So you want to be an Entertainer?
Thursday, January 11th, 2007Interview of Carlyn Davis, CSA of Carlyn Davis Casting
Who is Carlyn Davis?
www.carlyndaviscasting.com for complete details and I will email you my biography.
What does “CSA” mean to the industry insiders & talent?
www.castingsociety.com for detailed info. In a nutshell, you have to have at least 3 years of professional casting experience with credits and have to be endorsed by 2 current C.S.A. members. I was the first member from DC/VA to be voted in back in 2000.
Do you have any ‘Entertainment’ (singer, dancer, actor…) background?
I hold a B.S. in Theatre from Radford University and have studied music and theatre my entire life.
How did you get interested in casting?
In my much younger years, I wanted to be an actress. Moved to LA when I was 17 after high school. Parents forced me to come home and get a degree. (good thing!) I began taking directing classes in theatre and truly enjoyed being the “doctor” behind the microscope as opposed to being the specimen being studied. It was my junior year in college that I decided I wanted to be a Casting Director. After graduation, I had planned on moving back to LA to start my career when I met my wonderful husband and was offered a casting director position in Washington, D.C. Hence, the story begins…
What do you enjoy about your career?
I love that every day is uniquely different than the one before. It’s always nice to have something new to talk about every day after work. But I’d have to say the best part of the job is to hear the excitement in the performer’s voice when you tell them they just landed a role. It doesn’t get much better than that.
What areas of entertainment do you cast for: movies, plays, print adv…?
Ironically, what I don’t cast for is from my origin—theatre. And I love the theatre!!! However, there is not a lot of time left at the end of the day to then work again at night. I cast Features, Commercial Spots, Print, TV, etc. We just opened up our 2nd office in Baltimore, so we keep really busy.
What are some of the projects that you have handled?
This past year’s released credits include “The Good Shepherd” and “Step Up.” We also cast several America’s Most Wanted episodes last year. Prior to that my feature credits date back to the early 90’s. I’ve worked on over 30 features including “XXX-State of the Union”, “Tuck Everlasting”, “Forrest Gump”, “Manchurian Candidate”, etc…
Are there any interesting experiences from past projects you’d like to share with us?
There are so many stories I cannot even remember them all. I use to work the set to wrangle extras in my younger years. The days were normally 17 hours long and I have worked consecutively as long as 93 days in a row. But I am grateful for the experience and understand what it is like to be on set. I could write all day about stories, some of which, you wouldn’t believe. Working in the “people” business always leaves you with something to think about later.
Casting Directors never seem to want to talk to talent. .Describe a typical day when you are working on a movie project - say from the movie “Step Up” (Music High).
Yeah-Music High. That was a wonderful movie (initially) to cast. Coming from a fine arts background, and I almost minored in dance, this was the perfect job for me. Everyone at my office worked until we almost fell over, but I am proud to say that we cast every single dancer and Day Player here locally. Production was quite impressed. A typical day once production begins means getting up at 4am and getting into the office to make sure we had no cancellations and production does not need anything. Then we keep prepping for the days to come and of course the never ending changes. Generally, if you’re lucky, you’ll have 30 seconds to cram a bite of food in. It’s hard work and you are constantly on the phone trying to solve that day’s newest problems. (Actors backed out last minute—car trouble, kid sick, whatever) Now you need an exact person, sometimes the same exact size, as the person that just backed out. And you need them in 2 hours…
Now why do we not like to talk to talent? My answer is—I do like to talk to talent. My problem is then I chat all day and get no work done and there’s no time for that. It’s flattering that folks want to talk with you, but next thing you know you have a line and you’re stuck. I have always told everyone on my staff to treat people the way you would want to be treated. But when you’re dealing with the masses, sometimes you run into a bad apple and they take up a lot of your “good” energy and time. So yes-sometimes I avoid actors just so I can get my job done. But we are quite respectful as a casting team.
How does ‘Talent’ get noticed in order to get an audition for a featured roll or a main character?
It truly depends on what we are working on and what the producers are looking for. I always like to (when production gives me a lot of time) pre-read a lot of folks so that I can find a character that is truly interesting. To get noticed, actors have to be persistent, understand how each casting director pre-views talent, and always continue to “fine tune” their instrument, per say. I enjoy hearing stories of folks like Tom Hanks still going back to basic acting classes. That shows dedication. If a casting director is not calling you, don’t give up. That just means it’s time to roll up your sleeves and work harder.
And make sure you have a top notch headshot from an incredible photographer like Joe Henson or someone that really knows what their doing.
Describe the audition process.
It changes with each project. Generally, when casting commercials, you bring in a lot more choices than you would for Industrials. And again with features, if the producers give me time, I like to do pre-reads. A lot of time I’ll have my staff run two studios at once so that I can peek in and at the end of the day, review the tapes and get the casting assistants opinions on the day’s sessions. Then I make my decisions for the call backs. After the call backs, I make my final few decisions as to whom I’ll submit and recommend to the director and producers.
