The Theatrical Indie Film Casting Director Collaboration led by
Casting Director, Tineka Becker
The Theatrical Indie Film Casting Director Collaboration is an exhilarating four-week audition intensive designed for actors looking to hone their audition skills and advance to the next level in their careers. Led by venerable casting director Tineka Becker, who has been working in casting for over 20 years and has garnered a vast experience on feature films, from studio tent-poles like the X-Men franchise, the Twilight franchise and the Fockers franchise, to independent films that have thrived on the festival circuit, this masterclass provides in-depth, hands-on training with input and feedback from five highly regarded industry professionals. Each week, Tineka will collaborate with an esteemed guest casting director to guide actors through different genres and aspects of the audition process.
The curriculum is structured around four focused themes: “Making a Great First Impression” where actors will showcase what they feel they do best; “The Art of Auditioning for Genre Films” which teaches strategies for horror, thriller and sci-fi auditions; “Grounding Your Comedy” which will help actors navigate the craft of comedic auditions for feature films; and finishing up with “Nailing Your Dramatic Auditions” aimed at cultivating an organic acting style in order to execute an effortless authenticity in their work.
This exciting course will give actors the tools necessary to tackle the audition process with confidence, no matter what the genre, ensuring they will bring truth to their scenes and remain competitive in this fast-paced industry. By joining this intensive, actors will elevate their work under the guidance and mentorship of top tier experts. Let’s tackle feature film auditions together!
Dates and Casting Directors/Instructors
- March 13th at 7:00 pm, PST – Week 1 with Casting Directors Scot Boland and Tineka Becker
- March 20th at 7:00 pm, PST – Week 2 with Casting Directors Monika Mikkelsen and Tineka Becker
- March 27th at 7:00 pm, PST – Week 3 with Casting Directors Sunday Boling Kennedy and Tineka Becker
- April 3rd at 7:00 pm, PST – Week 4 with Casting Directors Nicole Arbusto and Tineka Becker
Week 1: Making a Great First Impression
Date: March 13th at 7:00 pm, PST
Casting Director: Scot Boland
Focus: This first class will focus on how to make a great first impression and bring confidence and specificity to everything you do, from the very first beat of the scene straight through to the end, so that even if you end up not being right for the role you’re auditioning, the Casting Director will want to keep you in mind for other roles/projects. Every Casting Director has their list of favorite actors that they continually bring in for projects…the more CD’s that love your work, the more chance you have of booking a role with them!
Joining Tineka to kick off the course is the incomparable Scot Boland, who has discovered a slew of “new” talent in his vast career working with the likes of Peter Jackson and Robert Zemeckis.
Actors will need to bring their own scenes for this first class only. Scenes will be provided for weeks 2-4. Keep the scenes short…2 MINS MAX! We will provide a reader. Choose something that shows what you feel you do best in order to make a GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION!!
About Scot Boland
A partner of Burrows/Boland Casting since 2000, Scot has been a Casting Director for almost 30 years and has worked on major motion pictures and independent films such as:
- THE MATTACHINE FAMILY (2023) directed by Andrew Vallentine. *1st producer credit
- PINOCCHIO (2021) an animated/live action remake of the Disney classic, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
- THE WITCHES (2020) a live action/motion capture remake of the Roald Dahl classic, directed by Robert Zemeckis
- 12 MIGHTY ORPHANS (2019) directed by Ty Roberts.
- WELCOME TO MARWEN (2018) directed by Robert Zemeckis.
- THE WALK (2015) directed by Robert Zemeckis
- POLTERGEIST (2014) directed by Gil Kenan.
- FLIGHT (2012) directed by Robert Zemeckis.
- THE HOBBIT TRILOGY, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (2011), A CHRISTMAS CAROL, DEATH RACE, THE LOVELY BONES, THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY, KING KONG, CAST AWAY, CONTACT, THE POLAR EXPRESS, and THE MUSE to name a few. Working with top directors such as Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, Paul W.S. Anderson and Albert Brooks.
Scot has also cast notable television programs, including:
WHEN NO ONE SEES US – a new 8 episode Crime / Drama / Thriller series for HBO/Spain, airing on MAX March 7, 2025
PROJECT BLUE BOOK 2019-2020 series (A+E Networks for History Channel), History Channel’s #1 cable drama series
MEDAL OF HONOR 2018 series (ImageMovers for Netflix),
CALL ME CRAZY: A FIVE FILM (2013 SONY/LIFETIME TV movie)
STRONG MEDICINE, DIAGNOSIS MURDER, and MARTIAL LAW as well as many
mini-series and MOW’S.
Week 2: The Art of Auditioning for Genre Films
Date: March 20th at 7:00 pm, PST
Casting Director: Monika Mikkelsen
Focus: With a long diverse resume including a variety of horror films, and her recent success with the “Smile” franchise, let’s spend an evening with Monika Mikkelsen diving into the world of horror, thriller and sci-fi films. The focus of this class will be finding the emotional truth of each character, regardless of what the heightened scenarios and fantastical tone of the film might be.
Genre films are some of the most successful independent films being made right now, and often lead to break out performances from unknown talent. Maybe YOU could be the next breakout star!
About Monika Mikkelsen
A California native, Monika has worked in casting since the early 1990s. Mentored by the inimitable Heidi Levitt, Monika learned what casting is all about on NIXON for Oliver Stone, THE ROCK for Michael Bay, and THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL for Wim Wenders. As an independent casting director, she worked on a variety of international as well as American Films; THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY (HIM and HER and THEM), Rob Zombie’s THE DEVIL¹S REJECTS, and THINGS I NEVER TOLD YOU, MY LIFE WITHOUT ME and LEARNING TO DRIVE for Isabel Coixet, which remain her favorite films. As a VP for Paramount Pictures, overseeing the casting of their live action and animated feature films, Monika learned a ton, but was happily kicked back to her indie casting roots in early 2021. She has just finished the second installment of the SMILE franchise for director Parker Finn, and GARFIELD, the fully animated return of her favorite fat orange cat.
