Instructor:
Jason L. Wood, C.S.A

JASON L. WOOD, C.P.A. Casting Director and Producer Jason Wood began his career in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia working for award winning casting director, Shay Griffin.

After gaining valuable experience and exposure, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his passion and continue his career. Arriving on the West coast, he settled in Hollywood and was soon recruited by Randy Stone, head of casting at Twentieth Century Fox Television to serve as a casting executive for the studio.

During his time at 20th, the studio produced many memorable prime time television shows such as: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, The Practice, The Simpsons, Dharma & Greg and Ally McBeal. These shows are notable for their discoveries of breakout stars that went on to become household names.

Wood was then hired as the Vice President of Talent and Casting for Peter Guber’s Mandalay Pictures Television. At Mandalay, Wood participated in the development of projects for television and new media and served as casting director on Rude Awakening, a Showtime series with Lynn Redgrave, Sherilynn Fenn and Tim Curry along with the Coca-Cola sponsored series Young Americans. This WB series marked the television debut of future stars Kate Bosworth, Kate Moenning, Charlie Hunnam and Michelle Monaghan.

As an independent casting director, Wood has worked on projects for all major network and cable outlets, including the Emmy winning Monk on USA starring Tony Shalhoub and most recently the ABC pilot and series Samantha Who? earning a 2008 Emmy for Jean Smart and a nomination for Christina Applegate. Wood and his partner Tammara Billik received a 2008 Artios nomination for Outstanding Comedy Pilot Casting. They are currently casting a Lifetime miniseries “Maneater” starring Sarah Chalke.

Not limited to television, Wood has also established himself in award winning features. He cast the 2005 Sundance Film Festival hit Quinceanera, which accomplished the rare feat of winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. He also cast 2007 Outfest HBO Audience Award winner Shelter, 2007 Toronto Film Festival hit Ping Pong Playa, and Pedro, which premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. Wood received a 2007 Artios nomination for Outstanding Feature Casting for Quinceanera and a win in 2008 for the feature Park starring Ricki Lake, Cheri Oteri and William Baldwin.

He is currently casting Kent State, based on the 1970 shootings and Flicka 2 for Fox. In his spare time, Wood serves on the board of the Casting Society of America, and is a youth mentor with LifeWorks. He was recently featured on the cover of the Motion Picture Fund magazine highlighting his volunteer work with their elder programs and is an active fundraiser for various local charities..

He has also traveled extensively speaking about the casting and audition process. Additionally he has completed three marathons and is currently in training for his fourth as well at training for AIDS/Lifecyle 8, a 587-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.