Casting Society of America Sets International Open Call for Native American & Indigenous Actors

Casting Society of America (CSA), as part of its ongoing Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion in Casting Initiative, has set an International Open Call for Native American and Indigenous Actors for Sunday, January 12, 2020. Participating locations include Los Angeles, New York, Albuquerque, Portland, Chicago, Norman, Okla. and Montreal.

This open call follows the successful Town Hall for Native American and Indigenous Actors which were held in New York and Los Angeles on October 21-22, 2019 respectively as part of a series of conversations designed to effect concrete change in how actors in historically underrepresented communities are afforded access to job opportunities.

CSA members across the globe ​will​ open​ ​their​ ​offices​ ​to union​ ​and​ ​non-union​ Native American and Indigenous Actors. Artists​ ​who​ ​are​ ​professionally​ ​trained,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​those​ ​actively​ ​pursuing professional​ ​careers​ ​as​ ​performers​ ​are​ ​welcome​ ​to​ ​attend.​ Artists​ ​will​ ​be​ ​given​ ​an​ ​opportunity to​ ​perform​ ​a​ ​​prepared​ ​scene of their choice​ ​in​ ​front​ ​of​ ​a​ ​panel​ of CSA casting directors offering actors the opportunity to interact with casting directors who are looking to expand their knowledge and understanding of underrepresented and undiscovered talent in a professional casting environment.

"The Native American and Indigenous Actors Open Call follows the huge success of CSA's Inclusion and Diversity open calls for Trans and Non-binary actors, Performers with Disabilities, Seniors and MENASA (Middle Eastern, North African & South Asian) actors," said Russell Boast, President of Casting Society of America. "These open calls offer both an opportunity for these underrepresented actors to be seen and a chance for our Casting Director members globally to become familiar with their work. Our hope is that empowering Casting Directors by giving them the tools to cast authentically will create a ripple effect through the industry that will result in more opportunities for diverse actors and filmmakers both in front of and behind the camera."

"As Native Americans, one of our biggest obstacles is just being seen as present-day human beings. We are an important part of our shared American story, not only of the past, but of the present and future as well. We have a responsibility to ensure that this vibrant and vital part of our shared experience is not lost or set aside," says DeLanna Studi (Actor, Writer, and Chair of the SAG-AFTRA National Native Americans Committee). "As Native people, we are often called the 'Vanishing Race' or the 'Disappearing People.' One of our biggest burdens and greatest opportunities is educating the Industry about who we really are: to break past these stereotypes and to move our communities forward.

"We live in a digital age where the majority of all of our information comes from on-screen images. In addition to our families, our communities, and our education system, how we learn who we are and how we relate to others is powerfully influenced by the media. Especially now. ... It is imperative that Hollywood stories move beyond stereotypes and reflect the great diversity and vitality of who we are as Native Americans today. We are still here, and we are thriving."

Jake Hart, actor, says "I'm so grateful that Casting Society of America is expanding the importance of cultural authenticity in the process. Indigenous Americans stand ready to have our voices heard, our faces seen, and through these new efforts of CSA, our stories reclaimed."

For more information and to sign up for one of the locations visit: http://bit.ly/CSA_NativeAmericanOpenCall.

To post a comment, you must register and login.