Back Stage 411 - Casting FAQ

Casting Discount Code for Film & Theatre Schools

 

Students & Faculty:

Receive a great discount off the price of posting a notice calling for cast and/or crew in BACK STAGE when you mention the name of your school in your notice and enter the secret promo code for your school during the online checkout process.

To discover the promo code for your school, check with your school's administrators. Most major film and theatre schools in the U.S. should have the current Back Stage Casting promo code on file. If they don't, then simply contact the Back Stage Casting Department from a .edu email address or on university letterhead, and we'll send the code to you and your school.

Contact the Back Stage Casting Department: http://backstage.com/castinghelp

To find talent and cast your project, visit http://BackStage.com/FindTalent.

Plus, receive the following benefits, FREE:

How to call for Union Members in Your Casting/Job Notice

Four Quick Tips:

Read below to find out how to call for only union performers, both union and nonunion performers, or only nonunion performers -- along with info on how to officially notate the status of your union contract or agreement.

Back Stage Casting/Job Notices: Help With Union Contracts

How Union Contracts Are Referenced in Back Stage Casting/Job Notices:

The following article is designed to help you understand how Back Stage verifies union information and the union-, union/nonunion-, and nonunion-specific language used by Back Stage in its casting and job notices.

For instance, read below to find out why phrases such as "pending" and "plans to apply for" are used in some union-contract descriptions, and view a comprehensive list of SAG, AFTRA, Equity (AEA), AGMA, AGVA, AFM, and ACTRA contracts and agreements, along with helpful union website links and other related info.

Creating a Notice: Various Casting, Job, Festival, and Competition Opportunities & Gigs

Various Casting, Job, Festival, and Competition Opportunities & Gigs

Back Stage's notices provide all possible critical information on a project in a clear, concise, and highly readable format so that ours readers can make an informed decision. Casting notices should follow the Back Stage style and format in regards to spelling, punctuation, and abbreviations, and so on.

Specifically:

1. The first paragraph lists the project details, including who’s casting, the name of the production, the personnel involved, and the approximate rehearsal and performance/shooting dates (if known).
   
2. The middle paragraph(s) contain the character/job breakdown, including exactly what type of performers and staff the production is looking for.
   
3. The final paragraph begins with the audition/submission info (dates, times, and location are in italics), followed by what performers must prepare/bring, contact info (phone, email, website), and ends with the pay/contract details, followed by the date the notice was first posted (in parentheses).

Creating a Casting/Job Notice: Theatre/Stage Casting

Theatre/Stage Casting & Job Notices

Back Stage casting and job notices provide all possible critical information on a project in a clear, concise, and highly readable format so that ours readers can make an informed decision. Casting notices should follow the Back Stage style and format in regards to spelling, punctuation, and abbreviations, and so on.

Specifically:

1. The first paragraph lists the project details, including who’s casting, the name of the production, the personnel involved, and the approximate rehearsal and performance/shooting dates (if known).
   
2. The middle paragraph(s) contain the character/job breakdown, including exactly what type of performers and staff the production is looking for.
   
3. The final paragraph begins with the audition/submission info (dates, times, and location are in italics), followed by what performers must prepare/bring, contact info (phone, email, website), and ends with the pay/contract details, followed by the date the notice was first posted (in parentheses).

Creating a Casting/Job Notice: Film & TV Casting

Film & TV Casting/Job Notices

Back Stage casting and job notices provide all possible critical information on a project in a clear, concise, and highly readable format so that ours readers can make an informed decision. Casting notices should follow the Back Stage style and format in regards to spelling, punctuation, and abbreviations, and so on.

Specifically:

1. The first paragraph lists the project details, including who’s casting, the name of the production, the personnel involved, and the approximate rehearsal and performance/shooting dates (if known).
   
2. The middle paragraph(s) contain the character/job breakdown, including exactly what type of performers and staff the production is looking for.
   
3. The final paragraph begins with the audition/submission info (dates, times, and location are in italics), followed by what performers must prepare/bring, contact info (phone, email, website), and ends with the pay/contract details, followed by the date the notice was first posted (in parentheses).

Find Top Talent With Back Stage

Quickly reach thousands of actors, models, performers, and crew in your area with Back Stage, the industry’s #1 resource for finding talent and promoting auditions for nearly 50 years.

Back Stage's popular "Post a Notice" option allows industry professionals to reach top talent and generate buzz via Back Stage's network of websites, e-newsletters, and print publications. Find cast and crew for film, theatre, and commercial projects and call for submissions to film festivals, open mikes, entertainment-industry contests, workshops, and more.

Problems Viewing Notices, Resumes, Videos, Etc. -- Web Pages Failing to Open

If you're experiencing a problem with any aspect of BackStage.com or Casting.BackStage.com, then please try refreshing the page you're looking at or try clearing out your browser cache. This will usually resolve a variety of issues.

However, if problems persist, then it's highly likely that you either need to immediately upgrade your web-browser or adjust your pop-up blocker, cookie, JavaScript, privacy, whitelist, and/or other security settings on your computer.

The following five steps will help you resolve a wide variety of problems that you may be experiencing on BackStage.com and other websites:

Casting, Job, Competition, and Festival CATEGORIES

Back Stage organizes casting/job notices based on geographic region and project category. The Back Stage Casting Department places every notice into the category that we feel it best belongs, so that our readers can quickly find what they’re looking for, in print and online. Some notices can run in multiple categories online. Below are the definitions of our various categories.

Note: Any category not specifically designated as Union, Nonunion, or Union/Nonunion may call for both union and nonunion performers; however, if ANY notice specifically calls for union performers, the exact union, union contract, and contract status ( “applying for,” “pending approval,” etc.) must be stated in the notice. Also, the pay scale ( “pay,” “no pay, “deferred pay,” etc.) should be noted in every notice. And if the project requires any participation fees, purchases, nudity, or other obligations, then the details should be clearly noted as well.