, etc. Some of them have great instincts, but most simply do not have the toolkit for making a roadmap through a page of spoken text. So you may see an opera singer who is an absolute stage creature giving a nuanced and compelling performance in a highly theatrical way, but that frequently does not translate to an ability to speak lines with the same level of acumen. However, as we start to explore different kinds of stories and compositional voices on operatic stages, we have a tremendous need for singers with a greater array of theatrical skills. I really do hope the revolution that we are seeing in programming will lead to a very desperately needed tangential revolution in operatic training.

D: What is the first Opera you saw that made you fall in love with the art form?

C: I grew up as a serious classical ballet child, and when I was 12 years old I was hired to dance in a production of Puccini’s Turandot with Opera Omaha. Being onstage INSIDE that sound – and being backstage surrounded by the glorious chaos of so many kinds of performers in one show – I was hooked. This is one of the reasons that regional companies are so very important in our ecosystem! I saw so many of my “firsts” in Omaha in the 1980s – little did I know I would end up hiring some of those same artists years down the road.

D: For someone who’s never seen Opera live, what would you recommend as their introductory show?

C: There are a lot of wonderful newer operas that are telling the stories about the world we live in right now, but when it comes to “foundational repertory” I think Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor or Verdi’s Rigoletto or La traviata are perfect introductions. The stories are juicy and the music is easy on the ears. The characters are vivid but also relatable: you’re going to know right away who is in love, who is mad about it, who is swearing revenge, who might die. As someone who loves crime stories almost as much as I love opera, I’m always excited when those two things intersect – there are so many opera plots that would make amazing Law & Order episodes.

More about Cory Lipiello

Cory Lippiello is the Director of Artistic Programs at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she is responsible for principal artist casting for Lyric's mainstage operas, musicals, and outreach programming In addition, she produces Lyric's filmed projects for digital streaming, most notably the 2022 film of Pagliacci, for which she received an Emmy Award. During a career that spans almost thirty years as a producer and administrator, Ms. Lippiello has held significant positions with New York City Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, The Atlanta Opera, the New York Philharmonic, IMG Artists, OPERA America, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She is a highly sought-after speaker on the topics of artistic planning and casting, and she has been honored to serve multiple times as an adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and as a grant review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. Ms. Lippiello is a graduate of Vassar College.

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BY NICOLE ARBUSTO

I’ve lived in LA a long time more then 20 years, I’ve seen a lot of theater since I first moved here from NY I remember seeing Philip Baker Hall in The Crucible in 1990 at LATC (Heather Graham was “Mary Warren”) I also saw more experimental work like John Fleck’s Blessed Are All The Little Fishes which led to him losing his NEA funding along with 3 other artists later known as the NEA 4. I saw one of the earliest incarnations of Angels In America when it was workshopped as part of the Taper’s New Works Festival.

Since then I’ve been lucky to see Taylor Mac’s astounding 24 Hour History of American Music at the Ace Hotel downtown, the German Arts Collective Gob Squad’s Creation at REDCAT, Cambodian Rock Band at SCR and many many more

It is a great time to support LA theaters. As most of you likely know, all theaters have been hit pretty hard by COVID. Many have closed, canceled or reduced seasons and laid off staff This is a great piece that lays it all out, Theatre in Crisis: What We’re Losing, and What Comes Next LA theaters have definitely been hit hard, including CTG canceling the remainder of the Taper’s 2023-24 season

The good news here in LA is that The Pasadena Playhouse won the 2023 Regional Theatre Award and there’s still a lot of theater to see in and around LA.

In town there’s tons of theater to see.

Shows I’m seeing this month:

How It’s Gon’ Be at the Echo. The Echo consistently does interesting new work Plenty of parking and a great restaurant/bar next door, Momed

Heroes of The Fourth Turning from Rogue Machine at the Matrix I saw 2 productions of this play on Zoom during COVID and am excited to see it “live”

The Gospel at Colonus at the Getty Villa. This is a Court Theater production here with their Chicago cast. Go early and have a walk around the Getty gardens. The show takes place in the Getty’s outdoor amphitheater.

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord at the Kirk Douglas. This is a co-production with IAMA Theatre Co I saw the original production in NY and am excited to see it with an LA cast

The Sound Inside at The Pasadena Playhouse This is a new play by Adam Rapp And only 90 minutes long!

