The last time Bryan Fenkart checked Back Stage for an audition was two and a half years ago, and it's still getting him work. The Sept. 26, 2003 casting notice in Back Stage East called for actors who wanted to collaborate on creating a film from the ground up, and while the film is now finished, the opportunities born out of it are definitely not.
"It was probably one of the best things that could have happened," Fenkart says. "It was probably the thing that jump-started everything I have now. It's probably the thing that sparked everything else that I've gotten since."
It was the nature of the notice that sparked his attention. Fenkart, now 26, says he was just out of college and eager to put his acting training to use in a creative, collaborative setting in which he was free to explore and discover.
"With most auditions, as an actor you're the lowest thing on the totem pole—nothing's in your control," Fenkart explains. "And you see this kind of thing...and you know you're going to be involved in the process."
The headline of the casting notice, placed by director and co-writer Josh Cary, was "Leave Blank," which signified the open-minded approach Cary wanted to take. He had planned to make a short film but quickly realized his method had yielded much more quality material than he'd expected, and he ultimately shot his first feature-length comedy, called You Tell Me. The result also exceeded his expectations in another way: Fenkart.
"Our creative relationship is continuing into my next screenplay because of the relationship we were able to find—as actors, as creators, as writers," says Cary, 33. "I get him, and he apparently gets me. The way I can write for him, and what he brings to the table as an actor, is a gift."
For the actor, that long-ago casting notice was the gift. Cary is now writing the two lead roles in his new project for himself and Fenkart, and as You Tell Me hits the festival circuit, the footage Fenkart got from it has managed to get him signed with two agents.
"It came out better than I possibly imagined," Fenkart says. "It was hugely beneficial to me. I've been getting in front of people I never would have gotten in front of without doing this."
All this success considerably lessens Fenkart's need to check Back Stage for casting notices, but the actor hasn't forgotten what led to his good fortune. "As far as auditions go, I'm pretty well covered at this point, which is a real blessing," he says. "But did I [check Back Stage before]? Yeah, all the time. That's how I got all the other stuff before this film popped up."
Bryan Fenkart is a member of AFTRA and, after one more project, will be eligible to join SAG.
Have you scored an interesting role recently thanks to a casting notice in Back Stage? If so, email your story and your headshot to casting@backstage.com with the subject line "I Got Cast!"