Casting Actors and Models in Rural America
When Shelby and I decided to pack up and move back to our family farm in the Ozarks from a 4 year stint in the greater Seattle area, I knew there would be hurdles in regards to availablility to the same resources that most creative agencies enjoy in an urban environment. Many of those hurdles have been real, and challenging.
It can also be said that the rural landscape provides many opportunities that aren’t within reach in the city, and those things have made Slate and Glass a very unique and important resource in our industry.
When building an agency with a heavy focus on video work in a rural area, a major challenge can be casting models and actors. We have faced these challenges, and through the process of finding solutions, we’ve experienced some really exceptional results.
Here are 3 casting solutions to consider when looking for talent for your next project:
Mid-size market talent agencies:
Most mid sized cities have at least 1 reputable talent agency that shouldn’t be hard to find with a simple Google search. For us here in south-central Missouri, we draw from agencies in St Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa, and even sometimes farther. We consider within a 5 hours drive pretty doable for most talent who really want to work. Providing hotel and mileage reimbursement is important so that will add to your client’s cost. One thing to consider, most of these mid-size market talent agencies work primarily with models, not actors…. However, they are in the business of booking folks, so they will tell you a model can act. Don’t make the same mistake I’ve made, if you need a performance, be sure to ask for a self tape before booking your talent. You’ll find out quickly who is and who isn’t able to give you a great acting performance.
Casting Directors - This is one of those resources a lot of folks don’t consider, probably because it feels like we are always working with limited budgets. However, a good casting director doesn’t always cost as much as you might think, and the value they can bring is sometimes well worth the investment. In our case, we often work with Tiffany Bear (tiffanyreneebear.com). Tiffany is located here in the Ozarks, but can provide casting resources for projects in any location. The benefit that a casting director brings is access to post casting calls, and real-world, current knowledge of the industry. Often, casting directors do pull from the same talent agency market, but in Tiffany’s case, she provides us a nice list of the top choices, confirms their availability for our shoot days, and often finds talent from outside of our region who might be worth additional budget for airfare. On multiple occasions we have presented talent options to a client, and they have approved additional budget to fly someone to our set location from Atlanta or LA. Casting directors certainly save you an incredible amount of time and energy.
Don’t Miss local talent - This 3rd option is one that we utilize all the time, local people! One beautiful thing about rural America is that we have a good number of very talented people with untapped potential. In our case, we regularly post a casting call on social media that directs people to a landing page with a form. We’ve got an ever growing list of local folks who are interested in modeling for minimal fees. Honestly, some folks just think it is fun to be part of a production, and if you’re looking simply for models, this can be a great option. Casting models from your local pool of willing and eager talent can be rewarding for the whole team, and sometimes, you find a true diamond in the rough!
