Synopsis by Tracy Weisert
For the past three years, I have had the pleasure of hosting the Casting Networks’ monthly Industry Guest Seminars. These experiences have been personally invaluable to me but of course, very valuable as a professional actor in Los Angeles. The insights and knowledge I gain from the seminars is immeasurable.
Our July seminar with casting director Tolley Casparis was no exception! (I was particularly excited that Tolley was our guest speaker because the most “hip” credit on my resume came from Tolley casting me in a rock band’s music video years ago. I had always longed to be on MTV and VHI-Thanks Tolley!)
We not only had delightful Tolley as our guest speaker but she brought along her friend and colleague, agent Steve Chetelat from the Bloc Talent Agency. It was a lively and fun exchange of information between the entire group. Both guests were warm and giving with their up front insights.
Some highlights include~
- With character headshots- “The headshots should be character driven and not prop driven.”
- On resumes-“With Special Skills, you have to be at top skill level at the audition.”
- At auditions-“Give up the goal and be in the moment.”
Tolley also successfully teaches a class on how to become a casting director through the UCLA Extension Program. Tolley proudly shared that she currently has nine working casting directors in casting offices from 5 of her past classes!
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Seminar Recap