We’ve got a casting podcast today! Casting Director Lindsay Bronson of AHC Casting joins us on the Box Angeles podcast episode 344. Lindsay stops by the bungalow and discusses best practices when auditioning with kids, commonalities between people who book frequently, how new people can get seen, and more!
“I think you just have to be incredibly brave and incredibly resilient to be an actor.”
— Lindsay Bronson
Beats
00:00 – Introduction.
01:43 – Lindsay slates her name.
03:40 – Focusing on kid, beauty and real-people casting.
04:55 – Best practices auditioning with kids.
17:45 – Adult actors have a lot going on.
18:33 – Mike crying after an audition.
20:34 – Discussing Mike’s recent self tapes for AHC Casting.
24:37 – General actor feedback.
26:44 – Slates and multiple takes.
31:25 – Group auditions.
33:23 – People that book frequently.
39:54 – How do new people get in front of casting.
44:31 – Pivoting from acting to casting.
48:55 – How they find casting help.
50:24 – What makes the best session directors.
53:21 – Monitoring casting sessions.
55:35 – What’s going on in actor’s lives.
57:44 – Last minute self tapes.
More Lindsay
– Check Lindsay’s IMDb.
– Follow Lindsay on Instagram @lindsaybronson.
– Follow AHC Casting on Instagram @ahccasting.
Transcript
MIKE ELDER (00:08)
Welcome to the Box Angeles podcast with me. I’m your host, Mike Elder. Thank you so much for being here. It’s a pleasure having you. I know your intention is limited. You only have so many hours in the day, so thank you for spending them with me. I got a quick shout out to Bradley Goodeen.
He is a subscriber on Patreon. Thank you, Bradley, for your support. It means the world to me. If you want a shout out, go over to the Patreon. I’ve got all the backlog of audio episodes up there. I let you know who’s coming up before anybody else. There’s a lot of resources there, so go check it out.
Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, BoxAngeles.com YouTube. Talk about resources. I got so many interviews with so many great people, so don’t miss a clip there. Who do we got on the podcast this week? We’ve got a great interview, as always. This week I’m talking to casting director Lindsay Bronson. Lindsay is the third casting director at AHC Casting.
Primarily they do a lot of commercials. The other two, I’ve already interviewed Maya Adrabi and Alyson Horn, who you may recognize. Lindsay’s the third one. And we finally completed the trifecta. So I was excited to talk to her. We had a great conversation. We talked about all the important things I love to cover with casting directors, but more specifically, we talked about how to handle kids in auditions because that’s sort of one of her specialties and at AHC is handling kids.
So I talked at length about that because I’ve had a lot of group interviews with kids. Interviews, auditions. We also talked about session directors, you know, all the big things that matter to you and matter to me. We got into the nitty gritty of casting and Lindsay was delightful. I hadn’t interacted with her much, to be honest, so it was great to sit down with her. And I think you’re gonna dig it. So without further ado, I give you.
LINDSAY BRONSON (01:44)
Hi, I’m Lindsay Bronson.
MIKE ELDER (01:45)
Hi, Lindsay.
LINDSAY BRONSON (01:46)
Hi.
MIKE ELDER (01:46)
It’s so good to talk to you.
LINDSAY BRONSON (01:47)
It’s good to talk to you.
MIKE ELDER (01:48)
Why are you nervous? She said she’s nervous before we started this.
I am a little bit through it. Why are we nervous?
LINDSAY BRONSON (01:54)
I. I just am like, I don’t know what Mike’s gonna ask me and am I gonna have really anything to like a value to contribute to the show. And then also, like, I listened to a little bit of my’s when she came on.
MIKE ELDER (02:07)
Your co worker, Maya.
LINDSAY BRONSON (02:09)
Maya. And you Were like, here’s the stats of when I’ve been called in. And I’m like, oh, my God, am I gonna have to do fast math on this show and, like, talk about percentages?
MIKE ELDER (02:18)
There’s no math.
LINDSAY BRONSON (02:19)
Okay.
MIKE ELDER (02:19)
There’s no math. Don’t be nervous. It is interesting, though. We come to you often.
LINDSAY BRONSON (02:25)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (02:25)
And we don’t know what to expect.
LINDSAY BRONSON (02:27)
That’s fair.
MIKE ELDER (02:28)
I will tell you how many. It’s so weird to me how many times I don’t get sides before I get there, and I have no idea what I’m doing before I get there.
LINDSAY BRONSON (02:35)
I think about that when we send the auditions out, that would make me nervous as an actor. But, I mean, I guess we’re just like, there’s not that much we’re gonna explain when they get here. It’s so easy. But I’m like, is it because we’ve had so much time with the script and we’ve talked with the director, and we’ve all three been like, this is how it should go. Yeah, easy peas. But we already know, and we’re not the ones doing it, so I get that.
MIKE ELDER (02:56)
So I flipped the switch on you now.
LINDSAY BRONSON (02:58)
You did.
MIKE ELDER (02:59)
You get to have nerves. Although I had a Zoom audition this week, and I’m not gonna lie, like, it was for a TV show. And, like, I haven’t had a Zoom audition in forever.
LINDSAY BRONSON (03:07)
And I got a comment.
MIKE ELDER (03:09)
I got a little bit of nerves cooking, and I was like. I texted a friend. I was like, I’m nervous, but I like this feeling. It makes you feel alive a little bit. Do you feel alive a little bit right now?
LINDSAY BRONSON (03:19)
Well, maybe it’s my tea or maybe it’s nerves. Could be caffeine or the nerves. Let’s roll with it, Mike.
MIKE ELDER (03:24)
Well, I just find ner, like, in life, when you go towards the things that you’re afraid of, that’s where growth lies, and that’s where, like, you’re gonna leave here feeling really good, I think unless I do a really bad job, which could happen.
LINDSAY BRONSON (03:35)
We’re gonna learn. We’re gonna become better people today. I’m excited for it.
MIKE ELDER (03:39)
Well, I’m excited to talk to you. Although, did Maya tell me and keep me honest. You got you. So it’s you, Maya, and then Alison Horne at ahc.
LINDSAY BRONSON (03:47)
Yes.
MIKE ELDER (03:48)
You focus on. Your emphasis is largely kids audition. Is that what Maya told me?
LINDSAY BRONSON (03:52)
Yeah. Well, I’ve taught a kids class for a very long time. There’s. And I work with kids privately, so I work with the kiddos a lot. And I love that. That’s like my favorite part of the job.
MIKE ELDER (04:01)
Okay.
LINDSAY BRONSON (04:02)
And then I also do a lot of the beauty casting, which is fun. It’s like flipping through a magazine, that prep. And then I do a lot. I like spearhead all the real people casting too, which is really hard. Yeah, that’s like the hardest part of the job for sure.
MIKE ELDER (04:17)
So we probably don’t cross paths much. Well, I mean, have you brought me in at all?
I don’t know. You have?
LINDSAY BRONSON (04:22)
Oh, yeah. Because. Just because that’s like my focus or what I emphasize. Like, we all prep everything. So I’m still prepping and watching all the self tapes and giving self tape explanations for stuff that’s not kid related at all or beauty related at all.
MIKE ELDER (04:36)
Okay.
LINDSAY BRONSON (04:36)
Like, we’re all very much a group of like the three of us work on everything together.
MIKE ELDER (04:41)
Got it. Cause I haven’t had a lot of beauty auditions lately, and I’m starting to wonder if I’m losing, if I’m losing.
LINDSAY BRONSON (04:47)
Sometimes people are intimidated by those who are too hot. You know what I mean?
MIKE ELDER (04:52)
This is great. This is going great.
But I did want to ask you about kids specifically, because I audition with kids from time to time. And I’m not gonna lie, I get a little nervous. Cause it seems like it can be a wild card. Like it sure is if they’re good or bad or just disorganized and their parents are hovering there. So can you give me and other actors listening to this advice on how to audition with kids in a group audition?
Do you have any thoughts?
LINDSAY BRONSON (05:17)
I sure do.
MIKE ELDER (05:18)
Give it to me.
LINDSAY BRONSON (05:19)
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. It’s so funny because parents in my kids class ask me that all the time. Well, he got partnered with a little girl who was supposed to be his sister and she was just a dud. And I really think it hurt his chances. And I’m like, it didn’t. It’s totally fine.
And it’s the same for you guys. Like if you get partnered with a kid who is just like so shy, it’s their second audition ever. They cannot execute in the room at all. I don’t think adult actors should leave being like, oh my God, that was the worst. Like, I couldn’t get this kid to say anything to me. Like, we recognize that. It’s not like we’re like just watching you struggle and been like, well, I guess Mike can’t play a dad because he couldn’t get that kid to talk.
