Kindness vs. Honesty

Casting Directors come in all different shapes and sizes. They all have their own unique mix of preferences making it absolutely impossible to know how to please everyone. All I can really do is meet as many of these people as possible, take detailed notes, and try to wow their pants off (figuratively) when we (knock on wood, not their wood...gross!) meet again.

Let's do a detailed comparison:

I met Katharina Eggman recently of CBS. She's a 30ish normal looking woman with a Jeanine Garofalo-esque voice. She's extremely laid back, so laid back that she's cool with showing up 30 minutes late. Shit happens but this was the second time I met her and the second time she was so profoundly not punctual. In a class setting, everyone read their sides and everyone got notes. Everyone also did "a nice job." Everyone. Eggman is very nice and creates an incredibly safe environment but I don't honestly believe that everybody was nice. I also don't believe that she was making an effort to search her vocabulary for any other synonyms or adjectives. The first time I met Eggman was only 8 weeks prior to the second yet she did not seem to recognize me at all.

I don't want to make it seem like I didn't like Katharina Eggman. Because despite all these reasons I should, there was something inexplicably likable about her. Despite her generic notes, I found her supportive. In a private one on one setting I got to read two sides for her. I got notes on the first, did it again, then applied the same notes to the second one and only needed one read. Again, against logic, when she said I did a nice job I sort of believed her! She was easy to talk to and very complimentary.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I took a class with James Calleri of Calleri Casting. He chose to focus his class on co-star sides and some of the scripts had only one line. According to Calleri we need to get good at these because as an unknown actor, these are the auditions we’re going to be going to now. Granted his class and Eggman’s covered very different subject matters, but Calleri and Eggman are very different casting directors. For Calleri’s class we were warned ahead of time to be on time because nobody would be allowed in the room late. Nobody showed up late so I didn’t get to see what the repercussions would have been. Calleri immediately took control of the room and taught. He has been casting for over 10 years and has a whole lot to say. It sounds like the guy actually knows what he’s doing. Calleri is unapologetically himself and at times (to an actor/pupil) he is intimidating and kind of scary. He doesn’t censor himself, throwing around f-bombs and slouching all the way down in his chair completely spread eagle while addressing the room. All the actors in the class got up and read 2 different sides. I was nervous as hell but things went pretty well. Calleri gives feedback on your outfit, your hair, your makeup, your dialect, whatever he wants!

Eggman was very kind and being in a class with her was very comfortable. The immediacy of that is warm and fuzzy but in the long-term it’s pretty much worthless. Comfortability doesn’t push you to do your best and, I’m sorry, but sometimes being kind seems like lying to me. It also seems sort of lazy! I mean, isn’t it easier to be generally kind than potentially hurt someone’s feelings with some constructive criticism. I like Eggman as a person but I don’t honestly know what in god’s name she really thinks of me! Maybe Eggman comes to these classes to meet new actors but she doesn’t come to class to teach. Calleri does. Calleri doesn’t so much care about your feelings and that makes his positive comments something to feel really really good about. Neither Eggman nor Calleri told me I was perfect, but I got some positive notes from both. I believe them both too. The main difference is believing Katharina Eggman kind of feels like believing in Santa Claus. Believing James Calleri is like believing in photosynthesis.

Only time will tell, however, if that phone shall ring. And who it may be on the line...