The sample breakdown went out six weeks before the first shoot day of SALT FLATS, for five supporting roles. The leads had already been offered out, so they aren't listed. Background is handled separately through extras casting, but it's summarized at the bottom so agents can see the whole project.
Most agents read a breakdown in under a minute. What they're scanning for is whether any client fits, whether the dates work, and whether the pay is worth submitting for. The template puts those answers in the places they look.
For the job behind the document, see the casting director and casting associate role pages. The casting learn hub covers the full process from breakdown to booking.
The project block
Union and rate come first after the title because they decide who can be submitted. SALT FLATS has a $450,000 budget, so it's on the SAG-AFTRA Moderate Low Budget Agreement, and the breakdown says non-members will be considered. A non-member booked on a union show may be brought in under Taft-Hartley, which the producer should understand before making an offer. The breakdown gives the rate as a union scale reference and no dollar figure, so it stays accurate if the rate sheet changes before the shoot.
Local hire is stated plainly. An actor based in Los Angeles can still submit, but they're agreeing to get themselves to Bakersfield and home again. Without that line, you'll have agents asking about hotels after the offer.
The storyline is one sentence. It gives the tone without giving away the ending, and it helps agents match clients who fit a quiet drama.
Writing role descriptions agents can use
Each description answers three questions: who the character is, what they do in the story, and what the actor has to play. "A diner waitress who has poured Dell's coffee for twenty years" does more than "friendly waitress." It tells the actor what the relationship is, and the second sentence gives them a moment to play.
A few rules the sample follows:
- Age ranges of 15 to 20 years. A narrow range screens out actors who could play the part.
- Gender only where the role is written that way, and no physical or ethnic descriptions the story doesn't need.
- No adjectives about looks. "Patient, dry, never raises his voice" describes a performance.
- Name the scenes, so the casting office can send matching sides.
The notes column holds anything a performer needs to know before they tape: replica weapons, night shoots, water, animals, smoking, stunts, nudity, or intimacy. Deputy Pace handles a rubber replica sidearm. Nadia's note says there's no smoking, because a lighter in the description will make some actors ask. If a role involved nudity or simulated sex, it would be described here specifically, and an intimacy coordinator would be named.
Work dates come from the draft schedule. Pace is listed as "4 work days between 10/8 and 10/17" because the day out of days shows holds between them, and the agent will want to know the actor is tied up for that whole stretch.
Putting a breakdown together
- Pull the character list from the script breakdown, with scene numbers for each speaking role.
- Mark which roles are already cast or offered out, and leave them off.
- Ask the director for two or three sentences on each open role, and edit them down to what an actor can play.
- Set age ranges with the director. Push for wider ranges when in doubt.
- Get work dates or day counts for each role from the 1st AD's draft schedule.
- Confirm union agreement, rate language, and local hire terms with the producer.
- List every disclosure for each role: weapons, night work, stunts, water, smoking, nudity.
- Write submission instructions with a deadline, sides, callback dates, and how to submit.
- Have the producer approve it, then release it through your agent contacts and casting platforms.
- When a role is booked, update its status and move the performer to the cast deal memo.
Breakdowns that bring the wrong submissions
Vague descriptions. "Strong, funny, a real presence" fits every actor in town, and you'll get a thousand tapes that don't fit the part.
Missing dates. An actor who's booked on another show 10/13 tapes for Earl, gets a callback, and only then mentions the conflict.
Surprises after booking. A night shoot, a replica weapon, or a fight that wasn't in the breakdown gives a performer every reason to back out.
Background mixed into principal roles. Background go through extras casting on a different schedule, and the extras breakdown post covers how that document differs.
Where the breakdown fits
The breakdown starts from the characters on the script breakdown sheet and ends when each role has a signed cast deal memo. Booked performers go onto the DOOD, and their work days go onto the call sheet.
Characters and casting in Storiara
When you upload a script, Storiara pulls the characters and extras into the Characters and Extras tabs of its Cast & Crew module, and cast can be ordered by how many scenes each character has. Once you've booked someone, you can import their details from a Backstage profile URL and send them an availability request. See the cast and crew feature page.