A cast is a group of performers chosen based on their skills, looks, experience, and chemistry. The casting process involves auditions, where a panel reviews candidates. Once chosen, performers sign contracts and may spend weeks or months rehearsing together. Tensions can arise, causing stress for everyone involved.
A cast is a group of artists featured in a recorded or live performance. Group members can be chosen based on looks, skills, experience, and chemistry with other members, and the casting process is often quite complex and very selective. Comedies, television shows, movies, commercials, musicals, radio plays, and a wide variety of other entertainment all require a cast of performers, supported by a crew of engineers, producers, and others.
The first stage in assembling a cast is typically holding auditions. During the auditions, a panel of reviewers will have the opportunity to see several people read for parts, sing, and sometimes participate in an audition, in the case of film and television castings. Often the director of the show is present, along with the producers and some support staff, although preliminary auditions are sometimes done by a casting agency, which only refers the best candidates to the director and producers.
Participating in auditions can sometimes be difficult. In some cases, a public call for auditions may be published, meaning that anyone can come in to audition for a part. In other cases, auditions are closed, limited to specific referrals from casting agencies, who may keep a library of prospective performers on hand. During auditions, the panel considers the various performers’ suitability for roles in the piece, as well as their chemistry with other potential cast members. Sometimes, an actor comes reading for one role and ends up being asked to play another, and depending on the style of casting, people may get notes and ask to re-star so the casting staff can have a idea of their versatility.
Once the final group of performers has been decided, a cast list is issued and members are asked to sign contracts setting out their pay and various aspects of the performance. In stage productions, for example, members will be advised when rehearsals begin and how long the show is expected to run, and they may be asked to commit to future filming or touring of the production.
It’s quite common for people in the cast to become very friendly with each other over the course of a production. Depending on the piece, the performers may spend weeks or months together in rehearsals before the show debuts, giving them ample opportunity to get to know each other. In television, cast members may spend years together, often becoming close friends with each other and with the technicians and support crew who work on the show. In the theater community at large, performers can also become very insular, especially when they are extremely focused on their work, finding more in common with other performers and crews than with society at large.
Tensions can also evolve over a cast and these tensions can be problematic for production managers. Especially in large casts, it’s not that surprising that one person can come to dislike another, but when they have to act out scenes together, this can lead to considerable tension and stress for everyone involved. Someone who constantly develops interpersonal issues with other artists may find themselves excluded from future productions, as information about artists’ attitudes is often widely distributed among production companies.
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