The Key to Roles?

One of the unfortunate casualties of my 2010 resolution to be more frugal (i.e. spend less of the money that I don't have...) has been casting director workshops.  I took quite a few last year, and they are indeed a great way to meet casting folks, but at $40 or so a pop, they can be a little expensive.  I know, I know, you need to invest in your career out here in order to further it, and I do look forward to getting back into workshops on a more regular basis, BUT at least for now, I need to save a little bit of money.

That said, I did go to a workshop at The Actor's Key last night.  I had a credit for one I missed back in December and decided to use it last night for Ani Avetyan from Bruce Newberg's ("The Closer") office.  It was my first time at The Key in Burbank, and I really liked the set-up; unlike many CD workshops where you cold read a scene that the casting person gives you on the spot, at The Actor's Key you get to prep a scene of your choosing from their website and bring it in.  You are given a reader and go into a room to read one on one, and then the CD jots down a few notes for you -- so you leave with some written feedback.

I think Ani may be an exception since I have heard such good things about her workshops and the time she takes with actors, but still the model in use here seems to be better suited for a CD actually getting to the actor than the other workshop method.  Will contacts you make here be any more successful?  Hard to say.  But, I do plan to take more workshops at this place in the future -- once the future provides me with more cash, that is!