Yourcinemafilms.com | Award-winning casting director Heather Basten shares her process for auditions and drops some keys for actors to make the most of them!
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00:00 - All right, all right, all right, people.
00:03 Welcome to our Stories Festival day three.
00:07 We are here by God's grace.
00:09 It's our virtual day.
00:11 We've got amazing guests, amazing insight.
00:14 It's all put together for you guys, to be fair.
00:20 Like the whole idea of it, as I have been saying,
00:23 is all about supporting underrepresented talent
00:27 and creatives in general to really just get
00:32 and break into the industry, demystify,
00:35 you know, preconceived notions,
00:37 give keys that you can't really glean, I guess,
00:41 from like an Oscar speech or like press interviews,
00:46 like really diving into what's actually
00:49 gonna help you guys.
00:50 So, you know, I'm very thankful and gracious
00:54 for all of our amazing guests who are also aligned
00:58 with that idea of we just wanna help and support you
01:03 because we know what it was like
01:05 when we were in your position.
01:06 And these are the issues that you think,
01:09 things are like this, but no, it's really like this.
01:12 And this is what's actually gonna help.
01:13 That's what this is all about.
01:15 So just major keys, major keys.
01:17 And we are kicking today off with a bang,
01:22 a very big bang.
01:23 We have got an amazing,
01:27 how do I even say this?
01:30 I feel like you're more than a casting director.
01:33 She is across, I don't know,
01:39 a medium or an art form that requires actors
01:44 that she hasn't touched.
01:46 She's an amazing casting director, award nominated.
01:51 I'm sure she's won loads of awards
01:53 that is missing from my mind now.
01:57 I think, "Hey, but you won an award
01:58 for the NHS commercial."
02:00 Yep.
02:01 - I can take you everywhere.
02:04 - This is like-
02:07 - What an introduction.
02:08 - Yeah, no, this is,
02:09 and the beauty is I'm only speaking facts.
02:13 Like there's no embellishment here.
02:16 She does films, she does series,
02:19 she does adverts and she does theatre
02:23 all at the highest level.
02:24 So yeah, I introduce to you guys, Heather Baston.
02:28 Heather, I will jump straight into it
02:34 'cause I know you're very busy
02:36 and thank you for your time today.
02:40 Now we know like you cast for everything,
02:43 but what are the clear differences, if any,
02:48 between each art form from your perspective?
02:52 - I guess the clear difference is
02:57 it might be the process a little bit.
03:01 When it comes to theatre, for example,
03:08 it depends on what the project is,
03:09 but you might find that you have more time in the room,
03:15 more time to play, more time to explore with a text.
03:20 And that just might be because of the logistical reason
03:26 that when you work in theatre,
03:29 it's very much a collaborative process from the start.
03:33 And sometimes the director might need to see
03:36 how you play with text and how you work in the room
03:40 for a slightly more extended length of time
03:45 than you might get for an audition for like film and TV.
03:50 And it could be, with film and TV,
03:54 sometimes you just get to set and you do it
03:56 and you go home, it's very quick.
03:59 I'm not an actor and I don't spend any time on set actually,
04:02 if I can help, my job is done,
04:04 but that's what I'm told is that it can be very quick paced
04:07 when you get to set, you do your lines sometimes
04:11 and it's all very fast paced.
04:13 So again, we always, as casting directors,
04:17 try and give actors the best amount of time
04:20 to do a strong audition.
04:22 But that's just something, I guess,
04:23 one of the differences is,
04:25 if you might be lucky enough to just have
04:27 a slightly longer length of audition time
04:30 for a theatre project than you might do for film and TV.
04:34 - Wow, okay, okay.
04:37 And with adverts, I guess that's quite interesting
04:41 because maybe like a lot of the time there's not dialogue.
04:44 What's the process for that?
04:46 - Well, I approach every project in the same way,
04:52 whether it's a 30 second commercial
04:56 to a three hour theatre performance.
04:59 I think everything in terms of like the quality
05:01 of the casting process has to be the same.
05:03 And yeah, I mean, especially if it's like
05:09 a 20, 30 second commercial and they're not speaking,
05:13 it's even more important to really check the range,
05:18 the range that the director will need from the actor
05:22 in that short space of time.
