Cindy Tolan, Jim Carnahan, and Mark Saks were among the big winners last night at the 26th Annual Artios Awards, presented by the Casting Society of America to honor outstanding achievement in casting in theater, film, and television. Awards ceremonies were held simultaneously at the American Airlines Theatre in New York City and at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The awards are given on the criteria of “originality, creativity, and contribution of casting to the overall quality of a project.”
“I think people are recognizing that casting is really part of the collaborative art form,” CSA board member and Artios Award nominee Bernard Telsey (Telsey + Company) said at the New York reception before the ceremony. “Sure, individual producers and directors and writers know that, but I think audiences are now recognizing that casting is really part of the process.”
“Whether it be regional theater or Off-Broadway,” Telsey added, “our organization has really worked hard to embrace everyone. So the person casting Off-Off Broadway is as important as the person who’s casting ‘Avatar.’ As an organization, we’re strongly about taking care of our members and what their needs are in the field they’re working in, rather than giving ourselves awards… It’s less about giving ourselves awards as it is about recognizing the industry and the profession.” Read the rest of this entry »