Measure Still For Measure at Boston Court

This is a lovely space in Pasadena right off Colorado. They’re also one of the NT Live venues and it’s a much smaller space than the UCLA one! Also free parking.

Some other shows I’m planning on getting to this fall:

There’s a trio of plays downtown at LATC, they’re all co-productions with Latino Theater Company and other diverse companies including East West Players, The Magic Theatre and Campo Santo If you’re looking to know more Latinx and AAPI artists this is a great slate to check out Tickets start at $1000

There’s plenty of other work. The Ahmanson still has touring shows coming through, as does the Pantages. If you’re more interested in classics or modern takes on classics check out A Noise Within. It’s a big theater with plenty of street parking and a really engaged and loyal audience. They have an adaptation of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye coming up. Antaeus is our other local theater that is classically inspired They have a strong resident company

There’s discount tickets for almost all of these at Goldstar and TodayTix TodayTix has a $2000 lottery for Ahmanson tickets right now

I subscribe to a ton of these theaters mailing lists to stay in the know about what’s coming up and I really like Anthony Byrne’s theater show, Opening The Curtain on KCRW. You can get it as a newsletter. Check it out.

Get out there and share with us here at the CSA.

Nicole Arbusto: FILM: Azazel Jacobs’s FRENCH EXIT released by Sony Classics(Spirit Award nomination Best Supporting Actress 2021), THE LOVERS produced by A24 ( Best Original Screenplay nomination Spirit Awards 2018) and TERRI ( Sundance Film Festival 2011) and the TV series DOLL & EM for SkyTV/HBO. Additional films include Rob Zombie’s 31, Sarah Adina Smith’s THE DROP and THE TAO OF STEVE TV: series Casting Director for SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE, 4 seasons of the anthology series ROOM 104 and 3 seasons of the animated series ANIMALS, (all three shows are produced by Duplass Brothers Productions for HBO), and the 2023 Annie Award winning animated series ONI: THUNDER GOD’S TALE produced by the Oscar nominated Tonko House for Netflix LA THEATER: At the Mark Taper Forum, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 At the Pasadena Playhouse; Tiny Beautiful Things, King Charles III, The Father (LA Drama Critics Circle Best Production) and Uncle Vanya (LA Drama Critics Circle Best Production) The Golden Dragon, and The House in Scarsdale: A Memoir For The Stage both at The Theatre @ Boston Court and the Los Angeles casting for the Steppenwolf Theatre production of Linda Vista by Tracy Letts

WANTTOBEAPARTOFTHE CSACOMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE?

CONTACT

YOUR CSA ADMIN TEAM

10 QUESTIONS 10 QUESTIONS 10 QUESTIONS WITH WITH WITH KIM

MONTELIBANO HEIL KIM MONTELIBANO HEIL KIM MONTELIBANO HEIL

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?

I was born in Manila, Philippines, but I grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia. I'm currently in San Diego, CA and have been here since 2004.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR CITY?

It's so cliche, but the weather is pretty ridiculous. And the burritos are the best in the world!

WHAT’S THE ONE THING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU OR WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOU?

I've already mentioned it, but people are always surprised when I tell them I didn't grow up in the US (I've been told that I sound like I grew up in the San Fernando Valley Not sure if that was meant as a compliment ) So I didn't grow up with a lot of things that American-born Gen-X-ers grew up with like certain social norms and elements of pop culture Like, someone will break out an 80s dance move, fully expecting me to know what it is, and I'm like - "WTF are you doing??"

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING A CASTING DIRECTOR?

Meeting actors! I genuinely love actors I married an actor My kids are actors I feel like actors are the gifts that keep on giving in this business I really love their minds and their generosity

WHEN DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU WANTED A LIFE IN THE ARTS?

There wasn't just one specific moment, but once I was in dance camp, and I saw the theatre kids hanging out in another part of the common room They were all singing parts of "Les Mis" and I was SO JEALOUS I think I realized in that moment that I was in the wrong artistic discipline Theatre has always been the world I feel most whole in

WHAT IS YOUR SUPERPOWER?