In 2005, you started “Extras Now”, why?
www.extrasnow.com It took me a few years to build this site, but it is finally up. I wanted a site that would save anyone that was interested in doing extra work time and money and give them education on the site as to what will happen if they get selected to work on a set. It saves everyone having to spend 8 hours in line and gas money. And many times after the open calls, we’d get back to the office and many of the photos became detached from the forms and the poor folks that waited all day for a chance, will never get one. And we’d have to sort through the hundreds of forms and with today’s technology-quite frankly that is a waste of time and you cannot do a good job for production.
So the site is a very, very powerful tool that my team uses each and everyday. Even for Principal work on occasion.
Each member can control their own accounts and receive audition and job notices.
And if they gain weight, change hair color, etc., they can easily change their photo at any time from the comfort of their own home.
And each member is considered for work for an entire year, not just one project.
It’s the fastest and easiest way to get your face not only in front of my team, but we allow producers to use the system as well. It’s a great (and cheap) marketing device for talent.
What are the differences from Carlyn Davis Casting?
I developed this site shortly after the internet came to be. I’m proud to say it was one of the first sights in the nation to have a searchable, interactive database that shows actors photos, resumes, video demos, audio demos and comp cards.
We also use this site everyday for castings—primarily for Day Player castings. We use the www.extrasnow.com for selecting background performers.
To be considered to be added to the CDC site, you must first submit your P/R through the mail. Then we’ll go through and find who we think might be interesting. At that point, we contact the performer and invite them to a general open call where I require them to do a 1 minute monologue and then I give them a script to do a cold read. I video tape everyone and have over 3,000 actors on tape, all at my own expense. (Remember-I was a starving artist so I totally know where actors are coming from)
With www.extrasnow.com, there is no way possible to let the entire world in for free, (and I want performers that are serious about their work) so there is a small fee to cover the maintenance of the site. And AFTRA/SAG members get a 60% discount. There is no fee to be on the CDC site, but you have to be darn good to get into it. And many times, my office is so busy, we postpone open calls for months, so it can take a long time for consideration.
Describe the process to be involved in “Extras Now”.
I think each performer should visit the site for the best explanation, but in a nutshell-once you join, you need to fill out all of the special skills that you have (it’s a searchable database so all we have to do is type in the criteria that we are looking for like runners, rollerblade, etc. and it comes right up for our team) enter a close face shot and then a body shot and you’re done. You will instantly be added and considered. And you do not have to have a professional headshot for extrasnow. You simply can just use a digital photograph and you can change the photos anytime you like.
What benefits can one expect by joining ‘Extras Now”?
Well obviously if you land a part, that would be the best. The site gives you instant exposure to local producers and our casting team. Again, it provides training and also lists casting announcements, even on jobs that we are not working on. It’s a great marketing tool. And the site is designed to send out text messages so we can make you aware of any call time/location (etc.) changes to eliminate any mistakes costing performers time and money. Pretty soon there will be a featured “member of the week” that will be posted on the front page. This will give the performer massive exposure. And again, Union members get a 60% discount.
Any suggestions you have for ‘aspiring talent’?
Get your training. Figure out your market. Build your resume and most importantly remember that show business IS a business. Before you approach anyone and make yourself look totally green, prepare yourself. You only get one chance for a first impression. Make sure you have the training and the right headshots, etc. No one wants to start with someone that has no idea about the business.
Assess the market for talent in the Baltimore / Washington area.
I am honored to work with many of the local talent here. This market is the 2nd largest Equity (union for stage actors) market in the Nation. NYC is #1, DC/Balt. #2, Chicago #3. So there is an abundance of incredibly gifted performers here and I’m proud to know them. The downside of this market is there are no agents. We need really, really good franchised agents here. Everyone is freelance so it makes my job twice as hard. Truly as a Casting Director, I should not even have a database. I should just be able to call managers or agents for them to submit to me. But in a sense it’s like I’m mother to the freelance market, hence my large database. I have come across many folks in my 14 year career that have tried to become agents or managers, but I don’t think they had any experience so they didn’t last. Other than that, this is an excellent market for talent. You can actually do your film/TV, whatever, during the day and do an equity show at night. And then you can proudly say that you are an “actor” and not a waitress or something. But nothing comes easy—you have to work hard.
How can one keep busy - as an actor, a model or just what do you suggest?
Again, always continuing the education. I would also suggest joining Women In Film and Video (it’s for men too). And visit your states film website to see what is going on. Also, if you are an extrasnow member, check the casting announcements page daily to see if there is anything going on.
And I always respect stage actors. If you have never been on stage, go get yourself in a show. It is totally different acting than what I do with film, but it will begin teaching you the process.
Thanks Carlyn!
Many Continued Blessings!