Castability: The Podcast

Michelle Merring, actress and Castability user, shares with us how she went from resenting self tape requests, getting so in her head that she struggled to even turn them in, to finding true confidence and joy in front of the camera. Through consistent self tape practice, she details exactly how she shifted her mindset and fell in love with self tapes, attracting more auditions and callbacks along...

Amanda Lenker Doyle, CSA sits down with her friends Joshua Morgan and Mike Labbadia of Artist's Strategy. Joshua founded Artist's Strategy with the mission of helping artists make art for the rest of their lives. Joshua and Mike (hosts of the "Creative Risk" podcast) share with us why applying business principles to building a creative career is the key to longevity and success....

Today we chat with Castability member and last year's Castability Self Tape May winner, Hakam Shalabi. Hakam has submitted on Castability since the app began and has gotten to see his work transform over time. Guided by our partners at The Bridge for Acting's Practice Track, Hakam tracked his practice by showing up consistently and gathering data on his craft and materials. Casting scored...

Joe Towne is a Los Angeles based performer, award-winning writer, director, and teacher. He is also the CEO of The Performer's Mindset and the creator/host of The Better Podcast . For 20 years, he's coached business professionals, athletes, and actors – some of whom are selling that product you just bought or starring in that movie you Netflixed last night. As an actor, Joe has worked with...

As Castability gears up for the next Show Up Challenge starting January 15th 2024, we hear from members who completed the challenge last year and they share how they transformed as actors during the process. Easier time picking takes, faster memorization, and so much more. Amanda Lenker Doyle answers important Q and A's on how to stand out (in a good way!) and the rarely discussed process of c...

Chrissy Fiorilli-Ellington is an experienced Casting Director who has worked on character-driven projects for network television, premium cable, streamers, and festivals. She has a knack for identifying future superstars and has cast videos with household names that have been viewed billions of times. Her work has been featured at Sundance, SXSW, TriBeCa, and Cannes. Her primary focus is on great...

Megan Channell is an acting coach, actress, director, and producer who has appeared in some of your favorite shows and films. She portrays Rachel in "Bull" (CBS), played the recurring role of Katarina Löw in "Hunters" (Amazon) alongside Al Pacino, and most recently shot the pilot "Getaway" for NBC. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Megan sits down with Taylor to discuss s...

Alexandra Wright is the founder of The Delta Acting Community . She holds a B.A. from the University of Southern California and an M.F.A. from the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. She has performed and studied worldwide, including Paris, London, Moscow, and Scotland. She specializes in teaching Voice, Shakespeare, Emotiona...

Jordan Blum is a prolific writer and producer who has worked on some of your favorite shows and comic books. Jordan has written and produced over 118 episodes of "American Dad!" and recently wrapped showrunning  "M.O.D.O.K." - a series he co-created with Patton Oswalt. He also has his own comic book series with Patton called "Minor Threats". In this episode, he sits d...

Izzy Stevens is an actor, producer, director, coach, and CEO of Indie Spunk. Originally from Sydney, Australia,Izzy is a creative person's creative person. As a filmmaker's coach, Izzy enjoys collaborating with others and helping them find creative fulfillment. You may be familiar with her work on projects such as  Occupation ,  Occupation: Rainfall ,  Sea Form , Leap, and  Puberty Blues ,...

Amanda Lenker Doyle, CSA, sits down to interview editor and VFX artist Spencer Houck. You may know his work from Cobra Kai, Pitch Perfect, Bumper in Berlin, Community, Super Troopers 2, HAPPILY, and Silent Retreat. Spencer focuses on the importance of various editing aspects such as continuity, non-verbal communication, and the use of actors' eyes. He also highlights the importance of non-verb...

In this episode, Head of Actor Relations explains the concept of deliberate practice and how it can be applied to acting. Deliberate practice involves setting goals, identifying areas of improvement, and actively seeking feedback to continuously improve in your craft. It is a key tool in stepping outside of your comfort zone, becoming unafraid of failure, and surrounding yourself with a community...