I'm pretty good at reading a room It's not a superpower I was necessarily born with, but I have honed it after years of practice

IF YOU COULD BE A PART OF ANY FILM, TELEVISION SERIES OR PLAY IN ALL OF HISTORY... WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

I have so many favorites!! But I think I'd have to say the musical "Spring Awakening" I just love that score, and when I saw it with the original Broadway cast back in 2007 I truly thought it was some of the best storytelling I had ever seen in my life And I can't get enough of that music

WHAT IS THE BEST COMPLIMENT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

"I feel seen by you "

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOARD GAME?

Probably Clue! But I'm lousy at it It's just fun to watch my family get engrossed in the strategy of it

WHAT’S THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?

Well, it's the best AND the worst thing I dropped my eldest off at college What a beautiful, yet heartbreaking milestone

I'm so proud of her and my whole family for getting to this point But it feels like you ' re cutting off a piece of your heart and saying "See ya later " It's getting better, though, and deep down I know it was a good thing!

Kim Montelibano Heil, CSA is Casting Director, a Producer, and Consultant in theatre and entertainment. She currently serves as the Artistic Producer & Head of Casting at The Old Globe, having previously served as the Interim Associate Artistic Director. Most recently she was the Associate Producer and Casting Director for San Diego Repertory Theatre, and prior to that she was the Education Director at San Diego Junior Theatre. Kim has also acted as a Consultant to Moonlight Stage Productions, and to San Diego State University’s New Musical Initiative Recent casting credits include Public Obscenities by Shayok Misha Chowdhury at Soho Rep, Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi at Laguna Playhouse, and JQA by Aaron Posner, which received a Critic’s Pick from The New York Times Kim holds an M A in Performance Studies from New York University

XAVIER RUBIANO'S BROADWAY JOURNEY: CASTING CLASSICS AND CONTEMPORARY HITS

INTERVIEW BY TARA RUBIN

PHOTOS BY PORTIA BLACK

Tara: Hi, XR, These interviews often start with origin stories, so I’d like to start by hearing about your mom When you received the CSA Associate Spotlight Award, you thanked your mom at the end of your speech, and of course, it was very emotional for all us on the TRC team. I'd love to hear you talk about her early and current influence on your life

Xavier: Oh, wow, we're gonna get loaded right from the top! As you know, I'm a child of immigrants. My dad immigrated here from Colombia in the ‘70s My mom met my dad when he went back to Colombia to visit family They met, and it was a fast engagement and then my mother moved to the States

XR (Cont’d): My older sister and I were raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York My mother instilled in us a sense of freedom, she always supported everything that we wanted to do which is uncommon I find with most immigrant parents They want you to become a doctor or lawyer She did want us to think about our financial future, and make sure that we're able to take care of ourselves but she still instilled the arts in us and was always playing music

TR: Did you perform for the family? Did everyone say ‘ Xavier! Come down and sing for us’?

XR: Yeah, everyone wanted me to dance with them because they knew that I had a lot of energy to give but I was also shy, I didn't want to do it all the time It had to be on my own terms when I wanted to dance with them I think part of it too, was that, we grew up with a lot of Disney movies playing. It was the time when all the Disney movies came back out on VHS I remember Mary Poppins being the big one that my sister and I were obsessed with and we would try and reenact, Jolly Holiday

TR: So you'd be Bert and she'd be Mary...

XR: Yeah, and we tried to recreate the numbers, copying all the choreography

“Supercalifragilistic” and “Chim Chim Cher-ee ” We were obsessed

XR: We wore out the VHS And I think when my sister started dance class, my mom was like, why don't we just put you in there as well? I would go with my mother or my father to see my sister take dance class and I would do it outside of the door with her so they were like, Okay, I guess we should just put you in dance class now

TR: Were there any other boys in the class?

XR: I don't remember...maybe one or two I remember I was the one to stick with it so I ended up being the only guy for a while And that was my gateway to the stage I started off with tap dance, and then got into jazz and ballet Then that brought me to high school, where at this point, I had been dancing for five to eight years at this point. I didn't want to go to a regular public school in New York

Xavier & his mom at closing night of The Phantom of the Opera

Xavier in dance class

XR (Cont’d): I wanted to get to a specialized high school so I auditioned for all the public schools that had dance programs in New York Frank Sinatra School of the Arts had just opened my eighth grade year, around 2001/2002 I auditioned and I got in, and the school is in Queens, so it was an easy train ride. I was the first Male dancer there. At this point, I still haven't seen a Broadway show yet. Broadway, we kind of knew about growing up. In middle school choir, we did a CATS medley, a Sound of Music medley And through movies, I knew that musicals existed, but I never saw one on Broadway until my freshman year of high school

