TEXT TO SCREEN-TEST

TEXT TO SCREEN-TEST with Award Winning Actor/Director SCOTT MAJOR (Neighbours; Heartbreak High; Scrublands) and Special Industry Guest, NCIS:SYDNEY Casting Director, Leigh Pickford (Maura Fay Casting, Sydney).

6 Week Program (18 Contact Hours)
Wednesdays I 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Commencing March 12, 2025

Self-Taping and ZOOM Auditions/ Chemistry Reads are here to stay. Actors all over the world are being cast using this fresh and effective way of Screen-Testing, providing exciting opportunities for everyone from Show Creators and Casting Directors to emerging and professional actors alike. It is a skill set that must be honed in order to be seen by key industry professionals. Feature Films, Television Series, TVC’s (even entry into major drama schools): no one is exempt. 

Whether you are new to the industry or simply need to work out the best way to navigate Self-Taping & ZOOM Auditions, this practical, hands-on program could be a major key element to assist you in gaining traction. In your first week, you will be joined by Artistic Director and Talent Agent Craig McMahon (In Studio/In Person), who will commence the casting process with you, ensuring you select the best possible audition scene(s). Then enjoy 4 engaging weeks prepping your scene(s) with Award Winning Actor/Director Scott Major (In Studio/In Person), followed by a virtual (online) meet and greet and performance evening with Leigh Pickford, Casting Director of the hugely successful USA series franchise NCIS:SYDNEY currently airing in Australia on Paramount+ and CBS America, rating well over 5 Million per episode.

Program Summary:

This 6-week workshop series (6 x 3-hour sessions) provides actors with comprehensive training in professional self-taping for screen tests and auditions. The course combines technical instruction with advanced acting technique in a practical, masterclass format.

Participants will Develop:

• Professional-quality self-taping skills
• Strong scene analysis abilities
• Clear process for self-directed performance
• Confident in technical setup and execution
• Screen-specific acting techniques

Course Structure:

• Week 1:  Casting // Scene Work
• Week 2:  Foundations of scene analysis, creative state, and technical setup
• Week 3:  Scene work exploration using Six Fundamental Questions and more
• Week 4:  Advanced performance techniques and reader work
• Week 5:  Advanced performance techniques // Performance Feedback
• Week 6:  Screen-Test Evening with Casting Director Leigh Pickford

Your Trainer:

Award Winning Actor & Director Scott Major has worked at the very heartbeat of our industry for over three decades as both an Actor and Director. Currently starring on STANS thriller Scrublands and the hugely successful (International Emmy Award Winning) Heartbreak High reboot on Netflix, reprising his role as Peter Rivers, Scott also recently Directed Riptide, a thriller about a woman whose husband mysteriously disappears while surfing. And prior to that, Television Drama Lie with Me, created by Fremantle Australia’s Jason Herbison whose credits include Executive Producer of Neighbours. 

Scott Majors acting début was playing Murray on Home and Away in the 1990s. He joined the Neighbours cast for a brief period in 1993 as the original Darren Stark and then was a part of the Heartbreak High cast as Peter Rivers. In 1998 Scott appeared in All Saints – Season 2. In 1999 he was cast in the Aussie film Envy (titled as The New Girlfriend in the United States). Two years later he featured in the iconic film adaptation of He Died with a Felafel in his Hand.  Scott also played the part of Tom Morgan in the Australian drama, Always Greener, which was shown on the Seven Network between 2001 and 2003. He also wrote, produced, directed and starred in his own play called Both Sides of The Bar at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Scott then went on to guest star in the BBC soap Doctors and the second series of Love Soup, a BBC comedy starring Tamsin Greig.

He now resides in Melbourne and began appearing in Neighbours from July 2008 as Lucas Fitzgerald. In 2013 Scott left the show to pursue his passion for Directing. He then went on to be a part of the directing team on Neighbours, and won the 2019 Australian Directors Guild Award for Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Serial for Neighbours (Episode 7776A).  He ended up Directing over 200 Episodes of Neighbours including the final scene in 2022. Scott also directed both the first and second season of drama Playing for Keeps, for the Ten Network. Australian Feature film Darklands, directed by Scott , starring Nadine Garner, Damian Walshe-Howling, and Samantha Tolj, tells the story of a police officer who fails to stop a school shooting and a reporter who mercilessly exploits the tragedy. The popular thriller, streaming on STAN, was nominated for an AACTA Award. Scott has put his Neighbours Directors Cap on once again, and is one of the series regular Directors on the show.

Special Guest:

Joining us as our Special Guest is leading Feature Film and Prime-Time Television Casting Director, LEIGH PICKFORD from MAURA FAY CASTING, Sydney.

Leigh Pickford joined Maura Fay Casting in 2004 and since that time has cemented his place as one of the most respected and sought after casting directors in Australia and across the world. Recent film projects include Audrey with Jackie van Beek directed by Natalie Baily, Late Night with the Devil with David Dastmalchian directed by the Cairnes brothers, Woody Woodpecker 2 for Universal Studios and Netflix with Mary-Louise Parker and Josh Lawson, docudrama The Speedway Murders, Poker Face with Russell Crowe, RZA, Elsa Pataky and Liam Hemsworth, Mercy Road with Luke Bracey, Hotel Mumbai with Dev Patel, Jason Issacs and Nazanin Boniadi, Winchester with Helen Mirren, Sarah Snook and Jason Clarke and Three Summers with esteemed writer/director, Ben Elton. Recent television projects include Good Cop Bad Cop with Leighton Meester and Clancy Brown for the CW Network, Optics with Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst for ABC TV, NCIS Sydney with Olivia Swann and Todd Lasance for CBS and Paramount +, The Artful Dodger with Thomas Brodie-Sangster and David Thewlis for Disney +, North Shore with John Bradley and Joanne Froggatt for Paramount +, Ten Pound Poms for BBC and STAN, The Tourist with Jamie Dornan for BBC and HBO Max, The Commons with Joanne Froggatt for Sony Pictures Television, Hungry Ghosts for NBC Universal and series four of Preacher for Sony Pictures Television and AMC. Leigh has been twice nominated for Best Casting by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award (AACTA) for his work on Hotel Mumbai and the Easybeats biopic Friday on My Mind.

Text to Screen-Test has been meticulously shaped to guide and encourage students to work on their specific areas requiring development, whilst bringing forth their strengths when screen-testing for prime-time drama.  Scott will work with actors both individually and as a company, assisting students to POP from moment one of an audition. Scenes are assigned to students prior to the commencement date, along with prep work for each session. For actors who participated in previous terms, they have another opportunity to work in this ongoing manner with our outstanding trainers & special guests. Continuing across the terms ensures stability in training & rehearsal, and consistency in terms of the guidance & feedback offered, with scenes selected to target specific areas of weakness and strength. The studio also welcomes actors to the program who have not participated in previous terms as they can begin this process, leading to a stronger understanding of the requirements of acting for camera and preparing to screen-test.