April Webster casts with the eye of a director – a theatre director. She views her staff as a team, a crew. “We have a history, our own language,” she said. This team allows Webster to access the massive database of actors she keeps in mind. “When you’ve been in casting this long, you do remember everyone, but sometimes you begin to think you need a new hard drive,” Webster joked, of the metaphorical server space in her brain. With all the gadgets in use on Alias, Webster could hook up an auxiliary system that is as stylish and diverse as the cast.
First Casting Job
Webster started out as a theatre director and stage manager in 1978. “I was working at the Mark Taper Forum as an assistant to Gordon Hunt and Frank Bayer. I’d come from the Public [Theatre] in New York, and had only cast projects I was directing. I was asked if I could cover the phones in the casting office at the Taper and then worked for a year as an assistant. After that, I went back to New York and assisted Gordon Davidson on Children of a Lesser God,” Webster recalled.
Road to This Position
“I came back to Los Angeles, called around, and got some work casting independent films and television,” Webster continued. Her work on Shoot the Moon with Linda Phillips-Palo at Zoetrope started what she calls, “the magical years.” She went from film to television. “I never did just one kind of show. I worked on Night Court and The Nanny but I also did a lot of action shows at Universal and Paramount and the mini Grand Avenue for HBO,” she said.
Coolest Casting Gig
Grand Avenue. “I’m very big into diversity casting and the mainstreaming of nontraditional types. We were booking Native American actors and [then-partner] David Bloch went to Santa Rosa to hold an open call,” Webster explained. “I felt, with this project, that a service had been done – and I say that with no hubris,” she qualified. “This was nice because it was modern, and not the typical period piece for which these actors would usually be sought out. Those were tough roles, and Sheila Tousey, A Martinez, they did great work.”
Coolest at another level is Alias. “Alias is great,” Webster exclaimed. “I’m having more fun casting this than any episodic I’ve ever done.” Webster tips her hat to Megan McConnell and Janet Gilmore for leaving, “such a legacy,” in their original casting for the series. “We’re getting to use wonderful actors to fill these amazing roles. As a theatre person, I love these roles!”
Key Things She Looks for in an Actor
On a practical level, Webster looks for training. “If I see ACT or Juliard on a resume, I know that these actors will come in with the craft behind them. I look at who they’ve studied with and also at their theatre background,” she summarized. “But, you never know where you’ll find talent. Sometimes someone with very little training can have something special going on.”
Another key thing Webster looks for is an interest in the world. “It’s hard to find here, as opposed to New York, where there is more opportunity to go to museums or to travel. I want to see an interest in more than just the role you’re auditioning for. That creates something special and shows part of who you are in the role. You bring yourself into the role. That is what is unique to you.”
“In Los Angeles, we have this self-perpetuating myth,” Webster continued. “We make stars out of people and then ask them to come up with the goods afterwards. It’s really an unfair way to do it. Granted, some have a natural ability, but we make it very tough on actors, when we make them stars before they’ve been trained.”
Advice for Actors
Find your center. “Know how to use your instrument. Let me hear your voice. An actor can stop her energy three inches from her face and that is easily correctable. It’s about learning how to come in here and take the space,” Webster said, of her staff and their offices. “We try to make this a safe space for the actor. It’s a service that I can give so that the actor feels that he or she has the right to try something out. It’s not altruistic. I want you to do your best work because that makes my job go smoothly.”
“Do your own prep work,” she continued. “If you know the lobby is not the right place for you, go out into the hall and breathe. Do jumping jacks. Know what you need and don’t negate those feelings, just because you may have different prep work than another actor. It’s how you bring your humanity into the room. It’s what makes you unique. Value that,” she advised.
“The hardest thing is to stay present. That’s a hard process. There’s whispering, there’s note-taking. Keep your focus. Connect to your reader. Remember who you are, not who they want you to be. Have integrity and fill the room with your energy. Take the space. Know you’re a contribution to the project. The right thing will happen. Know that casting directors are nervous at those meetings too. Be clear on your technique and focus on the task. It’s not about getting the job.”
Webster sees acting as the art of listening. “It’s a practice, like meditation. I look for actors who listen – both in the scene and in general. It’s essential for an actor to surrender. You must be fully aware and present in that moment, not thinking about the result [of your audition]. We don’t know what’s going to happen. There are infinite possibilities.”
“The disease of perfectionism can kill you. Obsession and workaholism are valued here and they can really damage your soul. Every experience you have had adds up to what you are, and that is not just like the 17 people that may look like you in the waiting room,” Webster said. And how does an actor remove focus from perfectionism? “I find that breathing helps,” she concluded.
Pet Peeves
“In auditions, I don’t need to hear what your whole day was. This is especially the case in producer sessions,” Webster revealed. “Get the material ahead of time and come in prepared. Come in. Do your job.”
Webster indicated a pet peeve specific to pilot season. “We get busy. I will add a casting director to our office for pilot season. The stakes are very high. Actors become overwhelmed and their priorities are skewed out of line.” How can an actor combat that necessary evil? “Be fully prepared. Your agent can help by not scheduling 12 appointments in one day. Don’t be so attached to the outcome that you are depleted and your energy is gone, and you’re not present for your auditions. That just adds tension,” Webster concluded.
Best Way to Get Seen by Her
“Keep me apprised of your appearances,” Webster requested, asking that actors not make phone calls to the office. “We are always glad to get postcards. They are a good, inexpensive way to get seen. Use them to let me know when I can see you in something. We save postcards and we do cast from them.”
Webster regularly attends theatre. “I try to see as much theatre as I can, because I still direct and want to see what is being done out there. There is hard-core theatre here,” Webster commented on Los Angeles theatre, having come from New York. “Actors have to work harder to make [Los Angeles] a theatre town because of the time commitment in getting to and from the theatre for rehearsals – you can’t just hop the subway a few stops like in New York – but there is excellent work going on here.” Specifically, Webster mentioned enjoying the Pacific Resident Theatre, the Odyssey, and the old Met.
Webster strongly discourages unsolicited demo reels. “You’re just throwing away your money. Your best calling card is your photo.”
Her Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
“We are using [the Internet] much more than ever,” Webster insisted. “I use The Link, the Academy Players Directory, especially the books,” she said. Webster indicated that her relationships with agents and managers are still the most reliable resource in casting.
Her Biggest Casting Challenge
“Each project has its own challenge,” Webster said, noting specifically the challenge posed in filling the role of Gabriel in The Patriot. “[The actor] had to play Mel Gibson’s son, and Heath [Ledger] was very Mel-like. It was a very important role and we looked at every young actor in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Heath has that Australian self-confidence that Mel seems to have as well,” Webster commented. “It was a real opportunity to put together a palate of actors. I didn’t take any other work at that time because I was so focused on The Patriot. With casting all the roles, it was exciting to work with that caliber of actors, to meet them and read across the table from them.”
Highlight of Her Week
“I love directing. And I do that every day to some extent, in sessions. Watching the process is a blast. The industry can be so fear-based,” Webster added. “If I can, through my own inward journey, not come from a place of fear, I can hold a space for actors to come in here and do their best work.”
Most Gratifying Part of Her Job
“Finding somebody new – or someone who has been around – and matching them to the right role. I enjoy that moment of, ‘Yeah! All right!’ It’s not about kudos for doing a great job, it’s about having the opportunity to work at this level of casting.”
This interview was conducted on January 4, 2002, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.