“We are looking for every actor that walks in the room to be the answer for us,” casting director Kate Boka says of the audition process. “I think people often see casting directors as the big scary judge behind the table. But I want to have someone walk in the room and do something great and think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it!’… We are constantly rooting for actors to do their best work.” Boka is the casting associate for the Broadway, national tour, and Chicago companies of “The Book of Mormon.” Here are some of her tips to help actors do their best work in the audition room.
Casting director Sig De Miguel has cast dozens of movies. Although he now specializes in casting independent films, De Miguel cautions, “Actors should not think in terms of studio films versus independent films versus episodic television versus theater versus commercials. They should aspire to be working actors and work in all mediums available to them. The reality is unless a project is doing a search for an unknown, most actors starting out are going to be considered for small roles and day players.” Here is De Miguel’s advice regarding auditions, submissions, and acting résumés.
Casting director Duncan Stewart casts celebrities such as Christie Brinkley, Jerry Springer, America Ferrera, Ashlee Simpson, and Billy Ray Cyrus in the Broadway, West End, and national tour productions of “Chicago.” But at his New York–based casting office, Duncan Stewart and Company, he’s also looking for new faces for that show and other Broadway, London, and regional theater productions. “Being a small agency, we open up everything,” Stewart says. “We look at every submission. That is our philosophy.”