05:23 Because in that 20 to 30 seconds,
05:26 there's still a journey to go on
05:29 in terms of the story or the character.
05:30 There surely is some sort of journey to go on.
05:33 So we're still looking for a range, you know,
05:38 in that audition process.
05:39 And so I approach commercials the same way
05:42 as I would approach any narrative project.
05:45 You know, we do flesh out a script.
05:49 It might be a slightly extended script
05:51 for the sake of casting purposes.
05:53 We sometimes would do improvisation to look at range.
05:59 We will sometimes do chemistry tests for a commercial.
06:03 So it can be the same as a narrative series.
06:08 It just wouldn't, normally wouldn't be as many auditions.
06:13 It might not be the same kind of length of time, I guess.
06:17 But it's definitely in terms of the context
06:19 of what we do and how we do it.
06:21 Oh yeah, I try and everything matters basically,
06:25 I guess is the long winded answer of what I'm trying to say.
06:28 Whether it's a commercial, whether it's,
06:32 you're shooting five episodes for a TV series
06:34 and a 20 second spot for a commercial.
06:39 - No, it makes sense.
06:40 Everything matters basically.
06:42 No, I love it.
06:43 I love it.
06:44 You know, I guess when an actor gets through
06:49 to like the audition stage, right?
06:54 When do you know, like, is there something that happens
06:57 that like, you know that, you know what,
07:00 this actor's got what we're looking for?
07:04 Which I know doesn't always necessarily lead
07:06 to them being cast in,
07:07 but what's that magic moment for you?
07:10 - Yeah, we're seeking the truth.
07:14 And then when you see the truth,
07:17 you just know because it's the truth.
07:19 Unless you're cast in something that is not the truth.
07:23 I don't know.
07:24 And maybe that's in the character's arc
07:27 that they don't need to be.
07:29 (laughs)
07:31 You know, but ultimately it's like,
07:35 it happens in life as well.
07:38 I think you just know the truth when you see it.
07:41 - Yep.
07:42 - And that's why sometimes it's quite hard
07:43 to articulate certain types of feedback all the time
07:48 to talent because it's, you know, we're so lucky in the UK.
07:52 There's so many brilliant actors over here.
07:57 And a lot of the time they're auditioning for one role.
08:00 And it's sometimes quite difficult to articulate
08:03 the differences between them in their performances.
08:05 And it's just something,
08:08 it can just come down to something as simple
08:10 as the seeking of the truth and what is the truth
08:13 and what does the truth mean for that director?
08:16 Everyone's version of the truth is different,
08:18 but that director is looking for a particular type of truth.
08:22 And so that's what it is.
08:24 That's what we're looking for.
08:25 And that's when we see it, we know what it is.
08:27 - I love that.
08:30 Do you think sometimes, or a lot of the times,
08:35 actors can mistake
08:38 not landing an audition or not conveying the truth
08:45 that aligns with the director's truth as a bad performance?
08:48 - Do you mean like when they leave the audition?
08:54 - Yeah, and like, let's say they don't get the role
08:57 and it's like, oh yeah, it's 'cause it was a bad,
08:59 and like, yeah, I didn't do this or I didn't do that.
09:02 But maybe it was a great performance,
09:06 but it just didn't align with the truth.
09:11 - Yeah, I think it's,
09:12 yeah, it's, you know, sometimes,
09:19 this is a hard industry, it's difficult.
09:24 Firstly, I'd just like to say
09:25 that I think actors are so resilient.
09:27 You know, to have that resilience
09:31 is an amazing trait and skill.
09:34 And it can be hard when you leave a room
09:36 not knowing how you've done.
09:40 I mean, in terms of how I run the casting room,
09:44 I will always try and ask the actor,
09:46 are you happy before you've left?
09:49 As long as I've got time, I'm like, to the director,
09:53 I'm like, are you happy?
09:54 And then I'll normally go to the actor,
09:55 and I'll go, are you happy?
09:57 Because just to give people the chance to just speak up,
10:01 if they feel like, oh, you know what, I've got,
10:05 if I've got time, I've got one more in me to just try it.
10:09 Sometimes the actors are like, yeah, you know what,
10:12 I'm happy.
10:14 Sometimes the actors are like, you know what,
10:15 if you're happy, I'm happy.