Like, no way. You know what I mean? It’s just like any other partner at all. In my opinion, it’s the same as like, if you’re going to go in with someone playing your wife, like you, if you have the time, you should sit with that person. If you know who your partner is in the lobby, like, get to know them, at least their name. Like where you from? You know, what’s your favorite TV show? Like, just ask them a couple of questions because I think as the more experienced and mature performer, like they are looking to you for that guidance and that, like, you know, they’re like, at school, you’re like all of a sudden, like, what do I do?
Where do I go? What do I say? You know, obviously there’s gonna be like a ton of little kids who are. I mean, it’s so funny. Sometimes we audition kids whose resumes are like twice as long as the adults. Like they’re insane little actor kids, you know, And I’m like, they’re good, they’re good. But like, yeah, I just think it’s about connecting with whoever you’re going in with, whether they’re a little kid or not, you know.
But I would definitely adm, like, if you know the person that you’re going to be going in the room with, put your book away, put your phone away and talk to that, that kid. Because that’s the best way to like connect with them and have some sort of chemistry going into this very unnatural space where now all of a sudden you guys are in front of a camera with a room full of strangers, which is if you’re nervous, think how they’re feeling and you have to pretend that you’re in a Subaru on a family road trip. Like that’s just so hard, you know. So the more chemistry, the more ease you have with a kid going into the room, of course, the better off you’re gonna be, you know?
MIKE ELDER (07:28)
Yeah, that’s great advice. My question, my follow up to that is, and maybe it’s cause I’m kid phobic, do I ask the parent if I could talk to the kid first or do I just talk to the kid?
LINDSAY BRONSON (07:37)
Yeah, I mean, usually they’re gonna be sitting with their parent. I would imagine so. Yeah, just go over. I think it’s best to like, maybe, you know what I mean, if they’re sitting with their mom or dad to like incorporate a whole. You know what I mean? Like, hey, how you doing? I’m Mike.
Hey, what’s your name? You know what I mean? It can be a group thing.
MIKE ELDER (07:53)
Yeah, that’s great advice. I find it fascinating I’ve had a lot of in person recently, and I still find it fascinating how many people are just staring at their phone before going in there. Because I’m like, I want to get mentally focused. Even just now, I caught myself looking at my phone waiting for you. And I was like, wait, let me think about questions. Make sure we’re on and everything. But, like, people staring at their phones before auditions is so weird to me because that’s the last mindset you want to be in is distracted.
Like, you should be focused on what you’re working on.
LINDSAY BRONSON (08:18)
Well, I mean, I’m not certainly, like, judging. I’m in my phone all the time. And if I were an actor, like, sometimes you guys are waiting for such a long time and you don’t know who your partner was. So, like, yeah, pull out your book. Of course I’m. I totally get that.
MIKE ELDER (08:31)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (08:31)
I’m just saying if you’re given the opportunity to know who your partner is or know who you’re going in with, it always does surprise me if I’m like, pairing couples or something like that in the lobby, and I’m like, okay, Mike, you’re gonna go in with Sarah. Sarah, you’re gonna go. Or, you know, Susie, you’re gonna go in with Brian. And people are like, oh, okay. And I’m just like, wow, really? Like, I would just be like, oh, hey, like, we’re going to. Ready to pretend that we’re married.
Let’s just say hello first. Like, I don’t know.
For me, I’m not doing.
MIKE ELDER (08:59)
No, I totally get that.
LINDSAY BRONSON (09:00)
Connecting would be the smarter thing to do.
MIKE ELDER (09:02)
I totally get that. But to my. Mya talked about this in the podcast, that there’s a lot of people. No, she talked about there’s a lot of, like, she shocks. Some actors have reps, and I. I think sometimes I worry about that with other actors. Like, do I really want to talk small talk with this weirdo?
And I realize how bad that sounds. But no, I think some people are.
LINDSAY BRONSON (09:22)
Like, yeah, I get that. It’s exhausting.
MIKE ELDER (09:24)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (09:25)
Yeah. It’s like, you don’t want to be, like, on a first date every audition you go to. I get that. I do understand that. I do. But it’s also, you know, the job, so. But back to first dates are your job.
MIKE ELDER (09:37)
Agreed.
LINDSAY BRONSON (09:37)
It truly is really, you know, so it’s like, that would be something that I. I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t do it if I were an actor. Maybe I would also get to the point where I’m like you’re, you’re a professional. Okay, me too. Cool. I’ll see you in there.
Like maybe I would feel that way. You know what I mean?
I’m just saying. Oh. It always surprises me when I give people the opportun in time. Like hey, you guys are group three. You guys are group four. You literally have three groups ahead of you to like get to know each other and nothing like not even sitting next to each other. I’m like, okay, yeah.
MIKE ELDER (10:06)
I think if we have lines, I definitely do it because I want to kind of get running back and forth with them to get their sense of timing. And so back to the kids. Like, do you have a sense of like in the room, how to make kids feel more comfortable? Is there a. Have you noticed anything that works or anything?
LINDSAY BRONSON (10:21)
Sure, there’s lots of. I mean, you mean for what you feel for me?
MIKE ELDER (10:24)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (10:24)
Got it.
MIKE ELDER (10:27)
Or should I embrace the chaos? I found that sometimes when kids are wild, I just like use it as part. Like if I mess up, you’re supposed to use that as like a gift. Right. So if a kid’s a wild child, I sometimes try to use that as.
LINDSAY BRONSON (10:39)
A gift and be like, I think wild child. That’s like, I would much prefer that over a kid that’s just like, I mean, what are you gonna do with that? That is really hard when they’re just like shrivel and get really self conscious and nervous and they’re just like looking around. I mean that’s impossible to work with, you know. So if you get a wild buck in there, you’re golden man. At least they’ve got energy.
MIKE ELDER (11:01)
That’s true.
LINDSAY BRONSON (11:02)
Excited.
MIKE ELDER (11:03)
Well, that’s true because they tell adults it’s easier to pull you back. For kids, I guess that makes sense too.
LINDSAY BRONSON (11:08)
But yeah, it’s really hard. Like so often like we’ll give self tapes of like, you know, we want your kids to be rambunctious, have them running all over the house, blah blah, blah. It’s like it’s actually surprisingly like they’re very self conscious. It doesn’t feel like natural or real watching them pretend to be rowdy. So if you just have a kid that in the room that is totally unaware or doesn’t care at all and they’re just like talking and walking around and like that’s.
Yeah, that’s gold in a bottle right there. That’s funny. That’s great. So but my advice, if you, you know, you’re asking, it’s like. Yeah, I think the best thing is to just embrace Whatever you’re given, you know what I mean? And it’s like, it’s kind of like if you’re a real parent, you know what I mean? Where people are like, oh, I get uncomfortable when my kid is like really quiet at the birthday parties and they’re holding onto my leg.
It’s like, who cares then that’s what’s happening right now. It’s fine. Like, let the scene be quiet and feel comfortable in that. There’s plenty of times in our real lives when things are quiet and just easy and you maybe have a little less to say.
And that’s beautiful and lovely to watch too, you know? And then if it’s chaotic, like, embrace that playfulness. Like, I think you just have to follow the energy in the room. And honestly, for Call, I mean, a lot of times for kids these days, we’re self taping. The only time you’re really going to audition with them in the room is callbacks. So you don’t have so much to worry about because the director is going to take over.
MIKE ELDER (12:36)
Why? Why is that? Why did you specifically say that for kids it’s mostly self taped?
LINDSAY BRONSON (12:40)
Because since the pandemic and everybody has gotten so accustomed to self taping, kids in particular, it’s difficult to. Well, it’s not difficult, but it’s just we have a lot less time with them to audition them because we can’t see them until after school. So I can’t even start scheduling kids until three. None of them are available at three. They’re all like, she gets out of school at three. Can she get a time frame? It’s tons of time frames.
It’s tons of fallout. It’s really hard on parents and agents and kids for like same day replacements because they’re like, I’m taking one to soccer practice in this side of town and it’s just, it’s too chaotic.
MIKE ELDER (13:13)
That makes sense.
LINDSAY BRONSON (13:14)
So it’s just easier for us to have all of them self tape and then we call them back in for the callback.
MIKE ELDER (13:19)
Yeah. What is more of a challenge for you with kids? Is it the parents or the kids themselves auditioning? Do you find there’s a pattern that parents are more of the problem than the kids or the kids are more of the problem or it’s just sort of.
LINDSAY BRONSON (13:32)
It just is who it is. You know what I mean? It’s like, it’s so funny. My husband always says, like, the kids only want it as bad as their parents do. And I’m like, that’s so true. You know, it really is. Like, if parents are real low key and easy about it, like, the kids are usually pretty easy going, too.
