Casting Director: James Ashford - Florida Studio Theatre
Submitted Jul 21, 2008
|
|
|
| James Ashford - Casting & Hiring Coordinator Florida Studio Theatre. James coordinates the casting and hiring of all FST Guest Artists, full-time staff members and members of the intern company. James has worked extensively as a professional actor, director and playwright. He received his BFA (cum Laude) from Otterbein College. |
|
Interviewed by Joanna Parson
Tell us about Florida Studio Theatre. How many shows do you do a year? Do you concentrate on any particular kind of theatre – musicals, straight plays?
Florida Studio Theatre is a LORT D theatre located in Sarasota, FL. We have 3 theatres: the 173 seat Keating mainstage, the 109 seat Goldstein Cabaret and the 160 seat Gompertz Theatre. We produce 16 shows per year plus 5-6 staged readings per year through our Literary Department. We produce a wide variety of work from more “popular” work on the Mainstage (Altar Boyz, Golda’s Balcony), small cast musicals and musical reviews in the Cabaret (European Cabaret, Inspired Lunacy) and edgier work in the Gompertz Theatre (Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Edward Albee’s The Goat).
Your season runs year-round—do you hold auditions for every show, or do you have any big general calls for multiple shows at once?
We generally hold auditions on a show by show basis in Sarasota and New York.
Tell us about the theatre community in your area. Are you able to visit other theatres and get to know local and regional actors?
The West Coast of Florida is considered the cultural coast, with Sarasota being the hub of it. In Sarasota alone there a number of professional arts organizations: FST, the Asolo Theatre, The Golden Apple, the Sarasota Opera, the Symphony, the Ballet and others. I do sometimes see shows at other area theatre and have gotten to know most of the local and many of the regional actors.
When an actor walks in to audition for you, what are the qualities that give you a positive first impression?
Being personable and professional.
Let’s talk about monologue auditions. When do you require monologue auditions? And what do you think actors should look for when they’re choosing a monologue?
Generally we only require non-show specific monologues for general auditions. We do sides from the script for show-specific auditions. When choosing a monologue, I think actors should choose monologues from characters they could actually be cast as. Play to your strengths!
Do you have any particular dislikes when it comes to the choice of a monologue? What do you think about using alternative sources, like dialogue from television shows or Craigslist rants?
I guess if you are auditioning for a TV show that would be ok. I prefer monologues from plays. I always appreciate a monologue that I haven’t heard before.
How about audition songs? Any particular no-nos when it comes to choosing songs for musical auditions?
Choose songs that show off your range and what you can do with your voice. Again, play to your strengths. You probably want to avoid those overused songs as well. Unless you are auditioning for CATS, you may not want to choose “Memory.”
FST is dedicated to fostering new play development. How can actors prepare to audition for new plays if the material isn’t published? Do you make scripts available ahead of time?
Yes we do. With the playwright’s permission, we post a PDF version of the audition sides and script on our website.
How important is an actors headshot? Do actors need to spend a lot of money on their headshot? What grabs your attention when headshots come in the mail?
As long as the headshot looks like the actor, is professional quality and is fairly recent it’s fine. I’m more interested in what is on the resume, but the photo is important too.
What about training? How important is it for an actor to go to a prestigious school (NYU, Juilliard)? Do you “call in” actors based on their training?
It can’t hurt, but it has no impact on whether I call an actor in. Where they have worked and the roles they have played do have an impact.
If an actor is requesting an audition, can they just send you a headshot and resume, or do you look for a cover letter that charms and entertains? (And how do you feel about gimmicks like baked goods or confetti?)
I prefer an emailed headshot and resume with a brief and personable introduction. No confetti or baked goods please!
Are actors’ web sites important in your casting process? What do you think should be included in web sites for actors?
I do occasionally look at actors’ websites but I don’t have time to look at them all. A headshot and easy-to-read resume are more important to me.
Will FST work with actors who haven’t yet become members of Actors Equity Association? Do beginning actors need to be in the union in order to be considered for jobs?
No, they don’t. Being LORT, there are a limited number of non-Equity performers we can employ. However, union or not, we try to cast the best person for the role (while staying within our required ratio).
FST has an extensive education program, and the “Write a Play” program is an acclaimed young playwrights festival. How can actors get involved with “Write a Play”? Is it connected with the FST internship program?
Write a Play is connected to the Internship program (we cast young (20-25) intern actors to perform on the tour). Actors who are here working on one of our stages can get involved by helping us read the plays and/or if they are here in May, performing in one of the staged readings of the young writers plays.
Let’s say I’m an actor who’s recently arrived in the Sarasota area. What are the best ways for me to get myself involved with FST? Besides auditioning, what other ways can we get to know each other?
Aside from auditioning, you can call or send an email to me to introduce yourself, take classes through our Education Department (we offer adult acting and adult improve classes). I think general auditions are good too. I love being able to see the work of new people in town and hopefully being able hire them a some point, either in one our staged readings, a full production or both!
What did you think of this interview? Let us know!
feedback@actorslife.com
|
|