10:17 And sometimes the actors are like, no, you know what,
10:22 if there's time, can I try it again?
10:25 So we get, and I get a range,
10:28 and I just hope that that sometimes can alleviate
10:30 that feeling of, you know, you leaving,
10:35 an actor leaving a room and not feeling like
10:37 they've done their best.
10:39 I guess it can put people on the spot and be like,
10:44 whoa, is this a trick question?
10:46 (laughing)
10:48 - Do you know what, I love that.
10:51 Because that is a huge key.
10:54 And was actually like an amazing segue, right?
10:59 Because one of the questions and the things
11:01 that I had in mind was a few years ago,
11:06 this was quite some years ago now,
11:08 we were doing like a Q&A with Aisha, Aisha Bywaters.
11:14 And she mentioned, right, she said that a lot of the times
11:17 actors don't really like fully engage
11:22 with like casting directors in,
11:26 and like the team in an audition.
11:29 It's like, they'll come in, do the audition, and then leave.
11:34 And she was like, we don't know anything about you.
11:38 Like, and what you said about extending that olive branch,
11:45 so to speak of, okay, cool.
11:47 Are you like, are you happy?
11:49 It sounds like you're, like, how do you,
11:56 okay, what advice would you give to actors
12:02 to make the most of the audition?
12:05 Because, and I guess that's from the perspective
12:07 of like etiquette where, okay,
12:10 maybe they don't wanna say too much.
12:11 And it's like, look, we've got an audition to do.
12:13 But then also like, don't just be closed
12:16 because we wanna get to know
12:17 who we're potentially working with.
12:19 So yeah, just tips on like how to make the most
12:22 from an audition.
12:23 - It's very easy for me to sit here and say, be prepared.
12:30 Because also just well aware that we all have lives
12:39 and it's not this other lives and other things
12:42 that we have to do around acting sometimes.
12:46 So I guess preparation is a bit subjective,
12:51 but being prepared and just kind of just can alleviate
12:56 that stress of just thinking about the lines.
13:03 And then you're able to just think about other things
13:05 in the room and it might enable you to be more relaxed
13:11 and to be able to have a conversation
13:13 and not be thinking about the logistics of the work,
13:21 like the line learning and those things,
13:24 the kind of hardcore practicalities and just, yeah,
13:28 allowing you to be creative in the space
13:30 and to play with the text in the room.
13:33 I think it just grants you a bit more freedom
13:36 really in the room emotionally.
13:41 But like I said, that's again, very easy for me to say,
13:45 be prepared because sometimes for some people
13:48 it's easier said than done.
13:50 But I guess you can also,
13:52 if there's any anxieties about being prepared,
13:55 I would always say to perhaps
13:58 that if there's accessibility requirements
14:00 and things to help be prepared,
14:02 like maybe you need more time,
14:03 maybe line learning is tricky for you.
14:08 I would say, you could ask your agent
14:12 or if you're self-represented,
14:14 perhaps reach out and just ask the question about,
14:17 is there anything that we can give you
14:21 to help your preparation?
14:23 I think as casting directors,
14:25 we do try and give as much as we can in terms of notes,
14:28 like direction from the director
14:32 and character descriptions and things.
14:35 But yeah, I feel like preparation is the key thing
14:39 in terms of being able to then be free in the room
14:44 and to make, like get the best of yourself at the time.
14:48 - I love that, I love that.
14:50 Aside from the performance, right,
14:53 are there any other things that like,
14:55 you like to find out about the actors
15:00 alongside the performance?
15:04 - I normally ask, oh, where did you travel from?
15:09 Just kind of interest,
15:11 'cause I've just had some wild answers.
15:13 (laughing)
15:15 I think someone came from France at one point,
15:18 but we didn't realise at the time
15:20 that they were like coming from France,
15:22 but they wanted to come from France.
15:24 So I was like, okay.
15:25 But it's just nice kind of, yeah, I mean,
15:29 I just always ask a few questions really,
15:30 just to get a kind of more friendly conversation
15:33 going before we dive in.
15:35 And there are some actors that will just want
15:37 to actually come into a space and they are in the zone.
15:42 They're just in the mindset of the character
15:45 and that's fair and that's how they work.
15:47 And so we'll just then, if I kind of sense that,
15:49 normally I'll ask them and we'll just dive straight in.