But, you know, I teach every month, so I get a new crop of personalities every single month. And it just, you know, for the most part, like, all of them are just, like, excited. You know, it’s just like soccer. Like, my kid’s really into soccer right now. He’ll talk your ear off about Pele and Cristiano and Messi. Like, he just is excited and really into it and wants. You know what I mean?
So, like, the kids who are really passionate about it, sometimes it can be like, okay, all right, easy, easy, easy. But, like, they’re just excited or they just want a new thing to do after school, or, you know, the parents are just like, I don’t know what any of this is. Like, we’re just here, and they like it, so. And then they get really invested because they’re like, oh, she got a call back. So now we’re, like, really on the path. So it’s kind of like social media when you get a. Like, yeah, you, like, become invested.
So it’s a kind of a slippery slope, but it’s really just like, yeah, you know, it’s. It’s any extracurricular activity if you treat it that way.
MIKE ELDER (14:45)
Sure.
LINDSAY BRONSON (14:46)
Which is kind of how I aim to, like, teach the class and, like, encourage people to look at it like that as just sort of like it’s just another extra fun thing.
MIKE ELDER (14:56)
Yeah. You mentioned, like, a kid shriveling up and not giving you anything. If an adult did that, I assume you want to call them back or you’d give them a few months to figure it out.
LINDSAY BRONSON (15:06)
Okay. Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (15:07)
Right. If a kid does that, do you give them the benefit of the doubt on not showing up for an audition, or are you like, susie’s not in this time?
LINDSAY BRONSON (15:16)
It depends, because there are times where you can really tell this is not something this kid wants to be doing or this is not something this kid is comfortable doing anymore. You know, I can just.
You can feel it. And I have stories of kids who’ve said things to me in the audition room where I’m like, wow, you do not need to be doing this. Like, my heart is breaking.
Let’s just play a game.
MIKE ELDER (15:38)
Like, Dark stories, kind of.
LINDSAY BRONSON (15:40)
Oh, yeah, let’s just play a game and tell your parents, you did great. Because I’m just like, oh, my God. So I think it depends because the one thing that we always say, like, all of us in the office are parents, you know what I mean, so it is a little bit depending on their age, a crapshoot with kids just in general.
MIKE ELDER (16:00)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (16:01)
You know what I mean? Like one day they’re going to be on fire and then the next day they’re just not going to feel like it. So, like they could crush it in the first call and then they come into the callback and they’re just like, not. They’ve had a bad day or they’re tired or they wanted to go to McDonald’s before the audition and their mom wouldn’t let them. So now they’re pissy. It’s just like, you know what I mean? They’re kids, so it’s.
There is an unpredictability to their performance that is not present with an adult actor. You know what I mean?
So it really. And we say that all the time, like clients will be like, oh my God, that kid is amazing.
That kid was so good. And then we will think, I’ve seen that kid in call box before where they like really closed up and clammed up. So like, hopefully that goes well for you on set, you know what I mean? Or they’ll say, oh my God, I love that kid’s first tape. They just couldn’t get there today, you know what I mean? It’s just like any other actor. But to answer your question of whether or not I would call them back, it just depends on the project.
If I see a kid who’s really shy and they still want to do this, you know what I mean? It can still be something that they think is fun. It’s just really hard for them. I’m not going to call them in for the wild buck role because they’re just not going to get there and that’s going to be really uncomfortable for them.
MIKE ELDER (17:13)
Right.
LINDSAY BRONSON (17:13)
And my top focus is whatever I call your kids in for. I want them feeling great about what they did when they leave. I want them to feel good about their experience here. So I don’t want to call them in for something that I know that is going to put them way outside of their comfort zone and they leave feeling embarrassed or self conscious or, you know, that’s like, that’s nice.
MIKE ELDER (17:35)
Do you do that for adults too?
LINDSAY BRONSON (17:37)
No. I don’t give a shit about you guys.
MIKE ELDER (17:40)
Maybe.
LINDSAY BRONSON (17:40)
No, we definitely like cater to certain comedic sensibilities for sure.
MIKE ELDER (17:45)
Sure. Let me push back on something you said though. You implied that kids are unpredictable and they have got a lot going on. But I would argue that adults are unpredictable and have rent to pay.
LINDSAY BRONSON (17:56)
For sure.
MIKE ELDER (17:57)
There’s definitely mental health issues kids don’t even fathom.
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:00)
Yeah. There’s definitely times where you’ve been like, huh, I thought that person was gonna be hilarious doing this. I guess they were just having an off day. And that would not prohibit me from calling them in again.
MIKE ELDER (18:11)
Right.
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:11)
You know what I mean?
MIKE ELDER (18:12)
But if it was like the first time you saw them, it might, because.
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:15)
I wouldn’t know that they were having a half day. You know what I mean? It’s like, it’s hard to. That’s like the tricky part. That’s the hard part about auditioning. If it’s like your first time. Yeah, the first impression is hard because it’s like, I don’t know you.
So is this how you always are or you just. Rent is due, you don’t have it.
MIKE ELDER (18:34)
You know what just came to me is, oh, man, this is. I’m gonna go there. I think the one time I cried after an audition was one of your guys.
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:42)
Oh, my God.
MIKE ELDER (18:43)
I’m pretty sure. Do you. Do you remember the Matt Stafford Little Caesars commercial by intro?
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:48)
We’ve done so many Little Caesars.
MIKE ELDER (18:49)
But do you know Matt Stafford is the quarterback for the Rams?
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:51)
Yes, yes, yes.
MIKE ELDER (18:52)
Okay. It was. I’ll just tell you the story.
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:54)
Okay, tell me.
MIKE ELDER (18:55)
It was literally just like a tongue twister group audition.
LINDSAY BRONSON (18:58)
Oh, God.
MIKE ELDER (18:59)
And something I struggle with. Maybe you can give me advice on. This is like, when I get the lines, I make it a point to get off book. And then they always have the board and they say, read to the board. And I find myself off book, but. But also wanting to read. And it trips me up every time.
It pisses me off. And I gotta figure out how to break that habit. But it was a tongue twister. It was like pizza party, Pepsi hangout. And there was five of us. And all you guys, all you had us do is, like, go down the line, each of us. And it was one of those things where the first guy tripped up and he got a couple tries.
The second person tripped up, got a few tries, and then it got to me and I. The guy got so short with me, he was upset.
LINDSAY BRONSON (19:40)
Him getting the director, the session.
MIKE ELDER (19:42)
Session director. He was upset because the whole group messed up. I couldn’t get it out of me. He’s like, just fucking read it off the board. And I’m like. And for me, I have really bad eyes. So if the board’s far away, it makes it harder.
LINDSAY BRONSON (19:56)
Mike’s like, hot, sunny.
MIKE ELDER (19:58)
That’s not helping me. I got flashbacks to a kid when, like, the teachers would yell at me for not being able to read the board, and it’s just exasperated, and I’m. I don’t even know if I got it out. And I left and I just bawled.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:11)
Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.
MIKE ELDER (20:13)
It’s the only time I’ve ever cried after an audition. I’m pretty sure it was. I’ll have to look it up.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:17)
It probably was. It probably was. Oh, my God.
MIKE ELDER (20:20)
But that was one of. That was my day. That I wasn’t.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:22)
Yeah, you were just. And hey, you know what? We’ve auditioned you many times since then.
MIKE ELDER (20:26)
My parents. That’s true. That’s true. But also, I saw that commercial.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:30)
They brought you in for a Pizza Hut recently, so you are not banned from that campaign.
MIKE ELDER (20:33)
That was Little Caesars, though.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:35)
Oh, that’s right.
MIKE ELDER (20:35)
Wait, you brought me in for pizza?
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:36)
No, not pizza. Little Caesars. I said.
That’s what I meant. It was Little Caesars.
MIKE ELDER (20:39)
Got it.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:39)
God. You played the mango tree.
MIKE ELDER (20:41)
I did play the mango. That’s hilarious. I thought I did really good on that. Did you watch it?
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:44)
Did you like it?
MIKE ELDER (20:46)
I wanted to play it even slower.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:48)
Oh, my God. That was gonna be my feedback. It was almost too slow.
MIKE ELDER (20:51)
That’s funny. But I thought that would be hilarious.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:55)
It was, but it is.
MIKE ELDER (20:56)
I made a choice. It was the wrong choice.
LINDSAY BRONSON (20:58)
No, it wasn’t wrong. It is what we asked. I laughed, though, because I was like, I did watch, like, your last two self tapes before today because I was like, oh, I just want to remember, like, the last two that Mike did. And I was like, laughing because I was like, oh, my God, this is taking him forever to leave frame. Which was funny. It’s true. Because you were supposed to be, like, sloth.
MIKE ELDER (21:14)
Like, so I thought it was like, a tree mascot. And he didn’t move fast. He’s like, all right, here I go. And he moved slow.
