Jennifer Rudolph of Mitchell/Rudolph Casting

Casting Director. Teacher. Classes. Workshops.

I began teaching 7 years ago as a result of actors coming up to me after casting sessions and asking me for feedback. I started to notice that most actors do not know how to audition for the film & television medium. Regardless of their training, people didn't get it. As someone who went to college and trained as an actor, I learned quickly that they don't teach you in school what you need to know about auditioning for film & television. When I began casting, I learned what needed to happen both in and out of the audition room. I became eager to help those wanting to excel in their craft and decided to become a conduit for actors to meet who they needed to meet: my colleagues, fellow casting directors.

I created a company called The Green Room.

What is The Green Room? The Green Room is a company which grants actors access to entertainment industry professionals. We are affordable, actor-friendly, and keep our classes small and intimate. When taking a Green Room class, one will never meet and work with an assistant. The guest will always be the casting director, agent or manager. Our workshops are almost always on-camera and actors always get to watch one another work on a monitor. Our workshops are not "meet and greets" which usually preside in a room with a table and an actor doing a monologue. Everything is interactive at Green Room workshops as film/tv casting directors enjoy working with actors on camera as it simulates an audition. We hold workshops with every major casting director in NYC, from independent companies, networks, and on-air television shows. We also hold such workshops as Agent, Commercial, and now Print Nights where actors get to meet and audition/meet for 10 top industry professionals at a time for a very low price. Our workshops give actors the opportunity to meet and work with the industry, receive valuable individualized coaching, and learn what it takes to land roles. Casting directors lean towards calling in actors that they know and have worked with and Green Room workshops help build relationships and pick up where acting training ends.

Here are some basic facts:

1) It is indeed about who you know and more importantly who knows you and your work. Just doing a mailing will not cut it as most mailings end up in the garbage. Casting directors lean towards calling in actors who they've already met. Why? Because our job as casting directors is to find the most suitable actors for the roles in the shortest amount of time possible. Some casting directors rely strictly on agents and/or managers to send them the cream of the crop. Those that don't call in people who they've previously met (most often from a class or workshop) as casting director do not have time to risk on those they don't know or audition actors who are represented by agents they don't trust as 9 times out of 10 actors do not how to audition nor do they look anything like their headshot.

2) Casting directors are the gatekeepers of the industry. We have the power to call you in directly for an audition and to refer you to an agent or manager should we like you and your work and feel you are "ready". The most beneficial move for an actor is to meet & work with casting directors in a class setting. Why? We get to see what you're like on camera, teach you what you need to know and help tweak what's already there. We get to know you and vice versa and should we feel you are right for something we are working on, we will most likely call you in.