Confessions Of a Casting Director

By Leora Kanner, Broadway Magazine

Picture in your mind what you think of as a casting director...it is probably a vision of an all- powerful and mean man sitting behind a dark table and passing harsh judgments against talented performers. But do any of us really know what the job of "casting director" really entails? Dave Clemmons, a real casting director took time for a candid video interview with www.Broadway.tv, and he confesses that his job is not similar to what most people believe. According to Mr. Clemmons, there are many misconceptions surrounding his profession.

The job is "not so glamorous," he maintains. Sure, it's a great job, but Mr. Clemmons assures us that it is not so "star studded." Most of the time, he is sitting in an audition room watching an endless line of performers or in an office making phone calls. A casting director can see up to 300 dancers in any given day, or as many as 250 singers. The days are long, and tiring, for both the casting directors and the people auditioning.

Mr. Clemmons also believes that people have the skewed idea that the casting directors "are the ones who give out the jobs." This is only somewhat true: the casting directors are the front line of people who see the auditions, but then they send the performers to a creative team. The casting directors also need to have detailed conversations with the producers and directors to find out exactly what kind of performer they are looking to see. They get specific information and then attempt to implement it into the process. Along with this misconception is the assumption that casting directors are mean and judgmental. But Clemmons advocates that the casting directors really do want the performers to perform well and succeed in getting the job.

Mr. Clemmons does have some practical advice for performers. He says that performers should use the audition as a class, and an opportunity to learn not just a chance to get a job. He understands that by the end of the process one can grow weary of hearing the same song fifty times, but they must get over it. "The people who come at six o clock deserve your attention in the same way," Clemmons says, so appearing tired at the end of the day is not acceptable. His main advice: "be prepared." The person auditioning must dress appropriately, have their music and picture together, and must make sure that their headshot looks like them. These things separate the performers from the amateurs.

For Clemmons, telling people they got a job is "really the most rewarding" part of being a casting director. "To see people jump up and down excited to get a job." For more candid talk from casting director Dave Clemmons, watch the video profile, right here on www.Broadway.tv.