We saw 42nd Street - a tap show, I was in the very last row of what is now the Lyric Theater. Like I couldn’t have been farther away and it's one of the biggest theaters in New York And yet I was enraptured because it was like a cast of 40 It was so incredible It was a great first Broadway show

TR: Can we go back to what was it like being the only male dancer? I’m interested in performing arts high schools - having gone to standard suburban high school myself. What was it like to be a student at a performing arts high school - and to be the only male dancer?

XR: I am so thankful for that experience This is the mid-2000s so because being queer wasn’t openly accepted, I still was very much like in the closet in high school. But I still felt accepted for who I was. You don't really bully anybody in an arts high school. And, part of being the only male dancer, I was pretty popular I had a lot of friends and I had a lot of people in my corner So for that, I had a great high school experience Just growing up in New York City period has been great, because it's so diverse I got to meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds. High school was the first time that I was meeting people from all four other boroughs in New York, there were kids commuting from Staten Island, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn So it not only opened my mind outside of Queens, it really felt like I got my full New York experience in high school

TR: It's also interesting, because the teen years have aways been such a turbulent phase of life, and we hear more and more about how pandemic isolation and social media have made adolescence even more difficult

TR (Cont‘d): But at a time when many teens experience social anxiety, feel alienated - are maybe even bullied - you had an opposite experience in a safe community of creative young people.

XR: It's truly what I wish everyone had It's something that I'm always an advocate forraising your kids in New York City I know it feels scary and dangerous, but it's the best They're gonna be so well-rounded and experience so many different worldviews Which is what Casting Directors aim to achieve, in our process, our storytelling, our choices when we bring folks in to audition It all leads back to the environment I was raised and grew up in

TR: From high school you went to college at AMDA. That was also a positive experience, wasn’t it?

XR: It really was This is the American Musical and Dramatic Academy I was lucky to grow up meeting people from all five boroughs of NYC, and in college, I’m getting to meet people from all over America and international students Getting to collaborate with artists with different backgrounds and experiences, really helped me grow as an artist And it was hard, 40 hours a week of musical theater It reaffirmed my love of the art form and helped me learn so much about theater and how difficult it is

I did more growing up in college than I did in high school College was difficult because in Conservatory the focus is on the art form and the discipline. I did two years in New York, and then two years in LA. I was 19, in LA, with no driver's license. It made me grow up really quickly and figure things out, like how do I get around the city that doesn't have great public transportation I was surrounded by so many older students too, because it was technically an alumni program that you can go back to after your two years of conservatory to get your degree In my class, I was the youngest and I think the oldest in the class was seven years older than me It also forced me to mature quickly, having been living at home for 19 years LA was hard It was a very different city for me but I loved my experience there

“EXPLORATION IS KEY”

TR: So looking back, before we go on to your early career, is there anything that you would say to a young person who wanted to study theater?

XR: I feel lucky that I knew what I wanted to do at an early age A lot of people struggle with that sometimes. My advice for them is just to explore, don't feel stuck doing one thing if it doesn't serve you Go ahead and see what else makes you happy if something doesn't bring you joy I knew very early on that this brought me joy so I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. But I know that that's not always the case.

I think exploration is my best piece of advice for younger artists so they can figure out what they like It could be ‘I love film and television’, or ‘I love theater’, or ‘I love video games ’ , (which I do). Something that I would love to explore at some point is video game casting But maybe I don’t! Maybe I just want to be a fan of video games I don't want to ruin that experience Exploration is key

TR: Pursuing a career in casting isn’t an unusual step for people who have performing arts backgrounds You step into a field where you have a lot of knowledge – about dance, music and acting - great training for casting What were the new things you had to learn as a Casting Assistant?

XR: A lot of the administrative work I had to learn very quickly, but I do come from a generation that still spoke on the phone. Still, learning how to speak to others in a professional manner was something like, ’Alright, I am in the workforce now ’

TR: Your colleagues and peers helped you with that?

XR: Yeah, the other assistants helped, and looking to the associates in the office and seeing what they did, learning from how they moved up from assistant to associate and learn from them. In my first assistant job, we were in an office of four plus an intern It was very small And I would look to them to see how to conduct myself in an office space

TR: Your peers become your mentors.

