The Casting America Mission
Making Dreams a Reality
Casting America, founded in 1987, is a U.S. based entertainment enterprise dedicated to discovering, developing and directing new talent. Our chief mission is to mentor new talent (i.e., models, actors, singers), and to redirect established talent, in building a sound foundation towards achieving their goals. In simple terms, our job is "Making Dreams a Reality" - a slogan, often borrowed from us, that we have been using for well over a decade. We put people in the right position, and with the right understanding, to take a legitimate shot at their dreams.
Casting America operates through six distinct divisions: Casting, Talent Agency, Talent Management, Packaging, Training and Information Resources.
1. Casting: Casting America has long served as a casting enterprise. In this capacity, Casting America is hired by production companies, ad agencies, and others to cast their project. In this capacity, Casting America represents the production company in defining and finding the talent required for a project. A casting director is to a production company what an agent is to a talent. We are capable of casting every level from extras to principal actors or lead models. In our casting capacity, we also post hundreds, even thousands of auditions and castings on our Auditions Board on the Casting America web site.
2. Talent Agency: While Casting America operates throughout the United States and in Canada, it should be noted in the state of Texas, Casting America is also a licensed and bonded agency (license number TALAGY00000449). In other parts of the country, Casting America's owners have owned separate agencies distinct from Casting America itself. But in Texas, the laws prefer that any entity counseling or advising actors, models or entertainers on a professional level should also be a licensed agency. As an agency, this division of Casting America sends models, actors, singers, dancers, and other talent to auditions specifically for the purpose of booking said talent for paying assignments. We sign talent ONLY TO NONEXCLUSIVE contracts -- which is for the good of the talent, far more than for our company. A nonexclusive contract means that the talent can also work with other agencies, therefore having many sources trying to find them direct work. Our commission rate for nonunion talent is the standard 20% and it is 10% for union talent. Please note: Casting America does NOT require any actor, model, singer or extra to join this web site in order to be signed by our agency. This web site is for informational purposes and is designed to assist talent in helping gain more exposure and to find some work directly -- but is not tied to the agency in any required form.
3. Talent Management: Casting America also has a division that directly manages talent - models, actors, singers, dancers, stuntpersons, comedians and extras. There are three capacities by which the company makes available its mentoring (management) services. It should be noted that a talent manager is not the same function as a talent agent. Every star has a manager along with one or more agents. Agents directly and specifically book talent for given jobs -- sending them to auditions and go-sees -- as does our Texas agency. A manager is the one who develops the overall game plan and guides the talent from the standpoint of the big picture. An agent does not have special allegiance to the talent, because the agent handles many actors or models, often sending dozens to the same audition, hoping that one will actually win. Of course your agent hopes you win but the main thing is that they need one of their clients to win that job, not necessarily you. A manager works with the actor, model or singer from "cradle to grave" in determining the right direction to take, the packaging that will be necessary to market the talent -- and which pitfalls to avoid. For this the talent manager receives an across the board percentage of what the talent earns. This is what we refer to as BIG management, all encompassing. Casting America offers both BIG management and LITTLE management. On the one hand, we can out specific talent under management contracts; but on the other, Casting America can make available "management services" to those who are new and do not want to share a percentage of their earnings. This is appropriate for brand new talent. Casting America's Kickstart and Superstart programs help new talent to gain exposure to the industry, to learn where the auditions are, and to be proactive in making things happen. The third role that Casting America plays is in finding and training individuals to become professional talent managers.
Casting America has maintained a practical approach in working with talent, never promising things that cannot be achieved. As a result, Casting America has sustained a perfect record with the Better Business Bureau, is both licensed and bonded, and was once featured on CBS News for the ways it has helped aspiring actors and models to become working actors and models. We have also been featured on Fox News and such television shows as "Great Day SA". "Gift of Life" and others.