INTERVIEW Casting agent, Aoife Carr

Curtain’s up on casting in the west


Ciara Galvin

When you think of actors and set locations for films, you might not immediately think of Mayo, or even the west coast. Although we are all well aware of the beauty and talent that surrounds us in the west, when it comes to the film business, we sometimes see ourselves as the east coast’s poorer cousin. Speech and drama teacher Aoife Carr is one woman trying to change all that. And to prove it, she set up a casting agency, AoifeCasting, in Westport last October.
Aoife has been performing on stage since the age of five, under the learned instruction of her mother, Mary, who retired from teaching speech and drama two years ago. However, Aoife’s career in the drama business wasn’t straight forward. Although she studied and obtained grades in speech and drama until the age of 18, Aoife went off the beaten track to study outdoor education in Kinsale, and then spent some time in California before moving to Dublin. On her return to Ireland, and spurred on by her mother, she studied at the Gaiety School of Acting.
“I’d act most evenings and you’d get calls for small things, but it was always very much a hobby while I lived in Dublin,” recalled the energetic entrepreneur.
While working in a bank in the capital, Aoife set up a drama group with other aspiring actors. The group was a success, and toured with a one-act play, entering various drama competitions.
However, eleven years ago, Aoife returned back home to Westport, as her father was ill. Inspired by her mother, she decided to pursue her own career as a speech and drama teacher.
Since serving an apprenticeship with her mother and attaining two Speech and Drama Teaching Diplomas and other accreditations, Aoife has carved out a reputation for her professionally run courses at the Westport Drama School.
Perhaps the seeds of her budding casting career were sown when Aoife helped organise and starred in ‘Covies’, an online drama series made in Westport with professional actors and  local people. The series won a prestigious 2010 Allianz Business to Arts Award for creativity and was highly recommended in the Chicago Irish Film Festival. The feature version premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh 2010.
The wheels really rolled into motion after Aoife received a call from Gerard McKenzie from film and TV company Jump Films last summer. McKenzie asked her to find some children for a viral ad for Westport Food Festival, ‘Food Glorious Food’. Commended on her work Aoife, was encouraged by Jump Films to set up her own casting agency.
“I rounded up 30 children from my drama classes, and I helped the company with the whole process … Jump Films highlighted the fact that there was a need for a casting agent in the west and said ‘you should be a casting agent’,” Aoife explained. She was dubious at first about her qualifications, but McKenzie assured her she was more than experienced enough to set up the venture.
Now nine months on, and with the help of her brother Ronan (a special affects animator and web designer), Aoife has a professional website detailing her expertise and advertising her client base, which currently stands at more than 60 actors, who she says are ‘a real pic and mix from all walks of life’.
She has identified film companies’ needs, and is already setting out her stall as a one-stop shop. “Film companies coming to the west aren’t just looking for actors. There might be a band playing in the background of a scene, there might be a DJ playing, they’ll need electricians on set. There’s all these different things that film companies need, and it’s cheaper for them if they can pick them up here and get them from one source,” she explained.
Aoife’s ultimate goal is to be recognised as the name to go to when looking for talent in the west, and she has used her networking skills to connect up with other casting agents in Dublin.
Far from naïve about the industry, Aoife realises the agency won’t keep her ‘run off her feet every week’ just yet. For now though, she has plenty to keep her on her toes: teaching speech and drama, preparing for a role in Whitethorn Theatre Company’s ‘The Salvage Shop’ at the Linenhall Theatre next month, and presenting a show on Westport Community Radio. She is also planning to run an ‘acting to camera’ workshop later in the year.
Driven, yet comfortable in waiting for film industries to unlock the talents of the west, Aoife believes “it will all happen in its own time.” The industry might not be booming in the west right now, but she’s not worried. When it does come calling, she will be ready, “jazz hands and all.”

For more information on AoifeCasting, visit www.aoifecasting.com.