Student film casting may be a niche field, but according to casting director Kara Sullivan, it’s an arena that allows her to meet an exciting array of emerging talent. Since establishing Kara Sullivan Casting in 2003, she’s been finding actors for student shorts and features, web series, commercials, and theater. As casting advisor for the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, she’s worked on award-winning projects such as “Lalo’s House,” which won the Silver Medal at the Student Academy Awards, and “Farah Goes Bang,” which won the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival. Currently, she’s casting “Young Kings,” a feature about a Black soldier coping with PTSD in the wake of the Iraq War. Below, Sullivan discusses what it’s like to cast student films, finding actors who have a passion for particular projects, and why casting directors depend on great actors to keep them working.
What drew you to casting student films?
Student films are great, because you don’t know what the students are gonna do [afterward]. You know, Ryan Coogler’s a great example of what comes through USC now. If we’re talking about the new generation, [he’s] made a big splash. His producer [Nina Yang Bongiovi] came straight out of USC, and they made “Fruitvale Station” together. And Jon M. Chu was a USC graduate. A lot of people don’t know that. Honestly, the students I’ve worked for—once they leave school, I would say at least 95% of them call me to do their projects.
How to Use Backstage to Cast Your Student Film It seems like a great way to meet new talent early in their career.
Yeah, with directors, absolutely. I’ve met a plethora of people, [and] they all have different ideas. I feel like, thanks to a lot of student films, I’ve been able to [work with] languages that I’m not fluent in, like Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Cantonese, [and] Mandarin. You just don’t know what incredible opportunities you’re gonna have with student films.
Where do you look for actors for the student projects that you cast?
So, generally, I only go within the school and the theater department if they’re looking for school-age people. But because I’ve been doing this for so long, people were always happy to come in no matter what I was doing. So, luckily for me, I'm able to go to the agents and managers I know and say, “Look, I have something. Do you have anybody who wants to give their time if it’s something that’s not paying?” Or, “I have this UCLA film, you know, that’s actually gonna pay SAG ULB [Ultra Low Budget Project] rates.” But I think, for me, I’ve been lucky enough that I can go through the traditional services that casting directors use to post their casting notices that go out to actors who are experienced and who have been working for 10-plus years.
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Do you have a specific philosophy when it comes to putting together casting notices?
What I’ve found is: It’s about, when you make the casting notice, giving the actors all the information. I always have my directors write a bio on themselves, even if most of their filming experience has been done with the MFA program. I have people write a director’s statement—two or three paragraphs about: Why are you doing this film? You could've done anything else. Why is it this? I’ve found that putting out a good breakdown and maintaining a good reputation has made it so I’m not limited [in] the scope in which I can get actors for whatever project I’m doing. Once they read that director’s statement, I’ve had [actors] tell me, like, “That’s what roped me in. Your name already on there was good enough, but once I read that, that was it.” I feel like once you give everybody all the information, it helps.
What can actors expect from being in the room with you? What makes an actor memorable to you?
I try to make my environment as comfortable as possible. And my direction is always really specific. I don’t give, like: “Be sad.” I’ll say, “Be sad because…” You know, I’ll say, “Look, I need you to be sadder, because think of the stakes: Your daughter is in jail. You need to get her out; she might die.” And I let people play. What I really look for is an actor who has taken the time to prepare, because if you do that, you’re connected to the character. For me, that is of the utmost importance. If you don’t do the prep work and don’t really break down your character and truly get to know them and become them, I can tell when you’re just not connected. I love seeing what my actors are going to bring to me.
We depend on good actors to keep us working. I think a lot of actors don’t understand [that] we’re fighting for our jobs as hard as you guys are. And when you’re doing indies and when you're doing student films, maintaining those relationships, I think, is paramount, because then, when it’s like, “Oh, I can’t pay you this time, but this is a great role,” it’s so much easier to get that yes.
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