cattle call auditions

Looking for a list of agents and casting directors in Canada?

Below is a list of Agents and casting directors in Montreal, Quebec.

The list is of ACTRA franchised agents. ACTRA is the Canadian actors union. Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists or ACTRA for short is the union of more than 22,000 professional performers working in English-language recorded media in Canada including TV, film, radio and digital media.

The difference between agents and casting directors is that agents work for you while casting directors work for the production companies. You pay your agent out of the money that you make on a commission basis and the production companies pay the casting directors.

Both agents and casting directors work hand in hand. Casting directors are responsible for filling roles in their clients productions. Casting directors will hold auditions and casting calls for actors and other performers.

Most casting directors do not have time to see unqualified and untrained actors. They only want to see people they may be interested in and those people are already skilled. To weed out the the actors that are not qualified, casting directors turn to the agents they work with.

Agents represent talent and are familiar with the talent they represent. Agents will send the actors they feel are qualified to see the casting directors and audition.

Be advised that legitimate agents are not allowed to charge upfront fees. They only get paid if you do. Casting directors get paid by the production company to cast a project. You do not pay them for their services.

Sometimes casting directors do charge an audition fee. This is more commonly seen in open calls for dance auditions. This fee should be very reasonable and is usually between $15 and $25. Extras casting directors are also known to charge small fees – $20 to $40. The fees are to take snap shots and add the talent to their database.

Unless you are a dancer, there should not be any fees involved at auditions. Remember, an audition is a job interview and no one pays to interview for a job!

Here is some advice from ACTRA about casting directors and agents for children who work in Canada.

What should I know about talent agents?

A talent agent is contracted to arrange auditions and negotiate contracts for your child. Be sure the agent you select is legitimate and ethical. A list of agents can be found on your ACTRA Branch’s website. Look for agencies that are either members of TAMAC (Talent Agents and Managers Association of Canada), members of the EICAA (EIC Agency Association), or that have signed the EIC Code of Ethics. Be very cautious of agencies that offer guarantees of work or try to sell you courses, photos, services or demand up-front fees. Legitimate agents only make money if your child actually works as a performer.

What should I know about auditions?

Your child’s agent will call you with the time and place, and details such as the names of the project, director, producer, casting director and ad agency if it’s a commercial audition.

Keep a work diary to record this information; this will become very important should your child be booked. Take special note of shoot dates and inform your agent immediately of any scheduling conflict. Otherwise your child will be expected to be available on the shoot dates. Auditions must be held a reasonable length of time after school hours. Always arrive 10 to 15 minutes early and make sure you’ve read the breakdowns and scripts that your agent has provided.