Casting Auditions...?

[Ahvi]

I was going to begin looking for a cast for a mini-series leading into a film I'm working on...any suggestions on how to go about looking for a cast? I'm a senior in high school and was looking to start up around this holiday. Also does anyone have any suggestions on how to conduct casting auditions? Thanks.

[Brandi Drake]

Do you know of any place that offers acting classes around your city/town such as any acting studios? You can always post up fliers there! Start a facebook page and invite local actors describing your mini-series and post audition dates etc. There are several web pages devoted to listing castings for actors in your local area. You can sign your web series up on one of these that are not considered scam websites and seek out the local actors/actresses in your area. Do you have a drama class and/or club offered at your highschool? That's a good place to start also. Think of as many marketing ideas as you can to attract actors to your casting and get your show out there.

As far as the actual casting process, you'll need to hold auditions of course as you listed. You should select a certain, critical scene in your script and have your actors perform it. This will show you how well they can execute the material so try giving them a scene that requires skill. If you can, video tape each audition so you can replay it later to help with your decision. You might want to find someone to help you conduct the auditions so that you might have an extra opinion. You can choose to give the actors their lines ahead of time so that they may study it or you may choose to give it to them right before they audition, giving them only a few minutes to look over it. Both of these options occur in actual acting auditons.Remember to try and keep an open mind. You may find someone you think physically is not fit for the role but is the best at portraying the character, then switching how you originally viewed your character. Or you might have someone audition for one role, see their talent but not their fit for that character and have them audition as another character they may portray better.

Best of luck