Artios Awards Honor Top Casting Directors in New York, L.A.

The casting directors of Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon” and “The Normal Heart” were among the honorees at the Casting Society of America’s 27th annual Artios Awards, which were presented Sept. 26 at District 36 in New York City and the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

“In a business that can often forget or ignore who actually gets things done and how, you guys have this night to always keep focused on the value of what you do,” host Nicole Sullivan told the nominees at the ceremony in Los Angeles. “Good casting is integral to having success in TV, film, and theater, and we are here to honor that.”

The term “Artios” is from the ancient Greek word meaning “perfectly fitted,” and the awards are presented for outstanding casting in theater, film, and television, based on originality, creativity, and the contribution of casting to the overall quality of the project.

“Casting directors are the unsung heroes of our business,” actor Michael Urie, who hosted the event in New York, told me before the ceremony. “They spend so much time and energy and work introducing artists to each other, and then they send them off into the world. They don’t get a lot of recognition, so I think it’s very cool that there’s a night for them, and I’m honored to be here. And I hope to get a job out of it.”

CDs Honored at Artios Awards

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.”