You're Wanted On The Telephone

From Hillary, Casting Intern

Hi. This is Hillary, I'm calling from the Casting Department at Seattle Rep. May I please speak with [insert name here].

I have said this many many many times in the course of my internship. So it seems logical to me to share with perspective casting interns one of the most prominent parts of my upstairs (office) life. I'm on the phone ALL THE TIME.

Casting is a people job. You evaluate the performances of..people. You schedule auditions with...people. You talk to people about...people. Then you deliver casting decisions to, yup, people. Lots of this happens over the phone. Word to the interested- if you hate talking on the phone, this really isn't the right internship for you.

I have spent entire days calling actors and agents with bad news. I have spent hours on the phone scheduling bookings with agents who are in New York- I came into the office at 7:30 so I could catch said agents before they disperese for lunch. Sometimes, actors call me. I give them the info about general auditions, and direct them to appropriate websites. Sometimes agents call me, trying to get us to see auditions from actors we're not interested in. They ask probing questions that slide off their tongues as if they were asking about the weather, and it's my job to tell them only what they already know and not to reveal any decisions we've made. It's like a dance that happens between the recievers of our telephones.

Sometimes I call actors. I call them to tell them that, unfortunately, we don't have an offer for them. Delivering bad news is the worst. On the flipside, I get to deliver good news too. I also facilitate "getting to know you" type meetings. One time I called an actor who has primarily worked in television, and since he was new in town, we wanted to invite him to come, meet our department and then read for one of our shows. That phone call lasted almost an hour. Because he was chatty, and we ended up talking about how we're both newbies in Seattle, about how he shouldn't stop wearing sunscreen just because he's not in L.A. anymore, and about how it's so nice that I called him personally. And there's the key. If you are excited by the prospect of shooting the breeze over the phone with someone you've never met, this position could be a great fit.