Backstage now offering free casting director and talent agency submission labels

Are you serious about your acting career? Do you send postcards to casting directors to announce performances or to invite them to plays? Are you signed with a reputable talent agency? The majority of lead roles in films and starring roles on television shows are cast through talent agents. I can provide you with a completely free set of casting director and talent agent mailing labels, along with a free subscription to Backstage Daily. The labels have current addresses for casting directors and talent agencies, and are updated constantly. Backstage Daily lists casting calls, auditions information, and talent searches for feature films and television series, for all areas. If there is one good piece of advice I can give to actors, it is to take advantage of this opportunity. You can get the free mailing labels and free subscription exclusively by signing up with the following link - http://goo.gl/nX8qDn

If you have any questions, you can contact me at my Verified Facebook Profile - https://www.facebook.com/alanbaltes

You can also follow me at my Verified Twitter Page - https://twitter.com/alanbaltes

Still no 'Best Casting By' award at the Academy Awards

Why don't casting directors have a category for "Best Casting By" at the Academy Awards? To comprehend this issue, you have to have a deep understanding of how the casting process works. Casting directors are contracted by production companies and/or studios to cast specific projects. The casting directors (and their associate casting directors and assistants) filter through massive amounts of submissions for specific roles, mainly through talent agents. The casting directors then audition actors for the specific roles being cast. They then choose what actors that they personally deem "right for the role", at their discretion, and they subsequently advance those actors to a "call back", to audition for the director, writer(s), producers, and for major roles.. the studio executives. Eventually, the right actor for the role is hired. The actor is not hired directly by the casting director, but rather the director/production company/studio. Other than for small speaking roles on TV series, the casting director does not have the ability to hire actors, they simply select a certain group of actors to advance in the casting process. I am not talking about extras. Extras are cast directly by Extras Casting Directors/Companies. For there to be an Academy Award category for principal actor casting directors, the voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences would have to be able to see all of the hundreds (and even thousands) of actor's auditions for each role by the "Best Casting By" nominee, to be able to judge whether or not each casting director nominee did the best job. And just to narrow down the casting nominees, there would have to be a massive amount of that material available to the Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences nominating committee. That is a logistical impossibility. Directors, producers, writers, and studio executives have the final say in who is cast in specific roles, not casting directors. The best casting directors do a great job, and they have a great collaboration with those who do hire the actors, however there is no definitive way to establish a criteria for an Academy Award category for "Best Casting By". I can elaborate much more about the casting process, however that would require much more than I can post here, it would be a complete eBook. I do want to elaborate about why casting directors are never credited in films as a Casting "Director", but rather credited as "Casting By". The Directors Guild of America does not allow, by contract, any other persons on a film being credited with the word "Director", unless they are actually a "director" i.e. 1st AD (First Assistant Director, etc). That includes the Cinematographer (widely called "DP" or "Director of Photography" on the set). Casting directors are some of the hardest working people in the entertainment industry, but there you go, that is why there is no Oscar Award category for "Best Casting By".

Finding Ashley Stewart 2017 Casting Tour

The American plus size women's clothing company and lifestyle brand Ashley Stewart is currently conducting a casting tour to find plus-size models who would like to become a model for Ashley Stewart.

The Ashley Stewart 2017 casting team are travelling across the United States in search of a Diva that effortlessly personifies Ashley Stewart and everything the brand stands for - kindness, perseverance, resilience, confidence, and empowerment.

To be considered, anyone interested must attend one of the open casting calls that are taking place across America. The following are the next two open casting calls for New Jersey/New York, and for Detroit. 12 finalists from the Talent Search portion of the open casting call will be selected to participate in the Fashion Show portion the following day, will receive a $50 Ashley Stewart Gift Card, and will be featured on the Ashley Stewart Facebook and Instagram pages.

NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK

Talent Search
Friday, April 21, 2017
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Ashley Stewart
1721 East Morris Avenue
Union, New Jersey 07083

Fashion Show
Saturday, April 22, 2017
2:00pm - 4:00pm
202-204 Springfield Avenue
Newark, New Jersey 07103

DETROIT

Talent Search
Friday, May 19, 2017
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Ashley Stewart Woman
27821 Southfield Road
Lathrup Village, MI 48076

Fashion Show
Saturday, May 20, 2017
2:00pm - 4:00pm
27821 Southfield Road,
Lathrup Village, MI
248-557-5208

Each event will include Sip N' Shop parties, a pink carpet, Ashley TV segments & interviews, Hot Fashion, Exclusive Sales, Refreshments, Contests, Fabulous Prizes, and more!

At the end of the national talent search, the top models from all of the finalists will be flown to New York City to attend the Finding Ashley Stewart finale where the grand prize winner will be crowned "Ashley Stewart 2017". The grand prize winner will receive the following:

• Ashley Stewart TV Segment
• Ashley Stewart Photo Shoot
• Ashley Stewart Makeover & Wardrobe
• Various Gifts from Ashley Stewart 2017 Sponsors
• Additional Undisclosed Prizes

The "Ashley Stewart 2017" Finale will take place on September 16, 2017 at the following:

Kings Theatre
1027 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY

About Ashley Stewart

Ashley Stewart is an American plus size women's clothing company and lifestyle brand, which was founded in 1991. The name Ashley Stewart was inspired by Laura Ashley and Martha Stewart, who the company saw as icons of upscale Americana. The Secaucus, New Jersey-based company has 89 stores across 22 states. They sell a variety of apparel, ranging from jeans to dresses and shoes.

