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Lesley Lawson

@wildlybc

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🎬 Casting Associate @monikadalmancasting
🇨🇦 🌎
Film | TV | Verticals | VO |

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TAICHI LOVERS: In a suburban mall Tai Chi group, shy 80-year-old Winston finds himself smitten with new member Barbara. With hilarious and misguided help from his loud best friend Alvin, Winston navigates the awkwardness of late-life romance, hearing loss, and senior Tai Chi culture. Many thanks to @haleyogurt for the absolute pleasure of being on board this very funny and touching short. #proudCD @ndsocial @heyits.night @wentingd @monikadalmancasting for the mentoring @simon.88 @lillian_lim @wil.cheung.actor @simonandrewjoe @ian.mroz @tanyakellercasting by @wildlybc

We fired an actor after he called his female co-star fat during a table read and suggested that she go on a diet.

This wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t an awkward joke. It was a grown man humiliating the person he was about to work closely with, in front of the rest of the cast and production team.

Actors don’t get to decide whether their scene partner’s body is acceptable. They don’t get to make cruel comments and then expect everyone else to dismiss it as humour.

Production immediately addressed the situation and asked us to replace him. I spent hours finding someone new, but honestly, I was happy to do it. His co-star deserved to arrive on set knowing that the person working opposite her had been removed and that production took her safety and dignity seriously.

Booking the role isn’t the end of the job interview. Your talent matters, but so does how you behave once you’re hired.

There are a lot of talented actors. We don’t need the ones who can’t pass the most basic vibe check.

If you can’t say something kind, don’t say it at all. Talk about amateur hour.

Will never hire that person again. Supply and Demand doesn't favour actors, we should never be need to cast mean ones. by @wildlybc

Sometimes people ask casting offices things like, “Can’t we just get some tapes really fast?” and I say this lovingly, but I do have some difficult news:

Self tapes do not magically appear out of 🍑

What looks like a simple 2 minute audition tape often involves script analysis, memorization, finding a reader, setting up lighting and sound, filming multiple takes, editing, exporting, uploading, and trying to fit all of that around school, work, parenting, commutes, classes, sports, and actual life.

Modern actors are basically acting, directing, filming, editing, and producing mini projects out of their bedrooms and living rooms on extremely tight timelines, and honestly, it’s kind of incredible what they pull off.

A little extra turnaround time truly goes a long way.

So no you won't be getting those tapes in a few hours, bruh. by @wildlybc

Okay, Canadian film people, this one matters.
I know the second people hear the words “tax credit” their brains leave their bodies, so I tried to explain this as simply as humanly possible in the slides.

The short version is that Canada is competing with places all over the world for film and TV production. Those productions bring a massive amount of work and money into this country, and our tax incentives are one of the tools we have to convince them to shoot here.

Right now, the way the federal and provincial incentives interact means part of that advantage gets reduced. Petition e-7794 is asking the federal government to change that.

If you’re an actor, crew member, filmmaker, student hoping to work in this industry, or honestly just someone who wants Canada to remain competitive and keep these jobs here, please read through the carousel and sign it.

You do NOT need to understand tax policy. I promise. I barely want to understand tax policy.
You just need to understand that productions can go somewhere else. They do it all the time. And anything we can reasonably do to make Canada a more competitive place to shoot is worth paying attention to right now.

Canadian citizens and residents can sign Petition e-7794.

It takes about 2 minutes. Please sign it, and then share the heck out of it.

#CanadianFilm #FilmIndustry #Filmmakers #IndependentFilm #FilmInCanada by @wildlybc

This one is for the agents. I think actors sometimes forget that an agent is one of the very few people in this industry who can spend hours, weeks, months, sometimes YEARS working for you without being paid a cent.

They submit you. Pitch you. Answer emails. Chase casting. Negotiate contracts. Fight for better rates. Deal with schedule changes. Keep track of your availability. Remember who you are right for. Talk you up in rooms you’re not in.

And if none of that turns into a booking?

They made $0.

Obviously, not every agent is a good agent. Sometimes relationships stop working. Sometimes communication is terrible. Sometimes it is time to move on... but I’ve also watched actors leave agents who were working incredibly hard for them because they assumed, “I’m not auditioning, so my agent must not be submitting me.”

Those two things are absolutely not the same.

A good actor-agent relationship is a partnership, and a LOT of the work your agent does is work you will never see.

So if you have an agent who believes in you, advocates for you, answers your emails, pitches you, and keeps showing up even during the stretches where neither of you is making any money…

Maybe send them a nice email today (a short one, because they probably get a lot of emails). by @wildlybc

We keep getting DMed about or tagged in posts where Casting Directors are saying that if you submit your self-tape by the deadline, you’re already too late. You're asking if it's true.

So, here’s the frustrating answer:

Maybe. Maybe not.

I’ve cast more than 300 projects over the past nine years, and no two have ever worked exactly the same way.

Sometimes we have days to review tapes. Sometimes the client wants options almost immediately. Sometimes everyone waits until the deadline. Sometimes tapes are being watched and discussed as they arrive.

Casting Directors can advocate for reasonable timelines, and we absolutely should. But we are also hired by a production and we don’t always control when decisions need to start being made.

So should you panic and rush every audition back immediately?

No.

A strong tape submitted by the deadline is still better than a rushed tape that doesn’t represent your work.

But if you’re asking whether there is a chance that people are already watching tapes before the deadline?

