How to Handle Rejection & Stay Motivated with Casting Director Stephanie Klapper | ‘How We Role’

Rejection is part of an actor’s journey, but renowned casting director Stephanie Klapper suggests we reframe how we think about it – not as a door slamming in our face, but as one color in the larger palette of our artistic experience. Join host Robert Peterpaul as he chats with the Casting Director about redefining rejection and staying motivated in the entertainment industry.

Klapper is a New York based casting director and the founder of Stephanie Klapper Casting (SKC), an independent casting group. Her award-winning work is frequently seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, on concert stages, film and television.

Select recent credits include: the upcoming new musical, Mythic (Fall 2025 Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park/dir. Kathleen Marshall); The Crooked Cross (Mint Theater Off- Broadway Fall 2025); Garside’s Career (Mint Theater); The Night of the Iguana (Signature Theatre Center, Off-Broadway); among many others.

Stephanie and her team at SKC are passionate about arts education and working with creative teams to develop new work and expand the scope of established work. Connecting creative, caring people to each other to make extraordinary things happen along with working with emerging artists to help them develop their careers is amongst her greatest joys.

The episode covers:

Why rejection isn’t personal in a business that is personal

How merely getting an audition is a win today

Tangible tips for navigating heartbreak and staying motivated and more

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Episode Preview: How to Handle Rejection & Stay Motivated with Casting Director Stephanie Klapper

Stephanie Klapper: Going back to that word, rejection. I don’t like that word, because I guess what it means to me, is it does feel a lot like slamming a door in somebody’s face. I think it takes away the acknowledgment.

What an actor does when they come into an audition room is really difficult. You’re putting your soul on the line every time you come into the room. So, I feel, to me…the way I process the word, is it’s a very harsh word. That’s why, although in reality it’s true not every actor will get every job they go in for, to go back to what I said earlier: I like to think it’s an opportunity for us to see what they have to offer, and the many ways it could be put to good use.