LINDSAY BRONSON (21:20)
You know what I really think it is, is they really want, like, Little Caesar’s Loves quirky, and I really think they wanted super quirky behind that tree. The director did.
MIKE ELDER (21:32)
Got it.
LINDSAY BRONSON (21:33)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (21:34)
Like, quirky face.
LINDSAY BRONSON (21:35)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (21:35)
Oh, got it.
LINDSAY BRONSON (21:37)
Yeah. They like really fun, unusual faces.
MIKE ELDER (21:40)
This is great. I like getting. See, this is what actors want, is feedback.
So it’s too slow. My instinct was to go slower.
LINDSAY BRONSON (21:45)
Oh, I know. That is hilarious. I guess maybe it would have been funny if you went even slower, because then I’d been like, oh, my God.
MIKE ELDER (21:51)
Well, this is where I’m at with auditions. It’s like, I. I’m So sick of just playing by the rules. And I know how bad that sounds. And I keep bringing this up, but it’s like I got this backdrop, I put it in frame, I do the thing. But then I keep hearing about people that book it because they went above and beyond. And I’m trying to figure out ways to do that.
LINDSAY BRONSON (22:09)
What do you mean?
MIKE ELDER (22:10)
The example I keep sharing is Ben Siller was like, Brit Lauer’s audition for Severance was incredible. Cause she laid on the bathroom floor and did the whole scene. And it’s like when people do go out of their way to do the scene, which I hate and everyone I’ve interviewed in the last five weeks hates. But I swear people keep booking. So I’m trying to think of ways to stand out in the grounded reality of the square that we are supposed to do it in. And for that I was like, this would just be really funny if I made them watch two minutes of me slowly walking out. And of course I didn’t do that.
But I went as far as I felt like was comfortable.
LINDSAY BRONSON (22:43)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
MIKE ELDER (22:44)
And that was wrong. But at least I took a swing.
LINDSAY BRONSON (22:46)
It’s not that it was wrong. I mean, it was like, there’s not that much for that guy to do. It’s true. You know what I mean? So the visual of him was gonna go a long way and you didn’t.
MIKE ELDER (22:55)
Have the visual that they wanted to be.
LINDSAY BRONSON (22:56)
So interest think that’s what it was.
MIKE ELDER (22:58)
Because we forget. Yeah, there’s so much. We don’t forget it. But that’s so much of what we audition is. Especially for me when I do TV gigs and it’s co star. It’s like. It’s just how it looks.
They’re servicing the story. It’s not.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:09)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (23:10)
What was the other self tape you saw me do?
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:13)
I’m trying to remember the product.
MIKE ELDER (23:14)
I like getting feedback. This is great.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:17)
You were a carpenter. You were like examining. So I can’t remember the brand, the product that it was though. But you were supposed to come in and like you were like, not the workers. But you were sort of like, oh.
MIKE ELDER (23:28)
I was like surveying the thing.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:29)
Yeah, yeah. And I was like.
MIKE ELDER (23:31)
I had a funny line in that.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:32)
I felt like. Yeah, you did. I laughed. Like your improv was like something about like the beams turned out beautiful.
MIKE ELDER (23:37)
Yeah, there’s something funny in there. I thought that made me laugh.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:40)
I was like, mike, you’re so funny.
MIKE ELDER (23:41)
But I didn’t get a callback.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:43)
I’m sorry again.
MIKE ELDER (23:44)
Just the look thing.
LINDSAY BRONSON (23:45)
Yeah. I mean, it’s so interesting. That’s, to me, like, the most frustrating part of this whole business. Like, I could never, like the. The. I’m not somebody who needs, like, a ton of control. I’m not, like a control freak.
But the lack of control that you have over, like, booking parts and all that kind of stuff is just like. Yeah, that would be coming increasingly, very frustrating for me.
MIKE ELDER (24:10)
You have to celebrate small wins. And you just saying that was really funny. Just. It felt that, like, made my day.
LINDSAY BRONSON (24:15)
You know what I mean? I did say to myself, I said out loud in the office, oh, why didn’t you get called back?
That was great. He did a great job.
MIKE ELDER (24:21)
I would love to know more about that.
LINDSAY BRONSON (24:23)
So you did a great job.
MIKE ELDER (24:24)
I appreciate that. But that’s like, those little things give me fuel. Getting to audition is fuel.
You know what I mean? And then you don’t hear anything. It’s like, burns the candle down. But, like, hearing that, that’s all we want. And obviously you don’t have time to give feedback. Do you ever go out of your way to give people feedback when they do something really well and for sure and they don’t necessarily get it still?
LINDSAY BRONSON (24:43)
Yes, yes, yes, yes. It might not happen, like, on every self tape like that. There have been some, though, that are just like, insanely challenging roles. Or the. The self tape is just hard. Or the role itself. I’m just like, oh, my God, these are gonna be brutal to watch.
This is really hard to do. I’ll watch somebody. And I’m just like, that was awesome. And it’s not because they shot the whole thing. You know what I mean? Although I’m not somebody who hates that sometimes it’s really fun where I’m like, oh, my gosh, look at this. Like, they literally shot the commercial. This is hilarious.
And we’ll think that’s really funny. But then there’s plenty of times where it’s very basic. You did exactly what we needed. It was beautifully done. Couple of great, smart buttons. That’s all we need, you know? But there have definitely been times where I’ve.
I remember one callback in particular where it was live. It wasn’t a call. It wasn’t a self tape where I was like, I. I can’t do another one with this guy. Like, improv in particular is something that I am just, like, so blown away by. I am obsessed with people who can do it really well. And this guy, it was just like.
And do another one. Just change it up. Do another one. And I’m like, oh, my God, I can’t. I’m like, I can’t watch this guy think of something else again on the spot. Like, how is he even coming up with more? It was making.
It was like building this anxiety in me to like, even audition it. And at the end I was like, that was fucking great, man. Like, that was incredibly anxiety filling for me. I cannot believe you just kept coming up with ideas.
Like, it was so good. And he was like, greg Roman. And he didn’t get the part. Oh, yeah. And I was like, I. I couldn’t watch you do another one. Not because you weren’t crushing it, because every one of them was so funny, but like, how do you keep coming up with ideas?
And he was like, how do you think I felt? I was like, noted, like, so good. And our office has been like obsessed with him ever since.
He’s so good.
MIKE ELDER (26:40)
Oh, I love that.
LINDSAY BRONSON (26:40)
Yeah, that’s really cool. But I mean, there’s definitely auditions where I’m just like, wow, crushed it. That was so funny.
MIKE ELDER (26:46)
Wait, let me ask you about something because to that end, like, and I know you guys say for the most part you watch the full auditions. What is the reasoning behind, like, I just did a self tape where it was three scenes and they wanted two takes each. Like, are we really watching all six takes commercial? Yeah. Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (27:04)
I mean, they’re so short though.
MIKE ELDER (27:06)
Yeah. But like, it just feels like, do you really need six takes of three? Like, I get two takes. Two differences.
LINDSAY BRONSON (27:12)
Yeah, three is a lot.
MIKE ELDER (27:13)
I feel like that’s becoming more and more the thing where I get a self tape. I’m like, oh, this is gonna be a journey to check off all these boxes.
LINDSAY BRONSON (27:21)
Yeah. I think I can’t say that that’s something that our office really ever asks for. That does feel like a lot, especially to ask you guys to do so many of those. That feels like a big ask. So I don’t think that that’s something that our office does regularly, but if I had to guess, I would say maybe casting wants so many so that they can have a little bit more control over the session of what they say. Because if. Yeah, because then I have more to get rid of.
MIKE ELDER (27:49)
That’s funny.
LINDSAY BRONSON (27:49)
If I’m like, like, oh, you’re fine. Are we okay?
MIKE ELDER (27:53)
You’re fine.
LINDSAY BRONSON (27:53)
Okay.
MIKE ELDER (27:54)
She hit the microphone and freaked out.
LINDSAY BRONSON (27:57)
So, like, for example, on your. What were you? Carpenter? Surveyor.
MIKE ELDER (28:03)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:04)
Like, I would have put your second take first so I have control over that. I liked the second take better. You know what I mean?
MIKE ELDER (28:10)
You guys do that?
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:11)
Oh yeah.
MIKE ELDER (28:11)
Oh, interesting.
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:12)
If you upload the takes individually. I do, but I don’t have the time to like download your whole footage or rearrange your stuff. But like, that’s why we prefer you upload the tape.
Oh my goodness. This guy loves me.
MIKE ELDER (28:21)
Sorry, there’s a fly.
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:22)
That’s okay. If you upload the takes individually, then I can manipulate how. I don’t know.
MIKE ELDER (28:27)
I was, I don’t know if I was known to do that. You guys say we don’t know.