15:53 But yeah, I mean, just getting to know the actor,
15:57 I think is a big part of it,
15:58 because ultimately, and for the actors,
16:02 or just getting to know the director,
16:04 I think is important because,
16:06 you're gonna be spending possibly
16:10 a certain amount of time together on set,
16:12 just making sure that everyone gets on.
16:14 And it's hard to do that when we're,
16:17 things like self-tapes now make that
16:18 a little bit more difficult,
16:20 but if you do find yourselves in the room,
16:24 at some point, perhaps it's the recall stage,
16:26 then that's a really good chance for us
16:28 to just chat for a few minutes,
16:30 if there's time.
16:33 - Amazing, amazing.
16:35 I know a lot of actors, this is amazing by the way,
16:39 I know a lot of actors crave feedback
16:43 and I know it's not always possible.
16:46 What, is there a particular stage
16:51 when actors will generally receive feedback from you
16:55 or is it kind of like, 'cause I know,
16:57 well, I know you've got so many projects on,
17:00 but how do you manage that?
17:01 - Feedback, yeah, it's,
17:04 normally, if we've met them in the room
17:09 or they've had a chance to meet the director,
17:12 we'll give feedback or it might be,
17:14 sometimes we work with amazing directors
17:16 who actually just write up feedback for everyone as well.
17:20 And they're just so involved in making sure
17:23 they maintain those relationships.
17:25 So we've done that quite a lot as well,
17:27 just passing on actual notes.
17:29 Or it might be just like, sometimes we might,
17:32 perhaps we've been talking
17:35 and the actor has shared something
17:36 and then we might just feedback to them
17:38 to just kind of extend on that conversation.
17:40 Sometimes I'll do that as well.
17:43 But yeah, I'd say normally if we've met them in the room
17:47 and we've had that time where we've met,
17:51 then that's normally the place where,
17:53 if it doesn't go your way,
17:54 I would try to give feedback.
17:58 - Cool, perfect, perfect.
18:00 So we were talking to Michael Salami,
18:04 I think it was,
18:06 it was like last year or at the beginning of this year.
18:09 And he was saying that,
18:11 he was basically done with acting.
18:13 He was done with acting and he had like,
18:16 he got a call for, I think,
18:18 what he mentally prepared for
18:21 is like his last audition.
18:22 And he was like, "Cool, if this works, then cool.
18:25 "If not, then it's fine.
18:26 "I don't need to act anymore, it's cool."
18:29 And he basically, he said,
18:32 "In that audition, it just wasn't happening."
18:36 And I think he knew the director as well.
18:39 And it just wasn't happening, it wasn't happening.
18:43 And he said, "It got to a point where
18:47 "it was like, I think, last chance."
18:53 And he said, "You know what?
18:54 "Just give me a minute, please."
18:56 And then he said, he just turned around,
18:58 said a prayer, was just like compose himself,
19:01 took his time.
19:02 And then he went again, right?
19:05 And I think that was a take
19:07 that he ultimately landed the role.
19:09 That sounds very touch and go, right?
19:13 That like having that experience in an audition.
19:16 And I wanted to know,
19:17 how do you know when to give an actor another chance?
19:22 Because time's finite, isn't it?
19:24 So, yeah, I just wanted to know your thoughts
19:28 on a situation like that.
19:30 - The way, I personally like to try and give an actor
19:38 at least two goes per scene.
19:40 - Yeah.
19:41 - You know, I feel like sometimes the first take
19:43 is a bit of a warmup at times.
19:45 - Yeah.
19:46 - And you find that actually,
19:48 the second take and beyond
19:50 is when they've really got into the swing of it.
19:54 So I think it's, I mean,
19:58 it kind of comes down to scheduling.
20:00 Like we'd always make sure that we schedule enough time
20:04 to get a strong enough performance.
20:06 - Okay, okay.
20:07 - Whether we feel like that's 15 minutes, 20 minutes,
20:11 it might seem short, but as long as we,
20:13 you know, we kind of understand the mechanics of it
20:15 and how much time we'll need
20:17 and how long the scene will take.
20:18 - Yeah.
20:20 - And I, you know, I factor in stuff like having a chat
20:23 and all those sorts of things, saying hi and saying bye
20:26 and how long is that going to take?
