© 2018 DISNEY MPR_BACKSTAGE_COV_WRAP_NOV14_FIN.indd 1 11/9/18 1:54 PM MPR_BACKSTAGE_COV_WRAP_NOV14_FIN.indd 2 11/9/18 1:54 PM 11.15.18 • BACKSTAGE.COM BONUS ISSUE INSIDE! Everything you need to know about this year’s film and TV SAG Award contenders THE DIRECTORS ISSUE: BARRY JENKINS With stars KiKi Layne PLUS and Stephan Jeffrey Wright James in front talks his latest of his lens (and project with HBO “Envelopegate” behind him), the The moneymaking Oscar winner is potential of poised to repeat commercial work his success with “If Beale Street Could Talk” How to find yourself a dance agent in L.A. 12 pages of casting notices Clockwise from center: Barry Jenkins, KiKi Layne, and Stephan James CONTENTS vol. 59, no. 45 | 11.15.18 THE GREEN ROOM 6 The industry rallies to save streaming platform FilmStruck 8 This week’s roundup of who’s casting what starring whom 9 Jeffrey Wright on finding your inner artist ADVICE 11 NOTE FROM THE CD Are you a multihyphenate? 11 #IGOTCAST André Vauthey 12 SECRET AGENT MAN Don’t be a Negative Nellie FEATURES 5 BACKSTAGE 5 WITH... Brooks Ashmanskas 10 MEET THE MAKER Wash Westmoreland, “Colette” 12 THE ESSENTIALISTS Newton Thomas Sigel, director of photography 13 IN THE ROOM WITH Justin Radley 18 HOW TO MAKE A LIVING AS AN EXTRA Want to make a living playing small but pivotal roles in major Hollywood projects? Here’s how 32 ASK AN EXPERT Kerry Wee on how to find a dance agent in Los Angeles CASTING 20 New York Tristate COVER STORY 24 California PAGE 14 28 National/Regional READY FOR On this page: Barry Jenkins. On the cover: Barry Jenkins, KiKi Layne, and Stephan James THEIR CLOSE-UP photographed by Matt Doyle on Oct. 7 in NYC. Cover designed by Jessica Balaschak. Director Barry Jenkins harnesses KiKi Layne + Stephan James’ star power to light up “If Beale Street Could Talk” MATT DOYLE MATT BACKSTAGE.COM 11.15.18 backstage 3 Executive Chairman Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Chief Technology Vice President, Casting Peter Rappaport Joshua Ellstein Michael Felman & Product Officer Luke Crowe James G. Reynolds Chief Marketing Officer Corporate Controller & David Grossman Vice President, Finance Michael Madia EDITORIAL ART CASTING PRODUCT CUSTOMER SERVICE Editor-in-Chief Design Director Managing Casting Editor Lead Product Designer Customer Experience Manager Rawaan Alkhatib Jessica Balaschak Melinda Loewenstein Jeff Lilley Chris Knowles Managing Editor Art Director Account Manager s Engineering Lead Customer Service Manager Briana Rodriguez Margaret Ruling V eronika Claghorn Noemi Millman Richard Burridge Elijah Cornell Digital Managing Editor Engineer Lead Customer Service Associate Allie White Casting Specialists Tom Achtemichuk Stephanie Chung PRODUCTION Victoria Beal Senior Editor, Casting Anna Szatkowski Production Manager Neill Kennedy iOS Engineer and Industry News Ben Wasserman Mark Stinson Christina Kleppinger Bruno Agatte Elyse Roth Anna Paone Product Designer Senior Editor Hannah Williams ADVERTISING SALES Benjamin Lindsay SOCIAL MEDIA Alexandra Schorndorf Casting Editors Executive Director Film, Social Media Manager Awards Editor Television, & Theater Francis Ramos Riley Fee Jack Smart Daniel Gelb Kasey Howe Social Media Coordinator U.K. Editor Lisa Hamil Media Operations Lauren Routt Pete Martin Jill Heller Samantha Sherlock Katie Swabb Staff Writer Casey Mink Regional Casting Editor Byron Karlevics MARKETING Senior Copy Editor Growth Marketing Manager Brandy Colbert Research Editor Ryan Remstad Rebecca Welch Copy Editor Product Marketing Regan Hofmann & Partnership Development Manager Editorial Assistant Ryann Thompson Jennifer Tsouras-Shadd Contributing Writers Marketing Associate Alex Ates Ariana Milligan Manuel Betancourt Marketing Design Associate Marci Liroff Caitlin Watkins Allie Volpe Backstage was founded in 1960 by Ira Eaker and Allen Zwerdling EDITORIAL OFFICES CASTING DEPARTMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE PERMISSION 45 Main St. [email protected] 917-725-6367 For one-time use of our content, as a Brooklyn, NY 11201 [email protected] full article, excerpt, or production prop, [email protected] DISPLAY ADVERTISING contact [email protected] [email protected] BACKSTAGE, VOL. 59, NO. 45 (ISSN#53635 USPS#39740) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY (except the fourth week of December) by Backstage LLC, 45 Main St., Brooklyn, NY 11201, $3.99 per copy, $99 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256 and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Backstage, 45 Main St., Ste. 416, Brooklyn, NY 11201.Publication Mail Agreement No. 40031729. ©2017 Backstage LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Backstage LLC: Peter Rappaport, Executive Chairman; Joshua Ellstein, Chief Executive Officer. 