"This business is not just all about looks. It's about drive, professionalism and willingness to learn a character."-- Toni Suttie, president of Integrity Casting
This may not be what you expect to hear from a casting director who just booked talent for the new Star Search, but this is exactly what veteran casting director Toni Suttie looks for in entertainers. After 25 years in the entertainment industry, she says there are three key elements to a successful performer: dependability, humility and a sense of commitment.
Toni Suttie got her start in the industry in the mid-1970s working for a husband and wife team of talent agents in Bay area. She worked her way up to become a talent agent and booked talent for jobs for many years before making the transition to casting director ten years ago.
She clarified the difference between the two. "Casting agents work on behalf of the production companies or producer. A talent agent works with the talent and gets paid a percentage of the actors' income--usually 10 to 20 percent--if they get the job. As a casting director, I get paid by the producer or production company, not the talent."
For instance, if Suttie works with a producer on a movie, she is the one who will get submissions, both from talent agents and independent performers. She said, "For a movie, I'll typically narrow it down to 30-40 people and audition them for the part. Then I pick the top five actors and show them to the one who will ultimately cast them: the director.
As a casting director, she literally has all of the talent agents' rosters and independent talent. She's got about 30,000-40,000 clients on file. She also works with more than one office: one in Northern Nevada and one in Northern California. In fact, when the Nevada office opened seven years ago, it relied heavily on the California office to sustain it.
But Suttie said things have definitely changed in the last seven years, "Northern Nevada has become busier than Northern California. Most jobs I cast are in feature film and television productions. Many of those jobs are coming here because they have a great package on features, crew. It's a lot less expensive here.
Commercials---local and sometimes even national--comprise the majority of business in the Northern Nevada office, but there are also TV features and movies filming as well. Suttie does about 50 percent of her work in Northern Nevada, which is a lot, especially since she dabbles in Los Angeles casting work as well, doing projects with Miracle Entertainment and independent film producer John Daly.
Suttie said she pulls a lot of her talent in for Reno projects from Sacramento and San Francisco. "I'd love to bring them in from Vegas but it's 400 miles away." But she's always looking for new talent, too, especially since there's really only one talent agency in the Northern Nevada area, Nevada Casting. Suttie said that they're both a casting and a talent agent, something that is permitted in Nevada but not in California.
Because of this, 90 percent of her talent is independent. This means she casts people who don't have agency representation, a unique aspect of working in this area.
So how does Suttie find additional talent? She said, "Basically being in the industry for over 25 years helps. I frequent the acting schools, and I'm always seeing plays, going out, and meeting people. I also look for a variety of talent from magicians to musicians to extreme sports participants."
Suttie says she loves Reno because it gives her the ability to cast a variety of different talent for different projects. For instance, Suttie found some musicians and singers who she recently booked to sing at a Reno Christmas party. She said that a producer who attended the party was impressed with the group and they were signed to do some music for a movie the producer is putting together.
Sometimes she's looking for talent in Northern Nevada to do projects in LA. "We just finished casting northern Nevada and northern California casting for Star Search. We just closed casting for singers and spokes models but that doesn't mean that I'm not continually for people in those categories." The show shoots in LA.
But there are big projects shooting in Northern Nevada. Suttie is also looking for children for a new show called Shadowlands, starring Gary Busey. The show doesn't have a station to air it yet, but Suttie said it's a family friendly "star wars-esque" program that she's hoping will air on PAX or Lifetime.
When she searches for talent, Suttie searches for more than a pretty face or a great voice. She says that dependable actors who show up to auditions, sets and stages on time with a positive, affable attitude are the biggest asset to the success of all involved with a given project.
Egos never thrive at Integrity Casting. "You can always tell the big cheese--this goes for talent and producers. They're kind and humble to all. Rude, disrespectful, hurtful people are what I call the small cheese. Nobody wants to work with someone who's difficult"
Suttie looks for actors who study continually, and show an earnest commitment towards their work, but she acknowledged that Northern Nevada residents probably can't rely on performing for job security. She said, "I think it's a great part time profession in this area, working 2-4 times per month and earning, best case scenario, anywhere from $500-$5000 extra per month."
She also isn't just looking for model types. In fact, she asserts that 75 percent of her roster is character actors. "I tend to cast more realistic people than the ingenue beauty. I look for all kinds of people. This is such a different a different market. We can use talent that look like the mom next door. For example, if I'm casting a commercial for mayonnaise, I'm going to hire someone who looks like they eat mayonnaise. I'm not going to ask if Cindy Crawford's available for that."
Although she's a casting director, she's often asked to recommend production designers, make-up artists, and stylists, too. Suttie believes that her location lends itself to a production environment--she's inside The Universe Production offices. In fact, Suttie said that Gamma Universe is "desperate" for art directors with a Sci Fi background for a movie experiment and anyone interested should contact her by February 15.
Suttie believes that success in entertainment is a two-way street and doesn't believe in hurting actors' feelings being brutal. She said, "We will never disrespect talent."
For more information about Integrity Casting or Toni Suttie, go to www.integritycasting.com