From the producer and writer of the hit AMC series “Breaking Bad” comes a brand new series for Starz that centers on a young female ballet dancer, Claire, who has a distinctly troubled past as she joins a prestigious ballet company in New York. The Primetime Emmy Award nominated casting director is conducting a national talent search seeking real ballet dancers for the starring role of Claire, and a number of other series regular roles. Talent can submit a self-tape audition video via email, and the audition scripts are available for download. Shooting will take place in New York City beginning Spring, 2014.
Two-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee Moira Walley-Beckett is the show’s creator, executive producer, and writer. Walley-Beckett, a former actress, served as executive producer on AMC’s “Breaking Bad”. Three-time Academy Award nominee Lawrence Bender will produce with his Bender Brown Productions partner Kevin Kelly Brown. Bender, Brown and Wally-Beckett all have connections to the world of ballet – Bender and Walley-Beckett are former ballet dancers, and Brown’s family is made up entirely of former ballet dancers, serving as the basis for the 1977 Oscar-nominated film “The Turning Point”. Two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner John P. Melfi will also produce. Melfi has served as producer of “Sex in the City,” “Rome,” the Showtime series “Nurse Jackie,” and “House of Cards”
Starz! Ballet Project Open Casting Call Details
The casting company for the upcoming Starz “Untitled Ballet Project” original series is conducting a national talent search seeking real ballet dancers for lead roles as series regulars. Talent can submit a self-tape audition video to the casting director. The show is described as “an episodic dramatic series that centers on a young female ballet dancer with a troubled past who joins a ballet company in New York. This dark and gritty project will explore the dysfunctional underbelly of the ballet world”.
The following roles are being cast (click on the role name to download the audition script/sides):
[CLAIRE] Female, Caucasian, 21 years old. Series lead. Must dance at a company ballerina level. Claire is beautiful, delicate, soulful and serious. Prototype: Polina Semionova. For reference: click here. Nudity and sexuality required.
[MIA] Female, any ethnicity, 22 years old. Series regular. Must dance at a company ballerina level. Mia is cute, feisty and the polar opposite of Claire. She’s comfortably brassy – no filter – and says whatever is on her mind. She’s an NYC native who loves to talk and has a dry, charming and honest sense of humor. Nudity and sexuality required.
[DAPHNE] Female, any ethnicity, 24 years old. Series regular. Must dance at a company ballerina level. Daphne is gorgeous, smart, confident, relaxed and possesses a wry sense of humor. Daphne is worldly and owns her power as a woman – she is not someone who can be taken advantage of. Nudity and sexuality required.
[KIIRA] Female, any ethnicity, (open to accents) 31 years old. Series regular. Must dance at a company ballerina level. Kiira is the prima ballerina of the company. She is nervous on the inside and terrified of “aging out” as a ballerina but she maintains an ice princess demeanor. She’s used to being the favorite and she’s used to being the star. Nudity and sexuality required.
[ROSS] Male, any ethnicity, (open to accents) 26 years old. Series regular. Must dance at a company level. Ross is a Principal dancer in the company and confident as hell. He’s used to getting everything he wants and he’s cocky and knows how to turn on the charm. Nudity and sexuality required.
[TREY] Male, any ethnicity (open to accents), 25 years old. Series regular. Must dance at a company level. Trey is a soloist in the company. He’s openly gay and a lot of fun. He doesn’t pull any punches and loves to gossip. Nudity and sexuality required.
To be considered, submit your self-tape audition video, and make sure you state in your video you NAME, CURRENT CITY, BALLET TRAINING/EXPERIENCE and IF YOU ARE OK WITH FULL FRONTAL NUDITY and SIMULATED SEX. Both of these things will be a part of the show and you should NOT audition or send in a self-tape if you aren’t ok with both.
Send your self-tape audition video to the following:
ALL talent including minors and foreign actors MUST be legally eligible to work in the state of New York and in the United States.
The 2013 New York Actors Resource Guide eBook comes with free quarterly updates and includes the following information and documents for adults, minors, and foreign talent who would like to work as an actor or extra on film and television productions in New York and the United States:
• New York Child Performer Information Sheet
• New York Child Performer Permit Combined Application
• New York Child Performer Trust Accounts Information
• New York Verification of Satisfactory Academic Performance
• New York Child Performer Employer Certificate Combined Application
• USA Child Actor Work Permit Requirements – State Statues
• USA Immigration Work Permits and Visas
• USA Non-Immigrant Visa Application
In addition to the following New York Actors Resources:
• Audition Tips
• How To Make an Audition Video
• New York Casting Directors List
• New York Extras Casting Directors List
• New York Talent Agents List
• General Talent Agent Information
• New York Acting Classes List
• New York Headshot Photographers List
• Actors Unions
• Sample Actors Resume
• Sample Beginning Actors Resume
• Sample Cover Letters
• Entertainment Industry Terminology
• Miscellaneous New York Resources
• PDF Users Guides
The 2013 Actors Resource Guide eBooks are available here.
Principal Actor Casting
See the post titled Headshot and Resume Information regarding how to submit to casting directors for acting roles.
No phone calls or personal drop-offs.
Bernie Telsey, CSA
Telsey + Company
311 West 43rd Street
10th Floor
New York, NY 10036
NOTE:
I highly recommend that your 8×10 color headshot and resume along with the cover letter be sent in a 9 x 12 Clear Full Face Window Envelope with the photo visible in the window.
Click Here to purchase 9 x 12 Clear Full Face Window Envelopes.
The casting directors address should be written in all capital letters on the solid side of the envelope, with the name of the project you are submitting for written directly above the casting directors name. If the role that you are submitting for is available, it should also be written above the casting directors name.
Example:
“Project Name”
“Role of _______”
CASTING DIRECTOR NAME
CASTING DIRECTOR ADDRESS
CASTING DIRECTOR CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE
Extras Casting
New York:
TBA
The extras casting calls will be posted here. Please check back.
Crew Members:
New York
TBA
An email address will be posted here for experienced crew members to submit resumes.
Production Companies:
Do NOT send photos and resumes to the production companies, as they will most likely end up being thrown away. They do not cast the films, rather they hire casting directors who sort through the thousands of submissions.
Bender Brown Productions
1015 Gayley Avenue
Suite 1017
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Starz Entertainment
2950 N Hollywood Way
3rd Floor
Burbank, CA 91505
Executive Producer/Writer:
Moira Walley-Beckett
Producers:
Lawrence Bender
Kevin Brown
John Melfi
Directors:
TBA
Various directors work different episodes during the season. In television shows composed of individual episodes, the television director’s role differs from that of a film director in that he or she may work only on some television episodes as opposed to the director of an entire film production. In episodic television productions, the major creative control resides with a producer of the show. The television producer(s) with creative control is called the showrunner(s) (in this case, Moira Walley-Beckett).
Starring:
To Be Cast
Story:
A dark and gritty series that unflinchingly explores the dysfunctional underbelly of the ballet world. It follows a young female ballet dancer, Claire, who has a distinctly troubled past as she joins a prestigious ballet company in New York.