Yes.

I hate that answer too.

The best thing you can do is make the strongest tape you reasonably can, submit it within the requested timeframe, and understand that there simply isn’t one universal rule that applies to every production.

Casting is not nearly as logical or linear as Instagram would like us to make it sound. And I know lots of actors think they could do it better; but ask my team (former actors or parents of actors) of htow crazy it was to see things from this side once they stepped into it.

Anyway, in sorry for the 💩 answer. We’ll keep advocating for actors. We’ll keep pushing for reasonable turnaround times. And when we know tapes are being reviewed early, we’ll keep telling you.

In the meantime, read our carousel post which ends in a suggestion of how you may be able to help.

And feel free to go off in the comments about how it's a bunch of 💩, because we think so too. by @wildlybc

Hey actors, which is it?

❤️ We've booked you!
😄 We've auditioned you
💩 We haven't even auditioned you!

Let us know in the comments. by @wildlybc

Omg I had to delete and repost to add step one. Amateur hour over here on a Monday!

Wellll I guess this is a good follow up to our previous post.

Actors ask about the mythical casting “shit list” all the time. Is it a hard list to get on, is it as expensive as getting on the Forbes 30 Under 30, what's the deal? The truth is, you don’t get there just because you gave a bad audition, declined a role, had an availability conflict, asked a reasonable question, or simply weren’t the right person for a part. No way, it's a lot harder than that.

You get there by becoming someone casting no longer feels comfortable recommending, and this takes some serious effort. If I put your name forward, I’m attaching my reputation to you, so if you repeatedly lie about availability or residency, no-show, bail on confirmed bookings, treat crew badly, harass another actor, make people feel unsafe, violate confidentiality, or agree to the terms of a job and then try to completely renegotiate them once you’re booked, eventually the issue isn’t your acting anymore. It’s trust. And yes, people talk.

Casting talks to producers. Producers talk to directors. Directors talk to other directors. Assistants talk to casting directors. Crew members talk. Agents talk. One mistake usually isn’t the end of the world, people are human and things happen, but a pattern is different.. so you're gonna have to try harder to get on this list.

The quickest way to stop getting called in isn’t giving one terrible audition, it’s making casting look at your name and think, “Do I really want to be responsible for putting this person on set?”

So because we care, we will tell you exactly how to get on the list if you wanna be on it ❤️ by @wildlybc

Are we in Deadline now?

The four of us would like to use our newfound fame to share something important.

Actors, please be careful out there.

We’re living in an age where AI can create incredibly convincing images, emails, casting notices, websites, social media accounts, videos, and even entire conversations. Something looking professional is no longer proof that it’s legitimate.

A few reminders from four casting directors who would very much like you to stay safe:

• Submit through reputable casting platforms and verified industry contacts whenever possible.

• Having a legitimate agent adds another layer of protection because there’s someone else helping verify what’s coming your way.

• Check who the casting director and production company actually are.

• Be extremely cautious about sending identification, banking information, intimate material, money, or other sensitive information.

• A recognizable company name, impressive salary, famous producer, or professional-looking breakdown doesn’t automatically make something real.

• If something feels strange, ASK QUESTIONS. Legitimate casting professionals won’t be offended that you’re protecting yourself.

• And please remember the oldest rule on the internet: if something seems too good to be true, it may be.

AI has made it easier than ever to make something fake look extremely real. That means we all need to get a little better at verifying before trusting.

And yes, before anyone asks, this Deadline article is fake too.

That’s kind of the point.

Monika Dalman, Ashley Wood, Lesley Lawson, and Tanya Keller by @wildlybc

CASTING: CANADIAN FEMALE INFLUENCERS, AGES 19–25

We’re currently seeking Canadian women ages 19–25 with large, active social media followings and strong engagement for a UBCP/ACTRA ULB project shooting in the Vancouver area at the end of August.

We’re primarily looking for influencers with 150,000+ Instagram followers, the more the better, along with strong and consistent audience engagement. Established followings on TikTok, YouTube and other major platforms are also an asset.

Please note that we cannot make exceptions to the social media requirements for this project. Candidates with fewer than 100,000 followers on their platforms cannot be considered, so please do not submit unless you meet the minimum audience requirements. Seriously. Please.

Acting experience is preferred but not required.

Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and available to work in Vancouver during the production dates. We will travel people from outside Vancouver.

To submit, please email the candidate’s name, social media links, current follower counts, location and contact information.

Please use the subject line: CROSSING THE STREET

You can email us at monikadalmancasting@gmail.com by @wildlybc

We try to make our audition breakdowns and audition requests as clear as possible. Sometimes they're a little long (ok, often), but that's because we want to give you as much information as we can. We want you to look good because when you look good, WE look good!

If you've read through the breakdown and audition request twice and you're still left with a question about the performance or what's required, please don't be shy about asking.

If you received the audition through your agent, the best way to ask is through them. They may already know the answer because another client has asked, or they may have already seen the clarification elsewhere.

Coaches, if you're working with a client on one of our auditions and you're unsure about something, you're welcome to reach out as well.

Email is always best, and if you CC all four of us, at least one of us can get back to you more quickly.

monikadalmancasting@gmail.com
ashleywoodcasting@gmail.com
lesleylawsoncasting@gmail.com
tanyakellercasting@gmail.com

If you're an unrepresented actor, you'll find our contact information in our Linktree. by @wildlybc