Back Stage 411 - Casting FAQ

A Video Overview of BackStage.com

In this short video, Assistant Casting Editor Sri Gordon walks us through some of the cool new online editorial sections, casting tools, and resume options now available on BackStage.com:

Manage Your Account on BackStage.com

To manage your BackStage.com account -- to update your name, password, email address, billing details, subscription options, etc. -- please choose from either option 1 or 2 below::

1) If you are a Subscriber (using Back Stage to view and apply to casting/job notices, read production listings, manage a multimedia resume, etc.), then click here to Manage Your Subscription Account.

2) If you are a Casting Director/Employer (searching for talent and posting notices), then click here to Manage Your "Find Talent" Employer Account.

Extensive Casting and Job Tools Now Available

With BackStage.com, Actors, Models, Performers, and Tech/Crew can:

• View an unlimited number of casting notices, auditions, and entertainment-industry opportunities every month.
• Personalize searches based on state, age-range, gender, ethnicity, interests, and skills.
• Save and run an unlimited number of searches.
• Create customized Casting/Job Alert Agents to email you the newest listings that fit your needs.
• Apply to an unlimited number of casting/job notices.
• Build a professional Multimedia Resume featuring your credits, training, skills, video reels, audio clips, headshots, snapshots, comp cards, movie stills, links, documents, and more.
• Include your Multimedia Resume in Back Stage’s Talent Database, which is searched by over 20,000 industry professionals every year.
• Submit your Multimedia Resume to an unlimited number of projects using Back Stage’s online submission system.

Submit Your Multimedia Resume to Casting/Job Notices Online

Back Stage provides a variety of submission options, making it easy to apply to casting/job notices and entertainment-industry projects. 

The following article will help you get the most out of the BackStage.com online-application and resume-email system.

For instance, when you submit your multimedia resume and optional cover letter to a project using the BackStage.com online submission system, you should know that two things happen simultaneously:

Search Help: "I'm Seeing Casting Notices That Don't Fit My Profile"

Back Stage uses an advanced search algorithm to find you casting/job notices that match your exact needs along with notices that MIGHT also be of interest to you – even though they’re not an exact match – including notices that contain tags that are very similar to your search settings, along with projects that might possibly be interested in an application from you even though you don’t exactly match any of the character/job descriptions listed in the notice.

This search algorithm uses the search filters/options you’ve chosen (job categories, gender, age ranges, etc.) combined with some “fuzzy logic” to try and find you the best range of notices.

How to Update Your Email Address on BackStage.com

The following article will help you update your email address, username, and contact details on BackStage.com:

Search Tips: Find, Sort, and Attend Auditions

Every year Back Stage publishes over 10,000 casting and job notices, with new notices being published on BackStage.com five days a week and old notices being removed from BackStage.com seven days a week -- making Back Stage an always up-to-date resource.

In addition to searching through Back Stage's online casting & jobs database for notices that fit your interests, another great way to find out about new opportunities is to read Back Stage's  "Auditions Highlights," "Casting News," "Espresso," and "Seeking Submissions" posts on Blog Stage, as well as Back Stage's weekly Production Listings.

The "Audition Highlights" posts on Blog Stage include the popular weekly "Auditions at a Glance" calendars  from the New York, California, and National/Regional sections of the national Back Stage newspaper and digital magazine. The casting notices highlighted in these weekly calendars are conveniently organized by the date and day-of-the-week the auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your audition plans.

When looking for new notices, try some of the following Audition Search Tips:

What is a Casting Alert? How do I make it work?

The Casting/Job Alert tool is a convenient and automated "search agent" that searches the BackStage.com casting/jobs database for you, finding new notices that match your personalized Saved Search criteria.

You can create one or multiple Casting/Job Alerts, with each alert being set up to search for notices that match you interests.

Each of your Alert agents will email you your newest search results on a regularly scheduled basis. Within the email, you'll see a list of casting/job headlines and summaries, with links bringing you back to the specific notices on BackStage.com so you can quickly submit to the projects. 

To get started, visit your Career Center/Actor's Toolbox and click on any of the Saved Search or Casting Alert options.

Or, simply fill in the "Saved Search Name" field located at the bottom of the basic or advanced Casting/Jobs Search page, check the "Create a casting alert" box, and then click the "Saved Search Criteria" button.

SEVEN KEY CASTING/JOB ALERT TIPS:

Find Great Talent with the New Back Stage National Edition

We're very excited to announce that we've merged Back Stage East and Back Stage West into a single weekly publication, which will be available as a tabloid-sized newspaper on newsstands, in bookstores, and in subscribers' mailboxes across the U.S.

When you post a notice with Back Stage, you'll now reach twice as many people. Plus, the national edition of Back Stage is also available as a digital magazine, which will help you reach even more Back Stage readers across the world — check out BackStage.com/digital for a free Back Stage Digital Edition trial subscription.

To find talent for your projects, visit the Casting Center's Employer's Toolbox and click on "Post a Notice."

Resizing Headshots, Photos, Comp Cards, and Other Pics

To make it easy for casting directors, producers, directors and agents to be able to quickly view your headshots, photos, comp cards, and other pix, it's important that you find a good ratio between size and quality before uploading your photos to your BackStage.com Multimedia Resume and other websites (and before emailing your photos to casting directors).

A number of free and convenient options are available for resizing and web-optimizing photos. The following article provides links to some of the most popular programs, along with step-by-step directions and screenshots that will help you resize and upload your photos within minutes while still preserving the quality of your images.