Navigating The Industry With Casting Director Tree Petts

In this episode, Georgie and Pierce chat with Tree Petts, an award-winning casting director, founder of the Casting Directors Association, and owner of her own casting company Tree Petts Casting. She has worked with some of the world’s foremost directors, including Michael Gracey, of The Greatest Showman, over ten times. Tree specialises in casting Films, Commercials, Photographic, Branded Content, and is known for her knowledge, enthusiasm and abundant energy. As an specialist in casting and over 20 years of experience in all areas of the industry, Tree is an expert on what you can expect as you pursue your acting career,

She talks to Georgie and Pierce about her early career in acting, how to stand out on a Casting List, how commercials differ from dramatic roles, how to make contact and get yourself noticed, and answers many questions on the busy world of Casting. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Tree worked as an actor for 15 years before becoming a Casting director specialising in Advertising. 
• Headshots are very important because casting sheets list hundreds of applicants per role so your headshot is the first thing to catch a casting director's eye.  
• In commercials the casting director considers more people for a role than in dramatic roles. This is because there are more people that need to agree with the choice in advertising than just a handful in drama, so they have to have more options. 
• Casting sites are very convenient for casting Directors to access so ensure your presence on them. When contacting a Casting Director, e-mail is best and keep attachments and links to absolutely essential only.
• Keep sending your emails and keep plugging away at it. Catching a Casting Directors eye can just be a matter of luck, so increase your presence with regular contact and presence on casting sites and any acting based social media. 
• Learn from the experience of casting even if you don’t get the role. Live casting gives you a good idea of what to expect and can provide you with valuable interaction with casting Directors. 
• If you need the basis of a regular wage try to acquire a job within the industry because you get to learn the intricacies while you work. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘For about 15 years I was an actor. I find it really helps with casting because I know where actors are coming from, I know the nerves.’ – Tree  

‘You need to have a picture of your head that doesn’t have too much body. You need just your head. If I’m scanning those lines, your face is not popping out on anything because it's so small. Make sure that they’re cropped well.’ - Tree 

‘If you’re doing self takes and you’re not landing a role, never ever think that it’s a reflection on your acting ability because the way choices can be made for commercials is very arbitrary.’ – Tree

 ‘I think it’s really comforting for actors to know that it’s not as black and white as ‘you’re right for the role, you’re not right for the role.’’ – Pierce

‘I would say, on Mandy, if you’re not too worried about it I would put a mobile number because they do check the breakdowns to make sure dodgy people aren’t getting on to Mandy. But Spotlight I will go through agents.’ - Tree   

‘That’s the thing about commercial casting. This is not the major feature film that’s going to change your life. It might be a nice bit of money but you just have to enjoy them, I think. Enjoy doing self tapes, enjoy what you bring to the role. Send it in and then get on with your life.’ – Tree 

‘I do think now that everything is so diverse. I see a lot of non-binary people and we Casting Directors are very on top of the changes in language, what you can ask for and what you can’t ask for.’ – Tree