Everyone Into the Talent Pool

Will Smith and his entourage glided through the crowded lobby of North Hollywood’s El Portal Theater, greeting other guests waiting for the ABC talent showcase to begin. Emmy Award-winning director Paris Barclay scrambled for a seat inside the large theater, and actor-turned-producer and director Charles Haid schmoozed, while network honchos and casting directors hobnobbed.

Smith, who has his own production company, and most of the other attendees were scouting for fresh talent--new faces to light up their upcoming projects. Such showcases are commonplace in L.A., but this one and others staged in recent weeks were strictly for actors like Howard Walker, Kyme, Mark Fernandez and Esther Riggin--minority actors, some experienced and some less so. The showcases represent a collective attempt by the networks to answer years of criticism that the major networks have chronically bypassed minority performers and reneged on promises to make their prime-time casts more diverse.

While hoping for the break all actors long for, the performers at the minority showcases have become part of a larger game this spring--recruits in the primary networks’ first major quest for minority talent, timed to coincide with the frenzied casting season for series prototypes, or pilots.

The actors’ backgrounds varied. Walker has attracted notice from casting agents who compare him to Chris Tucker or Eddie Murphy, but has little professional experience. Kyme has made several appearances on stage and TV, and in movies including the early Spike Lee film “School Daze.” She is hoping to get back in the game after taking time off to have a family.

After 15 years of doing stand-up, Filipino comic Mark Fernandez, in his late 20s, wanted to get in front of the right people. “It’s just really tough to get the industry folks to come out and see you. It’s gotten quite frustrating. I wanted to come out here because I really, really want to get into TV and film. I figured I would [take] my shot.”

“Being in front of 80 casting directors can only lead to good things,” said a beaming Gwendoline Yeo, who participated in CBS’ showcase for Asian actors.

The showcases were born out of a controversy, making them significant not only to the minority actors who took the stage, but to the entire television industry. Some industry executives maintain that while they would like more minorities on comedies and dramas, the talent pool is not large enough. They also privately gripe that producers and studios--the primary gatekeepers in show development--have been slow to react to initiatives for more diversity.

Many of the advocates pushing for change say little would have been done without the threat of lawsuits and advertiser or consumer boycotts by a multiethnic coalition that includes the NAACP, the National Latino Media Council, American Indians in Film & Television and the Asian Pacific Media Coalition. The coalition has given low marks to the networks’ diversity attempts. Last year, for example, there was an increased number of African Americans cast in regular and recurring roles, but few Latinos, Asians and other minorities were cast.

Since July 2000, when NAACP President Kweisi Mfume first blasted the networks for perpetuating what he called a “white landscape,” the coalition has pressured the networks and made it clear this year that it wants results as soon as this spring, when the networks announce their roster of new programs for next season.

“We expect to see real change in the new shows, or else we’re going to have a real problem,” says coalition leader Karen Narasaki, executive director of the National Asian Pacific Legal Consortium.

The showcases held in December and January by ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox were open to black, Asian American, Native American and Latino talent. Casting agents from each network attended their rivals’ showcases. In addition to the traditional showcases, NBC attracted more than 150 Latino and Asian Americans to the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood for an open-mike comedy competition.

How many actors will be actually funneled into pilots is still unclear, and reaction among the actors and the casting executives who watched them is mixed. Although NBC’s executive vice president of casting, Marc Hirschfield, was pleased with the response to the competition, he cautioned that the showcases may not produce an immediate change in front of the camera: “It’s going to take some time before we get some really solid results.”

Fernandez, for one, found the experience discouraging. He beat out four other finalists at the Laugh Factory show and won a week’s paid engagement at the club. But other opportunities have not blossomed.

“I’ve had two or three meetings with agents, but nothing really happened,” he says. “The agents I talked to say they would only take established people who wanted to go to the next level. So in a sense, I’m right back at square one. I’ll keep on plugging, but it’s a little frustrating.

On the other hand, Yeo said, “I got six different meetings out of the showcase. I went on six auditions, and I got call-backs on two of them.” That led to parts on UPN’s new comedy “Random Years” and “General Hospital.”

“Right now, I’m so happy with the way things have turned out,” she says. “I hope this is just the beginning.”

Five minutes.

That was the length of most of the scenes in the showcases, and how long the participants had to make an impression on casting directors.

The ABC African American and Native American showcases were held in large venues, such as the El Portal and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. The performers were miked as they acted out scenes from plays and their energy was uniformly high. A few even ad-libbed.

The Fox showcases had a more intimate feel, staged at Area 51, a smaller space nestled next to the Improv on Melrose Avenue. Instead of plays, the scenes were from movies such as “Good Will Hunting” and TV shows such as “Boston Public.”

John Heinsen, a Fox casting executive for such comedies as “That ‘70s Show” and “Titus,” arrived at the network’s Asian American showcase with high expectations. Sitting in the cramped space, Heinsen took notes as he watched a willowy actress named Esther K. Chae. He smiled as Chae’s mood switched with an arch of her eyebrow or a twitch of her lip.

