HISTORY
For 45 years, Back Stage has been the most trusted place for actors to find performing arts and casting information.
Started in December 1960 by Ira Eaker and Allen Zwerdling, Back Stage quickly became required reading for young actor who came to New York to cut their teeth. The newspaper's blue-and-red logo soon became as synonymous with NYC actors as a class at The Actors Studio.
With the launches of Los Angeles newspaper Back Stage West in Los Angeles in 1994 and the launch of BackStage.com in 1997, the name came to signify something else: Back Stage is where actors across the country can connect with the greater performing arts community.
Back Stage is owned by The Nielsen Company, whose other entertainment and media publications includes The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek, Mediaweek, and Ross Reports. Nielsen also owns media measurement company Nielsen Media Research. For more information on The Nielsen Company, visit www.nielsen.com.
Changes
In October 2005, we revitalized our brand to speak more directly to actors at varying points in their career, from newcomer to seasoned professional.
The NYC newspaper is now known as Back Stage East. The Los Angeles newspaper remained Back Stage West, but with a new look. And our website was upgraded too, with improved functionality for subscribers — searchable nationwide casting; free posting of headshots, resumes and reels; vibrant message board; weblogs; and so forth.
Today, Back Stage is an actor's primary resource. Here you can read news, features, reviews, and columns addressed directly to you and your needs — sometimes written by actors themselves. You can browse listings of film, TV and stage productions that are looking for actors, including the most complete listings for TV pilot season.
And, of course, browse through our casting notices.
Casting
In print and online, Back Stage publishes between 800 to 1,000 top casting notices each week for every type of performance: film, stage, TV, commercials, multimedia, dance, voiceovers, singing, and more. Included are opportunities for both adults and children. Plus, we offer ads seeking people in related fields, such as stage/film crews, models, musicians, and writers.
Besides performance hubs New York City and Los Angeles, we publish notices for dozens of other cities across the United States and Canada, including Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Vancouver and many more. Simply search by state or province and job type to see what's available in your area. Note: You do NOT need to be a subscriber to search our listings. To view complete notices, however, requires a subscription.
Protecting Actors
Actors are, unfortunately, highly vulnerable to all kinds of sleazy operators and scam artists. Back Stage takes particular pride in trying to prevent that.
We offer every actor our unique Back Stage Casting Pledge: We check out all casting notices before we publish them.
We never simply publish a casting notice as submitted. We ask questions, check references, and refuse to publish calls that seem less than reputable. No other publication takes the steps we do to protect actors.
For instance, we ask companies to indicate if roles are paid or not; if any roles require nudity; are they seeking union or nonunion actors (and if it's union, under which contract); and so forth. We refuse to publish casting calls for pornography, or for projects that require exorbitant fees or purchases. (If modest fees are required, we'll include exactly what's expected in the casting notice.)
You should never go into an audition wondering if the person behind that door will try to take your money — or worse.
However, we're not perfect. Despite our best efforts, con artists and creeps occasionally fool us. But we take your complaints seriously. If someone is proven to be a scammer or deliberately misleading in their ads, we never allow that person to advertise with us again. Ever. That's a promise.
We want to empower actors by supplying the most complete information possible about a project, so you know exactly what to expect at an audition before you attend. Then, if you are told something completely different, contact us immediately at castinghelp@backstage.com and we'll investigate.
Back Stage is working hard to be an actor's most trusted daily resource. Subscribe today!
MASTHEAD
Editorial
National Editor-in-Chief: Jamie Painter Young
National Film & TV Editor: Jenelle Riley
National Theatre Editor: Leonard Jacobs
Editor-at-Large: Sherry Eaker
Back Stage East
Executive Editor: David Sheward
News Editor: Andrew Salomon
Features Writer: Simi Horwitz
Reviews Editor/Copy Chief: Erik Haagensen
Copy Editor: David Fairhurst
Back Stage West
Executive Editor: Dany Margolies
News Editor: Lauren Horwitch
Film & TV Writer: Sarah Kuhn
News Writer: Nicole Kristal
Theatre Writer & Critic: Les Spindle
Copy Chief: Janelle Tipton
Copy Editor: Charley Daniels
Casting
National Casting Editor: Luke Thomas Crowe
New York Office
Assistant Casting Editors: Andrew Valvano, Sri Gordon, Diana DiSilvestro, Daniel Lehman
Los Angeles Office
Casting Editor: Cassie Carpenter
Assistant Casting Editors: Wenzel Jones, Sarah McKinley Oakes, Nicole Porter
Regional Casting Contributors
Jeanne Brei (Nevada), Nancy Clendaniel (Washington State, Oregon), Jaime Kleiman (Minnesota, Wisconsin), Evita Koepke (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah), Erica Levin (Illinois, Indiana), Elecia Vee Osadchuk (Georgia, North/South Carolina), Jared Voss (Massachusetts)
Website
General Manager, Online: Alex Boyce
Digital Media Manager: Ron Phillips
BackStage.com
Managing Editor: Tom Penketh
Assistant Online Editors: Anna Bengel, Brooke O'Neill
Web Columnists
The Craft: Jean Schiffman
The Working Actor: Jackie Apodaca, Michael Kostroff
First Person: Kat Voboril, David Fairhurst, Kerri Aab, Scott Harris, Alex Goldberg, Monica Yudovich, Shen Qiaoyun
Advertising & Marketing
Associate Publisher: Charles Weiss
Marketing and Events Brand Manager: Michelle Zern
Director of Creative Services: Craig Kuperman
New York Office
Advertising Manager: Allen Buhl
Account Executive: Gerry Sankner
Sales Associate: Jessica Simmons
National Classifieds Sales Manager: Samantha Rady
Los Angeles Office
Sr. Account Executive: Richard H. Johnston
Account Executive: Akeisa Fergins
Account Executive: Joe Malone
Advertising Sales Supervisor: Rick Tyberg
Art & Production
Director of Manufacturing & Operations: Lydia Mikulko
New York Office
Art Director: Mixie von Bormann
Manufacturing Manager: Felicia Chan
Production Manager: Christine Russo
Digital File/Traffic Mgr: Chris Bishop
Asst. Digital File/Traffic Coord.: Joaquin Jimenez
Los Angeles Office
Art Director: Eric Hernandez
Production Manager: Virginia Hollender
Production Assistants: Joe Garcia, Teresa Lopez
Administration
Senior Vice President, Film Group: John Kilcullen
Vice President, General Manager: Andrew Bilbao
Distribution Director: Louis Bradfield
Group Audience Marketing Director: Neil Eisenberg
Associate Director, Human Resources: Mardel Nesby
Director of Finance & Operations: Rebecca Eacret
Credit Manager: Eleanor Greenberg
Billing: Kelly-Ann Rowe
Brand-Specific Section
Vice President, Manufacturing and Distribution: Jennifer Grego
Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley
Vice President, Marketing Services: Drew DeSarle
Executive Assistant: Jackie Salgado
President: Greg Farrar
Senior Vice President, Human Resources: Michael Alicea
Senior Vice President, Marketing: Mark Hosbein
Senior Vice President, Finance: Derek Irwin
Senior Vice President, Entertainment: Gerry Byrne
Senior Vice President, Marketing, Media & Visual Arts: Sabrina Crow
Senior Vice President, Retail: David Loechner
Senior Vice President, Online: Linda McCutcheon
Senior Vice President, Building & Design: Joe Randall
Senior Vice President, Central Services: Mary Kay Sustek
Vice President, Licensing: Howard Appelbaum
Vice President, Manufacturing & Distribution: Jennifer Grego
Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley
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