4 backstage 11.15.18 BACKSTAGE.COM BACKSTAGE 5 WITH... Brooks Ashmanskas By Benjamin Lindsay Tell us a bit about your “The Prom” character. My character is Barry Glickman, who is a Broadway actor—and a gay one at that, so it’s a real stretch. He’s a relatively successful veteran. He and his friend and colleague Dee Dee Allen, who’s played by Beth Leavel—the show opens with us at the opening night of a new musical; it gets killed by the Times and we’re going to close, so we want to figure something out to get good press. We end up finding this story about this little lesbian girl from a high school in Indiana who wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom, and the PTA reacted by canceling the entire thing. So, [we decide] we’re gonna go down there and save the day. Of course, we end up making everything worse—big-city liberals meeting up with Middle America not-liberals. Then the show shifts, and they learn things from us, we learn things from them. Everybody changes for the better. It’s very old-fashioned, in a way. How has playing Barry made you a better actor? This show hits very close to home. The character is very much a turned-up version of me, so when I’m feeling things onstage, I really do feel them. It’s really challenged me to just embrace being as honest as possible. I’m usually out to be just a funny guy, which is fine; I love making people laugh. But there are layers to this character. It’s really refreshing, honestly. Have you ever used Backstage? [I did,] way back when you could get [the newspaper] on the street and you would find auditions or where to get a headshot. I remember, when I first arrived [in New York City], which was a Given his Broadway résumé (“Something long time ago, always getting Backstage. It really was a useful tool for me, Rotten!,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” and and I know millions of people feel the same way. many more), it’s surprising to hear Tony How do you typically prepare for an audition? I don’t like to prepare nominee Brooks Ashmanskas admit much. I like to be not unprepared, but as underprepared as possible so that he’s “not often asked to do things” things can happen there and I’m not trying to give a performance. I’m without auditioning. That’s what makes trying to just breathe or sing or whatever it is right then. Of course, I’m as familiar with the material as I can be and all that, but I like to go on the fly. his starring role in “The Prom” so special: Director and choreographer Casey What advice would you give your younger self? [Stop] being afraid. I Nicholaw knew no one else could get the was at times afraid of doing the wrong thing or appearing the wrong job done. “It’s an honor that they would way, and that’s all insecurity and bullshit. If I could take my little self think of me,” the actor tells Backstage. aside, I would say, “Just be you. Just do your thing.” I’ve done that pretty successfully, and I’m proud of that. That’s really all I’ve got—all any of us has is our own thing. • “I THINK OF LITTLE READINGS I DID WAY, WAY, WAY DOWNTOWN IN THE LATE ’80S, EARLY ’90S, AND MOST PEOPLE ARE ALL NOW WINNING TONYS. THAT’S JUST HOW THE WORLD WORKS. SO THERE’S ALWAYS A REASON TO DO SOMETHING.” ILLUSTRATION: NATHAN ARIZONA/PHOTO: COURTESY POLK & CO. BACKSTAGE.COM 11.15.18 backstage 5 @BACKSTAGE FACEBOOK.COM/BACKSTAGE THE GREEN ROOM @BACKSTAGECAST HAVE YOU BEEN CAST IN A PROJECT THROUGH A BACKSTAGE CASTING NOTICE? Share your story with us and you might be featured in an upcoming issue! Just tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast and we’ll be in touch to hear your success story! access to LGBTQ directors, female directors, and directors of color. On Nov. 2, while accepting a Performance Award for “Barry” from the IndieWire Honors, Hader begged attendees to sign the petition. “There’s a petition to save FilmStruck, which is my favorite thing on Earth,” he said, eliciting applause from the crowd. “I know there’s a lot bigger fish to fry right now in the world, but in my little kingdom, if we can save FilmStruck, that’d be awesome.” FilmStruck stopped accepting new subscrib- ers in late October, and current subscribers will be able to view the service’s content until Nov. 29. Those with annual payment plans for the site are encouraged to reach out to the company’s customer service help center to reconcile payments. In a statement, the corporations cite the boutique nature of the service as limiting and inconsistent with the companies’ strategy of streamlined mass media. “We’re incredibly proud of the creativity and innovations pro- FILM duced by the talented and dedicated teams who worked on FilmStruck over the past two years,” said Warner Bros.