Four Casting Directors Help Break You into TV at Actorfest LA

In the Television Drama Casting panel at Actorfest LA, four amazing Casting Directors -- with credits that include "Dirty, Sexy, Money," "Shameless," "Gossip Girl," and "Bones" -- teach you how to break into TV.

Want to know how to break in to television dramas? From co-stars to series regulars and from pre-read to network test -- top casting directors discuss all sides of television procedurals casting.

Speakers include (bios below):
-- Mary Jo Slater, Casting Director
-- John Frank Levey, Casting Director
-- David Rapaport, Casting Director
-- Rick Millikan, Casting Director

To register for this dynamic workshop, visit actorfestla2011.eventbrite.com.

Proud casting accomplishments for Mary Jo Slater include William Friedkin's "Twelve Angry Men" for Showtime, starring Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, and James Gandolfini and receiving a C.S.A. nomination; the DreamWorks feature "The Contender," starring Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, and Gary Oldman and also receiving a C.S.A. nomination; the CBS miniseries "Elvis," the ABC series "Commander-in-Chief," starring Geena Davis and Donald Sutherland; the Morgan Creek feature "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" the independent features "Come Early Morning," starring Ashley Judd and premiering at Sundance, and "Slipstream," starring Anthony Hopkins; and the ABC pilot of "Dirty, Sexy, Money."

John Frank Levey has been recognized for his casting work with seven Emmy nominations. He has received four Emmy Awards for his casting work, two each for "ER" and "The West Wing."

Over the years, he has received many nominations and awards from the Casting Society of America and in 2009 was honored with CSA's Hoyt Bowers Award for lifetime achievement. He is working on "Shameless" for Showtime and "Southland" for TNT. Levey has been hailed for his work with actors with disabilities.

David Rapaport made a name for himself by casting the pilot for "Gossip Girl," for which he was honored with a nomination for the prestigious Artios Award. He has since collaborated on several films, including "Vacancy," "The Strangers," "Prom Night," "Quarantine," "The Final Destination," "Armored," "The Apparition," "Evidence," and "LOL."

Rapaport also has extensive experience in television, casting the series "Masters of Horror" (Showtime), "Fear Itself" (NBC), "Rockville CA" (WBTV), "The Hard Times of RJ Berger" (MTV), "My Generation" (ABC), and four seasons of "90210" (the CW), and he continues to consult on "Gossip Girl," now in its fifth season on the CW.

In addition, Rapaport cast the pilots for the "Gossip Girl" spinoff (the CW), "My Generation" (ABC), and most recently, David E. Kelley's "Wonder Woman" (NBC). Rapaport is a proud member of the Casting Society of America.

Rick Millikan is casting the seventh season of the hit Fox series "Bones," starring David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel; "The Finder," a spinoff from "Bones" starring Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan; and ABC Family's "Melissa and Joey" with Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence.

Other credits include the CBS drama "Shark," starring James Woods and Jeri Ryan; "The Guardian" with Simon Baker and Dabney Coleman; "CSI: Miami" with David Caruso; "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" with Melissa Joan Hart and Caroline Rhea; and the long-running comedy "Married With Children."

His most widely acclaimed credit, however, is casting all 201 episodes of the renowned series "The X-Files," starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Millikan began his casting career in 1987 as a casting assistant on the hit TV show "Dynasty."

Actorfest LA, which is brought to you by Back Stage, the Actor's Resource, will take place on Saturday, November 5th at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles.

To help kickstart your career, Actorfest offers more than two dozen exclusive Workshops; Casting Calls; Meet & Drops with Top Casting Directors; a Networking Café; and an enormous Exhibit Hall, at which you can meet with acting teachers, coaches, schools, headshot photographers, and many more vendors who will help you succeed in your career.

To register for Actorfest LA, please visit actorfestla2011.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit www.ActorfestLA.com.

As you register, take advantage of our special limited-time subscription offers.

Enjoy your day at Actorfest!