Tag: cast

Saying Hello to New Episodes (and Goodbye to Old Characters)

Sienna (Laurel Schroeder) and Rich (Erik Schark) filming The Baristas
Even Rich can't keep Sienna on the show forever.

On August 1st, new episodes of The Baristas will return, but several of your favorite characters will soon be departing. Actress Laurel Schroeder (Sienna) moved to Houston before filming for these episodes resumed, but three other actors did squeeze in a few final scenes before they bid Affogato adieu.

While we can’t tell you who else is leaving the show (or when), we can say that these next 9 episodes will mark the end of the line for at least two more of the cafe’s customers and one of its employees.  (In fact, we’ve already said goodbye to all four of those cast members off-camera, so watching their final scenes come together over the next two months will be a bit surreal for us to see.)  In the meantime, enjoy our talented cast while you can — because you never know when it might get shaken up all over again…

5 Tips on Casting for Skill, Sustainability and Sanity

Whether you’re producing a web series, a stage play, a movie or a bootstrapped startup, the most important decision you’ll ever make is this:

“Whom should I surround myself with?”

During production, your cast becomes your family. You’ll love them, you’ll hate them, you’ll argue with them and you’ll be forever in their debt — and, by the time you’re done, they’ll all feel the same way about you.

Since August, I’ve been producing The Baristas for a January 2011 release. And while a handful of actors are crossing over from their 6-year run on Something to Be Desired, the vast majority of the faces I’ve surrounded myself with are brand new. In essence, I’ve known some of these people for less than a week and I’ve already entrusted them with the future of both my creation and your viewing pleasure.

Am I crazy?

No. I just have gut instincts, common sense, and the unsettling ability to divorce myself emotionally from whatever’s in front of me at the time.

Here are 5 tips on how I used those traits to assemble a cast I believe in*.

Continue reading 5 Tips on Casting for Skill, Sustainability and Sanity