And the winner is…

The “Artios Awards” were at the beginning of the month. These awards honor outstanding achievement in casting and are an opportunity for the casting community to come together and bond…and drink. Agents, Managers and Studio Executives also make an appearance and so it is also a chance to reconnect with people and put faces to a name; which is kind of funny because even with Facebook, many of us don’t recognize each other except from out voices over the ancient form of communication know only as the telephone.

 

I volunteered to be a chaperone during the event to actors who were making presentations during the casting awards. I was responsible for James Parsons, who is an absolutely amazing, wonderful actor and very nice in person. The chaperones job was to meet the actor as they were driving up, take their valet ticket, escort them to the green room for press interviews and then come back after the event was finished and make sure they had their valet ticket and were able to find their car. Mostly, that is what happened, although I was asked to hang around the green room and “mingle” because once the press was done, the actors were kind of sitting there and so me and a colleague facilitated introductions and got everyone in a good mood: sort of like prepping a client for a casting session!

 

Overall the event was fun. It was kind of like what I imagine speed-dating dating to be like, talking, trying to pay attention to whom you are talking to but then having to move on because there are so many people to talk to and hug and say “we have to get together!” and with that, I missed a lot of people I wanted to speak to. My table was a lot of fun, a few managers and casting buddies. We watched the awards dutifully and then it was time to go. In the end, it is a good event, because while it doesn’t really matter who wins, it is lovely to see that we (Casting Directors) can take time out and recognize the outstanding work that is accomplished every year.

 

For more information about Casting Directors, the Artios Awards and the CSA, go to www.castingsociety.com