XR: Yeah, great mentors It was also mostly work in non-union theater In dealing with communicating with actors, not a lot of these kids out of school have agents, so you have to be really clear about what you're asking for actors to prepare I look back at my time as an assistant and like, I cringe at how many mistakes I've made over the years, but I'm like, Thank God I made those mistakes because now I know better.

The Tara Rubin Casting team at King Kong

XR (Cont’d): But it is funny to look back and be like, ‘Oh my god, I can't believe I wrote that appointment email like that.’ I couldn't believe the actors knew what to do I learned a lot of professionalism, being in an office 10-6, auditions, learning how to speak to actors and other agents and creative team members

TR: What do you think would surprise people about the assistant's life? Or someone who aspires to be an assistant?

XR: I think office work always throws people by surprise. It often surprises me the amount of prep that is required Not only gathering names of actors that you want to see, but making sure that everyone in your creative team is available to attend an audition, making sure all the materials are correct, marked correctly, and easily accessible for actors to get and prepare. I think it is the admin side that surprises everyone

TR: I think the volume of work that goes into the administrative side of casting would surprise anyone. There's a lot of responsibility for the Casting Assistant.

XR: I think back to DANCIN’ and the first time we went into auditions and the volume of dancers that we wanted to see, in 2021, in the middle of a pandemic, when most people had barely been in the presence of four other people. We had 40 people per group in a room We saw about 500 dancers and so we had to set up way more than that The volume of appointments that went out, and the volume of notes and responses, was overwhelming. Dance calls are crazy in that manner because you can see so many people at once

TR: Dance calls remain a special focus for you

XR: Because I love it! And it was exciting at that time

XR (Cont‘d): At that point, we were transitioning back to work (from the Pandemic), so I don't think I had an assistant with me quite yet either at the start And it was wild I think I requested about 1000 tapes, (including the 500 that we saw in person). It was a lot.

TR: Since you've been a Casting Director, you've cast five Broadway shows and one more will open this season I think the first Broadway show that you had kind of full responsibility for was Dear Evan Hansen. Can you talk a little bit about that experience?

XR: Dear Evan Hansen was such a great first project for me because, like I said earlier, my first assistant job was in non-union theater. That's a lot of young folk, young actors new to the city, fresh out of college, and that sort of knowledge and training kind of transferred over with Dear Evan Hansen, because it's all about young people It was a small cast of eight with about eight understudies, depending on how much vacation coverage we needed at the time It was at the height of its popularity, so there was so much interest going in from actors

It was such a great learning experience from working with Michael Greif, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul, and the rest of the associate team working on it Working with actors in a room on difficult material, not only difficult vocally, as we all know how incredibly high that music is for boys but to get actors to an emotional place..

I CRINGE AT HOW MANY MISTAKES I'VE MADE OVER THE YEARS, BUT THANK GOD I MADE THOSE MISTAKES BECAUSE NOW I KNOW BETTER.

TR: And the emotional access required by a young person who may not have ever approached material that required that depth.

XR: Exactly! It was an incredible experience for about two years that I had worked on the show, before the shutdown It was incredibly fulfilling artistically, and creatively, for me, and still holds a dear place in my heart thinking about it. It was also really hard and there were days that I wanted to give up on it but there was always support there, not only from the team here at the office but from the actors as well

TR: I think about motivation a lot. Casting is a field where there's not a lot of kudos, there's not a lot of public thanks and gratitude We are not people who are thanked in curtain speeches And yet, we come to work every day with enthusiasm. The work itself is the reward. How do you stay inspired?

XR: I think about that a lot because of the feeling of difficulty coming in waves One day it may feel like I worked so hard on this, and they only like one person or they don't like anybody, and the next day they love everyone and we can’t decide on who to callback or who to cast I think what keeps me motivated is the project itself You know, there was a project that I was really struggling with recently I saw a workshop of it and it finally clicked for me. I finally said, this is why I need to work on the show and why I'm happy to work on the show It's the project itself, and it's the actors The actors themselves motivate me every day Part of the job is a privilege to see artists work at the beginning of the process - when they're figuring it out and discovering new things. You get to discover things with them that you didn't realize when you're just reading something on the page It's the project and the actors

TR: I think it’s also the relationships that you develop with the creative team by making sure that we've really served their work, their imaginations, their words, their music What are some improvements you’d like your generation to the field of casting?