20:27 So we kind of try and factor that all in.
20:29 - Yeah.
20:30 - But yeah, I would say we do give,
20:36 I do give enough time for those second goes.
20:39 - Okay, okay.
20:41 - In terms of how I know, like when to give a second go,
20:44 I normally just do it.
20:47 (laughing)
20:49 As long as, again, as long as I've scheduled the time right.
20:53 Sometimes you don't need to give a second,
20:57 you don't need to do a second take.
20:59 Sometimes you don't need to do a second take
21:01 and they just land it on the first take.
21:03 - Okay, okay.
21:04 - And doing the second take would just be redundant.
21:09 Especially for the actor,
21:12 if they feel like they've just nailed it.
21:15 - Yeah.
21:15 - So many confident actors out there who've been like,
21:17 do you know what?
21:18 No, I'm happy with that.
21:19 - Really?
21:20 - Yeah, and I'm like, well, I'm happy with that as well.
21:22 So let's just run with that.
21:25 - Wow.
21:26 So wait, are you allowed to say
21:28 that you're happy with that in an audition?
21:30 Or does that give too much of an inkling of like,
21:33 oh, well, you know, we might want you.
21:36 - I think there's a, it's just like a dance.
21:41 It's a dance.
21:42 And if we feel like we need to go again,
21:47 you know, as actors, I'm sure actors will take that on board
21:52 and equally if they've, you know, it's about listening.
21:55 And like, if I hear actors say, you know what?
21:58 They feel so happy with that one.
22:01 - Yeah.
22:01 - As long as I know that there's nothing that we're missing
22:04 from internal notes and just conversations with the director
22:09 who might not be there.
22:11 - Yep, yep.
22:11 - It might be things that, you know what?
22:13 Actually, we talked about this.
22:14 I talked about this with the director.
22:15 So I need to give them this note.
22:17 - Okay, yeah.
22:18 - Are they happy with it?
22:19 I just need to tweak it for this purpose.
22:22 As long as it's like a dance.
22:24 - Yeah.
22:25 - I mean, it's like we work together
22:27 and there's a lot of listening going on.
22:30 I keep saying the word play because I think we do it.
22:36 We're playing in a very highly skilled way.
22:40 - Yep, yep, yep.
22:41 (laughing)
22:42 - That's what it is.
22:43 It's very like, it's, yeah, we're working together.
22:46 - Do you know what?
22:48 I'm so happy you touched on that because that, yeah,
22:50 that was a word that I picked up
22:53 that you're using quite a lot.
22:55 Do you feel like, because I guess whilst it's play,
23:00 it's also very high stakes, right?
23:03 So do you feel like enough actors
23:08 effectively play in an audition
23:13 as opposed to thinking in the back of their mind,
23:16 I need to learn this or I really want this?
23:18 - That's a difficult question because I'm not,
23:24 you know, I'm not in, whoever I'm auditioning,
23:27 I'm not in their head.
23:28 So I don't know what they're thinking.
23:30 - Yeah, yeah.
23:31 - But in the nature of the industry, there are nerves.
23:35 There is self-doubt and there is,
23:40 and then there's the other,
23:42 it's the whole spectrum of things.
23:43 There's confidence and there's self-belief
23:45 and there's all these things.
23:47 I don't know.
23:48 Sometimes I can sense when someone is nervous.
23:51 - Okay.
23:52 - And I can sense that.
23:53 And I can sense that maybe they're thinking
23:56 about other stuff in the back of their mind.
23:57 But other times I wouldn't be able to tell
24:01 if someone is thinking, oh, I hope I learn this
24:03 or am I doing this right?
24:04 - Yeah, yeah.
24:05 - Perhaps that's a skill in itself, I don't know.
24:10 But I guess the key thing to remember
24:13 is that we want you to do well.
24:15 - Yeah, yeah.
24:16 - All playing for the same team.
24:18 - Yeah, I love that.
24:20 I love that.
24:21 So I guess that's auditions, right?
24:25 With regards to self-tapes,
24:27 I know they're so much popular
24:29 than they were five or 10 years ago,
24:31 but given they're not the audition stage yet,
24:36 what are the key things you're looking for
24:39 in a self-tape?
24:40 - So yeah, I mean, the evolution of self-tape
24:45 is something that's happened in the last few years.
