When Rhayvnn Drummer first began her career as a casting assistant for Tyler Perry Studios in 2007, a majority of Atlanta’s professional talent could be found in the books. Or better yet, “the binders” to be exact.
“I remember that all the people we had to audition, we had them in big binders full of headshots because we could literally fit all of the talent in Atlanta into a series of binders,” she said. “And now, not only is everything digital but … Atlanta has attracted so many artists coming to the city … we are getting 700 to 800 submissions per role.”
“It’s way more opportunities in the amount of work that’s being brought to Atlanta from when I first started,” said Casting Director George Pierre, who started his career the same year as Drummer as a production assistant on the Georgia-filmed dance drama “Stomp the Yard.” “Whenever you’re driving through the city now, on every corner you see those yellow [production] signs.”
Drummer and Pierre are both somewhat pioneers of what has evolved into the current film and television climate of Georgia. Both started out in Atlanta at a time when productions were sparse and the Atlanta talent circle was small. Both saw their careers grow with the variety of Atlanta-based projects coming to the city, the number of which slowly growing with each successful project that they contributed to casting.
“I never want anyone to come into the room and feel intimidated. I’m rooting for you, but you have to root for yourself.”
George Pierre, Casting Director (“No Good Deed,” “Coming 2 America”)
Today, both, along with colleagues Paris-Feldstein Casting, are seen as some of the most respected and in-demand casting directors in Georgia. Drummer works as the principal casting director for Tyler Perry Studios, responsible for casting the studio’s television and film projects such as “A Madea Family Funeral,” “The Oval” and “A Fall from Grace.” Pierre has worked on popular projects such as “Coming 2 America,” “Little,” and “Black Mafia Family,” which recently started its second season on Starz.
“Our main job is to basically find talent for scripts and productions that producers are working on,” said Pierre. “We are going to showcases, we are going to plays and watching reels trying to find the best talent.”
“We are like the human resources of a film or television project,” said Drummer. “On a light day, it’s just me reading scripts, watching auditions, sending my top choices over to producers. On a crazy day, it’s me taking lots and lots of phone calls, schedules changing, talking to agents, talking to producers, still reading scripts, watching hundreds of auditions. It’s always different and it’s always fun.”
While there is no ordinary day for a casting office, responsibilities typically consist of auditioning and scouting actors, negotiating deals and contracts and acting as an interpreter between talent and the executives within a production.
Although most casting directors are contracted for 40 to 60 working hours a week, the search for fresh-faced performers seems to be never-ending, with major casting sessions for a project ranging anywhere from three months to four weeks.
“We are in a time now where we are able to have the opportunity to not only cast [Georgia] actors as co-stars, but also in guest starring roles and series regular roles,” said Pierre, who recently wrapped production on the upcoming feature film, “Praise This.” “When I worked on ‘Ambitions’ on OWN, three people out of Atlanta were cast in series regular roles: Brely Evans, Erica Page and Kendrick Cross.”
“I’m looking for actors who have taken time out to get to know themselves, to get know who they are outside of acting.”
Rhayvnn Drummer, Casting Director – Tyler Perry Studios
The trend of local talent in prominent roles crosses over to Tyler Perry Studios, with the casting of longtime Atlanta actor Crystal Fox in the leading role in the Netflix film “A Fall from Grace,” and most notably actress Danielle Deadwyler, who was cast by Drummer as Laquita Maxwell in a short series regular role on the OWN series “The Haves and Have Nots.”
“Danielle, I think she’s the only person who has actually made me cry in an audition. Between her and Crystal, those are two actresses that brought me to tears,” Drummer said. “They transform the room, their energy and artistry and power is all so encompassing. Just to be in the same room with all of that artistic genius, it was overwhelming.”
It is this presence that Drummer and Pierre say that they hope to find in actors who they see audition for them.
Both also agree that while social media popularity may be able to help bring exposure to an up-and-coming performer, it is training and experience in the craft of acting that will get them booked on projects and kept in mind for incoming work.
“If you take a look at the gentlemen and people who paved the way, it wasn’t through social media,” said Pierre. “Theater is always great, taking acting classes is always great. If a person is not traditionally trained, is going to be hard for them to hit their mark.”
With a consistent string of new projects underway and the amount of talent within Atlanta’s entertainment industry rising, the way to catch the eye of Drummer and Pierre is advice that stems back to before either were active in the industry,
“Be confident,” said Pierre. “I never want anyone to come into the room and feel intimidated. I’m rooting for you, but you have to root for yourself. Of course, I don’t want you coming into the room cocky, but I want you to trust that we have your best interest at heart.”
“I’m looking for actors who have taken time out to get to know themselves, to get know who they are outside of acting,” said Drummer. “Someone who is able to jump in with both feet and see themselves as artists and not as people who are waiting for casting directors to validate them.”
