LEARN HOW TO STAND OUT IN YOUR SELF-TAPES with ‘NCIS: SYDNEY’ CASTING DIRECTOR LEIGH PICKFORD. CBS AMERICA & PARAMOUNT+ AUSTRALIA’S HIT TV SERIES, with a weekly USA Viewership of over 5 Million.
3 Contact Hours // Live from Maura Fay Casting, Sydney.
13th of March & 3rd of April, 2025.

Casting for major roles and guest starring roles in film & television are now done 95% via self-tapes. This allows Casting Directors to audition actors from all over the world, and many more than they would otherwise see, when auditioning in person. This is the way of the future, so actors must master this online technique & embrace the new opportunities that this new method of screen-testing brings.
But most actors are falling short when trying to bring their characters to life, using old-school techniques they learnt when auditioning ‘in the room’. These rules no longer apply.
Join Leigh Pickford, Casting Director of “NCIS: SYDNEY” for an intimate 3-hour session where he will take you through simple techniques that will make you stand out in your initial self-tape and live audition via ZOOM. All done online in today’s current screen-testing medium. It’s here to stay.
With the increasing number of opportunities to work in USA productions being filmed in Australia, this is also great exposure for Australian actors wanting to get cast in American productions here in Australia.
You will receive a scene from “NCIS: SYDNEY” 1 week prior to your session with Leigh. Sides need to be 100% off-book. A reader will be provided to you on the day. Followed by a Q&A.

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.

How to Apply:
There are strictly 16 placements available as a participant.
Please apply via our enrolment page.
Masterclass Dates:
Day 1: Thursday 13th of March, 6:30pm – 9:30pm AEDT
Day 2: Thursday 3rd of April, 6:30pm – 9:30pm AEDT
***Please select 1 Session
Masterclass Fee:
PARTICPANT:
Instalment Plan: 3 x weekly instalments of $115.00
Paid in Full: $345.00 (GST Inclusive)
Please see our Terms and Conditions related to our course.