XR: I think for my generation and younger, a lot of us are coming to our work with a lot of compassion It's no longer just getting the job done It's no longer finishing tasks and checking off to do lists and “I have to go to work 10 - 6 and get things done.” I think we're coming into the field with a lot of heart and soul about the people that we are interacting with, not only just actors, but our creative teams, too They are bringing forth more generosity and openness to the work that needs to get done– both artistically and in different ways too. I see it with a lot of younger directors. I see a shift in the way that they approach and talk to actors and I think that's what we are bringing to the table now

TR: I see it too in several projects we're working on. The directors make much more of an effort to connect to each artist when they're in the room

XR: One of my directors right now says, “I have to know you if I'm going to work with you. ” And, that's very true.

TR: Do you think bringing compassion and a more humanistic approach to casting will have an effect on performance?

XR: I think it'll definitely bring out braver performances It’ll bring out richer, deeper grounded performances on stage and in film Having that human connection with your director, your writer, your Casting Director, your costume designer, and everyone behind the scenes will free up people's minds in terms of what they can do

XR (Con‘d):. That's the thing that I think of first, when you ask that question, just everything, the freedom that it will bring to all fields

TR: Do you think it might lead toward an improvement in work-life balance?

IT’S A PRIVILEGE TO SEE ARTISTS WORK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS

XR: It can feel like you can't turn off your casting brain So I’ve been thinking what are the other things that bring joy in my life? For example, I'm a big video gamer There's something about completing a task in a video game that feels different than work and sometimes exploring new worlds to me, it’s like the next evolution of entertainment and it's interactive– you get to interact with the media that you're consuming I feel like I'm fulfilling something while I play a game. I feel like I'm completing something, similar to reading a book. You know, you dive yourself into this world, just like a deeper version of that, because you're actually actively participating in choices that you're making while you're playing this game

TR: Video games seem like a unique combination of imagination and competition A chance to enter an imaginary world and be a warrior - merge fantasy with skill I don't play games myself, but I've always thought that was a really cool aspect of it.

XR: Especially now that it's evolved in terms of technical abilities you can really tell a really deep story The Last of Us, which is now a big hit HBO show, was an incredible video game that pretty much changed my life and how I view that art form.

XR (Cont‘d): That's why I keep going back to it I've been playing video games for like, 20+ years and now I'm in my mid-30s, still going back to it. I’m a big Final Fantasy fan. I think it taught me my morals and ethics because of how deeply rich those stories were People may have their opinions about video games and adults playing them, but I really think that they're a valid form of entertainment and can change people just like books, movies, television, and theater do.

And going back to work-life balance, I also think it’s important to connect with friends outside of the business, that you can just vent to if something goes wrong. People that bring you back down to Earth after, you know, a “casting emergency ” happens

TR: Right. You've heard about my girlfriends over the years - they’re not involved in our business so it's a great escape– they don’t ask about casting sessions. I love it.

XR: Yeah, they'll ask, “How was work?” and you say “It was busy ” And that's all they care about which is great! They care about “Where are we going for dinner? Where are we going on our next trip?”

TR: So for your own work/life balance - I know you love to travel Do you have a trip planned?

XR: Not this year I will be going to Hawai’i twice next year for two different weddings on two different islands.

TR: And then, just before we close, I wanted to ask a question in case my daughters read this How often do you visit your mother?

XR: I visit my mother once a week. Yeah. And I just saw her last night Yeah, so she makes sure that I see her and you know, it's a free meal.

Tara and Xavier

The Tara Rubin Casting Team

by Aaron Posner

Directed

The collective experience of an audience is one of my favorite things about live theater. To laugh, gasp, or applaud with others who are experiencing the same art can feel invigorating, and even cathartic. Experiencing community in a room full of strangers may seem oxymoronic, yet when the lights dim and we surrender to our imaginations, an audience enters into that unspoken agreement to go on a journey together.

Can you imagine being on that journey with 11,000 other people?

If so, you very likely may have been to Forest Park in the heart of St. Louis, and seen a musical at the oldest outdoor theater in the country, The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre, more commonly known as The Muny.