24:50 And where we end up as an industry down the line,
24:54 I'm not sure yet.
24:56 Oh, what was the question, sorry?
24:58 It's kind of how we said.
24:59 - No, it's cool.
25:01 - It's so late.
25:02 Go on, give it one more time.
25:06 - Oh, good, oh, good.
25:08 So like with self-tapes,
25:11 what are the key things that you're looking for
25:15 given they're not like the final audition?
25:18 Yeah.
25:20 - What we're looking for.
25:21 So, I mean, sometimes, I mean, it depends.
25:24 Early on in COVID, they were the final audition.
25:26 It was like, when it was COVID,
25:28 we were just doing everything online
25:31 and casting whole feature films online and stuff
25:35 because we weren't allowed to go out
25:40 and do things how we normally would do it.
25:43 - Did that ever go wrong?
25:44 - Well, not for me, but.
25:49 No, I say not for me, lightly,
25:53 but like, it's not, you have to adapt.
25:57 We were just adapting in a really fast, unnatural way,
26:02 I'd say, unnatural, rapid adjustment.
26:05 And especially for directors, not getting to meet people.
26:10 - True.
26:12 - But what are we looking for?
26:13 It's, with self-tapes,
26:20 I'm very much only looking for an essence of the character.
26:23 I'm never looking for a polished performance.
26:26 I think that's important to say,
26:27 because really, again,
26:30 we need to have this dance in the room.
26:31 It needs to be the director giving notes.
26:33 We need to see how you take the notes.
26:35 You need to be able to ask questions,
26:37 get a back and forth going.
26:38 So in a self-tape, looking for,
26:42 if it's the first round, for example,
26:43 we're looking for an essence of the character.
26:46 You know, during lockdown times,
26:48 we'd follow up with things like a Zoom.
26:50 Just something as live as possible,
26:53 whilst we couldn't be physically together in the room,
26:56 just how can we recreate that?
26:58 And Zoom was the best way.
27:00 But yeah, self-tapes, just an essence.
27:02 Just, could they develop this
27:07 with some direction or with being in the room?
27:12 Could they?
27:14 Yeah.
27:16 - Love that.
27:16 I love that. I love that.
27:18 And my final question, right now,
27:23 you cast for the already classic "Dreaming Whilst Black,"
27:29 the full series, as well as the pilot.
27:31 Congratulations on that already.
27:34 Going to Showtime.
27:36 It's amazing.
27:37 Like, what was that like?
27:42 Like, I really want to know what was that like?
27:44 Because you were there from the very, very beginning
27:48 of this side of the journey in terms of like,
27:52 all right, cool, no, we're BBC now.
27:53 Like, we're here.
27:56 And that is such a key pivotal point for that project
28:01 or for this project, long may it continue.
28:03 So I want to know what it was like
28:05 at that very early stage.
28:08 - There's some projects when you just read it
28:10 and you just know, you just know,
28:12 like, you're like, this is going to be amazing.
28:16 And when I got the script for "Dreaming Whilst Black,"
28:19 this was literally one of those projects.
28:22 And I'd seen the web series anyway.
28:23 So I was like, wow, okay.
28:26 At the very first stage was just to cast a read-through,
28:30 just do a live read-through.
28:32 We're just going to read the script of, you know,
28:35 they've written a pilot episode.
28:37 We're going to cast it.
28:38 We were in a theatre, a little theatre in Islington
28:41 somewhere, theatre or church hall somewhere.
28:45 And it was that thing of, you know,
28:50 just trying to cast a read-through,
28:53 but ultimately where possible,
28:55 we would try and take the cast with us where possible
28:58 and where it felt right to do so.
29:00 So you're kind of casting with the longevity
29:06 of this could turn into something much bigger.
29:10 So again, it comes back to that thing
29:13 where I say everything matters,
29:15 but everything does matter,
29:17 even if it's a read-through in Islington.
29:21 Like for me in my job anyway, I'm always thinking ahead.
29:24 What could this be?
29:26 What's the journey of this project?
29:28 So yeah, it was amazing really.
29:33 You know, it was just finding amazing actors
29:37 who were willing to come to a paid read-through
29:42 with the prospect of this is what it could be.
29:48 Are you on board for the wild ride, the journey?
