JUL
23

Casting and the Actor’s Ego

By Kathleen Wallace 

The daughter of an English and drama teacher, Kathleen Wallace fell in love with theatre around the same time she learned to walk.  She began writing, performing and directing her own plays in kindergarten, but since then has added a BA from Yale and an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory among her many other theatrical credits. 

My third year in drama school, my classmates and I anxiously awaited the casting of our final project.  When the cast list was finally posted, I was devastated.  I had been relegated to a number of small parts — many of them male.  We were doing a play with a large, male-heavy cast.  Intellectually I knew that someone was going to play those parts.  Though my brain understood that, my ego still ached.

Even as someone in my final year of graduate school, I had to stop and remind myself of the basic truths of casting for the actor.  If you work in casting, especially with young actors or people new to acting, you may want to remind those fragile egos of these basic truths, which can be summed up by the phrase “It’s not about you.”

Not everyone can play the lead.  Actors crave attention, and playing one of the bigger roles in the show is a great way to get attention.  But just because you’re not a lead doesn’t mean you won’t be seen.  Forget the leads and concentrate on your own part.  Make it your own, and you can shine.

One of the joys of having a smaller part is that you can really detail your performance.  How does your character walk?  Talk?  Blink?  Roll the sleeves of your coat?  You can endlessly add details to character, and the more details you add, the more real the character.  The more real the character, the more memorable the character.  Revel in the details of your part.  Commit to it fully.  You may just be the person who steals the show!

Ever hear the phrase, “Pay your dues”?  Well, lots of student actors have done just that:  they’ve paid their dues by working hard and keeping at it.  Rarely does the lead role go to a freshman or sophomore, no matter how good the audition.  It’s the upperclassmen who have taken the smaller roles in previous years and proven their work ethic and commitment to teamwork who earn the coveted roles over time.

Is this always true?  Of course not.  Maybe a new transfer student has professional acting experience that can’t be ignored.  Perhaps an incoming freshman has an older sibling who taught him or her the ropes.  There are always exceptions to the rule, but generally, being cast in smaller roles provides you the opportunity to prove your commitment to the overall success of the show.  Being willing to do whatever is needed to make the production as good as possible will undoubtedly pay off in the future.

Insulted because last year you had the lead and this year you are Spear Carrier Number Three?  Consider this:  you might be in a smaller part this time around precisely because you had a larger part last time.  Many teachers try to be fair and share the wealth, so to speak, by not always giving the lead to the one “star” in the school.  All the other parents sure appreciate knowing they won’t keep seeing the same faces front and center in every school production.

Reminding young actors of these truths sounds like that bad break-up line, “It’s not you.  It’s me.”  But in the case of casting, that is often the reality.  Actors of any age can beat themselves up mercilessly over not getting a part.  As a casting director, however, you know the reality is that there are hundreds of variables that go into casting a show, and that the actor’s audition, though everything to the actor, is just one piece of the casting process.

It really requires very little time and energy to soothe the actor’s ego.  Begin by viewing all auditioners through a paradigm of respect and appreciation and reminding them of these truths.  Let them know that you recognize that all actors take risks.  For them, every audition presents the possibility of rejection, and it takes courage to even try.  You may wish to post a notice with the casting announcement encouraging and applauding all efforts to become involved in the production.