Thea Washington, CEO of Thea Washington Casting is a woman of her word. Raised amongst the city landscapes of Baltimore and New York City, Thea infuses the hard-core values of her unique upbringing to her casting company. As the daughter of a talented Record Label Exec, Thea developed an early eye for sharp talent and living the philosophy that kindness and respect should always be your calling card.
As a casting director, Thea, alongside the team, has provided services for a wide range of diverse talent for various content over the past decade. From television network series to commercial branding, Thea Washington Casting continues to make its mark. With credits including The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Big Brother and network platforms such as Discovery, BET and Reelz-this casting company strives to find top-notch talent in niche markets for the most exclusive gigs.
As industry veterans, the Thea Washington Casting company understands all too well the highs and lows of the entertainment industry and uses that to fuel a passion for high-quality products and consistency of work.
Thea Washington Casting is always ready to bring a fresh approach to new projects, new clients, and developing new industry relationships. With our motto, "Lead with kindness and cast with integrity. Love and dedication is in the details. Diversity is a must and our commitment," we are ready for the next open call, and are just one cast away!
I love what I do and can’t really imagine doing anything else - Thea
I love that within my profession I get to make sure minorities are being
represented in a proper way - Thea
One of my proudest moments has been hearing my five year old son say to his friends “My mommy is a director” and explain to them what I do - Thea
Treat everyone with respect from the janitor to the CEO. You get back what you put out! Do one thing no matter how small a day towards your goal. Be your authentic self. Work should be fun! - Thea
Washington Casting is currently recruiting real people with real stories (no professional actors please) who are open to sharing their experience dealing with gaps within their healthcare coverage plans. Specifically, looking for stories that fall into these categories:
● A time where you experienced gaps in your healthcare coverage during a long-term or
chronic health issue
● A time where you experienced gaps in your healthcare coverage during a short-term
or emergency health problem (i.e. an injury or accident)
● A time where you experienced gaps in your healthcare coverage after being
hospitalized due to complications from COVID-19.
Your health insurance is not designed to cover everything, so gaps in coverage exist and impact. Americans all over the country who are left with unexpected medical bills. It is not something people talk about very openly, so we want to change this because you are not alone! We are trying to capture the emotional impact caused by unexpected medical bills in order to normalize this conversation and help people prepare for these unexpected costs.
The content will be brought to life through a series of digital articles and social distribution published on National Geographic and sponsored by Aflac. This will be a one-on-one interview captured in photography by Nat Geo Explorer Rosem Morton.
Must pass a background check.
Compensation: $500 per day (approximately 3 days)
Location: Nationwide
Date: If selected, official virtual interviews will take place in early October 2020, and the shoot
(as well as in-person, one-on-one interviews) will take place in mid-late October 2020.
To submit to the project, please email the following along with 4-6 photos to RealPeopleCasting411@GMAIL.COM :
Name:
Phone:
Email:
Location:
Age:
A brief summary of your experience, please include the year, feel free to include any photos, dates, and if you currently have health insurance and your current provider.
Videos are accepted as well.
Immediately casting a commercial in the DC, MD, VA area (local actors only) filming October 1 -4th.
This is a speaking role for a food product, non-union, $1k for the day (includes buyout). If there is any day between the range that you aren't available please let me know. The production team is COVID-SAFE certified. Please put the role you are applying for in the title.
Please submit the following by this Monday 5p :
Name:
Location:
Phone:
Email:
Height:
Sizes:
- an unlisted youtube video saying your name, location, height, sizes and you look forward to working with us (or something generic) - this way I can use for other castings I have now
- 4 to 6 photos including one full body, headshot (do not need to be professional)
MOM [GENDER: FEMALE] [AGE: 32-50] Caucasian, Hispanic or Asian, great comedic timing, improv, sarcasm
DAD [GENDER: MALE] [AGE: 35-55] Hispanic, Caucasian, or Black American, great comedic timing, improv, medium to heavy build
SON [GENDER: MALE] [AGE: 11-16] Racially Ambiguous, mischievous, prankster, expressive, too smart for his own good. Would have his own twitch channel for sure. Improv
DAUGHTER [GENDER: FEMALE] [AGE: 7-11] Racially Ambiguous, expressive, sweet with a mischievous side. Too smart for her own good.
SINGLE ADULT MALE [GENDER: MALE] [AGE: 22-32] Hispanic, Caucasion, Asian or Black American, expressive, able to amp up and down on a character.
Currently Casting commercial that films October 1, 2020. Non-union in the Maryland area! Last call for the following roles:
Please submit the following immediately!
