SYNOPSIS
This class will include a Q&A and a prepared reading session with an experienced casting professional.
Please prepare a SCENE from a TV show or film of two minutes in length or less. Please bring a reader copy.
CASTING DIRECTOR BIO
Brittani Ward (maiden name: Brittani Smith) is a Casting Director from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. She studied Theatre and Cinematography at the University of Iowa for two years, then transferred to DePaul University’s Digital Cinema Production program, where she graduated cum laude with a degree in screenwriting and a plan to pursue a career in casting.
She moved to Los Angeles and worked for several years as a Casting Associate to Amber Horn, Danielle Aufiero, and Barbara Fiorentino. Her credits during that time include MTV’s Awkward., The 100 on the CW, Lifetime’s Un-Real, Homefront (Starring Jason Staham), SexEd (Starring Haley Joel Osment), and other studio and network pilots.
In June, 2014, she began working as a Casting Director and rapidly accumulated independent feature credits on fully financed productions. These include American Wrestler: The Wizard (Starring Jon Voight, William Fichtner), Running Wild (Starring Sharon Stone, Tommy Flanagan), The Other (Starring Cary Elwes, Drea de Matteo), Pray for Rain (Starring Jane Seymour), Dirt (Starring Kevin Dillon), and Ride (Starring Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges and Sasha Alexander). She also cast three series for Abominable Pictures - a prolific production company, founded by Jonathan Stern, that produces comedic content for multi-digital platforms. Comedy stars who performed in these series (Drive Share, Filthy Preppy Teen$, and Hotwives of Las Vegas) include: Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, Milana Vayntrub, Natasha Leggero, Ken Marino, Adam Pally, Jack McBrayer, Jason Mantzoukas, Claudia O’Doherty, Randall Park, Casey Wilson, Ali Wong, Ron Funches, and many more.
Emmy Award-winning Casting Directors Laray Mayfield and Julie Schubert hired Brittani as their Casting Associate in May, 2015. Laray and Julie are two of the most prestigious casting directors in the world today; they work on quality projects helmed by some of best directors, producers, and actors in the business. To date, they allow Brittani to continue casting projects for her own company as a Casting Director, while accruing high-level Casting Associate credits on confidential features and series of theirs. They recently shared ‘Casting By’ credit with Brittani on a character-driven indie called Back Fork, which wrapped principle photography last month.
Today, Brittani lives in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago and works remotely full time, frequenting Los Angeles about once a month. She strongly prefers “singlecamera” acting, and her resume includes many genres – from situational comedies to dark dramas, psychological thrillers to family films. She is a fierce proponent of ethnically diverse casting, and prides herself on being constructive, accessible, and actor-friendly.
REQUIREMENTS
You must have completed a Casting Access Application prior to registering for this class.
Please note that the 90-day frequency restriction applies to this class. Your last frequency-restricted class must have taken place no less than 90 (ninety) days prior to this event to be eligible to register.
NO LATE ARRIVALS and NO WALK-INS 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.
