Auditioning: It's Your Time and Space
Veteran casting director Fern Champion launched her career more than 30 years ago in New York, casting for Sidney Lumet, John Badham, Alan Pakula, and Herbert Ross. More »

Worshiping a Technique and/or Teacher (aka The Cult Factor)
"Everything I say is right. Everything I say is wrong. There are many conflicting opinions in this industry. Don't take one person's word as gospel. Including my own. Take what works for you." More »

Publicity Blunders
Fame and attention. Nouns conjoined, the two desires are often borne from one source: insecurity. It's a "Someone, anyone, please pay attention to me!" syndrome. More »

Spreading Their Wings
"We’ve got great memories for talent. One or the other of us will remember someone that we’ve seen two years ago that came in to audition." More »

Innovative Marketing Tool for the Actor
In my 30-year career as a director, casting director and former actor, I have never once come across an actor who had a reduced, easy-to-pocket, up-to-date resume on them at all times. More »

Audition As If You're Rehearsing
Todd Thaler launched his career as a casting director 25 years ago by overseeing background casting for Woody Allen, a position he held on 14 of Allen's films. More »

Headshots: Border or Not?
Recently a reader sent me a question about the latest headshot trends: whether a headshot should have a border or be full bleed. Every five or so years the "in" headshot format alters. More »

They're Just Neil and Oliver to Her
Over the course of her two-decade career, Los Angeles–based casting director Heidi Levitt has worked with everyone from blockbuster king Michael Bay ("The Rock") to indie darlings like Wim Wenders ("Don't Come Knocking"). More »

Is 'Beautiful' the New 'Ugly'?
The headshot is the passport into the casting director's office. It has to say something about who the actor is. A pretty headshot does not always serve the actor in terms of getting an audition. More »

Acting Job Opportunities Lost and Won
This actor knew that here was an opportunity to introduce himself to gate keepers. He was right to begin a conversation. Where did he go wrong? More »

Team Players
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Erika Sellin spent many an hour perfecting pirouettes as an aspiring ballerina. More »

Actor Mailings to Agents: Frequency
"How often should an actor send a submission to an agent when seeking representation?" That was the question that came flying at me during a recent class. More »

Thinking Outside the Box
Barbara McNamara, who has headed her own company in New York, Barbara McNamara Casting, for four years, casts films, TV shows, commercials, voiceovers, and industrials. More »

Casting Director Accountability
The response to my blog post "A Casting Director's Rude Behavior," which was characterized by Back Stage as "chastising," was overwhelming. More »

An Actor's Resume: Special Skills & No-No Skills
"No-No Skills" are items on an actors resume that should never – repeat, never – be listed as skills on an actor's resume. More »

An Actor's Career-Destroying Screw-Up
We all make mistakes. But I'm still surprised by the career-destroying screw-ups that some actors will willingly and without-thought-to-consequences make. More »

Actors, Agents and Blackmarket Breakdowns: Part 2
This has got to stop. Actors paying thieves for black-market breakdowns. Especially actors with representation. More »

Actor Breakdowns Over Breakdowns: Part 1
If you're not familiar with the term "breakdown" it's the casting notice that casting offices release to agents through a service called Breakdown Services. More »

Actor Screw-Ups on Social Networking Sites
I have a lot of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace friends. About one percent of my computerized companions are 3D friends: i.e., people I actually call friends in the real world. More »

Looking Back, Moving On
If you've auditioned for a commercial in Los Angeles at any time in the past 28 years, you've likely been in Danny Goldman's office. More »

Asinine Addresses Used in Addressing Professionals
The pre-pubescent use of sexually suggestive, "personality expressive," childish monikers misused and abused in email addresses utilized for business correspondence has got to stop. Now. More »

Selling Excitement
Los Angeles–based casting director Deborah Aquila has a special connection with actors: She studied acting at NYU and the Stella Adler in New York. More »

Northern Exposers
Casting directors Kathy Mooney and Janet Pound came together last May to form Michigan's Pound & Mooney Casting. Their credits include the Michigan casting for Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino and the upcoming films Whip It!, directed by Drew Barrymore; Youth in Revolt, starring Michael Cera; Demoted, with Sean Astin and David Cross; and High School, with Colin Hanks and Adrien Brody. More »