Casting + Call

Wagner Summer Theater is extremely excited to announce our partnership for our upcoming winter workshop with talent agent Jim McCaffrey of Stewart Talent Chicago.

COACHES JUST ANNOUNCED! BIOS HERE!

We have a very special opportunity for child and teen actors who are interested in taking their acting and vocal skills to the next level.  In these interesting times, casting directors and talent agencies have also made pivots on how they hold auditions, meet with, and take on talent. Typically, most agencies work with actors who reside in the cities in which they are based. With the limitations of travel and gatherings, we have seen agencies move out of this norm a little bit.  Some clients are becoming open to accessing talent virtually. This leaves opportunity for actors in smaller cities to have access to some of these opportunities.  If you have a child who has expressed interest in taking their acting and or singing interest to the next level we highly recommend this class.

This workshop will be built around creating a digital showcase for the students of WST. Students will work with Jim as well as three other major casting directors in Chicago to put together a package that will showcase their skills in acting for film/tv, commercials, and if your child is a singer, musical theatre. The end result will be to put together a digital portfolio for each student that will include a monologue, a piece of commercial copy, and one song.  

The digital filming and portfolio will be guided virtually by talent agent Jim McCaffrey himself.  He will share tips and tricks with the students on how to best set up lighting, camera angles, etc. to film themselves with a professional look.  Jim will also coach on how to set themselves apart with digital auditions. Additionally, he will guide students through the process of choosing material and help them find pieces that best showcase their talent. Then, students will continue to develop their pieces with the three casting directors from the Chicago market. They will be announced soon, but they all have extensive resumes, having cast major national commercials, cast TV shows like CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO PD, SENSE8, blockbuster films like CONTAGION, WIDOWS, and many more, and also at major theatre companies that have hosted pre-Broadway premieres of new plays and musicals.

Once the digital showcase is finalized, we will send the digital portfolios to Jim’s industry colleagues in Chicago and beyond. 

This is a great opportunity to get your child's name out there and gain some input and guidance on their journey to be working actors.  Jim will be a mentor for this opportunity and is not committing to taking on any of our participants as clients.  However, working with and gaining feedback from him and these other industry professionals is a great step to better understand the casting world, and for students to get some visibility.

Be aware, this will be a highly intensive program, and students will be required to complete a decent amount of homework on their own time, as they work to implement the notes that they receive from Jim and the casting directors. For younger actors, this will include assistance from parents as well with technical set-up, being there to aid your child with Zoom, and working with your child on the notes given to them to make the digital showcase as awesome as it can be! Check out us discussing the workshop on our FB page here!

6 WEEK COURSE

Feb 6th thru March 13 CASTING + CALL Ages 9-18 Time slot on Saturdays will vary. Will try to work with each participants schedule. We may also be able to accommodate Sunday sessions. Cost: $400* Location: Zoom

Class will be capped at 14 students

REGISTER ON BLACK FRIDAY NOV 27TH FOR AND RECEIVE 10% OFF

*Payment plans are available:

November payment: $200** ($160 if register on Black Friday) December payment: $100** January payment: $100**

** Payment plans options are due on the last day of each month.

Check out coaches bios here.

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