West-Coast Casting Highlights - 5/15/08

Every week Back Stage publishes hundreds of notices -- casting notices, entertainment-industry job notices, and calls for submissions to talent contests and film festivals. Back Stage is the premier resource for actors, dancers, singers, comedians, and all performing artists -- plus those talented individuals working behind-the-scenes, including writers and crew -- looking for quality opportunities.  BackStage.com's casting database includes all of the notices from  the  popular Back Stage East and Back Stage West  publications, plus hundreds of additional items.

Below are a few highlights from this week's West Coast notices, compiled by West-Coast Casting Editor Cassie Carpenter:

• Center Theatre Group is seeking talent for the Be the One online talent competition, connected with the new national tour of A Chorus Line. Judges at the June 7 Citadel Outlets event will include Kay Cole (Maggie in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line), Valarie Pettiford and Jane Lanier (both Tony Award nominees for their performances in the Broadway production of Fosse), Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Melissa Manchester, and Claudia Cagan (talent coordinator for E! Entertainment Television). Eight finalists will then be entered into the next round of contesting to compete against finalists from other cities on the A Chorus Line tour for the national grand prize: a trip to New York City including airfare and hotel accommodations, tickets to Broadway shows, backstage tours, show merchandise, meet and greets and more. Plus, one individual will be crowned "L.A.'s Singular Sensation," winning the local grand prize of $500.
• Ashton Ramsey (segment prod.) is casting a circus show for a "major network."
• K'Dee Miller Productions is casting deaf actors for Hamill, a feature. "Told in the same vein as Million Dollar Baby but with a Rudy ending, and inspired by the life of deaf Ultimate Fighter Matt Hamill, Hamill tells the story of what it takes to be a champion, on and off the mat. Raised among those with the ability to hear, Matt later finds himself no less an outsider amidst the Deaf community. But through sheer determination, he uses his disability as an asset, and becomes not only the first deaf wrestler to win a National Collegiate Championship, but an inspirational force to both hearing and deaf alike."
• Lion's Gate Television & Glassman Media are casting a "prime-time reality/documentary show for a major cable network featuring women of all lifeguarding levels, from part-time rookies to full-time advanced ocean lifeguards and may involve various competitions and/or eliminations."
• TLC is casting Nothing To Wear, a reality show that solves the age-old dilemma of too many clothes, but nothing to wear. "We’ll show you how to go green in your closet by recycling what's already in there as we sort out the items worth salvaging from fashion crimes, take you shopping to secure a few classic pieces that will complement your salvaged wardrobe, leave you with examples on how to make the most of your new wardrobe, and we'll update and makeover your closet."
• BFG Communications is casting an online travel series on behalf of an age-restricted brand. Each webisode will feature a unique location, and it will be up to the host to bring the place and its characters to life. Sloane Kelley, prod. The ongoing video series involves multi-day shoots on location approx. once every two months; several webisodes will be shot during each trip. The first episode shoot starts late June in TX; other shoots will take place throughout 2008 in various US locations.
• Vienna Waits Productions, LLC, & John Breglio are casting immediate replacements for the Broadway company as well as the first national tour of A Chorus Line. Binder Casting, casting dirs. Tour cities include L.A, San Francisco, Boston, and Toronto.
• Laurie Seidman (prod.) is casting Beautecast, a how-to video project "with celebrity makeup artist and hairstylists."

To view hundreds of additional notices every day, run a Back Stage Casting/Job Search. To narrow down your search-results, try using the Advanced Search Filters  to find notices with character-breakdowns tagged with specific job-categories, genders, age-ranges, pay ranges, and ethnicities.  Also check out Back Stage's extensive Production Listings and Blog Stage's categories for L.A. Auditions at a Glance,  NYC Auditions at a Glance, Bulletins, and Seeking Submissions.

-- Luke Crowe, National Casting Editor, Back Stage