Casting Actors Cast

By Jeffrey Dreisbach & Broadway Podcast NetworkEducation Arts Performing Arts How To

Casting Actors Cast episodes

November 12 The Power of Having Someone in Your Corner
In Episode #447 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, teacher, author, and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
explores the extraordinary value of mentors, champions, and professional
advocates.
Jeff shares the personal story of
his very first film audition—for Ron Howard's Splash, starring Tom Hanks
and John Candy—and how casting director Pat McCorkle helped create an
opportunity that became an important milestone in his acting career.
You'll discover the difference
between mentorship and advocacy, why honest feedback matters more than constant
encouragement, how to identify people who can support your professional growth,
and how meaningful relationships develop through trust, respect, and shared
commitment.
Jeff also introduces a practical
five-step approach:
Identify. Connect. Learn. Apply.
Sustain.
Whether you're beginning your acting
career, struggling to find direction, or looking for ways to support other
performers, this episode offers a thoughtful perspective on why professional
growth doesn't have to happen alone.
A mentor can open a door. Your
preparation and talent must carry you through it.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting
Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions online course.

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32 min
November 05 The Joy of Performance: What Makes an Actor Come Alive?
The Joy of Performance: What Makes
an Actor Come Alive? | Casting Actors Cast #446
What makes some actors seem
completely alive onstage, on camera, or in an audition—even when they're
playing emotionally difficult characters?
In Episode #446 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, teacher, author, and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
explores a deeply personal question: What happens to the joy of performing as
actors become increasingly focused on technique, auditions, professional
expectations, and career results?
Drawing on his years as a
professional actor and his experiences behind the casting table, Jeff examines
the difference between performing and demonstrating, the pleasure of
concentrated attention, the importance of creative curiosity, and the
relationship between preparation and freedom.
You'll discover why the joy of performance
isn't necessarily about happiness, enthusiasm, or outward energy—and why
genuine engagement with the circumstances and other actors can make a
performance so compelling.
Plus, Jeff shares practical ways to
reconnect with the creative experience without trying to manufacture excitement
or force a particular emotional state.
The audience doesn't need to see how
much you love acting. They need to experience what that love makes possible.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting
Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions online course.

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27 min
October 29 What If: The secret to Making Memorable Choices
What If? The Secret to Memorable
Acting Choices | Casting Actors Cast #445
Why do some actors deliver
technically excellent auditions that are quickly forgotten, while others make a director lean forward and say, "I never thought of it that way"?
In Episode #445 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, teacher, author and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
explores the difference between predictable acting choices and memorable interpretations.
Using his practical "What If?" approach, Jeff demonstrates how actors can explore alternative character needs, obstacles, behaviors, and contradictions to discover surprising yet truthful interpretations of a scene.
You'll learn why actors often play it safe, how to take creative risks without becoming gimmicky, how to experiment with the same dialogue in different ways, and why the ability to take direction is just as important as making an original choice.
Plus, discover the three-step
process: Discover. Test. Evaluate.
A memorable audition doesn't always
change the director's mind about the character. Sometimes it changes the director's mind about the actor.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions course.

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30 min
October 22 Stop Judging Yourself on Camera
Do you hate watching yourself on
camera?
You're not alone—but for today's
actor, learning how to review your own work is an essential professional skill.
In Episode #444 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, teacher, author and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
explores the crucial difference between judging yourself and evaluating your
work.
Jeff explains why actors shouldn't
monitor themselves while performing, how self-consciousness interferes with
listening and behavior, what casting directors are actually watching in an
audition, and how actors can review self-tapes and playback without falling
into the perfectionism trap.
You'll also learn Jeff's practical Three-Pass
System for reviewing your work—Story, Connection and Technique—along with
the simple professional cycle: Perform. Observe. Adjust. Forget.
Because the goal isn't to love
everything you see.
It's to learn how to see your work
clearly enough to improve it.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting
Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions course.
Do you hate watching yourself on
camera?
You're not alone—but for today's
actor, learning how to review your own work is an essential professional skill.
In Episode #444 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, teacher, author and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
explores the crucial difference between judging yourself and evaluating your
work.
Jeff explains why actors shouldn't
monitor themselves while performing, how self-consciousness interferes with
listening and behavior, what casting directors are actually watching in an
audition, and how actors can review self-tapes and playback without falling
into the perfectionism trap.
You'll also learn Jeff's practical Three-Pass
System for reviewing your work—Story, Connection and Technique—along with
the simple professional cycle: Perform. Observe. Adjust. Forget.
Because the goal isn't to love
everything you see.
It's to learn how to see your work
clearly enough to improve it.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting
Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions course.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 min
October 15 Are You Getting the Training You Actually Need?
How do you know whether an acting
class, workshop or teacher is actually right for you?
In Episode #443 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, teacher, author and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
looks beyond recommendations and famous techniques to explore what good actor
training should actually accomplish.
Jeff discusses how actors can
identify what they genuinely need before choosing a class, the “intermediate
plateau” that can keep actors training without progressing, evaluating teachers
and techniques, budgeting for professional development, knowing when you've
outgrown a class, and the difference between feeling challenged and actually
learning.
The episode also explores something
increasingly important in a screen-centered and AI-driven world: the
psychological and artistic value of actors working together in a room.
The goal isn't simply to keep
training.
It's to keep growing.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting
Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions course.

