For years now, casting agents have been using video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet to cast actors. “I remember using Skype for an audition back in 2011,” recalls Los Angeles–based casting director Erica Bream.
But the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased its usage. “Pretty much all of the callbacks I’ve done since COVID have been virtual,” says Ryan Glorioso, a casting director who works out of New Orleans. SAG-AFTRA has ensured that self-taping will be a permanent fixture, as well. The latest contract has established guidelines for self-tape auditions. Policies include providing actors with sides in advance of the audition, setting a limit on the amount of pages an actor can perform, and having only a certain amount of wardrobe changes, all to ensure that the virtual audition process is as smooth as possible.
Steps have been made to make the online process as similar to in-person casting sessions as possible. Casting directors still take submissions from agents, schedule actors, and start the meetings all in the same fashion. “Typically, we release our casting notices on the available casting sites—Breakdown Express, Casting Networks, et cetera—to the agencies in our region,” says Glorioso. “The agents will submit [to us], or we can directly request someone we are interested in for a role.”
But even Glorioso admits that casting virtually can feel “a little bit more impersonal. It’s just the nature of us not physically being in the room together. An energy comes from that.”
So how can directors make sure that they still cast the right person under these circumstances?
How to prepare for virtual casting
To begin with, everyone involved in the session needs to ensure that their conferencing platforms are properly updated and the sound levels are correct. Bream advises using a computer instead of a phone, as it has more functionality and is more user-friendly. “Most actors have had to adjust to this virtual option. As long as everybody involved goes into it with a mindset of ‘This is going to be fun’ and ‘What do you need to see from this?’ it always works out.”
Barry Levy, the showrunner of the Apple TV+ series “Me,” used virtual sessions to cast the adventure series alongside CD Josh Einsohn. He knows that it can be very hard for actors “to maintain a level of energy and focus through all of the self-tapings before you even get to Zoom meetings.” When he goes into his online casting sessions, he immediately looks to be upbeat and direct with the actors. That way, they can feed off his energy, which he says helps to ensure it’s “still a very rewarding process.”
How to communicate with actors
If filmmakers don’t feel entirely comfortable with virtual casting, Bream says they can always trust their CD to lead the way. “A lot of producers and directors will really lean on me to guide the process,” she shares. “This includes managing the situation when things go wrong, talking everybody through it, and advising what they could do instead. Sometimes people can be dancing around each other a little bit and they don’t know who is supposed to speak.”
When it comes time to conduct an online casting session, Bream always looks to ensure that the actors log into a warm and accepting room. “You want the actor to feel like they’re coming into a safe space so that they can do their best work,” she says. “I try to be as warm as possible, sometimes cracking a lame joke to soften the space. You want to set the tone and make sure it’s really warm and friendly.”
If it’s a callback, the pressure is usually a little bit more intense, as the performer knows they’re getting closer to the role. Bream will always start off by introducing herself, the filmmaker, and the actor, all with the intention of letting them know that everyone is on the same side and they’re there to collaborate.
Glorioso shares he will sometimes even provide a bit of information on the actor that might impress those casting, “just so everyone feels comfortable with each other.” He will also leave room for the director to take over and chat with the actor a little bit. That way, he explains, “they can see what their personality is like on some level and there’s a chance for any questions on the character, which is what would happen in a live audition.”
When Levy is involved in virtual casting, he’s usually already seen something of interest in the actor’s tape. So he uses the session to see how comfortable the actors are at taking direction, how they respond to notes, and what they do with the feedback. “Especially because you’re doing this over Zoom. You want to know that on the first day on set they can handle being given a direction. It’s about their openness to communicating,” he says.
Bream also likes to remind showrunners and filmmakers of the power that they still hold in a virtual audition. Sometimes they are trying to be “quietly respectful” to the actor, giving them space to impress them. “But it can come off as being cold,” says Bream. “My advice is to feel free to give them a note if they need to go again. Because some people still don’t feel super comfortable in this space. But they start to feel comfortable once they warm up. Sometimes after they give the performance once, they really settle in and impress. You want to make sure that you aren’t simply dismissing people after one take.”
