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:

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.

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.

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:

Finding More Casting & Job Notices on BackStage.com

BackStage.com features all of the casting notices from Back Stage's weekly print-edition newspapers and digital magazines, plus hundreds of additional notices from across the world, especially in the U.S. However, if you’re not seeing as many notices online as you’re expecting to see then you may need to broaden your search a bit.

Four casting search tips to always remember:

Finding Open-Mike Nights -- Calls for Comedians, Singers, Musicians, Dancers, and Variety Performers

Back Stage lists a variety of Open Mike (aka, Open Mic) opportunities every week in the casting/jobs section of BackStage.com and the Back Stage print editions.

These opportunities are listed in various categories, depending on the type of talent being called for. And the opportunities being listed may vary from day to day and week to week, depending on what information Back Stage has available.

However, the two Back Stage categories where Open Mike Night and Club Talent opportunities are most commonly found are:

• Comedy & Improv -- this category includes calls for stand-up comedians, improv comics, and comedy duos, groups, and acts.

• Cabaret & Variety -- this category includes calls for singers, dancers, some comics, new cabaret acts, club talent, and variety performers

The following Back Stage categories are also  worth checking out for Open Mike, Club Talent, Variety Show, Burlesque, Cabaret, and Talent Showcase  opportunities, competitions, gigs, and jobs:

Advanced Casting/Job Search -- Customize and Personalize Your Search!

To run an Advanced Casting/Job Search -- to filter the casting/job notices by location, job category, character age-range, character-ethnicity, character gender, pay ranges, keywords, etc. -- visit http://tinyurl.com/AdvancedCastingJobSearch.

Search Tips:

To search for casting notices, click on one of the BackStage.com toolbar links labeled "Search Casting" or "Search Notices," or visit the Actor's Toolbox page located in the casting area of BackStage.com. The Actor's toolbox features links to advanced casting and résumé tools, and on the right-hand side of the Actor's Toolbox page there's a Simple Casting Search box for your convenience.

In the casting search-engine area of BackStage.com, you can fill out as much or as little search criteria as you'd like. The more details you enter, the more refined your search will be; the less you enter, the more results you'll see.

Advanced Search Filters:

Help Topic: "I can't see my new Cover Letter, Saved Searches, Resume Updates, or other Casting Items!" - Page "Refresh" (F5) Notes

If you’re sure that you’ve saved and/or updated a cover letter -- or any other item on BackStage.com, such as your Saved Searches, resume changes, etc. -- but you’re not seeing the new items or changes or they appear to be available, then there’s likely just a temporary “cache” problem between your web-browser and BackStage.com.

Usually the simplest way to solve this is to simply “refresh” the page(s) you’re having trouble with.

To refresh a page, click on the “refresh” or “reload” button on your web-browser’s toolbar a couple of times. Or click on the F5 key on your keyboard a couple of times. (Note: On some multimedia keyboards and Apple/Mac computers, you may need to hold down on the “Fn” Function Key at the same time as the F5 key in order to make the refresh-function work; and for some browsers Ctrl-F5 may work instead.)

Casting for Extras/Background Performers

Back Stage runs a lot of casting notices calling for extras/background performers every year for a wide variety of films and TV shows.

You’ll find calls for extras extras/background performers mixed in with our normal casting notices, in various categories.

For instance, sometimes near the end of a normal casting-notice character-breakdown (the second paragraph of every casting notice) you’ll see a boldfaced character/job-title that has a description that includes a phrase such as “Extras,” “Background Performers,” “Background Actors,” “Location Actors,” “Day Players,” or “Various Other Roles” – these catchall statements are usually in reference to the opportunities for extras and smaller roles for the project.