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Julie Asriyan, Laura Bray and Jenna Ciralli were appalled by the way casting calls portrayed women. So they pulled together some of the offending material and asked women to read them on camera. The result went viral, bringing much much needed awareness to another facet of sexism in the industry. We asked Julie, Laura and Jenna about the inspiration and process behind their internet hit:.
1. How did the project evolve?.
It began with the three of us meeting as graduates of an Acting Conservatory in NYC. We found that we all shared a common ground in how we see the arts and how we wish to contribute to it. In our quest to find and create work, we became all too familiar with reading character breakdowns posted on casting call notices via the numerous casting websites (some legitimate and reputable, others, not so much). Throughout this journey, we would often share with each other particularly ridiculous, hysterical and appalling casting call notices.
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The character breakdowns on the casting call sites varied in their wrongs – discriminatory, stereotypical, sexist, ageist, racist…but all undeniably flawed and limited in the way they sought to reflect a female character..
Discovering the blog Casting Call Woe (which hilariously showcases some of the best of the worst of castings found in the ether) we felt this was a great inspiration and launching pad to help us to showcase our responses in an original and entertaining format and to also to begin a conversation on this very topic.
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2. Do you have a personal relationship to the world you’re commenting on here?.
With Julie & Jenna being actors and Laura now a writer, we are continuously immersed in this world, see these casting calls on a regular basis and we are passionate about finding a way to change the narrative that many female roles fall into.
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3. There’s so much buck-passing in this business when the question of representation is raised. How much of a role do you think casting plays in female objectification?.
It's an entirely symbiotic relationship when it comes to creating artistic projects and the responsibility falls on everyone; the writer, the director and the actor, to be conscientious and progressive when they seek to portray female characters and female roles. We fully recognize how dependent they are on each other and "Casting Call | The Project" is the vehicle we thought would be the most effective way to communicate the issue..
4. The range of women and the authentic expressions on their faces was a powerful part of the video. Can you talk about the women in the video and how they responded to the material?.
We reached out to many women in our artistic community that we very much respected and who are both very diverse in both their work and as people..
They were incredibly eager to participate in the project and it was amazing how comfortable all those women were in the room. We gave them the freedom to respond to the castings in any way they wished and this greatly influenced the experience. The energy that we felt that day was electric and we felt like something bigger than us was occurring as these women felt heard and seen through out the process. That electricity manifested into this piece. The conversations that happened within the room, off-camera, created such a sense of empathy and unity that the women were willing to share their own personal experiences on camera that we have additional footage of. They range from hilarity to heart-break to outrage..
CHATTER
I LOVE this site. I’m a Canadian actor who has been in the industry since I was a child and I’ve been around for thirty or so years in the biz- out lesbian, feminist and long time advocate, I’ve heard it all. I even won an Emmy and still I’m yesterdays fresh meat, still I’m asked why I don’t grow my hair or wear heels or dresses. “Because I’m a soft butch. Because I choose the wear pants. Because it’s my business. Because I need to be a role model. Because I’m more than the clothing I wear and the object you reduce me to.” Choosing the harder path has definitely been a challenge but I would have it no other way because it truly is the only way to be part of change, to stand up to men in power positions and try to reflect different images of women, other than the sexualized, heterosexual normative that permeates and dominates our screens. I’m inspired by the surge of strong female voices and brilliant women who are stepping up to the plate. All the hard work, behind closed doors and in full view may just get us to where we need, it will. We must make it happen. Great work on the viral video about casting. I loved it and could relate. Great site too. And of course you don’t have to put this on your post unless you want, but I wrote a book being published in the fall of 2016 called Walking Through Glass (memoir), where a lot of these issues around gender, violence, and sexuality are explored, what it’s like to grow up female in the film industry and as a lesbian. I love that the internet allows us all to connect and share our stories in all forms, through video, books, blogs, film and television shows. In solidarity sisters! 🙂
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