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Well, let's
see… The year was 1993. I (Jen) had done work
as a background actor in the late 1980s. I worked on
"Moonlighting," "Hunter," and did
features like "No Man's Land" and "Running
Man" (where I first had the opportunity to work
with the future "Governator," a great guy
who treats extras with respect and makes sure that you're
taken care of, not that you asked).
Anyhow,
background work just wasn't for me. Did I like it? Not
so much...even though I'm such a ham that I should be
stuck with cloves. Instead, I prefer behind the scenes.
I went to college and court reporting school; and, just
as I was ready to enter my career, I had to quit due
to arthritis in my hands and wrists. Great. Now what?
A few years later, my roommate was a casting director
at Central Casting and had the opportunity to move on
from there. The great guy that he is, he asked me if
I would like to work with him. As I wasn't locked into
a specific field yet, I thought, "What the heck!"
Fast
forward 10 years and here I am. My business partner,
who had originally gotten me into this, finally decided
about 6 years ago that he'd had enough and needed to
move on or he would (in his words) "go freakin'
crazy." I was lucky enough to have the opportunity
to buy him out, and he went on to become a VERY successful
real estate agent. (I swear the boy could sell you air!)
So, Kalifornia Kasting is me, Jen, just me. Trust me,
this is NOT an easy job and you really have to know
how to do 10+ things at once. Lucky for you, I do.
I
can juggle all of my clients' schedules, know why you're
taking days off, answer your questions and be here to
help you on-the-job and off. My clients are not numbers
and checks to me; and, those of you who know me, know
this to be completely true. It is the hardest job that
I can imagine because there is absolutely no such thing
as failure, period. Failure means that you no longer
have a job or a company. While I do have some assistants
to help make calls and do general office work, for the
most part, it's all me and it's all good!
Every
single background performer that has joined Kalifornia
Kasting has registered with me, not an assistant. I
feel that it is important for us to meet. When I talk
to you on the phone, I always have a face to go with
the voice. Never will you call my office and I won't
know who you are or anything about you. That's how all
calling services should be; but, sadly, they're not.
I guarantee this to be true. The more clients and employees
you have, the bigger the confusion in the office.
As
the sole proprietor of Kalifornia Kasting, I put myself
out there everyday, along with my morals and conscience.
I have tried having an assistant that I could entrust
to handle some of the workload and, maybe, let me take
a vacation — and I am sure that there is someone
out there that is worthy of the position; however, it's
been my experience that NO ONE cares about any company
as much as the owner(s). Not to be dramatic, it has
been my word, my hard work and my blood, sweat and tears
that have endured, building new relationships with agencies,
and insuring that the established ones are always taken
care of. To arrive at the point with agencies and casting
directors where they literally trust me unconditionally
to not let them down is nothing short of HUGE! That's
where Kalifornia Kasting is and that's where we're going
to stay: on top and always a few steps ahead.
Okay,
now, what are you waiting for? Make the call!
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