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When information on new castings becomes available, it will be posted here and on our website. If you cannot yet find an answer to your question(s) on a specific casting, please add us to your friends list and keep checking back. We will share any new information as soon as we can. Thanks!
Rutabaga Background Casting is the division of Lana Veenker Casting that provides extras casting services for films, commercials, television, music videos, industrials, print advertising and more.
Rutabaga is a casting company, not an agency. We are hired by producers to find and book background talent for specific projects. We do not represent extras or seek to find them employment; therefore we do not charge any fees or take any commissions from the talent we use.
Casting companies:
- Work for producers
- Are paid by the production company
- Seek talent for the projects they have been hired to cast, based on the producers’ requirements
Talent agencies:
- Work for the talent
- Are paid by the talent, either on commission or by charging fees or both
- Seek to procure work for the talent they represent, by promoting them to various companies
In real estate terms, you might think of a casting company as being the buyer’s agent and a talent agency as being the seller’s agent. We represent the producers’ interest, while a talent agency represents the talent’s interest.
While we do maintain files of people who are interested in working as extras, we do not seek to promote them or find them work; we simply delve into the files as the need arises. There is no fee to be listed and no experience is necessary. You simply come to our offices during publicized times to have your photo taken and fill out an information sheet.
If hired to work as an extra, you become an employee of the production company and will be paid through its payroll service, not ours. We do not act as the employer of record.
Some extras also work as actors and consequently have representation through a talent or modeling agency for principal (speaking) roles. Typically, principal agents do not desire to assist with bookings on extra work, as the majority of feature films in Oregon use non-union extras with no agency commission in their budgets.
In this case, Rutabaga will contact and book the talent directly for extras work, unless the agent prefers to make the calls him or herself.
No agency representation is required to work as an extra on any of our projects. The only requirement is that you be responsible, punctual, easily reachable and sane!
Please check sayrutabaga.com for contact and casting call information.