RJ Magee, a casting director, talent manager, director, actor, and educator, shares his journey and experiences in the entertainment industry. He discusses his interest in casting and how he started as a casting intern at the Arden Theatre Company. RJ also talks about his work as a talent manager and freelance casting director. RJ provides insights into the auditioning process and the qualities that make an actor stand out. He also discusses the significance of networking and the difference between auditioning and performing. The conversation explores the synergy that happens when you show up to auditions, and the importance of getting representation, and of course, much more!

00:00 Introduction and Background
00:51 Interest in Casting
02:50 Partnership with Manager
04:17 Freelance Casting Office
06:12 Pursuing MFA and Teaching
09:01 Current Work at Longwood University
11:07 Motivation for Pursuing Multiple Roles
13:52 Transition from Actor to Casting Director
15:38 Challenges and Saturation in the Industry
16:53 Key to Longevity in the Acting Career
18:01 Importance of Having Other Skills
19:23 Getting a Degree in Business Administration
20:53 Bridging the Gap Between Graduation and Becoming a Working Actor
22:55 Changes in Auditioning Process
24:32 Standout Qualities in Auditions
32:11 Importance of Special Skills
38:02 Networking in the Industry
40:47 Auditioning as a Different Skill than Performing
43:18 Importance of Preparation and Doing Good Work in Auditions
44:50 The Synergy of Different Roles
45:08 The Importance of Having an Agent
46:52 How to Get Representation
47:28 Success Rate of Getting Representation
47:58 The Role of Agents and Managers
48:25 Tips for Getting Representation
49:46 Targeting Shows and Roles
50:42 Creating a Cover Letter
51:50 Casting a Wide Net
52:40 Building Relationships
54:11 The Difference Between Managers and Agents
54:43 The Financial Aspect of Representation
56:04 When to Get an Agent
58:09 Navigating the Non-Union World
01:01:02 The Role of EPAs and ECCs
01:02:09 Audition Opportunities Outside of New York
01:03:04 Preparing for Combined Audition Events
01:04:10 The Impact of Social Media
01:05:14 The Influence of Social Media on Casting
01:06:40 Using Social Media for Networking
01:07:50 Reaching Out to Industry Professionals on Social Media
01:08:24 The Importance of Being Social
01:09:53 The Value of In-Person Connections
01:11:18 Being Proactive in Networking
01:11:58 Balancing Multiple Interests
01:13:11 The Reality of Pursuing a Career in the Performing Arts
01:14:39 The Importance of Loving What You Do
01:15:30 Theality TV Show
01:17:20 Contact Information
01:17:53 Conclusion

James (00:00 )
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Actrazilla podcast. I’m James Larson and on the podcast today we have RJ McGee. Welcome, RJ. Thanks for joining me today.

RJ Magee (00:13 )
Thank you for having me.

James (00:14 )
Yeah, of course, RJ is super talented, and he is a casting director. He’s a talent manager. He’s a director. He’s a career coach, a creative producer, an educator, and I know he is a talented actor as well. Yeah, we were we were talking about how we met at auditions and I asked the question before about. Yeah.

how, you know, just about all these different roles that you do. It’s been fun to kind of see on Facebook, kind of the interplay between all of them. And I would just love to know more about your journey between them.

RJ Magee (00:50 )
Yeah,

well, it’s a great question. And again, thank you for having me. So I finished my undergrad in 2012 at Temple University. And I was in a performance program. But while I was in that program, I sort of realized that I did have some interest in exploring what we call the other side of the table. I didn’t totally know what that looked like. I always knew that casting was something that interested me.

I don’t think I ever really knew what it truly meant to be a professional casting director. But while I was in school, I interned at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia as the casting intern for the summer, which was great because a lot of people were traveling during the summer. The Arden doesn’t produce during the summer. So I was given quite a bit of responsibility on setting up casting assignments.

and auditions for their upcoming season. And actually what was interesting about it was I sort of learned that I wasn’t really ready yet to fully divest myself from performing. So when I graduated, I sort of hit the ground running and that’s where you and I met. I was sort of just doing the New York pounding the pavement thing. I actually had lived in Philadelphia. It wasn’t until much later that I lived in New York City, but I commuted from Philadelphia to New York.

