Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathy Reinking.
Hi Cathy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It feels like I came out of the womb adoring actors. I had a very chaotic young life, and my only solace was through the performing arts – Film, TV, Theatre. The first movie I saw in a theatre was West Side Story, which when you think about it, was an odd choice made by my parents. I was only 3 years old. Of course the music is wonderful, but at its core it’s very violent and by the end, there are a lot of people dead. But I was never scared of these rather “mature” films my parents took me to. I was hooked.
I was a latch key kid, so all I did when I got home from school was watch TV. I honestly don’t remember doing any homework, although I was a straight A student. But the actors I admired from a young age always stayed with me, which came in very handy when I started casting TV shows in the 1990s.
It feels like I was always doing R & D that would lead me to casting. I would stare at the faces I admired, whether on a TV screen or on the Big Screen, and wonder – Why was I more drawn to this face than to another? Why did I feel more emotionally compelled by this actor than this other one? What was charisma and how did I figure that out at such a young age?
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being a Casting Director in the Upper Echelons of TV was a DREAM JOB for me. The first time I walked on to the Paramount lot to start my first job in casting – and MY NAME WAS ON A LIST so I could walk right in past security – I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven. I literally helped thousands of actors book great acting jobs – jobs that are STILL providing fantastic residuals for those actors, lo these nearly 30 years later. An acting job that allowed a “struggling actor” to finally be able to tell their parents that they had booked a top Network Sitcom. What a thrill that was!
My favorite parts of the job at the time were Scouting Talent and Directing an Actor in the Audition Room in order to help them book the job I would bring them in for. I had studied Theatre at UCLA with an emphasis on Directing, so I was a natural at this job immediately.
The downside of the job was the tremendous pressure I always felt. There are a lot of moving pieces to being a CD at this level, and often we were doing 2-3 shows at a time. The writer-producers / showrunners for these high end shows were the parents you could never get approval from. They were under pressure by the Network Executives who were under pressure by the Network President to do such high quality work, that we were never surprised when they would utter the most dreaded phrase for a CD to hear after we had just spent days, weeks, months finding, directing, and bringing in what we thought were the best actors from each role – “We need to see more people.” This happened a lot. We would have to go back through the arduous process, especially for Pilots, and start from scratch. (Clearly, the rumors are false. Casting Directors never have the final say in who gets booked. This truth is heartbreaking for us.) The hours spent within the process is grueling. I was a single mom during these years and I missed many a dinner with my young daughter. I still feel tremendous mom guilt about these years.
Alas, the 1990’s were truly the best time to be a working actor. Little did we know at the time how much easier it was to be seen and get work on Network Shows, when there were only 5 networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, The CW). I was privileged to have worked on shows at all of these networks, for both series and pilots.
I’m so frustrated by the fact that now there is so much more content on so many platforms and yet it’s harder and harder for actors who aren’t stars already to book jobs that pay a living wage.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The years I spent in Los Angeles, in the upper echelons of TV casting, taught me so much about TV production related to actors. I “paid my dues”. I was in the trenches. I have a keen knowledge of what the high end writer-producers/ directors are looking for in an actor. They are looking for intelligent actors who know exactly who they are. They are looking for confident people who aren’t cocky. They are looking for authenticity. They are looking for non-acting acting. If they see you “Acting”, they will turn off immediately. They are looking for actors who are self-sufficient. They hate “directing” actors who aren’t the leads. There are so many moving pieces and so much tech to worry about, they don’t want to have to worry about a worrisome actor who appears scared or uncertain. In episodic TV, which is a fast moving train with a tremendous amount of moving pieces, they do not like actors who ask too many questions or talk too much to the crew or the stars of the series.
After I moved to Atlanta in 2016 and stopped casting full-time in 2019, I pivoted to helping actors get “discovered” by performing on a stage. I directed a couple of theatre productions. Directing actors is my Super Power. I’m most proud now of the Writing Program for Actors I created that helps strong actors create their own content in order to create their own opportunities. Just waiting for auditions is no way to live.
I find that actors who are performing live all the time, whether in a play, a one person show they have written, doing stand up, and being part of an improv or sketch troupe, are just better at auditioning when they do get that cherished request to self-tape for a Network show or high end streaming service. Performing live also allows an actor a chance to be “discovered” in order to get that cherished request to self-tape in the first place. We need to “fall in love” with you to request you. Oftentimes your demo reel and/or your resume won’t make us fall in love with you. We get too many submissions for that, and frankly, a lot of demo reels I see just aren’t stellar. They have to be stellar for us to be excited to offer you a chance. But if we see you perform and you are fantastic, you will get requested. Sure, there are times you will invite a CD or an Agent to a show and they won’t show up, but that shouldn’t stop you. Perform live consistently, and you will be found. Just take a look a the actors you admire now in Atlanta who are booking all the time. Madison Hatfield, Chris Mayers, Katherine Barnes, Lauren Buglioli, Enoch King, to name JUST A FEW, all were “found” on a stage.
I ‘m currently very proud of my bi-monthly show that I curate, produce, and direct at The Red Light Cafe. The show is called “In My Shoes Stories.” It offers actors a free showcase in which they can perform in front of a live audience and share their true stories. It’s always a moving experience for both the actor and the audience.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Going to the Movies. Being in a darkened space and being transported away from my real life, which was quite tragic, was a haven for me. After all these years, it still is.
Contact Info:
- Website: Theauthenticityfactor.org
- Instagram: @cathycasting
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cathycasting?si=ErFlYCw-_4flZnTc
Image Credits
@lolascottart (for headshots)