Ashley Stewart arose out of real estate investor Joseph Sitt's frustration in bringing retailers into the inner city New York neighborhoods where he was developing real estate projects. After hiring merchants to study the market, he found that the biggest gap was in upscale fashion for plus-sized urban career women, and decided to open retail stores himself. Ashley Stewart was founded in 1991 and helped change the urban retail landscape. In 1996 the TSG Capital Fund II made an initial investment of $30 million in Ashley Stewart. The company focused on holding events like fashion shows instead of launching large advertising campaigns. They would often hold 300 to 350 fashion shows a year, which raised money for the communities they were in. Each Ashley Stewart store also hired from within the community, and the company was recognized by President Bill Clinton for its contribution to the Welfare-to-work program.

Open casting call for Paramount Network event series 'WACO'

There is an open casting call scheduled for Sunday, April 9th for the Paramount Network event series "WACO". Filming on the six-part series will take place in the Santa Fe, NM area from April 17, 2017 through June 29, 2017.

"WACO" is based on the harrowing true story of the 1993 FBI siege of the religious sect in Waco, Texas, that resulted in the deadly shootout and fire. The 51-day siege ended with an FBI assault on the compound, which was burned down and ultimately killed 76 people inside — including David Koresch. The event series will explore the true-life events leading up to and chronicling the 51-day siege between the FBI, ATF and Koresch's sect, the Branch Davidians. It will be told from several perspectives of those who were involved, from both sides of the conflict.

Starring in "WACO" is CinemaCon Award winner Taylor Kitsch as David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect; Golden Globe Award nominee John Leguizamo as ATF agent Robert Rodriguez; two-time Academy Award winner Michael Shannon as FBI hostage negotiator Gary Noesner; Primetime Emmy Award nominee Paul Sparks as Koresh's top aide Steve Schneider; Screen Actors Guild Award winner Andrea Riseborough as Judy Schneider; three-time Screen Actors Guild Awards winner Shea Whigham as Richard Rogers, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team; and Young Artist Award winner Rory Culkin as Branch Davidian survivor David Thibodeau.

John Erick Dowdle is directing the mini-series, and also wrote along with his brother Drew Dowdle. The Dowdle brothers are also executive producing along with Academy Award winner Harvey Weinstein, fourteen-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee Bob Weinstein, and Humanitas Prize winner Salvatore Stabile, and David Glasser.

WACO Open Casting Call Details

The following open casting call is open to people of all ages and types, to be considered for FEATURED/CORE BACKGROUND TALENT. These are paid positions, and there is no experience necessary. Filming will take place from April 17, 2017 through June 29, 2017 in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area. You must have legal eligibility to work on television productions in the state of New Mexico, and that information can be downloaded from the New Mexico Actors Resource Guide available here.

Where:

Santa Fe University of Art and Design - Garson Studios
1600 Saint Michaels Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505

When:

Sunday April 9, 2017
12:00pm - 4:00pm

Please bring a pen to fill out a registration form. Bring a headshot and resume if available.

If you are unable to attend the open casting call, you can submit two recent color snapshots (1 shoulders up photo, and one from the knees up, only you in the photo, no hats or sunglasses), your full name, height, weight, location where you live, all clothing sizes, and all contact information to the following:

Wacocast2017@gmail.com

Principal Actor Casting Director (speaking roles only)

Rachel Tenner Casting
5657 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 220
Los Angeles, CA 90036

NOTE:

Starring and supporting roles are mainly being cast through talent agents in Los Angeles. You can find comprehensive listings and submission addresses for talent agents here. However, if you are not signed with an agent and wish to self-submit, I highly recommend that your 8x10 color headshot and resume along with the cover letter be sent in a 9 x 12 Clear Full Face Window Envelope with the photo visible in the window. Click Here to purchase 9 x 12 Clear Full Face Window Envelopes. Click Here to purchase the best resume and cover letter paper.

Film Crew Members

Experienced film crew members available to work in the Santa Fe, NM area can email resumes to the following:

wacoresumes@gmail.com

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Production Companies:

Do NOT send photos and resumes to the production companies, as they will end up being thrown away. They do not cast the films, rather they hire casting directors who sort through the thousands of submissions (see above).

WACO Production Offive
1 Santa Fe Studios Road
New York, NY 10014

Weinstein Television
9100 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 700W
Beverly Hills CA 90212

Brothers Dowdle Productions
20700 Ventura Blvd.
Suite 328
Woodland Hills, CA 91364

Executive Producers:

Harvey Weinstein
Bob Weinstein
David Glasser
Drew Dowdle
John Erick Dowdle
Salvatore Stabile

Production Executives:

Jennifer Malloy
Megan Spanjian

Writers:

John Erick Dowdle
Drew Dowdle
Salvatore Stabile

Director:

John Erick Dowdle

Starring:

Taylor Kitsch – David Koresh
Michael Shannon – Gary Noesner
Andrea Riseborough – Judy Schneider
Shea Whigham – Richard Rogers
John Leguizamo – Robert Rodriguez
Rory Culkin – David Thibodeau
Paul Sparks – Steve Schneider

Story:

The FBI and ATF seize religious leader, David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas in the spring of 1993.