CLASS FORMAT
This in-person class will include a Q&A and an ACTOR'S CHOICE PREPARED READING session with an experienced casting professional.
Actors will select their own scenes for this class. Scenes can be from film, television that best represents you. Scenes should be no more than 2 minutes in length.
All actors will need to email a PDF of their chosen scene to castingaccess@sagaftra.foundation for the reader by 5pm PST on Monday, September 18th. The subject needs to be Casting Access - Henry Russell Bergstein. The body of the email MUST include the role(s) that the reader will be reading. Please bring a hard copy of your sides to the class for the reader.
If you do not send your material as noted above by the deadline, you will still be invited to attend the Q&A and observe, but your performance slot will be passed on to another actor.
CASTING PROFESSIONAL BIO
Henry Russell Bergstein
Most recently Vice President, Casting for HBO Max, TNT, TBS, and TruTV, where he oversaw casting for scripted and unscripted series, feature films, docudramas, and animation and scouted new talent. Prior to that he worked as an independent casting director on film, television, and theater out of New York at his company, Estrin/Bergstein Casting with partner Allison Estrin, and before that at Douglas Aibel Casting.
In television, Bergstein is Emmy nominated and won an Artios Award and was nominated for another.
In film, noteworthy credits for his work as a casting director include It Felt Like Love (Sundance ‘13), Saturday Church (Tribeca ‘17), and Black Bear (Sundance ’20). With Douglas Aibel: Grandma (Sundance ’15), The Week Of, The Day Shall Come (SXSW ’19), and Love After Love (Tribeca ‘17). With Allison Estrin: Drunk Parents, Abundant Acreage Available, and The Night Before. He has received 18 nominations and 4 Artios Award wins for his work as a Casting Director and Associate in tv and film.
In theatre, Bergstein worked as the casting director on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway specializing in new American plays and musicals. He cast over 20 productions at New York’s Vineyard Theatre as well as numerous productions at Ars Nova, LCT3, Signature, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and PS 122. He's worked on new plays from such artists as Tarell Alvin McCraney, Brandon Jacobs Jenkins, Eboni Booth, Michael R. Jackson, Nicky Silver, Rachel Chavkin, Will Eno, Bess Wohl, John Kander, and David Malloy. Highlights include the world premiere productions of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova), Octet (Signature Theatre), The Lyons (Vineyard & Broadway), KPOP (Ars Nova/Ma-Yi), Gloria (Vineyard and Goodman), and Wig Out! (Vineyard). Bergstein worked on developmental theater readings, workshops, and festivals including five summers of the Sundance Theatre Institute Theatre Labs and two Lincoln Center Directors Labs.
Bergstein began his career as a Casting Assistant at Fox Broadcasting Company. A former improviser and house team member at UCB and the Magnet Theater in NY, he holds an M.F.A. in Film from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Theater with a minor in LGB Studies from Cornell University. Bergstein is a member of the Casting Society of America and the Teamsters Local 817.
REQUIREMENTS
You must have completed a Casting Access Application prior to registering for this class.
All members must show a valid SAG-AFTRA card when they check in for the class. No admittance will be granted without your current card or receipt.
NO LATE ARRIVALS are admitted. Only those participants who have received a telephoned or e-mailed confirmation message from staff will be admitted to the session. Waitlisted individuals who have not received such confirmation will not be admitted at the door. Please do not show up if you have not been explicitly confirmed as RSVPed.
Cancellations are required by midnight the night before a class. Cancellation can only be made via the website. You cannot cancel your RSVP via email or phone. Those who have been seated by the start date are expected to comply. You must cancel your reservation before the start date if you cannot comply, or you will face a six month ineligibility period. DO NOT BE LATE. Check-in begins 15 minutes to the class start time. If you arrive after the start time, you will not be admitted and it will be counted as a no-show.
Please note that the 30-day frequency restriction applies to this workshop. Your last frequency-restricted workshop must have taken place no less than 30 (thirty) days prior to this event to be eligible to register
This program is for educational purposes only.