Those who have worked at The Muny will often refer to their experiences as “Muny Magic.” After heading up the Telsey casting team for The Muny since 2019, I can confirm that there is indeed magic that happens at The Muny. And for me, that magic begins over a weekend in early February, when, annually, 100s of hopeful actors descend on St. Louis to audition for the season.

After “pausing” for a few years due to COVID, 2023 brought the return to the historic weekend of auditions. My Telsey colleague Rashad Naylor and I traveled to St. Louis to help guide and support the creative teams and Muny leadership, and see nearly 1000 actors dance and/or sing over 3 exhilarating and exhausting days.

Tiffany Little Canfield and I recently zoomed to talk about casting for The Muny.

Tiffany: Rachel, how did your relationship with the Muny begin?

Rachel: In 2018, fellow CSA member Megan Larche Dominick and Muny Artistic Director Mike Isaacson separately called me. Megan had been the in-house Casting Director at The Muny for a number of years, and was leaving to take a producing job in Houston. Mike had been the producer on a number of Broadway productions our office cast, but we worked most closely together on Bring It On: The Musical. Both Mike and Megan were familiar with my love for discovering young musical theatre talent, and because The Muny is where so many musical theatre performers have gotten their start, they thought I (along with my Telsey teammates) would be a great fit to pick up where Megan was leaving off And I agreed

TLC: What’s your favorite part of putting together the casts for the Muny each year?

RH: After being in St. Louis for the huge open call weekend this year, I have to say that is most definitely my favorite part of the casting process. I also HAVE to give credit where credit is due, and say that the coordination and flow of the weekend is due to the genius planning and preparation that Artistic Associate Michael Baxter (or “Bax” as we all call him) does in advance.

This year, there were 16 dance groups (with approximately 50 performers per group) The Muny has some beautiful and enormous rehearsal studios, so one group learns the combination in one room, then is sent to another room to audition And the next group is learning as the previous group is auditioning, and so on and so forth. After dancing, the actors are sent to sing in 3 different rooms on the property, with an accompanist and member of the music and/or casting team in each room.

RH (Cont’d): The timing of it all was flawless The creative teams for 7 different musicals were in attendance, keeping track of actors they’d be interested in for each of their shows. In the evening (and well into the night!), everyone gathers to have dinner at Mike Isaacson’s flat, and after a bite, we go through each actor to determine who will be called back the next day. And then callbacks are put out, and actors come back to dance or sing or read again the following day.

It sounds like chaos, but miraculously, it’s not It’s just magic

TLC: Is there a particular production that stands out to you and why?

RH: Well, because there are 7 musicals in each Muny season, different folx at the Telsey office each get a chance to head up the casting process. And the Muny generously flies someone from our office there to see each production. I didn’t go to see any of the productions this past summer, so I’m going to answer a slightly different question here and tell you a moment of the casting process that stood out to me this year.

A Chicago-based actor named Meredith Wells (they/she) came to the dance call Meredith is a wheelchair user, and executed the choreography (which had not necessarily been created with a wheelchair user in mind) exquisitely With just incredible finesse, detail, and character For the singing audition, they ended up in my room, where they sang “Part Of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. Meredith has one of those flawlessly, round, resonant, warm, yummy belt voices.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MUNY OR VISIT NEXT SUMMER?

RH (Cont‘d):

Long story short, while Meredith was called back for a number of shows in the season, the place we knew she fit perfectly was the role of Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act

If you remember the film, she’s the young nun who finds her voice and confidence, and ultimately decides to leave the convent after being inspired by Deloris (played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film). In the musical, her big moment comes in Act 2 with the song “The Life I Never Led.” Google the lyrics if you aren’t familiar with them. Rashad Naylor headed up the casting for that show, so he went to see it. And he said when Meredith started to sing that song, all 11,000 people in the audience were collectively on the edge of their seats, and you could have heard a pin drop. I get chills just thinking about it.

TLC: Oh my God, wow. I love that. What would be your dream show to cast at the Muny?

RH: Oh man, that’s hard! My favorite musical is She Loves Me, so if they ever choose to do that one, I’ll fight to be the person in our office who gets to cast it!

TLC: Gotta ask, when you go to the Muny to see shows…what are your favorite restaurants to visit?

RH: When in St. Louis, you must have St. Louis barbecue! My favorite is Salt + Smoke!