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24 min
October 08 Agent Matters

Getting an agent can feel like one
of the biggest milestones in an actor's career—but what happens after you get
representation?
In Episode #442 of Casting Actors
Cast, casting director, author, teacher and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach
takes a practical and sometimes humorous look at the actor-agent relationship.
This isn't an episode about how to
find an agent. It's about understanding the professional relationship once you
have one: franchising, communication, commissions and residuals, transparency,
industry connections, management skills, expectations, warning signs—and the
actor's own responsibilities in making representation work.
Jeff also offers a simple five-part
Representation Check-In built around Trust, Communication, Transparency,
Strategy and Professionalism.
Because representation isn't
validation. It's a business partnership.
Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more
episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting
Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions course.

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28 min
October 01 Emotion Comes Last

Actors are
often taught to explore emotion—but what if emotion is actually the last part of scene preparation?
In Episode
#441 of Casting Actors Cast, casting director, actor, author and teacher Jeff Dreisbach introduces a practical four-step approach to scene analysis: WANT,
NEED, BEHAVIOR and EMOTION.
Begin with the writer: Why does the scene exist? Then discover what your character needs from the other person, explore the mental and physical behaviors used to pursue
that need, and finally allow emotion to emerge as a result of what happens in the scene. This episode
explores why preparing emotional results can limit spontaneity, how behavior creates character, why acting remains relational, and how better preparation can actually create greater freedom in performance.
If you have ever tried to “be sad,” “get angry,” or manufacture a feeling in an audition, this episode may help you approach your work from an entirely different direction.
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27 min
September 24 Empathy Casting
What do casting directors actually think when you're auditioning? Are they judging you? Do they already know who they want? Do they only call in actors they know?
In this episode of Casting Actors Cast, casting director, former actor and master teacher Jeff Dreisbach introduces “Empathy Casting”—a different way for actors to understand the person on the other side of the audition.
Jeff takes you behind the casting process to explain why casting directors are more like “personal shoppers” for producers and directors, why a great audition doesn't always result in getting the role, how concentration can be mistaken for criticism, and why casting isn't searching for the “best” actor—but the right creative fit for a
particular project. Most importantly, you'll discover why the casting director isn't your opponent. Casting wants actors to succeed
because every compelling audition provides another creative possibility.
Stop trying to read the room. Stop inventing stories about what casting is thinking. Bring your interpretation, your preparation and your unique creative point of view—and let everyone else do their job.
Casting Actors Cast with Jeff Dreisbach — practical insights from both sides of the audition table.

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31 min
September 17 Who Are You When Nobody Is Asking You to Act?
What happens to an actor when nobody is asking them to act?
When the auditions slow down, the callbacks disappear, or the next job simply isn’t happening, actors often
assume the frustration they’re feeling is about their career. But what if something else is going on?
What if you’re creatively hungry?
In Episode #439 of Casting Actors Cast, casting director, teacher, author, and former actor Jeff Dreisbach
explores the psychology behind an actor’s need for creative self-expression—and why waiting for the industry
to provide that expression can become emotionally exhausting.
We’ll look at the complicated relationship between creativity, employment, money, identity, and the need
for an audience. Why does being paid sometimes feel like proof that you’re a “real” actor? Why can a lack of
performing leave you restless or discouraged? And how can you build a creative life that doesn’t depend
entirely upon someone else giving you permission to participate?
Most importantly, Jeff offers practical ways to recognize creative hunger and find outlets that keep your
imagination, curiosity, and sense of play alive—even during the quiet periods of an acting career.
Because there’s an important difference between asking:
“Am I working?”
and asking:
“Am I creating?”
The industry may decide when it hires you.
It does not get to decide when you are allowed to be creative.
?? Casting Actors Cast — practical insight, encouragement, and a casting director’s perspective on the
psychology, craft, and business of being an actor.

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36 min
September 10 The Eyes Have it...Or Do They
Actors are constantly told that film
acting is "all about the eyes." But what does that really mean? In
this episode of Casting Actors Cast, veteran casting director, actor,
educator, and author Jeffrey Dreisbach explores one of the most
misunderstood concepts in on-camera acting.
Discover why the camera isn't
actually watching your eyes—it's watching your thoughts. Learn why truthful
thinking creates truthful behavior, why listening is one of the greatest acting
skills, why the advice "don't blink" misses the point, and how simple
eye-awareness exercises can strengthen your on-camera performances.
Whether you're preparing for
auditions, self-tapes, or your next film role, this episode will change the way
you think about close-up acting forever.

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30 min

About Casting Actors Cast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to ”CASTING ACTORS CAST ” the podcast with an inside look at acting as a profession from master teacher and casting director, Jeffrey Dreisbach, a casting partner for McCorkle Casting Ltd in…