As Live - Preparation for Roles

We failed to get our show commissioned by the studios however we have now been given the option of choosing our roles i have decided i would like to pursue the roles of Casting Director and Assistant Floor Manager.

Below i have done some background research so that i can go into the interview ready and with some knowledge of the role already.

Casting Director:

Casting Directors organise and facilitate the casting of actors for all the roles in a film or TV Programme. This involves working closely with the director and producer to understand their requirements, and suggesting ideal artists for each role, as well as arranging and conducting interviews and auditions.

In order to do their job, Casting Directors draw on years of artistic taste, imagination, knowledge, research and political expertise – all this before the collaboration with the Director, Producer, writer etc begins.

It is a job that requires an understanding of psychology, artistic taste and style, interpretative taste, current and historical social politics – and also, of course, knowing our core subject thoroughly – the different levels and styles of national and international actors and acting. We have to assess the limits to which actors can be pushed artistically, when to take a risk, when to cast against type. It is our job to know them intimately, and to use our knowledge of the wide variety of their skills to conjure up an acting company for a project that allows the visual story to be told.

It is an extremely artistic job and without the Casting Director a film, theatre or television drama would be much harder to produce.

Assistant Floor Manager
A floor manager has a liaising and co-ordinating role between the many people involved in a production, such as guests, the audience, presenters and the director. The floor manager ensures that events go according to a set plan and that people taking part know their particular roles and how it fits in with whatever else is happening. They also have responsibility for ensuring that the studio is a safe working environment for all those taking part.

Assistant Floor Manager is a junior member of the production team involved with the practicalities of the production. In drama, will collect actors, look after them, prepare props, reset them after takes, wash up etc as necessary. On studio shows will look after contributors and assist the floor manager with similar duties to those above.


An Assistant Floor Manager (frequently abbreviated to AFM) is responsible for setting a stage and prompting contributors on the studio floor and ensuring that everyone knows their place in the script, freeing the Floor Manager for other duties. They often oversee a team of Runners. Increasingly, Assistant Floor Managers are being asked to assist with the design and preparation of props, as well as setting and resetting the action on the studio floor.