Back Stage 411 - Casting FAQ

Visit our all-new FAQ

Visit Backstage.com/Help to view the new FAQ for the all-new Backstage.com.

The following posts are from our old FAQ and may not always apply to the new Backstage.com/Casting site's tools and current functionality.

How to Find Talent, Receive Submissions, Save Résumés, and Contact Applicants in Bulk

Casting directors, agents, and employers can use BackStage.com to find actors, models, performers (dancers, singers, comedians, musicians, and more); manage submissions; and then contact the job applicants individually or in bulk.

To start your talent search, visit the Casting Center Toolbox and then "Post a Notice" to call for cast and crew.

And to supplement your search, visit the Back Stage Multimedia Résumé Talent Database and use advanced search criteria (including gender, age ranges, skills, union status, geographic location, etc.) to find even more actors, models, and performers.

Plus, you can set up Saved Résumé Searches and Alerts to automatically search the Talent Database for you; your Resume Alert Agents will email you resumes that match your search criteria until you've finished casting.

Once you've received a ton of Multimedia Résumé submissions thanks to the Casting Notice you posted on BackStage.com – and/or after you've found some great actors in Back Stage's Talent Database yourself – visit your Résumé Inbox & Applicant Manager to view, organize, tag, sort, and filter through the submissions you've received and resumes you've found. (Quick tip: use the "Advanced Filter" option in your Inbox to manage the résumés more effectively.)

Then use the following options to contact the actors you'd like to audition:

How to Manage Your Cover Letters

When you use Back Stage's online submission system to apply to a casting notice, you have the option of including a cover letter with your submission package. Including a cover letter is a good way to engage the interest of the casting director, express your enthusiasm for the project, and include extra information about yourself and why you'd be a great person to cast.

To access your cover letters, visit your "Manage Your Resumes" page.

Then scroll down and click on the option labeled "Click here to access all of your cover letters" to visit your "Manage My Cover Letters" page.

On your "Manage My Cover Letters" page you'll be able to see and edit all of your cover letters and create new cover letters. Click on the View/Eye button next to any of your cover letters to view each cover letter in full – the way your cover letter looks in that window is very close to how it will look to casting directors as well.

Help for Agents, Managers, and Stage Parents Managing Multiple Multimedia Resumes

Agents and Personal Managers can sign up for a regular BackStage.com subscription and then use the subscription to create Multimedia Resumes for all of their clients (or have their clients create Multimedia Resume themselves from within the Agent or Manager's subscription account).

They can then submit their clients to the casting, job, competition, and festival notices located in the BackStage.com Casting database. And all of the Multimedia Resumes can be included in the BackStage.com "Find Talent" Multimedia Resume Talent Database that's searched by thousands of employers, casting directors, directors, and producers

Similarly, Stage Mothers/Stage Parents can create Multimedia Resumes for all of their children using a single BackStage.com subscription.

However, currently there are a few small limitations in regards to BackStage.com subscriptions being used to manage and submit multiple resumes. Read on to learn more:

 

View Your Order Receipts After Posting a Notice

After posting a notice via BackStage.com -- seeking cast, crew, and/or submissions for your projects (which may include calls for film, television, theatre, dance, music, writing, or comedy-club projects, entertainment-industry contests, film festivals, workshops, auditions, membership companies, etc.)  --you can view and/or print your order receipts at anytime.

Simply take the following three steps:

"Where are my Resume Alerts, Application Submissions, and other BackStage.com emails?"

Talent-Database Resume Alert Emails are an exclusive self-serve feature of the Find Talent/Casting Center Employer Toolbox section of BackStage.com. You can create as many alerts as you’d like, to automatically search through the BackStage.com Talent Database for exactly the actors, performers, and crew you need. You can renew the alerts, extend the alerts, edit the alerts, delete the alerts, etc.

If at anytime you stop receiving the Alerts that you’ve created, then please log into the site and make sure that your Résumé Inbox (Application Submissions Manager Inbox) is not filed up, that none of your Resume Alert Email Agents need to be renewed, and that your search-criteria is correct and optimized.

Also, make sure to check your "spam," "bulk," and "junk" email folders in case Back Stage's emails are accidentally being caught by your email program's spam filter! More details are below . . .

Help Topic: "I can't see my new Cover Letter, Saved Searches, Resume Updates, or other Casting Items!" - Page "Refresh" (F5) Notes

If you’re sure that you’ve saved and/or updated a cover letter -- or any other item on BackStage.com, such as your Saved Searches, resume changes, etc. -- but you’re not seeing the new items or changes or they appear to be available, then there’s likely just a temporary “cache” problem between your web-browser and BackStage.com.

Usually the simplest way to solve this is to simply “refresh” the page(s) you’re having trouble with.

To refresh a page, click on the “refresh” or “reload” button on your web-browser’s toolbar a couple of times. Or click on the F5 key on your keyboard a couple of times. (Note: On some multimedia keyboards and Apple/Mac computers, you may need to hold down on the “Fn” Function Key at the same time as the F5 key in order to make the refresh-function work; and for some browsers Ctrl-F5 may work instead.)

Help Topic: "I don't want to receive resume submissions via email or online!"

If  your company or agency no longer wishes to receive submissions (resumes, photos, reels, etc.) from actors, models, performers, or crew via email, then Back Stage may be able to help you. However, first we'll need to figure out where your email address is being found in Back Stage's print and/or online editions.

Please check on the following possibilities:

Email Your Resumes - Submit Multimedia Resumes and Cover Letters to Casting Notices -- And Apply to Projects

You can submit your Multimedia Resume (a resume enhanced with photos, links, etc.) to casting directors, producers, directors, and other employers and individuals using a few different options on BackStage.com.

Instructions, Tips & Tricks:

"Where are my Casting/Job Alerts and other BackStage.com emails?"

Casting/Job Alert Emails are a subscriber-exclusive self-serve feature of BackStage.com. You can create as many casting alerts as you’d like.  You can renew the alerts, extend the alerts, edit the alerts, delete the alerts, etc.

If at anytime you stop receiving the Alerts that you’ve created, then please log into the site and make sure that your Saved Casting/Job Notices Inbox is not filed up, that none of your Casting Alert Email Agents need to be renewed, and that your search-criteria is correct and optimized.

Also, make sure to check your "spam," "bulk," and "junk" email folders in case Back Stage's emails are accidentally being caught by your email program's spam filter! More details are below . . .