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:31)
Not necessarily, but we should. I think so it’s so much easier to like manipulate it that way. It’s like if I don’t even want to show my client that first take, I can just lose it.
MIKE ELDER (28:41)
Oh my gosh.
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:42)
So that way I always thought it.
MIKE ELDER (28:44)
Was making your guys lives easier to make it one.
LINDSAY BRONSON (28:46)
No, I don’t think so. Because that way it’s like sometimes like. I know. And again, I think this other reason why I was a little nervous about the show because all of this is so subjective. You know what I mean? It’s so like even within our office, like Ally really likes the slate to come first. She’s always like, the slate should be the very first thing I see.
Like when she gives an explanation. I don’t care. In fact, sometimes I don’t because sometimes the slate is like off putting.
Or you don’t. You give me more information than we ask for and that’s annoying. So. But your take is awesome. So like I want the first thing they see of you, whether it’s a really clean, nice, beautiful shot of your face and a great easy slate or the first take that you’re doing the action. That’s great. Like I just want the very first thing that the director sees of you to be great.
Yeah, whatever it is. So I just want control. I guess maybe I do want more control than I thought I did. I guess I do crave that. I want more control over the footage.
MIKE ELDER (29:44)
That’s really interesting that you guys even in your office disagree about how the best way to do it.
LINDSAY BRONSON (29:49)
I mean, I don’t know, it makes sense, but I just like. Guess I don’t care really. But like some people have like a real preference of the. The slate first or the slate last or interesting to me, I’m just like, I know who you are, but it’s a digital world. So even if you don’t slate and the footage is great, I probably still keep it.
MIKE ELDER (30:06)
I feel that way. I don’t know why we slayed anymore. Honestly. Like, Slate seemed like a thing when you had physical headshots.
LINDSAY BRONSON (30:12)
Totally.
MIKE ELDER (30:12)
And you had to, like, find a file to find this person.
LINDSAY BRONSON (30:15)
The stuff in the slate. I’m sure Maya talked about that because that is really her thing.
MIKE ELDER (30:19)
You should wait till you see what other people are asking me to do in Slate.
LINDSAY BRONSON (30:23)
Literally loses her mind when she’s watching self tapes. I’m not as cringy as Maya is, but, like, if you give more than your first and last name, you’re on Maya Adrabi shit list.
MIKE ELDER (30:33)
Do you like when people, like, do the character in the slate?
LINDSAY BRONSON (30:36)
What can you do?
MIKE ELDER (30:37)
No. You hate that.
LINDSAY BRONSON (30:37)
Yeah. No, I don’t want that.
Just be normal. And the other thing that’s. Yeah, we have thoughts about the slate. The other thing that’s really annoying is when people don’t, like, edit. You just have to, like. I don’t want you to introduce yourself.
Like, hi, I’m Mike Elder. Take one. What? Why are you.
Oh, my God. Yes. And I’m just like, I know it’s take one, bro. I’m watching your footage. Like, just edit it. You know what I mean? It looks like.
Looks so janky like that. Or people will walk you through it. This is my less happy take.
MIKE ELDER (31:14)
That’s weird.
LINDSAY BRONSON (31:15)
And then they’ll go. And I’m like, just do that then. And then I’ll know it’s your last happy take. Don’t. If you’re a good actor, don’t narrate it for me. But yeah, I don’t want, like, to see you introduce yourself as you. And then I watch in your footage, you, like, prepare the scene to become the actor.
Like, I just cut it and be in the scene. Yeah, yeah.
MIKE ELDER (31:36)
Can I ask, something you mentioned earlier was you said if somebody. If you do a group audition and the other person’s bad, but you’re good, you’ll still bring that person in for sure. I don’t know if that’s true. I want to push back on this. I feel like every callback I get, it’s with the person that I auditioned with.
LINDSAY BRONSON (31:52)
Well, sometimes maybe you’re great with that person. There’s definitely times where we’re like, if it worked, if you guys both got called back, that’s generally what happens. Really well. You know, it worked well in the room. So let’s, like, build on that. There’s already chemistry. You already know the person. You’ve already.
You know what I mean?
MIKE ELDER (32:09)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (32:10)
So, like, in my opinion, that’s a great reason to schedule you guys together, but not. It doesn’t have to be. And then sometimes the director or the clients will request who they want to see you with. I really liked Mike, but put him with Lindsay this time, so.
MIKE ELDER (32:25)
But you’re really bringing people in from a group that had a dud in.
LINDSAY BRONSON (32:30)
The group, for sure.
MIKE ELDER (32:30)
Interesting.
LINDSAY BRONSON (32:31)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (32:32)
Because I feel like. And obviously this is why you do this job and not me. I would be so distracted by the dud, I feel like I wouldn’t even notice the other people. You know what I mean? I would almost discount that tape because of the dud and forget about the other people in it.
LINDSAY BRONSON (32:45)
No, I don’t think so. I don’t. I mean, you have to, like, acknowledge what the other person is able to. How they’re able to, like, salvage the scene. Like, that can be pretty impressive to watch. You know what I mean? Or that they can just.
Like we were saying before, my mother’s calling me. That’s funny.
MIKE ELDER (33:05)
My mom called me right before this and said. She said my last podcast was horrible.
LINDSAY BRONSON (33:10)
Oh.
MIKE ELDER (33:10)
And I was like, great, I’m about to do a podcast. She just said I was not on my game. But I was like, great.
LINDSAY BRONSON (33:14)
Talk about immediate feedback. You can count on your parents for it.
What was I saying? Yeah, but it’s. Sometimes watching somebody, like, save the room is great. You know what I mean?
MIKE ELDER (33:24)
That’s really cool. Let me ask you something that I’m curious about. So I was talking to Maya about people. That book. Do you see a common theme among people that consistently book. Is there something there?
Like Courtney Richard. I met Courtney Richard outside of Alison Horne casting at the last place you guys were on. Off of whatever Melrose or whatever. And that mother effer books, everything now.
LINDSAY BRONSON (33:51)
He’s awesome.
MIKE ELDER (33:52)
What does he have? Is it just his look? Is it. Obviously he does everything right, but, like, what. What is the key things that people like that bring that are just making them work? Do you. Do you see common bonds between people like that?
LINDSAY BRONSON (34:05)
I would say that somebody like Courtney and the people at his level, I mean, first of all, they’re obviously highly skilled, insanely funny, and very sharp in the room. But also it’s. You know, we say this all the time where if we’re in a callback and there’s a bunch of, you know, and clients are deliberating on who they’re liking. Like, sometimes they’ll say, like, that guy’s just in everything, though. They’ll say that. And it will be, like, against the actor, like a, you know, a slight against them. And we’ll often think, like, Yeah, I know, I know.
They book everything. There’s a reason for that, right? And it’s like once your sort of ball is rolling, it’s just like you.
It clicks in. You just like understand. This muscle, this, like, which is what I always call it. Like, the commercial muscle is so much different than the theatrical one. Like, the stage improv muscle is so much different than the. In the audition room muscle. So, like, once that commercial muscle gets really strong and you’re booking a little bit and then you start to book a lot and you’re building relationships with casting and you’re really feeling confident in, like, what you can bring your perspect to an audition.
Once that all clicks in, it’s just like. There’s just like a confidence and an ease and he comes in and he does his thing and then he’s off to pick up his kid from school or off to.
You know what I mean? Because now his kids are auditioning like crazy too and booking everything. So there’s just an ease and a.
This is just part of the job. There’s. There’s no over. I mean, I’m totally speaking for Courtney right now. He’s probably gonna be like, that’s actually not how I feel at all. But like, here’s how it comes across that there’s not a ton of overthinking that it’s just like, here’s what I brought today. This is what I think about this audition.
Here’s what I think is funny about it. And that’s. Here’s my button. Yeah, moving on. So, like, that’s what I see as the big common theme of just people, like, just having a real understanding of like, for example, we just booked a spokesperson role. It was a non union job. And they had cast in multiple cities, several different casting directors.
And they said, we’re very specific about what they wanted. The recast. We were going to do the our. We were the third casting team to pick up and try to find this for them. Very specific about what they wanted. We call in one guy and it’s a Saturday callback. He’s got to get to set.
He’s got stuff that he’s got to do. He comes in, they work the least amount of time with him. He crushed it in the room. He’s just obviously like a very brilliant comedic actor. He’s really, really funny in the fight core world. And he was hilarious. And he booked it and it was just like, yeah, there was no, like, okay if, you know, like asking me, like, okay if I do it.
Like this, or do you think, like, if I do it like this in the room or, like, hanging out for a little bit afterwards and, like, if they need anything different, like, none of that. It was just like, okay, thank you so much. Take care. Onto the next thing. There’s just, like, this confidence and this just, like, part of the job moving on. Like, I really noticed that energy and that mentality about the work and the job, that. That feels like a real common thread to me.