Gabriella Tranchina, Castability's long-time Operations Coordinator, gets reacquainted with two of the original writers from our Castability Writers Room after surviving a devastating accident in Los Angeles. In this episode writers Thomas Ireton and Jenn O'Malley discuss what writing our sample scripts are like and how they feel watching their work come to life in the Winner's Gallery...

New to Castability and not sure where to start? This episode is for you. The Castability app is a data app, a self tape practice community, as well as marketing tool for actors. With many the facets of the app, you may not know where to start first. Join us as the Castability staff walks you through different pathways on how to get the most out of your membership and frequently asked questions! —...

In this episode, Amanda sits down with special guest and co-host Jessica Sherman, CSA, to interview KJ Rose, who blew them both away during her time onstage with Misty Copeland at the Sundance Film Festival. KJ Rose is a performance coach who specializes with helping musicians conquer their nerves to deliver the performance of a lifetime. She helped Lil Nas X with his Grammy dance routine, and aim...

Audrey Moore is an accomplished actor, host of the hit Audrey Helps Actors Podcast, and creator of Self Tape May . In this episode we discuss unique ways to approach this year's Self Tape May, how Audrey developed her own self tape practice, and what she does currently to maintain her progress and continue to grow. You are not going to want to miss this episode if you are looking to up level y...

In Part Two of this State of the Union, Amanda Lenker Doyle, CSA, continues her conversation with Nawal Bengholam to discuss the recent divide caused by self tapes within the entertainment industry. After polling the Castability community on questions that they had regarding self tapes, Amanda and Nawal answer questions and give their opinions. From requiring readers for a self tape, to losing a s...

In Part One of this State of the Union, Amanda Lenker Doyle, CSA, is joined by Nawal Bengholam to discuss the recent divide caused by self tapes within the entertainment industry. Amanda first discovered Nawal on social media, where Nawal's initial thoughts on the controversy made Amanda want to sit down with her and discuss the situation in full. The two have an open, honest, heart-to-heart a...

Anna LaMadrid and Alyshia Ochse are both working actors, creators of Put Me On Self Tape and The New Triple Threat, and are master coaches for actors everywhere. You may have seen Anna from her time on Hulu's This Fool or HBO's The Rehearsal , while Alyshia can be seen as Lucy on HBO's True Detective with Matthew McConaughey and on Quibi's #FREERAYSHAWN with Laurence Fishburne. Ded...

With over 100 tapes submitted on the Castability App, Amy is always at the top of the Castability List. She recently won a Cast Away Cancer challenge, and joins the Castability Staff to discuss balancing parenting a teenager while self-taping, how self-taping has enhanced her awareness of what she looks like on camera, and transitioning from music to theatre to Film and TV. She also shares how her...

Cronin Cullen breaks down the 12 Jungian Archetypes, giving an overview of each archetype's characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. He reveals why Castability breaks down scenes into archetypes, and how each character seen on TV and Film can fit into one of these 12 character types. Understanding which archetypes best showcase your acting skills helps you market yourself accurately to thos...

Lauren Neal is a working actor and director who has completed her Master's degree in Data Science in order to innovate ways to apply machine learning to filmmaking. Committed to using data to create actionable feedback for actors and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in casting, Lauren introduces the concept of Data Science in this episode. What is data science? What is big data? How is our...

You may remember Christina from her episode on Audrey Helps Actors, where she and Audrey explore Christina's journey from 18 months of consistent self-tape practice . After completing over a year of 16 self tapes a month, Christina has seen the positive effects from her longterm practice, setting intentions, and forming routines that help in the daily pursuit of this career. Sitting down with...

In this special 2 Part Episode, Amanda and Taylor sit down with Jessica Sherman, CSA, to talk all things acting. Jessica is an award-winning casting director, receiving the Casting Society of America's Artios Award as well as working on projects such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Trek Into Darkness, Super 8, CBS’ Person of Interest, A&E’s Bates Motel, FX’s The Strain, Tell Me Your Secr...

Joe Towne is a Los Angeles based performer, award-winning writer, director, and teacher. He is also the CEO of The Performer's Mindset and the creator/host of The Better Podcast . For 20 years, he's coached business professionals, athletes, and actors – some of whom are selling that product you just bought or starring in that movie you Netflixed last night. As an actor, Joe has worked with Jennife...