29:51 Yeah, we had like, you know,
29:54 Alexander Owens in there from the start.
29:56 Obviously Danny, mostly obviously,
29:59 'cause she's from the web series.
30:01 But yeah, there's, you know, we just,
30:05 like Demi, who plays Quabb and his best friend,
30:08 again, from the very beginning.
30:10 And I'm just very grateful to them,
30:15 I think for having, for trusting the project as well.
30:21 'Cause you do put your trust in it.
30:23 - Yep, yep.
30:23 - You know where it's gonna go.
30:25 And yeah, I'm happy it paid off.
30:28 And then obviously, you know,
30:30 the pilot came from that read-through.
30:32 And BBC were on board,
30:35 and then A24 joined on board after that
30:38 for the six episodes.
30:40 And here we are, showtime,
30:42 and wherever else it might go.
30:45 (laughing)
30:47 - Oh, man.
30:49 It's one of the best projects I've ever worked on.
30:51 And I think that's just because Ajani is just incredible
30:55 as a leader.
30:57 He would never call himself a leader.
30:58 He'd probably kill me for saying that on a Zoom.
31:01 But like, just, it's like a family.
31:04 It is like, he's built like a family
31:06 where everyone felt safe to voice their opinions,
31:11 constructively, to put their own part of them into the show.
31:17 It was just that space.
31:18 You know, me and Ajani could just talk about casting,
31:21 and you know what I mean, just talk about it fluidly,
31:25 fluently, just, yeah.
31:28 So it was an amazing, it's been an amazing journey.
31:31 So I'm very, very grateful.
31:33 - As are we, as are we, as are we.
31:38 I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you.
31:40 I guess, right, in closing,
31:44 what, and especially with like a show
31:48 like "Dreaming While It's Black", right,
31:50 which has got a lot of new actors,
31:55 a lot of people that have been doing it for some time,
31:58 but it's not led by the cast,
32:03 it's led by the story and everything,
32:07 like the whole, like, if you know what I mean,
32:10 you know like when they're like,
32:11 "You're going to see that."
32:12 It's like this thing, the story,
32:14 everything around it is--
32:15 - Everything.
32:17 - Yeah, do you know what I mean?
32:18 So with that being said,
32:21 and the wide range of actors
32:23 that were involved in it, right,
32:26 it feels like anyone had a chance
32:30 to potentially be involved in it, right?
32:34 What advice would you give to people
32:38 and what advice would you give to actors
32:42 who are like emerging and see a show like that?
32:44 And like, do you know what?
32:45 I would love to be in "Dreaming While It's Black"
32:48 or a project that is of that ilk.
32:53 - I'd say keep your ears to the ground
33:02 and just see what's bubbling.
33:05 See if you can like, you know,
33:08 when I was coming up in the industry,
33:10 I used to just be online,
33:12 what's being made, what's happening,
33:16 who's commissioning what,
33:18 I'm doing the sneaking online,
33:20 like looking at what's being greenlit,
33:22 looking at this and that.
33:24 And I've, you know, I didn't know what I was doing,
33:26 but like now, you know, you can look on IMDB,
33:29 you can look on all these like websites,
33:31 there's like Variety, Deadline, Hollywood,
33:35 all these things,
33:36 and they don't just cover the big Hollywood budget stuff,
33:40 they cover the Indies and they cover everything.
33:43 They cover "The Dreaming Whilst Black",
33:46 the whole, you know, the stages of watching it grow.
33:49 So just keep your ears to the ground, I'd say,
33:52 and see what's out there.
33:54 Try and do your homework
33:56 and try and be kind of self-sufficient in that way
33:58 and be proactive.
33:59 Knowledge is power.
34:03 So I think like the more knowledge you can gather
34:08 of what's out there, who's doing what,
34:09 who's an exciting director that I wanna work with,
34:13 gather that knowledge and kind of, yeah.
34:16 And then I feel like you can make some,
34:19 put in some emails and some like well-informed emails,
34:24 you know, with intention.
34:26 Yeah, because you've done your homework
34:28 and you've done the work and like, yeah.
34:30 That would be my advice.
34:32 - Thank you, thank you, thank you.
34:34 Please take notes, people.
34:35 Heather, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
34:39 This is a great way to kick off the festival.
34:42 Yes, thank you.