“I like her subtle physicality,” Heinsen said later. “You watch ‘Ally McBeal’ and the whole show is based on that.”

Some casting directors approached the showcases with specific projects in mind. Susan Buck is casting ABC’s upcoming sitcom starring Latino comic George Lopez and thought she would find several candidates at that network’s December Latino showcase. But no one there seemed right for the comedy.

“There are certainly some of these actors who I will bring in for other things,” Buck says. “I’ll put them in my file.”

At the Fox Latino showcase, some of the performers appeared to make an immediate impression, while others struggled to project their voices to the back of the small club.

Fox’s Native American event had other difficulties. Some actors failed to provide head shots--instead, they gave mimeographed copies of a photograph with a resume on the back. One applicant, Georgina Lightning, hadn’t updated her paperwork in several months, scrawling “Add--West Wing--Guest Star--Nov. 21/01 Airdate” at the top of her resume.

If the networks and others approach the showcases with a degree of trepidation, to the actors they represent another coveted chance to be seen. Many performers say the initial experience was invigorating; for a moment, anyway, the barriers to stardom seemed to vanish.

“This was a great opportunity to see all these great people who should be getting roles,” says Walker, a 24-year-old actor from Miami who performed at the ABC African American showcase.

Walker, in his early 20s, and his showcase partner, Benita Krista Nall, performed a raucous scene from “Johnny & Wilma,” by Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor, in which a man battles with his girlfriend over who should be more sexually aggressive. At one point, Walker pulled off his pants and shirt to display his slim, muscular build, and the women in the audience roared.

“I felt really good and confident up there,” Walker says. “I think everyone in television should have been here to see what we have to offer. Diversity in television is long overdue, and so many of us have been overlooked.”

Haid, a former “Hill Street Blues” co-star who is now an executive producer of “The Court,” ABC’s new Supreme Court drama starring Sally Field, repeatedly praised the participants.

“We often don’t get a chance to see talent on this level,” he says. “It’s so nice to see them acting in a theater, not doing a cold read of a scene in front of us. It takes away some of the pressure. The circumstances are much better.”

But the showcases were intended to level the playing field, not declaw the highly competitive beast known as Hollywood. For many performers, the auditions were followed by silence.

Walker’s agent, Stephen Rice of the Diverse Talent Group, knew that Walker had made a big impression and ABC is considering signing the actor to a holding deal, ensuring access to him for some future project.

“Sometimes these things don’t translate into something right away, but it will pay dividends in the long run, I’m sure,” Rice says. “The showcase gave him more exposure in the community. Everyone at all the networks knows who he is.”

Rebekah Salgado, 25, is also keeping her hopes up, even though she didn’t get many calls following her “Good Will Hunting” scene at the Fox Latino showcase.

“A couple of people came up to me after the performance and told me I was excellent,” Salgado says. “But nothing has really happened. I just have to be optimistic.”

Late last year, Salgado quit her full-time public relations job (she’s still working as a freelance consultant) to pursue her passion, a move frowned upon by her strict parents. Among her credits are Town Person in the direct-to-video film “Local Boyz” and Young Woman on PBS’ “American Family.”

“When you believe in something as much as I do, you have to stay hopeful,” Salgado says.

Also waiting for a response from the African American showcase was Kyme. She was different from most of her showcase colleagues, having already tasted a bit of fame as one of the leads in “School Daze,” Lee’s 1988 follow-up to his breakthrough film, “She’s Gotta Have It.” Set in an African American college, “Daze” featured a clash between light- and dark-skinned students, and also starred Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito and Tisha Campbell.

After the film, Kyme pursued New York stage roles and appeared on Broadway in several shows. She and her husband moved to Los Angeles in 1996, and she immediately landed an agent and manager. The couple had a daughter soon afterward, and “that put me out of commission for a while,” she says.

“Now I’m starting to get out there again, going for co-starring and guest spots. It’s a good mixture in terms of being a mommy. The business has always been very good to me.”

The actress found out about the showcase through her manager, and she was selected after an audition. In her late 30s, Kyme is not concerned about competing against newer, younger talent or being overqualified.

“It’s not odd for me to be doing this at all,” she says. “Just look at TV. You don’t see a lot of women my age and [women] who are, as I like to call myself, dark chocolate. Very few of us have gotten the sitcom, the hourlong drama. How many of us have our name above the title? There’re not many of us who can sit back and say, ‘I’ve arrived.’”

A few days after the showcase, Kyme says, “The phone has not exactly been ringing, but let’s see what pilot season brings. I’m hopeful that I’ll be seen for some roles that I would not have been seen on before.

“I’m always optimistic. I believe the people who are putting on the showcases are sincere. I’m not sure if it’s going to be the same old thing because the same people are still in control. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Esther Riggin’s look is admittedly unconventional: She says her Asian features are rounded out by her Cherokee and Irish ancestry.

“I do have difficulty convincing people that I’m not too ethnic,” the Harvard graduate says.

“They’ll ask me what I am,” she says. “If it’s a specifically Asian role, they want the character to look really Asian. In other roles, they feel funny casting me with two Caucasian parents, which is understandable.”