Meredith Wells before and during Sister Act, 2023

Rachel and her colleague Rashad Naylor at Salt + Smoke

CSA members can purchase two tickets

CSA members can purchase two tickets for 50% off with code 008 during the for 50% off with code 008 during the first two weeks of performances. first two weeks of performances.

LAST SEASON’S CASTING DIRECTORS SHARE THEIR INTRO TO BROADWAY

COMPILED BY PORTIA BLACK + ISABEL WYNNE

BABY’SFIRST BABY’SFIRST BROADWAY BROADWAY

CRAIG BURNS

A CHORUS LINE, 1988

At first I thought that LES MISÉRABLES was my first show, but after looking it up, A CHORUS LINE was actually my first!

ERICA A. HART

AIDA, 2001

The score. The scenic design. The actors.

(HEATHER HEADLEY...HELLO!!!)

My 11 year old self didn't know what to do other than be in awe. It was magical.

ADAM CALDWELL

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 1995

This was my first time in NYC, a December day trip with family as my birthday and holiday present that year.

DAVID CAPARELLIOTIS

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, 1985

I left with a mad, raving crush on Robert Sean Leonard, and a strong desire to play Eugene Morris Jerome one day.

RACHEL HOFFMAN

1985

CATS

I had listened to the cast recording for YEARS leading up to seeing the show. When the song "Journey to the Heavyside Layer" started, I began to bawl. My mother asked me what was wrong. I answered that I knew the show was almost over and I didn't want it to end.

CLAIRE BURKE

1993

The first Broadway Show I ever saw was CATS!

BERNARD TELSEY

GREASE, 1976

I was 16 and was supposed to have seen PACIFIC OVERTURES, but I was punished and wasn’t allowed to go to Manhattan because I didn’t cut the lawn. When I went to the box office to try and get tickets, the show had closed! So I ended up seeing GREASE.

GEOFF JOSSELSON

LES MISÉRABLES

The first show I saw was LES MISÉRABLES, probably in the late 80s or early 90s.

ERICA JENSEN

DUNCAN STEWART

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

The first B'way show I ever saw was Phantom Of The Opera in the early 90's. It was my first time in New York and I bought myself a standing room ticket for $15.00. I went by myself, stood in the back, and felt my whole body fill with excitement as soon as the lights went down. I had no idea what to expect. At that point in my life I'd never seen anything so spectacular on stage. When the chandelier swung in, I burst into tears. After that, I bought the CD and listened to it non-stop for the next several months.

First time in NYC in 1989. First time walking around Broadway. First Broadway show It was all dizzying, thrilling and epic in so many waysincluding the line that seemed to wrap around the block to see this 'hot' ticket show!

BETHANY KNOX

BENTON WHITLEY PETER PAN

The first show I saw on Broadway was Peter Pan with Sandy Duncan in 1980

I went to NYC for the first time with my Boy Scout troop in 1998. We were there to see the stock exchange and a Yankees game..but I was there to see a Broadway show. So, at 12 years old, I was dropped off solo in the lobby of the Gershwin Theatre by my scout master, in the full boy scout uniform, about to be fully transported, and fully changed, forever I saw Cathy Rigby in Peter Pan.

DANIEL SWEE

PAUL SILLS’ STORY THEATRE, 1970

KARYN CASL

PROOF, 2001

I was a latecomer to the east coast and was still acting at the time. I was floored by the presence of every actor on that stage and their ability to tell that intimate story in a fashion that reached every corner of the theatre (even me waaaaaaay up in the cheap seats!)

The first Broadway show I saw was Paul Sills’ Story Theatre

KEVIN METZGERTIMSON

RAGTIME, 1999

I saw the show in year two, and I'll never forget seeing LaChanze as Sarah after listening to her on the Once On This Island cast album my entire childhood. Hearing her voice on those songs and getting to see her live onstage...I was star-struck!

JORDAN THALER

THE ME NOBODY KNOWS, 1971

Indelible. Life directing.

WILL CANTLER

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (THE MUSICAL), 1973

It was a day trip to a Wednesday matinee in April, the first time I'd ever set foot in New York. The show felt tired (it was near the end of its run). Times Square was terrifying. I was simultaneously disappointed and overwhelmed. I could not imagine ever returning to New York. And then six years later I moved here!