James (02:14 )
Wow.

RJ Magee (02:19 )
couple times a week, going out on auditions. I had representation, an agent and a manager, you know, and then like yourself, I did shows all over the country. And then concurrently, while all of this was happening, I met a manager actually for representation for myself, but we really just headed off immediately on sort of a personal level. And I said to him, I said, listen,

If you ever

have a need for an assistant or some sort of capacity that we could work together outside of you sending me out on auditions, I would love that. And a few months later, he contacted me and said, I have an idea. I think that we should partner up and you help me fill out my theater division. His office at the time was at 42nd and eighth, and he had never had a client on Broadway.

And so I just started really small. I just started pulling people that were friends of mine that I had acted with, classmates, people that I met at auditions and brought them to Jamie Baker Management is the name of the company. And I exclusively submitted them on Breakdowns Express for theater and musical theater. And then if they booked anything, then Jamie and I split the commission on that.

And that started in 2014, beginning of 2015. And so now we’re going on, you know, over 10 years, well, actually a little bit under 10 years of our work together. And the work is almost a hundred percent remote. I actually in 2023, I only saw Jamie once. I’m going to see him in March when I’m in New York city for spring break. So it’s a entirely virtual.

gig and it’s entirely commission based. So it’s 100 % based on if any of the people on my roster, any of the actors on my roster book a job and then we take 10 % of the gross of whatever salary they make, which is obviously pretty standard for New York representation, at least in theater.

And that’s sort of where I am right now with that in 2018. I came off of a regional contract where I was just so fed up with performing and I literally just made a LinkedIn and a Gmail account and started RJ McGee Casting, which is a freelance casting office. In a way, it’s like being an actor, you know, it’s contract work, bid business work. So a producer or a director or a playwright or a composer.

comes to me and says, hey, we have this role in this play or musical or TV show or movie or reality show that we need to fill or commercial that we need to fill. And so I’m sort of their personal shopper. I assess what they’re looking for in that particular role in that actor. And then I utilize my database of actors that I’ve met at showcases and who have auditioned for me previously. And I get.

submissions from agents and managers. And I try to narrow it down to who I think best represents my client’s vision. So not necessarily who I think would be the best for the role if I were directing it or producing it. I’m really trying to channel someone else’s vision for their project and find the right fit for them. And so I still do that on a freelance basis. And then in 2020, just as the pandemic,

excuse me, just

as the pandemic was starting, I went back to school to get my MFA because it had been a long time dream of mine to teach theater in higher education, specifically musical theater, and sort of marry the professional world and the academic world because I felt like there was sort of a disconnect between those two entities, right? So.

You know, a lot of students were going into conservatories and BFA programs and being taught by educators who maybe haven’t, you know, auditioned or done the New York thing in 25 years, you know? And so I felt like I really had a lot to say as an educator because I had done so much of just the boots on the ground, New York City, 16 bars, five, six, seven, eight.

headshot resume across the floor, you know, the stuff that James and I did for many, many years. And I wanted to sort of mentor the next generation and help better prepare them for that environment. So in order to do that, to teach at the college level, you need what’s called a terminal degree. And in theater, that’s a master of fine arts. So I got an MFA in theater with a musical theater concentration, and it was very pedigree.

pedagogy heavy the program was. So I taught quite a bit. And I had taught previously to grad school and coached professional actors. You know, I’m often asked to guest teach at Actors Connection and studios like that in New York and across the country. But it wasn’t until I got to grad school that I actually started teaching beginners, which was really interesting because every semester I taught acting for non -majors. So,

It was always interesting applying this kind of work to people