Riggin, who was already working steadily in smaller roles in films and on TV, landed a new agent from the CBS showcase. From the Fox showcase, she caught the attention of a new manager, Rhonda Young, a former casting director who has cast films and TV series such as “Taxi.”

“I had a manager before, but he was not really doing anything for me,” Riggin says.

“While I was in the meeting with Rhonda, she picked up the phone and got me three auditions while I was just sitting there,” the actress continues. “It makes all the difference.”

At the Fox showcase, Riggin performed a scene from “Before Sunrise,” the talky European romance starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. Wearing a tight ivory-colored dress, she displayed a confidence and grasp of her character that distinguished her from other participants.

A few weeks later, she read for a regular role as a sassy legal assistant on a CBS pilot, “Queens Supreme,” being produced by Julia Roberts’ Shoelace Productions. Days later, she read for another pilot, “Hong Kong Cafe,” about friends who run a bar where they show martial arts films. She did not land any roles.

Although she benefited from the showcases, Riggin is also concerned about being pigeonholed: “You hope that casting directors have the imagination to see past [the ethnic appearance]. I worry that this might hurt me in case they’re thinking, ‘We’re not going ethnic at this point.’”

Still, she says, the momentum makes it easier to keep the faith in an industry in which performers’ confidence is tested every step of the way

Few of the performers appear more committed or determined than Gwendoline Yeo, a participant in CBS’ Asian showcase.

Yeo applied for a showcase spot with more than just a rundown of her credits.

She has her own Web site touting her talents and aspirations. Under the category of film, the Singapore-born Yeo wrote that she “loves the world of the independent [film], playing a dominatrix in Sabina Franca’s ‘The Studio.’ Plays a stiff businesswoman in Victor Neschaut’s ‘Issues.’ Currently working on an action flick with James Hong where she plays a genie.”

Performing a scene from the film “sex, lies, and videotape” at the CBS showcase, Yeo wore just a bra, a low skirt “and a Chinese tattoo in the middle of my chest.”

Coalition leader Narasaki says some performers are benefiting from the showcases and she feels the networks are making a sincere effort.

However, “we’ve made it very clear that there have been promises made that we expect to be kept,” she says. “We were extremely disappointed last year, and we have support for taking action if things don’t get better this season.”

Carmen J. Smith, ABC’s vice president of talent development programs, echoes other organizers in expressing confidence that Narasaki and her colleagues will eventually, if not immediately, see an improvement in ethnic representation on the small screen.

“People are really, really busy with staffing pilots,” Smith says. “The point is, we’re providing valuable exposure for people who might not otherwise have been considered. What’s very clear is there really is an abundance of talent out there.”

ABC President Alex Wallau adds that the success of the showcases should not be measured in numbers.

“What’s important is that we cast as wide a net as possible and broaden the talent pool,” he says. “Then in the creative process, the chips will fall where they may. At the end of the day, we’re not in the quota business. We’re not ordering this.

“This whole business is very hard and complicated. When you put the layer of trying to cast a wider net out there, it makes it even more complicated. But these showcases make it easier for the talent to be seen. It expedites the process, so that someone in the crisis of a casting session can go to people other than those already in the pipeline.”

Of 88 minority performers who participated in ABC’s showcases and script readings, 51 were called to audition for parts in current network prime-time and daytime series, as well as for the Disney Channel, which, like ABC, is owned by Disney. Five have been cast in shows.

And despite the roaring applause that followed ABC’s African American showcase, initially only a few of the 14 actors who took part have been contacted for follow-up meetings with agents or producers. However, several now are being called for auditions.

Reaction was initially slow after ABC’s Native American showcase, but in recent weeks, most of the 14 participants have been called to read for parts on daytime soaps such as “General Hospital.”

In addition, some are up for roles on the network’s upcoming miniseries “Dreamkeepers,” which will feature a predominantly Native American cast.

Similarly, participants from the network’s Asian American showcase last December have snared roles on “The Practice” and other shows.

Fox’s diversity chief, Mitsy Wilson, was pleased with the reaction to their four showcases. By early March, seven of the 81 hopefuls had been offered guest or recurring roles in episodes of “Will & Grace,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and “MAD TV.”

“We feel we got a remarkable response,” Wilson says. “We’re getting cards and e-mails from some of the people in the showcase saying they’re so grateful we offered them the opportunity.”

Perhaps foremost, the showcases underscore the tentative relationship that exists between ethnic talent and Hollywood--at this point a matter of cautious optimism, hedging one’s bets and, on the part of network executives, not antagonizing minority lobbyists who are both vocal and frustrated by the industry’s perceived lack of cooperation.

For the actors, meanwhile, it’s often less about symbolism than the ongoing struggle to find a job.

Whatever the outcome, the diversity issue is casting its shadow over Hollywood.

Networks hope to improve their record. Producers and studios are being asked to be more inclusive without sacrificing creative visions or the quality of shows. And performers in the showcases are clinging to their dreams that finally, just maybe, that lucky break is just around the corner.

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Greg Braxton and Dana Calvo are Times staff writers.