MIKE ELDER (37:25)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (37:25)
For the people who are booking all.
MIKE ELDER (37:27)
The time, that’s really cool. It’s almost like a snowball, right?
LINDSAY BRONSON (37:30)
Like a little bit. Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (37:31)
You get one, and it just feels. It fuels it, and you just feel more confident.
LINDSAY BRONSON (37:35)
It’s hard to get the ball rolling, I guess.
MIKE ELDER (37:37)
You know, ain’t that the truth? No. Speaking of, like, Courtney’s been on a heater. I think I met him at a. Like, a McDonald’s callback you guys had pre Covid, and he’s just been booking. What. What’s like, outside of, like, a spokesman role where they become, like, a spokesman?
Do you ever see people have, like, really long commercial. I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, but, like, have you ever seen anyone, like, dominate their 20s, their 30s, their 40s? Do you know what I mean? Like, just keep going and, like. Because otherwise, I feel like somebody like Courtney or Dan Gill or whoever might get overexposed and then have to pull back a little bit.
LINDSAY BRONSON (38:14)
Definitely. Actors that I feel like, go away. Yeah. It’s like, impulses.
MIKE ELDER (38:18)
Right?
LINDSAY BRONSON (38:19)
You know what I mean? But they’ve been doing it forever, for sure.
MIKE ELDER (38:22)
Is there anyone that just has steadily been consistently in stuff that you can think of?
LINDSAY BRONSON (38:27)
I mean, I just think that there’s people that have just been working forever. Like, Courtney’s a great example. Izzy Diaz is a great example. Ryan Gaul is a great example. Eileen o’ Connell is a great example. Like, she is a booking machine, and then it, like, she, like, pull.
You know what I mean? Like, was in a ton of stuff for a little while, and now she’s, like, back again. You know what I mean? It’s just like, yeah, there’s tons of actors that I think have been doing it forever, and some teams are gonna say, like, that guy’s in everything.
That girl’s and everything. Let’s do this person. And then there’s some teams that are just like, yeah, let’s go with Courtney, because we know he is a pro, and that’s why he’s in everything, and we love him, and we don’t care that he’s in everything, you know what I mean? So I definitely think that. And as casting too, like, we definitely have those moments where when we’re prepping, we’ll say, let’s not pick this person for this one. They’re just in so much right now. Like, let’s give these three people a chance to come in on this one instead.
Like, I do think, like, I. Casting has to be aware of that. We can’t just only show Ryan and Izzy and Courtney and Eileen on every single tape because then that would get like, yeah, do you guys know anybody else?
You know what I mean? That would make us look really bad. So casting has to kind of be aware of that too. But like, certainly there’s a ton of people that have been doing it forever and ever and are just so, so good.
MIKE ELDER (39:54)
Yeah. And speaking of that, I ask every casting director this, but how do new people get in front of you? Like, if I’m a new person fresh off the boat, how do I get in your purview? Or whatever.
LINDSAY BRONSON (40:04)
That is so hard.
MIKE ELDER (40:04)
I feel like, great, go back to whence you came.
LINDSAY BRONSON (40:11)
Go back to Ohio. You’ll never make it here. No, I’m just kidding.
MIKE ELDER (40:14)
You heard it here first.
LINDSAY BRONSON (40:17)
No, I mean that sincerely though. Like, listen, I moved out to California 20 years ago to pursue acting. You know, of course I was gonna ask you. Yeah, I have so many casting people, like, come from the desire to have once wanted to do acting. And yeah, I think about that even now.
It’s just like, it’s just hard. It just is, you know what I mean? Like, keep taking classes, keep doing workshops, you know what I mean? Like, keep talking to people who’s your rep, like trying to get in for non union stuff. It’s just like, you just gotta keep talking, talking, talking, listening, you know what I mean? Like, your podcast is a great resource. Like, who’s doing this?
What are these actors doing? How do I get advice from these people?
You know what I mean?
MIKE ELDER (41:03)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (41:04)
So I think it’s just about like really communicating, really. What I, what I don’t think is effective are the really old fashioned methods of like spending all this money, mailing little postcards, mailing your headshots, sending like unsolicited emails to the assistant account. Like a lot of that stuff gets like passed through, you know what I mean? Or it’s just like, you know, we’ll get like, just very like kind of weird, grainy pictures of like, I just moved here and I really want to act. Please reach out, like, yeah, yeah. Not the best way to approach casting, for sure. You know.
And also, again, it’s subjective. I think the reason I think it’s so hard, if you asked Maya, she might be like, you know, stop in with a bottle of wine and I just want to introduce myself and I’m new to town and I really. Because she is a little bit more receptive to that when I’m working. Like, the drop ins for me are tricky. That’s a hard thing for me to navigate because I’m really like in work mode. So that’s hard.
You know what I mean? Some offices may say, just go in and introduce yourself and take some goodies. And it depends on the day. Sometimes that’s a great way and sometimes we’re really overwhelmed and that’s hard for us to take a second to really get to know you. So it’s just a lot of. It’s just trying all the avenues. That’s what I think my advice would be.
MIKE ELDER (42:32)
Yeah. Do you like a postcard or recognition? When somebody, you book somebody on something.
LINDSAY BRONSON (42:38)
Do we like recognition?
MIKE ELDER (42:39)
Like if you booked me in McDonald’s and I sent you a postcard, would you like that?
LINDSAY BRONSON (42:44)
Oh, sure.
MIKE ELDER (42:44)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (42:45)
That is different. Once you’ve booked something with us, we have praise.
MIKE ELDER (42:49)
We won all the praise.
LINDSAY BRONSON (42:50)
No, no, no. I was not gonna say that, Mike. I was gonna say that’s when I do tend to see emails and I’m more receptive.
I recognize them faster. You know what I mean? Like, we have actors all the time that’ll send us like a picture from set with them and the director or them and the other actor that, you know. Thanks so much. Having a blast. Like, those are so fun. I would prefer that over a postcard, like an email of you on set because we’re never on set.
So those pictures are really fun for us.
MIKE ELDER (43:18)
Why don’t you guys ever go to set?
LINDSAY BRONSON (43:19)
I know we’re like the only casting directors that don’t. I feel like you should.
MIKE ELDER (43:22)
I know you mean commercial or you guys, you ahc or commercial. Why don’t you guys do it? Get down there.
LINDSAY BRONSON (43:29)
I don’t know. We’re just so busy. I don’t know. We just don’t. And like, yeah, Ross, he was just talking. He’s like going to set next week on a really fun one. And I’m like, oh, we should do it.
We need to go to set.
MIKE ELDER (43:41)
Yes.
LINDSAY BRONSON (43:42)
And Ali was like, I know we need to go to set some. Yeah, our directors would be super receptive. I’ve only Been to set. I think this is why I’ve only been to set one time, because they were shooting right around the studio from us. And I just always feel in the way. I don’t feel like it’s, like, a fun environment to, like, hang out. And sure enough, I felt really in the way.
Like, it felt like they were really behind schedule. And there was no, like, hey. It was just like, hey, you guys. All right? And then it was, you know, it was just. Yeah, I don’t like it.
MIKE ELDER (44:13)
You should maybe book actors that you like hanging out with, and then you’ll want to go hang out with them. Like me.
LINDSAY BRONSON (44:18)
Yeah, I see what you did there. Listen, I book you on everything. It’s not my decision.
MIKE ELDER (44:23)
I know. And I’m not beautiful anymore, as we.
LINDSAY BRONSON (44:25)
Alluded to, and not weird enough to be the tree. Where do you fit? Mike Elder?
MIKE ELDER (44:30)
If you could find out, let me know, because I need to find out. Wait, let’s talk about quickly, how you ended up in casting, because you said you came out here to act. So what was the switch and how did it come about?
LINDSAY BRONSON (44:41)
I. Yeah, about 20 years ago.
Moved out here, and I was in, like, classes and doing workshops and stuff like that, but not really, like, getting any traction. So I was encouraged to get an internship at a casting office.
MIKE ELDER (44:58)
By who?
LINDSAY BRONSON (44:59)
My boyfriend at the time. Husband now, who was a casting director. Oh, theatrical casting director for a long time time. And he was like, you should get an internship because it will give you more information about the industry as a whole, you know? So I don’t know if you know this, but it’s very difficult to get an internship in the city. If you’re out of college, you, like, cannot get one. I didn’t want anything to do with the commercial world, of course.
I wanted to be, like, interning with people who were doing cool television shows and movies and stuff like that. And I couldn’t get one. And then the very lovely Dan Cowan, who I love at Broadcast, he said, yes, we’ll let you work here and you can learn here. And I loved working for him. I mean, first of all, he’s very, very kind and super generous and very funny. So I loved learning under him. And I just kind of got to, like.