Location:
Phone:
Email:
Height:
Sizes:
- an unlisted youtube video saying your name, location, height, sizes and you look forward to working with us (or something generic) - this way I can use for other castings I have now
- 4 to 6 photos including one full body, headshot (do not need to be professional)
I’m from Baltimore City! Growing up my mom was a record label rep & exec so we moved a few times from Baltimore to New York and back. My childhood was filled with lot’s of music, concerts, culture, travel and excitement because of my mom’s job.
I admire my grandmother because she is beautiful and has so much style. She raised three kids and retired from her own business and bought her own home. She marches to the beat of her own drum and is unapologetically true to herself. Lately she’s been one of my top actors. At 74 she started her acting career and landed in Essence magazine, a commercial for the Hilton Hotels, a commercial for the National Education Association.
1. My biggest pet peeve is when someone is trying to throw someone under the bus! Not to be confused with venting. When people try to throw people under the bus to me, I’m slightly judging you lol You will probably throw me under the bus too! If we are working on a team we all should help each other.
2. I hate when people try to steal clients or underbid to get the client. What’s for me is for me, I only want what’s meant for me.
3. I also hate when people are rude to extras or PA’s. You should treat everyone the same from the janitor to the CEO.
It depends on my work load but one thing I like about my career is it’s always something new! Most days would probably start with me dropping my son off at school, possibly meeting with a client, or racing to a pre-production meeting, grabbing lunch with a work/friend ending my day in my office til it’s time to pick up Bruce-Wayne.
Hmmm I would probably ask the bartender what their favorite drinks are and possibly try something new or stick to a glass of red wine (Malbec).
Too many things to name!
I think people think my job is easy, possibly because I genuinely enjoy and love what I do!
People don’t see the hard work that goes into casting a project. Part of it can be very tedious and you must be detail oriented and organized.
Most people may think I walk down the street and stumble upon someone who may have the look and snap my fingers you are a star!lol
When I have a project it may be me sending out a blast, posting on sites, reaching out to actors in my database, creating self tapings, conducting in person auditions, compiling the files, creating a casting document, organizing actors and dates, negotiating rates, all for one character. Not to mention if I have multiple projects, or have to meet with clients, or present proposals.
I would love to see growth in my company. I’m looking forward to meaningful projects, well paying consistent clients, winning an Emmy, watching my actors reach A-list status and being part of their journey.
Gratitude
“My brand”
I’m all over the place, lol, a dozen of Crabs, oysters, wings, a nice steak, or sushi. Not all at the same time though, lol.
I have a few:
- Seeing my son on a billboard and grandmother in Essence magazine! This was a national print campaign shot by photographer Michael McCoy for the Census 2020 marketing materials.
- Working on the Green Book’s traveler’s guide interactive exhibit for the Smithsonian NMAAHC (National Museum of African American History and Culture) that won a MUSE Award.
- I was a casting Recruiter for ABC’s The Bachelorette season with the first black Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay. It was amazing to make history with the show and to see my name in the credits on the top reality show in America!!!
My biggest regret has been not always setting firm boundaries.
I wish I started my debt-free journey earlier in life.
I wish I allowed people’s opinion to hold less weight in my thoughts.
I regret saying yes to others when it’s not always convenient or beneficial to me.
Having to provide for my son keeps me going! Bruce-Wayne also inspires me to work hard and be someone he can be proud of.
'Who moved my cheese' by Dr. Spencer Johnson. Although it's an old book and quick to read, it’s still relevant to this day! It teaches you if you don’t shift with change you will be left behind.
Other notables :
- The Coldest Winter Ever
- Flyy Girl
- The Four Agreements
- Coming to America
- Set it Off
- Five Heartbeats
- Casino
- A Bronx Tale
- Player’s Club
- I loved the Wu-Tang documentary, Teddy Pendergrass documentary
- Black Panther
- Crazy Rich Asians
I grew up in the music industry with my mom, so whatever job I had I knew it had to be fun! I started working early in life. I’ve been blessed to always have super cool fun jobs. From working as a label rep for Sony, a top brokerage firm in the beauty industry, helping produce hip hop shows with Tracye Stafford of Ikon, a PA at BET Networks for awards shows and special events.
While working for the brokerage firm in the beauty industry I had an idea to start a thrift store boutique. I love to thrift and can find gems that look like I’ve paid tons of money for them.
People would always offer to pay me double of what I paid for it. So I started a company called Thrift Society which focused on making clothing cool again. My friend Ericka Cherrie set up my first shoot for me featuring my clothing. I never imagined it would start a new career for me as a stylist/costume designer. My work has been featured in Vogue Italia, BEATS BY DRE commercials, I’ve worked on film, commercials, signed to an agency, and even won awards. Styling got me in the door and led me towards my passion of casting.