Richard Ridge of BroadwayWorld moderates a conversation between Artios Award-nominated Broadway casting directors Bernard Telsey ('The Music Man'), Erica Hart ('Chicken & Biscuits'), and Erica Jensen ('For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf'). 

PANELIST BIOS:

Bernard Telsey, CSA and his staff have cast such Broadway shows as 'Some Like It Hot,' 'Kimberly Akimbo,' 'The Music Man,' 'MJ: The Musical,' 'A Strange Loop,' 'Rent,' 'Wicked,' 'Hairspray,' 'In the Heights,' 'Kinky Boots,' 'Hamilton,' and more.

Some of Telsey’s film projects include 'Respect,' 'In the Heights,' 'Dear Evan Hansen,' 'Mary Poppins Returns,' 'The Greatest Showman,' 'Into the Woods' and the upcoming movie musicals 'The Color Purple' and 'The Little Mermaid.'

Recent television credits include 'Fosse/Verdon,' 'This Is Us,' 'Grease! Live,' 'Jesus Christ Superstar: Live,' 'We Crashed,' 'Schmigadoon,' and 'Only Murders In The Building.'

Telsey is one of the co-Artistic Directors of MCC Theater and he was the 2016 recipient of the Casting Society of America’s Hoyt Bowers Award for his contributions to the profession.

Erica Jensen, CSA: As one third of the Artios-Award winning Calleri Jensen Davis (with James Calleri and Paul Davis) Erica’s theater casting credits include shows for Actors Theater of Louisville, Classic Stage Company, Rattlestick Theater, City Theater, McCarter Theatre, People’s Light and Theatre, Hartford Stage, LaJolla Playhouse, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and The Flea Theater. Broadway credits include 'Thoughts of A Colored Man,' 'For Colored Girls (2022),' 'Topdog/Underdog' and 'The Piano Lesson.' Past Broadway credits: 'Fool For Love,' 'Hughie,' 'A Raisin In The Sun,' 'Of Mice and Men,' and 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch.' TV credits include 'Queens,' 'Love Life,' 'Dickinson,' 'Lipstick Jungle,' and 'The Path.'

Erica A Hart, CSA was born and raised in Washington, DC (the actual 202...not 301 or 703.) She graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied film and television. She has been casting for over a decade and has loved every minute of it. She started off in network and studio casting moving her way up to Casting Coordinator in the New York Office of ABC Primetime Casting. Erica has appeared in The Hollywood Reporter as a featured rising artist and has cast films that have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, Outfest, Cinequest, and the Cannes Film Festival. 'The Surrogate' (a film she cast as well as associate produced) was in INDIEWIRE's Best Movies Eligible for a 2021 Oscar, was a VARIETY CRITICS PICK, and earned Erica her first Artios nomination and win in 2021. She has cast commercials for high-end brands such as Maybelline, Gillette, Hasbro, and Delta, to name a few, and cast H.E.R's music video for 'Fight for You' which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her television/streaming Casting Director credits include both seasons of 'That Damn Michael Che' (HBOMAX), 'Jodie' produced by Tracee Ellis Ross and Grace Edwards, 'Black Don't Crack' (pilot for ABC), 'Bust Down' (PEACOCK) and 'The Girls on the Bus' (HBOMAX). In 2021 she made her Broadway debut casting two Broadway plays: 'Chicken & Biscuits' and 'Pass Over.' In 2022, she co cast the Broadway revival of 'Death of a Salesman' and will cast the MTC Broadway production of 'Jaja's African Hair Braiding.' She has cast theatrical productions for THE NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE and THE DRAMA LEAGUE. Erica was the Casting Associate for shows like 'Ray Donovan' (SHOWTIME), 'The Bold Type' (FREEFORM), 'Defending Jacob' (APPLE+), and 'Godfather of Harlem' (EPIX). She is on the Board of Governors for Casting Society (CSA) and a member of the Television Academy. She also teaches TV auditioning techniques at colleges and universities around the country including Harvard University and NYU's Grad Acting Program. Outside of casting, she has received grants and awards from the Puffin Foundation, New York Television Festival and The Digital Bolex, and has developed series for BET and WeTV.

Richard Ridge (moderator) is the lead correspondent for BroadwayWorld, one of the most popular theatre websites receiving over 8 million visitors every month. For BroadwayWorld, he is the host of 'Backstage with Richard Ridge' which has long been the most popular outlet for Broadway stars and legends to talk about their careers. His guests have included Chita Rivera, Lin Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban, Cherry Jones, Julie Taymor, Laura Benanti, Brian Cox, Zachary Quinto, Judith Light, Joan Rivers, Elaine Paige, Kristen Chenoweth, Nick Jonas, Jessie Mueller and Hugh Dancy. Prior to that, he was the host of the groundbreaking 'Broadway Beat' for 20 years. His latest venture is the filmed SAG/AFTRA Foundation/ BroadwayWorld 'Conversations Q & A series,' which recognizes and celebrates the vibrant theatre community in New York City. These in-depth interviews are filmed for the Foundation’s educational archives and Broadway World. Past participants have included Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Matt Bomer, Bobby Cannavale, Harold Prince, Stockard Channing, Nathan Lane, Darren Criss, Sara Bareilles, Tony Goldwyn, Cheyenne Jackson, Kelli O’Hara, David Tennent, Vanessa Redgrave, Liev Schreiber, Jeff Daniels, David Hyde Pierce, Jim Parsons, Gena Rowlands, Michael Urie, Jason Alexander and Juliette Binoche. Richard made his Broadway debut in 2019 in the groundbreaking musical 'The Prom.'

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