Audition Etiquette: How to Enter the Room and Other Insider Tips from CDs
12:00 pm-1:30 pm – The Annex Room
Did you know casting decisions are made based on the way you walk into the audition room? Learn the etiquette of auditioning from our panel of experts, including a working actor and busy casting directors. Selected Actorfest attendees will be called from the audience to participate in a mock audition. Polish your audition skills and watch how your competition does it. Moderated by Dany Margolies, Executive Editor, West Coast, Back Stage.
Speakers:
-- Heidi Levitt, Casting Director ("JFK," "Nixon," "Lakeview Terrace")
-- Michael Donovan, Casting Director (L.A. theatre, commercials, indie films)
-- Chris Game, Casting Director, (commercials, indie film)
-- Kevin E. West, Actor ("CSI," "Justified," "Lost") and Founder of The Actors' Network
SPEAKER BIOS
Heidi Levitt, Casting Director
Heidi Levitt has cast such successful films as "JFK," "Nixon," "Natural Born Killers," Nurse Betty," "The Rock," "The Joy Luck Club," and "Lakeview Terrace." Alternating between studio and indie fare, she has repeatedly worked with directors Oliver Stone, Wayne Wang, Wim Wenders, and Neil LaBute. In 1997, on the eve of Hong Kong's unification with China, Heidi collaborated with Wang on "The Chinese Box," which she co-produced and cast.
She served as a producer on feature films "Fido," "Center of the World," "Coastlines," and "Delivering Milo." Heidi is executive producing a film in November called "The High Cost of Living," which will be shooting in her native city of Montreal.
Recent casting credits include "Rage," written and directed by Sally Potter and starring Jude Law, Judy Dench, Dianne Wiest, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, and John Leguizamo; "Sympathy for Delicious" with actor-director Mark Ruffalo, starring Christopher Thornton, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom, and Laura Linney; "Mother and Child" with director Rodrigo Garcia, starring Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson; and "The Open Road" starring Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, and Kate Mara.
A graduate of Barnard College and the AFI Producers Program, Heidi's casting career began when she began working in Off Broadway theater in New York. She continues to work in theater: She cast LaBute's play "Wrecks," starring Ed Harris, at the Public Theater in New York, as well as Claudia Shear's play "Restoration" at La Jolla Playhouse in California.
Michael Donovan, Casting Director
Michael Donovan is a four-time recipient of the Casting Society of America's Artios Award, given for outstanding achievement in casting. Michael has cast numerous films, nine TV series, and over 1,200 commercials.
His theater credits include shows produced at the Hollywood Bowl, Pasadena Playhouse, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, International City Theatre, Reprise Theatre Company, Shakespeare Festival/LA, the Falcon Theatre, the Colony Theatre, Ebony Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara, Laguna Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, the Intiman Theatre (Seattle), Arizona Theatre Company, the Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), and Post Street Theatre (San Francisco).
Chris Game, Casting Director, Theater Director, Teacher, Actor
Chances are you have encountered Chris Game's work many a time. With 15 years of experience in the industry, Chris has cast a number of national commercial campaigns, for Harley-Davidson, Swiffer, Shell, Burger King, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Wells Fargo, Beck's, Lego, Oscar Mayer, Kellogg's, PlayStation, Pepsi, Taco Bell, Sears, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, and many more. His independent-film credits include "The Good Humor Man," featuring Kelsey Grammer, Jason Segel, and Jorge Garcia; "The Uninvited," featuring Colin Hay; "Donner Pass" and an upcoming feature starring Corbin Bleu.
A co-founder and current member of the Elephant Theatre Company, Chris has been a director, actor, and sound designer for the last 15 years. Among his most notable projects are "One Fell Swoop" by Robert Litz, "Serenading Louie" by Lanford Wilson, "Hotline" by Elaine May, "Red Cross" by Sam Shepard, "365 Days/Plays" by Suzan-Lori Parks, "Halfway There" by Christopher Game and Michael J. Vaez, "Muppet Maiden" by Alex Hoover, "The Princess and the Peon" by Jimmie Hudson, "My Only Hopeless," "The Gremlin," "Jerry Tylor's Little Wedding," and the following plays by Christopher Durang: "Beyond Therapy," "The Actor's Nightmare," "Desire, Desire, Desire," and "1-900-Desperate." As an actor, his theater credits include "Search and Destroy" by Howard Korder, "Serenading Louie" by Lanford Wilson, "Never Tell," "Seven Redneck Cheerleaders," "Dear Boys' War," and "The World of Mirth." He has also done theatrical sound design for over 50 productions in Los Angeles over the last decade.
Most recently, Chris worked under the close tutelage of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Chris teaches commercial audition technique at the Elephant Training Lab, Act Now!, the Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, and Carolyne Barry Commercial Workshops. This last year alone, he has cast 30 of his students in commercials. Back Stage readers in 2009 and 2010 voted his workshop as a favorite.
Kevin E. West, Actor, Co-Founder of The Actors' Network
Kevin E. West is founder of the Actors' Network, the most recognized business organization for actors in the United States. In 2006 and 2007, the Actors' Network won Back Stage "Reader's Choice" awards. The organization has also been featured multiple times on Entertainment Tonight and CNBC. Its many successful alumni include Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Masi Oka ("Heroes"), Christopher Gorham of the Golden Globe–winning cast of "Ugly Betty," and Maggie Grace ("Taken").
As an actor, Kevin's career spans nearly two decades. On television he has guest-starred on "Leverage," "Lost," "24," "CSI," "Desperate Housewives," "NCIS," "Alias," "Judging Amy," "NYPD Blue," "The X-Files," "Melrose Place," "The Young and the Restless," "The Bold and the Beautiful," and "General Hospital." He also worked for two years as a standup comedian and a paid improv artist.
Kevin co-authored the CD "The Actor's Guide to Getting the Job" with L.A.'s top commercial instructor, Carolyne Barry. On the topic of business education for the performer, he has spoken at SAG, UCLA, SAG Conservatory, Chapman University, and talent conventions across the U.S. from Dallas to Florida. He has lent his talents as writer, producer, host, and director to numerous charitable events, along with founding the highly regarded celebrity golf event, Hack n' Smack for Melanoma. For more information, visit www.kevinewest.com.