Date: July 24th
Location: Actors' Guild Hub at Spotlight, 7 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7RJ
Time: 18.00 - 21.00

Gemma Hancock, who credits include 4 series of Silent Witness and over 20 productions for Sir Peter Hall, offers the opportunity for you to get a unique view of the casting process from the inside.

Having looked at your Spotlight CV Gemma will send you a specific scenes from a TV drama she has cast to look at a day or so before the workshop. Each actor will have the opportunity to 'audition' for the group, with two of the actors standing in as casting director and director. Gemma will offer feedback and the opportunity for participants to work the notes into a second reading.

This workshop offers the opportunity to master the process from the moment you walk through the door. There will be opportunity for questions to be answered as they come up during the workshop as well as towards the end of the session.

Gemma Hancock CDG

Gemma has been working in casting for 17 years. After assisting many casting directors on TV and film projects and following a two-year spell in the casting department at the RSC, Gemma teamed up with Sam Stevenson in 2004 to form Hancock Stevenson Casting.

Gemma and Sam cast both theatre and TV projects, as well as the occasional film. They have been responsible for casting four of the 'PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS' films for Sky Arts/Warp Films (starring David Tennant, Gina McKee, Douglas Henshall and Harry Shearer), four series of SILENT WITNESS for BBC1, an adaptation of Martin Amis' MONEY for BBC2, CONSUMING PASSION for BBC4, THE INSPECTOR LYNLEY MYSTERIES for BBC1, Simon Schama's ROUGH CROSSINGS for BBC2, MR LOVEDAY'S LITTLE OUTING for BBC4, and many episodes of THE BILL for ITV.

In 2010 Gemma and Sam received a Primetime Emmy nomination for their casting of EMMA for BBC1.

Current/recent TV work includes THE SELECTION (pilot) for Warner Bros and NIGHTSHIFT for Sky Arts. Their recent film work includes Private Peaceful and the forthcoming Leave to Remain.

Theatre work includes casting more than 20 productions for Peter Hall, including Henry IV, Pygmalion, Waiting for Godot, Uncle Vanya, The Dresser, As You Like It, Habeas Corpus and Measure for Measure. Other theatre directors worked with include: Howard Davies (the recent production of 55 Days at Hampstead and the forthcoming The Herd for the Bush theatre), Sean Mathias, Thea Sharrock, Melly Still, Hettie Macdonald, David Grindley and Max Stafford-Clark (the recent production of Our Country’s Good) and Tim Crouch.

Gemma and Sam's full CV can be viewed online at hancockstevenson.com

The presence of a Casting Director is not a guarantee or promise of employment. The intent of this workshop is educational and not a form of job interview or audition.