It was truly like, a little internship because I just got, like, little bits of every section. I learned, like, all the admin, all the paperwork stuff, the Taft Hart lean. He let me, like, prep with him a couple times. Like, I would just watch. I wasn’t actually picking anybody.
And then what? I was really grateful that he had taught me to do was run session. Like, I learned how to cam up and run session, and that was really eye opening for me. And while the internship was supposed to give me more perspective on, like, my acting career, what it really ultimately did was just scare me and show me how far away I was from my goal.
MIKE ELDER (46:28)
Oh, wow.
LINDSAY BRONSON (46:29)
Yeah, it was kind of sad. I was just like, wow, I am so far away from what I want to be doing. Like, just watching the actors come in. And I wish that it had, like, instead, like, fueled me to, like, learn and get better. But instead, it just. It just scared me. And so I felt better and more comfortable.
And I liked the casting element of it. So I was just like. Like, I’m just gonna, as Maya would say, go where the doors are opening. So I went where the doors were opening, which was casting, and I just stayed and, like, learned how to do that. And so I was still, like, adjacent to it. You know, I was still around all the creativity. And even once I moved over to Ali’s office, I still auditioned a little bit, and that felt good.
You know what I mean? I booked a commercial. I booked a national commercial at Ali’s office when I was first starting with her, when it wouldn’t have been weird that I was also casting, you know, in casting there. And then I just, like. You know, it just gradually turned into something that was just more comfortable on the other side of it.
MIKE ELDER (47:33)
That’s so cool.
LINDSAY BRONSON (47:33)
I think I just saw too much of the sausage being made, and it was just. I couldn’t get that. I really am like, the people who are in both casting and acting, like, the people who work at 200 south.
MIKE ELDER (47:43)
And stuff like that, like, Jonathan Runyon.
LINDSAY BRONSON (47:45)
I don’t know how John does it. I don’t. I mean, I think John is amazing actor.
I think he’s fantastic. And I just don’t know how those people have seen so much of the other side of it and can, like, they’re like, severance. They’re severed. Yeah. And then they’re like, on the performance floor.
MIKE ELDER (48:06)
But what do you mean? Why would the.
Is it a perspective thing? Like, why would he be so turned off after season?
LINDSAY BRONSON (48:11)
Not turned off, but aware just how hard it is or just, like, what’s kind of happening on the other side or what can be said on the other side. Like, it’s just like, it wasn’t for me. I’m sad about it, but, yeah, it’s true.
MIKE ELDER (48:27)
See, I think I would use it as, like, a feedback signal, like you giving me feedback earlier. I would.
LINDSAY BRONSON (48:32)
You know what I mean? It’s true.
I really like. It’s. I’ll just lay down. We can do a therapy session about it.
But I am. I really wanted to be an actor, and. No, I really wish that. I think you just have to be incredibly brave.
MIKE ELDER (48:47)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (48:47)
And incredibly, like, resilient.
MIKE ELDER (48:50)
Yeah, that’s a good word.
LINDSAY BRONSON (48:51)
To be an actor. And I did not have enough of either to, like, really get it going.
MIKE ELDER (48:57)
How do you find, like, assistants and session directors now? What is it? What do you guys post to, like, job boards?
LINDSAY BRONSON (49:04)
No, people reach out. People want to do it all the time.
MIKE ELDER (49:06)
Right. So isn’t that interesting? And how many of them are actors?
LINDSAY BRONSON (49:09)
All of them.
MIKE ELDER (49:09)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (49:10)
Yeah. Because it’s exactly why I got the internship. They want to learn about the other side of it. And every time, Mike, we have, like, a session director training or on the very rare times that we have to hire somebody to, like, read, be, like, a reader for us, which is so uncommon in a commercial. But, you know, from time to time, when we do actors for that, like, oh, we love Mike. We’ll do him for this. You know what I mean?
They walk out of the room and they’re like, like, wow. I’m like, right. It is, like, the fastest way to learn about the other side. It’s crazy.
MIKE ELDER (49:42)
Yeah. I sat in. Do you. What’s the guy from west side comedy? Colin.
LINDSAY BRONSON (49:46)
Oh, Sweeney.
MIKE ELDER (49:47)
Sweeney. He was a session director at 200 South.
LINDSAY BRONSON (49:50)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (49:50)
And I sat. He let me sit in with him once, and everyone thought I was the director, which was great.
LINDSAY BRONSON (49:55)
Oh, yeah, that’s fun. But he was like, people don’t know who you are. And they’re just like.
MIKE ELDER (49:59)
He introduced me every time. He’s like, it’s just my friend.
But that was eye opening. And I sat in for, like, a holiday commercial.
LINDSAY BRONSON (50:07)
And it’s eye opening in both ways. Like, you can see how people are really struggling or the things that are, like, immediate, that are like, oof, note to self. Never doing that in the room again. And you can see the people who are just like, wow, that’s how it’s done.
That’s why you’re doing it. And I’m not. It’s so eye opening. Truly.
MIKE ELDER (50:27)
Do you find that there’s certain people that are good as session directors? Or, like, what. What is. What is that thing that makes a good session director? Because, like, I think Runyon.
You guys use Rundyn. He’s phenomenal.
LINDSAY BRONSON (50:37)
He’s our first call.
MIKE ELDER (50:38)
Yeah. And he always gives me great notes. And great feedback, it feels like. So what do you find is the best session director? What do they have in common?
LINDSAY BRONSON (50:48)
The best session directors are, you know, somebody from the office is always going to start the session and set the direction for the day or whatever spot in the scene. And the best session directors are really able to stick to those beats to keep that same rhythm going. And I don’t mean everybody doing it the same way, but really remembering the moments of the spot and the script that are important to hit or important beats to get from each performer. So that’s really important to us because we’ll. We have definitely said. And John knows this.
I would not be. I’m not, like, speaking out of turn. We’ve been like, we’ll call him at, like, 11. It’s getting off track.
You know what? That’s what it means.
Like, keep it on. Keep the train on track. Yeah, it’s getting off track. Okay. So that’s the first thing that I think is really, really great about solid session runners. The other thing I think that’s great about them is being able to communicate with actors. Like, I mean, you see that.
I’m sure you’ve felt it all the time in, like, a callback. Like, directors who can’t articulate what they need from you, you’re just lost up there.
MIKE ELDER (51:59)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (52:00)
You know what I mean? And you’re just, like, listening and nodding because I’m totally with you and I’ve got it. And you’re like, what the fuck are you talking about, man? So session runners who can really put it in a language that the. The actors understand, so helpful and important. And then I think the thing that makes, like, Jonathan one of our faves.
Dave Wilder, one of our faves. Robbie Descant one of our faves. Like, those guys are such good improvisers. They’re very funny, you know, they’re good improvisers. Mike Danner is a great improviser. So, like, they are really good at helping, like, tweak just little funny moments and giving, like, little ideas. Hey, try it like this.
Say it like this at the end. And they’re not trying to give you guys line reads or tell you how to do it. But again, it’s just like. It’s just like me manipulating yourself. Tape footage. They want us to be thrilled with the session that they’ve put forward. So they are trying to make you look as funny and awesome as possible.
We want the tape to look amazing so that our director is like, these people are all amazing. So it’s all like in service of making you guys look great, you know. So those notes that they’re giving, it’s, it’s, it’s really to help you. And I think that John and Dave and Robbie and all those guys are like, they’re exceptional at it. They’re really, really good at that.
You know how.
MIKE ELDER (53:24)
Go ahead.
LINDSAY BRONSON (53:25)
I’m done.
MIKE ELDER (53:25)
How often are you guys. And I’ve heard that you guys watch sessions in the back.
LINDSAY BRONSON (53:29)
Oh, for sure.
MIKE ELDER (53:30)
Are you constantly. Yeah. But are you constantly really watching or you just sort of got it on in the background?
LINDSAY BRONSON (53:36)
Well, yeah.
MIKE ELDER (53:37)
Or both.
LINDSAY BRONSON (53:37)
Both. I mean, I couldn’t like actually get work done and then just be like watching the whole time. You know what I mean? But we definitely glancing and we’re definitely. I think a lot of times we’ll watch the acting. We’ll have the volume usually off or very low so that it’s not distracting. And then when we want to make sure things are staying on track, we’ll watch footage.
But a lot of times the monitor is like, I want to make sure people look right together. Or why is she wearing that weird hat? Can you please tell her to take that off? Or can you reslate him without the jacket? He looks too formal.
A lot of it’s. And again, it’s all in service.
MIKE ELDER (54:13)
Wait, when you reach out to them, how do they hear it?
LINDSAY BRONSON (54:15)
We just call into the studio.
MIKE ELDER (54:16)
Oh, I’ve never seen that before.
LINDSAY BRONSON (54:18)
Or I’ll text.
