Audition to Action: Atlanta casting directors share tips for actors to be seen on the screen

When Rhayvnn Drummer first began her career as a casting assistant for Tyler Perry Studios in 2007, a majority of Atlanta’s professional talent could be found in the books. Or better yet, “the binders” to be exact.

“I remember that all the people we had to audition, we had them in big binders full of headshots because we could literally fit all of the talent in Atlanta into a series of binders,” she said. “And now, not only is everything digital but … Atlanta has attracted so many artists coming to the city … we are getting 700 to 800 submissions per role.”

“It’s way more opportunities in the amount of work that’s being brought to Atlanta from when I first started,” said Casting Director George Pierre, who started his career the same year as Drummer as a production assistant on the Georgia-filmed dance drama “Stomp the Yard.” “Whenever you’re driving through the city now, on every corner you see those yellow [production] signs.”