Get to Know the Casting Director: Cara Chute Rosenbaum

April 21, 2020 | Cat Elliott

For this installment of Get to Know the Casting Director, we’re featuring someone who’s actively helping actors during this time via social media. From doing interactive Instagram Q&A sessions with them to participating in a self-tape challenge, CSA member Cara Chute Rosenbaum is using this industry pause as a time to give back to actors. The help and advice she offers come from years of experience in the industry, and she’s known for credits such as The Mindy Project, Sorry for Your Loss, and The Carmichael ShowRosenbaum has a number of projects on the horizon, as well, and she recently cast the new Quibi comedy starring Anna Kendrick entitled Dummy. Keep reading for a window into the helpful casting director behind the credits.


What’s your approach for using social media to help actors during this time?

I really think that social media is a great tool to connect with people, and I generally try to engage in open and informative conversations with actors on it. I started the Instagram Q&A stories a while ago because a lot of this process is confusing, and actors have questions. They often don’t know where to turn for answers so if I can demystify that process even a little bit, I feel like I’m helping in some small way. The self-tape challenge came out of the brilliant mind of Erica S. Bream, who is really good about coming up with these creative projects. Especially while we’re going through this [pandemic] as a community, I feel it’s really important to kind of give back and have a sense of connectedness. I think the self-tape challenge was a way to do that and tap into each other a little bit, which is really lovely. The response was just incredible, with over 1,500 submissions. And watching these monologues has truly been a joy.

 

When was the moment that you knew casting was for you? 

I don’t know if there was a moment, per say. I did my undergrad in theater and dramatic literature, but I realized I didn’t want to pursue an acting career. At the time, I wasn’t sure where that really left me. I didn’t know that casting was an option because it’s not something that is taught or even talked about in drama school, which is insane. Now that I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s something I think needs to be in theater and acting curriculums. But back in 2007, I kind of just fell into this opportunity for a casting internship through my grad school program. I found in it all the creative energy that I was looking to focus and realized that it’s where I wanted to be. I was just immediately hooked and never looked back. 

 

What’s the craziest audition story you can share? 

There are a lot of good ones, but I’ll tell what is probably my most infamous story. I was casting for a cable TV series, and we had an actor come in for a two-line costar role. After slating, he began to bark and pant and lick the air. Then he took a beat and did the scene. It was very weird, and I was thrown off. I figured we’d just pretend the barking thing didn’t happen and gave him a redirect for the scene. But then he started to bark again, so I stopped him and asked him about it. I was told that it was part of his animal work, and it seemed to offend him that I had questioned it. Listen, I understand that actors do acting exercises and have a process. I get all of that stuff, but you’ve got to do that before you come in to audition. I’ve seen plenty of strange things happen in the audition room, but that one really sticks out.

 

If a film was made about your life, who would you cast to play yourself? 

That’s hard — I’m not sure if anyone would watch a movie made about my life! But I guess I’d just want the actor to be someone funny who doesn’t take herself too seriously. I’m just going to say Jillian Bell because I think she could find that nice balance between humor and life, and that’s the kind of movie I would want to see.

 

Besides the current effects of COVID-19 on the industry, what do you feel is the biggest challenge you face as a casting director?

This job is 24/7, and it requires a lot of you. With everyone working from home right now, though, we are maybe finding that it doesn’t have to be that way. We can have some kind of work-life balance. I think that finding and achieving that balance is really the biggest struggle I’ve felt, especially since becoming a mother. This industry is so all-consuming, no matter what part of it you’re in. But you have to be able to step back and still have a personal life, which is so important. So that’s probably been the biggest challenge for me, as well as a journey.

 

What are you watching at the moment?

Well, we’ve been watching Frozen and Frozen II on an endless loop with my toddler. And I’ve obviously watched Tiger King. I’m obsessed, and I have a lot of thoughts and questions. I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Schitt’s Creek, too. Plus, I still tune into Grey’s Anatomy every week. I may be the one person that still does, but I don’t care. I will never stop watching. My list of things that I need to watch is a mile long, but those are probably the ones that stand out at the moment.

 

Rosenbaum won an Artios for her casting work on The People v. O.J. Simpson, as well as for casting with Bream the Blank Theatre’s 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. “We participate in the festival every year, and we’re working on a way to produce it this year because it has to exist,” said Rosenbaum. Considering the ways the casting director has already helped actors in the midst of current events, she seems like the right person to make it happen.

This interview has been edited and condensed. 

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