MIKE ELDER (54:20)
Oh, that’s funny. I’ve seen people look at their cell phone.
LINDSAY BRONSON (54:23)
Yeah. John will be like, okay, that was great. So let’s try that one again, Mike. And this time we’re going to. Because he’s like gotten word.
MIKE ELDER (54:31)
I’m just picturing my group that did the pizza, Pepsi, pasta. You guys in the back being.
LINDSAY BRONSON (54:37)
My feedback was move on.
MIKE ELDER (54:40)
This group does not know what they’re doing. They’re stuck in Dr. Seuss land where they’re like glitching out.
Pizza, pasta, Pepsi papa.
LINDSAY BRONSON (54:49)
Oh my God, that’s so funny.
MIKE ELDER (54:51)
Well, not to put you on the spot, but I just quit my job. So if you guys need a session director, let me know because I would be curious to.
LINDSAY BRONSON (54:58)
What were you doing?
MIKE ELDER (54:59)
I worked for a tech startup for the last 10 years. Literally 10 years. And I just quit.
LINDSAY BRONSON (55:04)
Wow.
MIKE ELDER (55:06)
And I’m going to take a little creative leave and I’m like open to like part time work. I just casting work or whatever, like pa. I just want to be around the world more because I’ve spent 10 years burning out in an eight to five.
LINDSAY BRONSON (55:17)
I understand.
MIKE ELDER (55:18)
I gave my entire 30s to it, so I want to like do more entertainment adjacent stuff.
LINDSAY BRONSON (55:23)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s great.
Well, congrats, man. That’s a cool.
MIKE ELDER (55:26)
I know. Thank you. I’m very excited. Everyone’s been so supportive.
LINDSAY BRONSON (55:29)
I mean, it’s exciting. I think when people like branch off from something they’ve been doing for a really long time, that’s like, it’s. It’s brave and it’s cool.
MIKE ELDER (55:38)
It is definitely brave. But what I realized a couple weeks ago, I had like five in person auditions in a week, which was crazy couple at 200 south couple at, what is it? Wilshire? 4125 Wilshire or whatever. And what I realized was like, I’ve never gone to an audition and not been in a hurry to get back to work and checking work slack during it. And I’m like, I like to think I can compartmentalize, but I’m curious how much of that is bleeding through in my audition where I’m like, oh, I gotta get back to work. I gotta get back to my desk and respond to the slack.
So I’m interested. I haven’t had an in person. I just quit this week. But I’m curious how much that will open me up. Yeah. How it’ll feel.
LINDSAY BRONSON (56:18)
That’s so funny, Mike, because when I walk in the lobby and I see everybody and then I’m like, okay, well, Mike just finished his audition and now he’s off to wherever. I don’t know, a smoothie at Erewhon or. What does the day hold for you? I’m always just like, that’s my romantic fantasy about what it is to be an actor is like, you just have several auditions a day and then you’re just, you know, like, maybe you teach a yoga class. I’m like, yeah, that’s what I’m like envisioning this like beautiful, relaxing life. And you’re like, I’m like rushing to this and then I’m checking work slack and I’m like, oh, that sounds very stressful.
MIKE ELDER (56:55)
It’s not great.
LINDSAY BRONSON (56:56)
It’s not great.
MIKE ELDER (56:57)
And I imagine it has to be like, if I’m on my phone in an audition, historically it’s looking at my work slack, which sucks.
LINDSAY BRONSON (57:04)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (57:05)
Because I’m the type that hates having unread stuff and I like to reply right away. So work bleeds into those for sure. As much as I do love a treat after an audition, I go to Chipotle on Larchmont, usually as my Treat not erewhon. But. So hopefully I get more in person in the next few weeks and I get to explore that. But yeah, I think a lot of us probably are hurrying to the next gig or something.
LINDSAY BRONSON (57:28)
I know that’s just my romantic idea of what this blissful California life could be.
MIKE ELDER (57:34)
I haven’t had two in person in the same day in a long time.
LINDSAY BRONSON (57:39)
Really?
MIKE ELDER (57:39)
Yeah.
LINDSAY BRONSON (57:39)
But you do a lot of self taping.
MIKE ELDER (57:41)
Yeah, for sure.
LINDSAY BRONSON (57:42)
Yeah.
MIKE ELDER (57:42)
But like to go to the next audition hasn’t been a thing forever.
LINDSAY BRONSON (57:47)
I have a question for you about the self taping. Because oftentimes, well, not often, we really try to be like very conscious of like not putting too much on you guys or like very last minute. We always feel terrible when it’s like, these are due same day. But I’ll say like this, this is same day.
But it’s a very simple audition. I’ll put it in like all caps so that people are like. And I’m like, do they think they’re like, what’s very simple about it? Bitch. I gotta set up my backdrop, my ring light. I gotta upload all this stuff.
Like, is it. If it’s just like.
I just want you to interview by your plants and tell me a little like, that’s really easy. Like, how hard is that to shoot? Like, what is it very simple to even do the simplest art concept.
MIKE ELDER (58:28)
I think it depends on who you ask. I think a lot of actors resent it. Cause you have to tear everything down. I have a nice thing, little room here that I can do it in. But even still, I have to set up the lights, I have to get the camera organized. The full body shot, you gotta pull it all the way back.
LINDSAY BRONSON (58:41)
And like.
MIKE ELDER (58:42)
So I think a lot of people resent it. I try to think of it in a positive light. Like, all right, here’s I get to do what I get to do. But self tapes, you definitely don’t, you know, turn on. You don’t get nervous, you don’t get excited.
LINDSAY BRONSON (58:54)
Yeah, well, that’s definitely, I think like the hardest part of how frequent the self tapes are now since the pandemic where it’s like, yeah, but people had how much time to practice that dialogue or do how many takes to get this. And then you get in the room and they’re like, yeah, yeah.
MIKE ELDER (59:11)
Well, I think most of us or the good ones have learned don’t do it exhaustively, right? Give yourself four takes or whatever it is and send in two of those.
But my mom was like, shocked. I don’t know. She came out like six months ago. And I was like, I got a non union commercial that pays 1000 bucks. Let me see what I can do. I did like three takes. She’s like, wait, aren’t you gonna keep going?
I’m like, mom, you can’t overthink this.
LINDSAY BRONSON (59:32)
Literally overthink it, Mom.
MIKE ELDER (59:34)
And she’s like, oh. And she was like, she was really shocked.
LINDSAY BRONSON (59:38)
I think we should get shocked. Should do another one. Don’t go so slow, Mike.
MIKE ELDER (59:42)
I think a lot of us have realized, like, you just kind of have to think about it, give it your best option, a few options, and then let it go. But I don’t know, it’s tough. I mean, it’s weird.
LINDSAY BRONSON (59:53)
Yeah. I always feel so bad. I mean, we say. I like, whenever I have the opportunity to tell actors we’re very. We really feel terrible when it’s like same day stuff. Cause I know it’s not easy.
MIKE ELDER (1:00:04)
Oh, it’s tough.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:00:05)
And please know that we would never, like, just choose to wait till morning send those out. You know what I mean? Like, it’s obviously because we’ve had a very last. Like, we’re scrambling too. Like, if you guys are scrambled, just know that casting in the office is also freaking out and scrambling to fix things while y’ all are scrambling to put the ring light up in the back. You know, we’re all scrambling when that happens.
MIKE ELDER (1:00:28)
The only thing that bugs me is if I get in at like 6pm and it’s for the next day and I have plans at night and I’m like, oh, I was going to go get drunk at Trivia tonight.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:00:36)
Now I. Yeah, but can’t you do it in the morning or.
MIKE ELDER (1:00:38)
No, no. Well, I could, but that’s when I get mad, is when I’m like, it comes late and I have plans when.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:00:44)
We interfere with you.
MIKE ELDER (1:00:45)
Most of the time. Exactly. Most of the time. I’m going to do it the day. I get it anyways, you know what I mean? So, like, I don’t care, but like, if I have plans to go do something, that’s when I’m annoyed. But whatever, I’m happy to have a ch.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:00:57)
Alrighty.
MIKE ELDER (1:00:57)
How’d you. How’d this go? How do you feel?
We’re at an hour.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:01:00)
All right, great.
MIKE ELDER (1:01:02)
It wasn’t nothing to be nervous about.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:01:03)
No.
MIKE ELDER (1:01:04)
You’re gonna go home glowing.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:01:05)
It was a great first date.
MIKE ELDER (1:01:07)
Oh, my God. All right, you gotta. This was great.
LINDSAY BRONSON (1:01:11)
Oh, I can say something again now it’s tail slate. Oh, tail slate. Do we do this? I’m Lindsay Bronson. Again. Still Lindsay Bronson.
MIKE ELDER (1:01:20)
That was great. Thank you.
