BY LUCIA MAURO
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It’s another hectic afternoon at Tenner Paskal Casting, but the two women whose surnames grace the agency’s door are in a relaxed, jocular mood. Rachel Tenner and Mickie Paskal kick back in a spacious studio and speak candidly about the role of the casting director and current industry trends–even as assistants periodically pop in to ask questions about everything from invoices to scheduling.
"Casting is a business," says Tenner. "It’s like being a personal shopper for a director–getting a sense of their eye and helping them realize their vision."
Acknowledging that the business moves in waves, the casting directors are now getting the bulk of their requests for commercials, film and TV projects. They do almost no print and no industrials and they cast mainly adult talent. They are on the same floor as The Audition Studio at 20 W. Hubbard, but are a separate entity.
Their story proves encouraging for actors and aspiring casting directors. Former employees of casting director Jane Brody, they bought the company from Brody in 1995. At the time, Tenner was 25 and Paskal was 26. Until last year, the agency was known as Brody, Tenner, Paskal Casting and is now officially Tenner Paskal Casting. According to Paskal, Brody had been in the business for 10 years and wanted to go back to school and pursue other interests.
"It’s really the only way to acquire an agency," says Paskal. "Rachel and I worked for Jane and learned the business by doing. The opportunity came along to buy the company, and we felt confident about our decision to become business owners.
"We didn’t sit down and make a five-year game plan. Our fear was that people would leave because they didn’t know who we were. But they didn’t leave, and we convinced them that we had been doing this all along. Our youth also was a plus for us. We had so much energy and could work 14-hour days."
Over the past six years, they’ve expanded the space and–while they are the only full-time employees–work with a strong core of assistants and interns. After proving their expertise to clients, they also found themselves casting leads in films and getting screen credit. Their theatre backgrounds contributed to their keen eye and in-depth understanding of a director’s goals.
Tenner majored in fiction writing and English literature at New York University and studied acting. She gained experience at a talent agency before applying for a casting internship at Jane Brody and getting hired as an assistant.
"I started taking classes at The Audition Studio," says Tenner, "and through a lot of practice, it clicked. I got it and found it easy to communicate with actors."
Paskal, who majored in theatre at Drake University, moved to Chicago to pursue an acting career and also hooked up with Jane Brody. She acknowledges that "they don’t teach you much about being a casting director in college." Casting directors, she adds, are confused with talent agents. A major difference is that casting directors do not represent talent. She favors casting-director seminars for both those wanting to get into the business and actors who could benefit from a clearer understanding of what a casting director does.
"I view casting as two-fold," explains Paskal. "There’s the technical aspect; the directing part of it, which involves working through a scene and taping an actor.
"Then there’s the more intuitive part–just being familiar with the 5,000 actors in Chicago and knowing automatically who will give you the best performance. Casting seems simple but, when I really think about it, there are like 8,000 steps that get you to where you need to be. It’s difficult to get a grip on casting unless you’re doing it."
Tenner, whom Paskal calls "the negotiator," gets turned on by both the business and creative aspects of the job. But Tenner admits that the hardest part about owning a business is establishing boundaries.
"As a casting director," she notes, "you feel like you have to work 20-hour days and that you have to do everything the client asks. But we’ve discovered that we can say no and be more selective. We want to be able to have a certain kind of lifestyle. We don’t want to burn-out. Mickie and I now feel like everything is more our choice."
For example, they would get several requests from independent filmmakers, with no budgets, who expected them to do the work for free. "We’ve had projects where we’ve done all our work before it’s canned," says Paskal. "So we look for the bigger independent films."
Both agree that their theatre experience allows them to speak the actors’ language and contributes to the precision of their scene work. When they have the time, they go to theatre productions to keep up with local artists, then file the playbills for future reference.
They have seen a sharp increase in national respect for Chicago actors.
"Chicago is a lot of raw on-camera talent," notes Paskal. "Most people are here to do theatre. There’s a freshness, a creative thinking and an ability to think on their feet. Chicago has proven itself over and over that the talent is here."
"Nobody comes to Chicago to be a star," interjects Tenner. "They come here to hone their craft. So they’re willing to take bigger risks. There’s a depth here, and Chicago actors do rich, layered auditions. It’s the surface versus subtext idea. When we get tapes from LA, we tend to find more of the technical mastery but not the depth."
Paskal points out that many Hollywood directors–like Sam Mendes–are coming out of theatre. So they are more receptive to theatre artists. When reviewing resumes, Tenner and Paskal are drawn to an actor’s theatre roles more than an "Early Edition" credit.
One of the main casting trends–from commercials to films–is rooted in "real people." Continues Tenner, "The director wants the audience not to know if the character is real or an actor." Quips Paskal, "I think that’s a Fargo leftover." Reality TV also might be a huge driving force.
But Paskal is quick to note that "there’s still a need for the Helen Hunt-Paul Reiser parents in commercials–although now commercials are more character-driven. Directors like comedy and improv. And they’ll even like it if an actor is awkward or bad just because those quirks are unique to that person."
Some of the more fulfilling projects they’ve recently worked on include "Cupid," Stir of Echoes, the Martin Scorsese-produced Rain and the new Sam Mendes film tentatively titled Road to Perdition. For all of these, Tenner and Paskal felt a genuine sense of respect, trust and teamwork with the LA casting directors. They brainstormed together. These were very collaborative experiences, a trend they hope will continue.
The casting directors want actors to know that they are "very conscious of being extraordinarily respectful to talent." They will push for an actor to get cast if they really believe in that artist’s abilities and appropriateness for the role.
"We tell the actors to empower themselves," says Tenner. "We all want them to succeed and do well. There’s nothing better for us than when people come in and nail it."
But, if they can’t find the exact person a director requires, Tenner acknowledges, "It’s not like a fault. We can’t give birth to these people."
While they did not provide an extensive "10 Things You Should Know About Working With Casting Directors" list, Tenner and Paskal stress that talent must treat their dealings with casting directors "like a business." Speaking only for their company, they prefer more theatrical headshots that highlight the actor’s personality and they’re usually not offended by the more unconventional ones. When actors come in for an audition, they should have plenty of headshots and resumes already attached to their photos. And they should not view an audition like therapy or a place to goof around. "Be prepared" is their motto.
While they welcome postcards in the mail inviting them to an actor’s latest show, they state (quite forcefully) that actors should not call or come in person to drop off headshots. Once again, they do not represent talent and consider their business more on the production side, not a talent agency.
Finally, before they race back to their phones, they urge actors not to try so hard and to just be themselves. "We have a schmooze radar," announces Tenner. "So don’t act like an asshole." Paskal continues the thought, "Casting directors have really good memories."