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Talent Directors

Audition and interview performers to select most appropriate talent for parts in stage, television, radio, or motion picture productions.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Teach acting classes.
    • Select performers for roles or submit lists of suitable performers to producers or directors for final selection.
    • Maintain talent files that include information such as performers' specialties, past performances, and availability.
    • Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
    • Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
    • Read scripts and confer with producers to determine the types and numbers of performers required for a given production.
    • Arrange for or design screen tests or auditions for prospective performers.
    • Locate performers or extras for crowd and background scenes, and stand-ins or photo doubles for actors, by direct contact or through agents.
    • Review performer information, such as photos, resumes, voice tapes, videos, and union membership, to decide whom to audition for parts.
    • Attend or view productions to maintain knowledge of available actors.
    • Direct shows, productions, and plays.
    • Direct shows, productions, and plays.
    • Audition and interview performers to match their attributes to specific roles or to increase the pool of available acting talent.
    • Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
    • Contact agents and actors to provide notification of audition and performance opportunities and to set up audition times.
    • Hire and supervise workers who help locate people with specified attributes and talents.
    • Serve as liaisons between directors, actors, and agents.
    • Negotiate contract agreements with performers, with agents, or between performers and agents or production companies.
    • Teach acting classes.
    • Read scripts and confer with producers to determine the types and numbers of performers required for a given production.

    Skills

    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    Abilities

    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.

    Knowledge

    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    Education

    Education
    Bachelor's degree
    Work Experience
    Less than 5 years work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    79220/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    38.09/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    3,300
    Yearly Projected Openings
    350

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Adaptability
    • Social Orientation
    • Cooperation
    • Dependability
    • Self-Confidence
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Digital video disk players or recorders
    • Laser fax machine
    • Personal computers
    • Scanners
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Internet browser software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software