Monday, September 20, 2010

Fall is Upon Us

Hi Everyone, Happy Fall and Welcome Back to my Blog-

As of my last blog post I have continued my personal facebook hiatus which began in the spring. I am grateful to my Casting Associate Cahill Connolly who maintains the Casting Solutions facebook group page which I do post on occasionally via her account. I'm enjoying posting on twitter (under LizOrtizMackes) as a way of time efficient updating. We are all shifting and evolving along with the seasons of life. Cahill has branched out as a photo editor, production coordinator and headshot photographer (http://www.cahillconnolly.com/). She is always on call to offer her expertise and support for Casting Solutions and I am, so proud of her additional accomplishments.

My expansion has been very personal and professionally has manifested within the realms of the labyrinth of indie film production. Every day I learn more and more how miraculous it is to get a film made. It has been extremely gratifying to collaborate with filmmakers who are artists in their own right. It is an honor to have on going working relationships with directors such as Moon Molson, Randall Dottin, Gordon Grinberg, Dave Gebroe, Wendy Shear, Stephen Mills, Roy Clovis Jr., Christina Choi, Sami Khan among others. The world of development and pre-production is a very isolated one. Much of the time I feel like I am so behind the scenes that I am underground. The more I delve into the intricacies of production the less you may hear about what Casting Solutions is up to. Understand this is quite deliberate as the natural progression into producing (I Ain't Playin Films) will eventually over shadow casting (Casting Solutions). We will always be available to clients to cast but as Cahill and I step into our respective changing roles in the industry we know it's best to flow with the shifts taking place.

I love being out there teaching at AADA, attending shows, giving workshops via the SAG Foundation and other venues. Casting is an integral part of how I think as a producer and I love seeing all the actors who are out there. Thanks to you book sales are still solid for "Ace Your Acting Audition", it's available at the Drama Book Shop and via amazon.com. I'm also delighted that I am booked to participate on a panel for producers at the School of Visual Arts on film financing (IIFF New York City Film Financing Townhall eventbrite.com/event/81119530…) and I'll be speaking more from a producing perspective, which is a first.

Feel free to be in touch via the Casting Solutions facebook group page. I thank you for your support, and I hope this finds you all well and renewed for a wonderful Fall.

Until the next time, I wish you all the best- Liz