The Casting Process as Sunday Brunch  It is clear that most actors find the casting process baffling.  We try to explain it.  But today I came up with a great analogy.  I guess you can tell I love to eat. Casting is like a CD going out to a huge Sunday brunch buffet each week.  They go to the same place and see most of the same choices, with a few new options. They have one plate to fill so they choose carefully.  The first thing they are going to do is go for the items they love.  If an item (actor) wasn’t prepared exquisitely during the last meal, they won’t want to try it again. Why should they, there are so many other great things to try and the plate is so small. Another thing that comes in to play is their mood for the day. Are they looking for spicy, do they want light (this is the breakdown)? But even if they are looking for spicy food, they may want to balance it with something sweet . (This is where actors say why was I called in for this, I am not exactly what was ordered?) The agent is one of many chefs at the table. We can make suggestions “try this today it is really good.” But if it wasn’t so good the last time it was sampled, it is a really tough sell.The other thing we chef’s can do is suggest something new, but if we do, that thing still has to be superb to make it on the plate for the next brunch.  A final thing to keep in mind is the more expensive the brunch, the smaller the plate. (When a casting director is casting for a feature film, they generally will have a pretty small plate and all of the best ingredients on the buffet available.) When they are casting a non-union commercial, it is a bigger plate so they are more likely to sample new thing sand take risks. Bon Appetite! Dawn