Week 3: Grounding Your Comedy
Date: March 27th at 7:00 pm, PST
Casting Director: Sunday Boling Kennedy
Focus: Let’s switch gears and have some fun with Sunday Boling Kennedy, whose incredible award-winning career includes quirky indie comedies like “Waitress” and “Hello My Name Is Doris”! The focus of this class will be executing comedic beats and comic timing, while still grounding the scenes in the character’s reality.
Whether the tone is broad comedy, dark comedy, or even dramedy, understanding the comedic pacing and timing of the material, while also grounding everything in the circumstances of the scene will help you to stand out in your comedy auditions!
About Sunday Boling Kennedy
Sunday Boling Kennedy is an award-winning casting director and partner at Morman Boling Casting. She began her career at 20th Century Fox as an assistant to Christian Kaplan, working on big budget studio features, went onto work with Debi Manwiller, Eyde Belasco, Sheila Jaffe and Francine Maisler and then launched her own company in 2004 with Meg Morman. She has cast over 100 films, including Omaha (premiered Sundance 2025), Green and Gold (released 1/3/25), Waitress, Hello, My Name is Doris, Aporia, The Ballad of Lefty Brown, The Hyperions, Unlovable, and Hard Luck Love Song. TV and streaming credits include: The Baxters, Sneakerheads, Ish Hashuv Meod, The Dead Girls Detective Agency, In the Vault and Relationship Status. She has also cast numerous award-winning narrative podcasts – a few select credits include Blackout, Ad Lucem, 13 Days of Halloween S2 and S3, Last Known Position and Ronstadt. She has been nominated for 11 Artios Awards for excellence in casting and won twice. She served on the board of the Casting Society for four years and is currently the Co-president for Casting Society Cares.
Week 4: Nailing Your Dramatic Auditions
Date: April 3rd at 7:00 pm, PST
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Focus: Nicole Arbusto is this year’s prestigious Film Independent’s Robert Altman Award winner for her incredible ensemble cast in “His Three Daughters”. Nicole and Tineka will finish up this course by providing scenes from dramatic films. This class will focus on how to make strong choices that are supported by the material, in order to achieve a truthful authenticity in your work.
Vulnerability, honesty and openness are the key to making dramatic material come to life. It’s essential to find a way to bring a piece of yourself to your characters, free of judgement, and with depth and complexity, in order to organically and truthfully explore the human experience. Let’s dig deep and get DRAMATIC!
About Nicole Arbusto
Nicole Arbusto (selected credits): FILM: For director Azazel Jacobs; HIS THREE DAUGHTERS
released by Netflix (2025 Spirit Award Winner Robert Altman Award), FRENCH EXIT release
by Sony Classics.(2021 Spirit Award nomination Best Supporting Actress), THE LOVERS
produced by A24 ( 2018 Spirit Award nomination Best Original Screenplay) and TERRI
( Sundance Film Festival 2011) and the TV series DOLL & EM for SkyTV/HBO. Additional film
include Rob Zombie’s 31 (Sundance Film Festival 2016), Sarah Adina Smith’s THE DROP
(Tribeca Film Festival 2022) and THE TAO OF STEVE (Sundance Film Festival 2000, Special
Jury Prize for Performance). TV: series Casting Director for SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE, 4
seasons of the anthology series ROOM 104 and 3 seasons of the animated series ANIMALS.
(2019 Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Casting TV Animation), ONI: THUNDER GOD’S TALE,
(2023 Annie Award Best Animated Limited Series) produced by the Oscar nominated Tonko
House for Netflix. LA THEATER: At the Mark Taper Forum, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Lo
Angeles casting for the Steppenwolf Theatre production of Linda Vista. At the Pasadena
Playhouse; Tiny Beautiful Things, King Charles III, The Father (LA Drama Critics Circle Best
Production) and Uncle Vanya (LA Drama Critics Circle Best Production). The Golden Dragon,
and The House in Scarsdale: A Memoir For The Stage both at The Theatre @ Boston Court.
Board member SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition
Smith College B.A
This four-week course is led by:
Senior Casting Director, Tineka Becker, CSA
Tineka Becker is an independent Casting Director whose projects have premiered at prestige festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Santa Barbara, The Hamptons, and Palm Springs, to name just a few. Formerly the Manager of Feature Casting at Paramount, she currently has multiple projects that are available to stream, including S1 of the Amazon series Reacher, The Artist’s Wife starring Lena Olin & Bruce Dern, Breaking Fast (nominated for a 2022 GLAAD award), and the Netflix docu-series Heist. She has also cast projects for Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, ABC, Disney+, Hulu, CBS Television, 20th TV, MTV, Voltage Pictures and YouTube Red, as well as the Weitz brothers’ Depth of Field, Steve Carell’s Carousel Television, Michael Eisner’s Tornante Company, and many more. She was nominated for Best Feature Casting Director at the 2022 Santa Fe Film Festival for The Big Bend, which also won Best Ensemble Cast at the Savannah Film Festival, and will be available to stream in the coming months. Tineka was born in The Netherlands, reared in the States, and is a graduate of Northwestern University’s theater program.
This exclusive four-week course is designed to elevate your skills and help you excel. With limited space, now is the perfect time to secure your spot! Each session will start promptly at 7:00 PM via Zoom, offering the convenience of learning from home while engaging in hands-on, interactive lessons.
The total tuition for the course is $535, breaking down to just $134 per class. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive a Zoom link before the start of class. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your craft—enroll today!
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