So a comedy director and a casting director walk into a bar… and a masterclass is born!

Join Director Jonathan Brough + Casting Director Leigh Pickford in a rare and sure-to-be-entertaining 90-minute romp, er, intro to The Dark Art of Casting. You’ll learn how to approach the sometimes daunting but ultimately thrilling art of selecting and working with wonderfully talented humans to embody fictional characters. Improve your understanding of the industry and the audition process, and gain invaluable information and insights into the casting world. What are the best places to look? What if you don’t have much budget? How can you tell if an actor can collaborate with you and vice versa? How can you test for onscreen chemistry between two actors? How to get the most out of video self-tapes and Zoom auditions… And much, much more. These two are going to need a chaperone!

Jonathan Brough is one of Australasia's most accomplished and prolific directors of film & TV. He received the Australian Director's Guild award in 2018 for ‘Best Direction in a TV Comedy’ for Rosehaven (SundanceTV/ABC Australia), and same award in 2016 for Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane (Seeso/NBC/ABC). His short film Snowmen was in competition at Interfilm Berlin in the same year. His earlier short The Model screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and Antarctic-set drama No Ordinary Sun was shown at the Edinburgh, Hof & Slamdance film festivals, as well as winning the first 'Golden Elephant' Best Short Film award at the 2005 New Zealand International Film Festival. His television projects include Better (Sister Pictures/BBC), The End (SeeSaw/Sky Atlantic), Rosehaven (Guesswork TV/SundanceTV), Ronny Chieng: International Student (Comedy Central US/ABC Australia), The Family Law (NBCU/SBS), The Time of Our Lives (ABC Australia), It’s a Date (Princess Pictures/ABC Australia), Spirited (John Edwards/Foxtel Australia), The Insider’s Guide to Happiness (Gibson Group/TVNZ), The Pretender (GSTV/TVNZ/TV3), Trails of Napier (Rhys Darby/HBO, pilot) and Outrageous Fortune (SPP/TV3 NZ). He also helmed a number of episodes of the fan favourite, spandex-heavy Power Rangers franchise.

Leigh Pickford is the Senior Casting Director of Maura Fay Casting and one of Australia’s must-see casting directors. Leigh has cast for some of the most ground-breaking projects such as Secret City, Safe Harbour, Bite Club, Pine Gap, Hotel Mumbai, Guardians of the Tomb, The Wrong Girl, Janet King, Wonderland, and many more!

** We understand that investing in your career can be challenging when money is tight so we are offering ONE FREE SPOT to a screen practitioner who is experiencing financial hardship. Apply here for a chance to secure your place.

Thursday, 9th of November at 7pm AEDT. Online.