Cold-reading events illegal, state
warns<br>Workshops face civil suit if they fail to stop<br>charging
fees<br><br>By DAVE MCNARY<br><br><br>California regulators have
warned more than a dozen operators of "casting director
workshops" in Los Angeles that they are breaking the law by
charging actors to audition.<br>The Department of Labor's
Standards Enforcement<br>Division has warned the operators
in a "demand for<br>compliance" that they face a
civil suit if they do not stop offering the so-called
cold reading workshops for a fee.<br><br>"This
practice, long condemned by responsible critics of the
industry as oppressive and exploitative of actors,
constitutes a clear violation of the provisions of Section
450 of the California Labor Code," said regional
attorney Thomas Kerrigan.<br><br>The workshops include One
on One Prods., Reel Pros, In the Act, David Goldyn
Casting Director Workshops, ActorSite, Casting Break, The
Casting Network, AIA Studios, TVI Studios, SeenWork Co.,
LA Actors Online, Show & Tell, Act Now and Aaron
Spieser Acting Workshop.<br><br>The order came a month
after Anne Stevason, acting<br>chief counsel for the
Division, issued a ruling that found the practice was in
violation of state law banning payment in exchange for
applying for<br>employment.<br><br>"It is my understanding
that the organizations that maintain these workshops
require a fee from all actor participants who attend,
ranging typically from $25 to $50 per person per
session," Stevason wrote. "The actor participants attend
the workshop on an appointed date, meet the
particular casting director provided by<br>the organization
and perform for him or her in short scene subject to
announced time limits. There is little or negligible
instruction provided to the actor participants at these
workshops, whose sole or primary purpose in attending is to
find work in TV or films."<br><br>Stevason also said
the casting directors typically<br>receive a $100 to
$150 fee for participating. Her<br>opinion was issued
in response to an August request by casting director
Billy Damota, who founded and operated the donotpay.org
Web site to publicize the issue of
"pay-for-access."<br><br>"In no other industry do those with the power to hire
or recommend prospective employees routinely pocket
money from those same job applications," Damota
said.<br>"But in one of Hollywood's dirty little
secrets,<br>that's exactly what happens every day. Actors
have<br>paid out millions of dollars for these
illegal<br>opportunities."<br><br>Damota said he was "heartened" by the state's
actions,
adding the organization plans to continue pressing the
Screen Actors Guild and Casting Society of America on
the issue. SAG's Rule 11 explicitly bars making
inducements to prospective employers but SAG member<br>Dea
Vise contends staff has been reluctant to pursue
action in this arena due to the popularity of the
workshops and the press of issues such as the 2000 strike
and negotiations.<br><br>Vise recently filed a formal
request that the Guild initiate a class-action suit
against the workshop operators but no official response
has emerged yet. She noted that the inaction has come
at the same time that SAG is asking members to obey
Rule 1, the ban against non-union work, on overseas
productions.<br><br>"How can we ask members to obey Rule 1 and give
up<br>work if we aren't enforcing Rule 11?" she
asked.<br><br>Date in print: Mon., Feb. 25, 2002