[1]Chris Vandenberg prepares for the television and new media short film auditions Sept. 24 at Loyalist College. Photo by Morgan Davy
By Morgan Davy
The television and new media students at Loyalist College held their final casting call for a number of film projects on Tuesday night.
Many hopeful students and community members came to the calls that were held Sept. 21, 22 and 24. Actors were signed in and read from scripts, hoping to score a role in one of the productions.
Mitch Stewart, a third-year student in the program who was appointed casting director by his teachers, said this process began when he was in his second year of the program.
“Last year, we did pre-production for all of these projects, so it was about a semester or two of planning and getting everything finalized. My role has carried over from last year into this year,” said Stewart.
Stewart is part of an eight-student crew that is working on this project full-time, and said it takes full cooperation and support from other classmates to make this process work.
“As the casting director, I have to have the directors and some of the producers come in and see the talent and see who they want to choose for their production, but we’ve had a lot of extras from our course come out to help to make sure everything runs smoothly,” said Stewart.
Every year, the television and new media program produces many film projects. This year, there will be a short adaptation of Helen of Troy, running about 30 minutes long. There will also be a children’s show and a couple smaller projects, including a music video.
Stewart is also the acting script supervisor and said his next steps are to hold final casting sessions and to finalize the characters. Once a cast is chosen, it’s time to begin setting dates to get shooting underway.
The young director said he’s grateful to the all of the college and community members who auditioned.
“Thanks to everyone who has come out to the casting sessions and if anyone’s ever interested in it, it’s a big help to all of us here at the school to have people come out and audition,” says Stewart.
The students’ work is set for a public screening at the Cineplex Theatre in Belleville at the end of March 2014.