Casting Calls in Boston, MA
Every New England actor has heard that films set in Boston get cast in New York. It is half true, and the other half is currently holding open calls for people with distinctive faces.
We do not have a verified, open casting call for Boston on the board right now. We only publish notices we can stand behind — check the full board, which updates as new notices arrive.
"Set in Boston, cast in New York"
It is a real complaint and it is partly justified — principal roles on Boston-set productions frequently do get cast from New York. But the version where nothing casts here is not what the postings say.
The counter-evidence
Boston locals with distinctive faces to play background characters… No experience required.
An open call. No experience. A named director, a named studio, and a published rate. That is a prestige feature recruiting locally rather than importing, and it is running for months rather than a single day.
So the honest version has two halves. Principals on Boston-set productions are often cast in New York, and that is a genuine limit on the ceiling here. Background, featured background and local supporting work is cast in Boston, by Boston offices, in volume — and it attaches to exactly the films that win awards.
Which tells you what to do about it
Do not build your plan around being cast as a principal in a studio feature from a cold submission. Build it around being in the local databases, so that when a production like this arrives — and they arrive here regularly — you are already reachable.
Get into the local databases. They are the route.
Boston has an unusually deep and long-established casting infrastructure for a market this size — and unlike national platforms, these offices are the ones actually hired by productions shooting here.
By their own description: over thirty years in business, a full casting staff with a separate extras department, three studios and an acting school. Women-owned and women-run, and Casting Society of America members.
Casts principals, background, kids, pets and vintage cars — across features, series, commercials, corporate and web video, unscripted and voiceover. Team Artios awards include work on the prestige features this market is known for.
Describes itself as New England's longest running and most award-winning casting company. Casts film, television, commercial and industrial — principals and extras, and runs professional acting training alongside.
States it is familiar with SAG-AFTRA rules and the labour laws for minors, and works with networks, studios, production companies and prominent New York and Los Angeles casting directors.
Mail: 18 Abbott St, Salem MA 01970
617-451-0996
info@cpcasting.com
And four more, published on the New England Local's own casting director list — worth checking directly, because entries change. When we checked it in August 2026 it carried an out-of-date address for one office and a dead website for another, so treat it as a starting point rather than a finished answer:
A casting director is not an agent, and should never charge you
We could tell you this. It is considerably more persuasive coming from a CSA casting office in this market, on its own website:
We do not represent actors, nor do we charge actors a fee, or receive any commission when you come to auditions, or open casting calls, or even if we just submit you for a job.
And the Boston-specific structure to understand
Both major casting offices here also run acting schools. That is common in this market and it is not inherently a problem — but you should understand the relationship rather than misread it.
Taking a class at a casting office does not buy casting. Both offices state plainly that they do not charge for auditions. What you are buying is training; if anyone ever suggests otherwise, that is the moment to walk.
What the work pays
Boston rates
And the commercial and print work is where the money is
A national stills campaign paying $1,500–2,250 plus twenty per cent is worth roughly ten days of feature background. Boston's corporate, commercial and print economy is substantial and considerably less discussed than its prestige features — if you are choosing what to chase, chase that.
A great incentive, and a market that stays mid-sized
Massachusetts runs a 25% credit with no annual cap and no sunset date — on paper one of the strongest programmes in the country. So why does Boston not have Georgia's volume?
Because an incentive buys productions, not infrastructure. Boston attracts prestige features that come, shoot, and leave. It has not developed the standing stages and returning-series base that turn visiting productions into permanent local employment. The credit is doing its job; the job is smaller than people assume.
What that means practically
Boston work is project-shaped rather than continuous. Several excellent features a year, strong commercial and corporate volume underneath, and comparatively thin ongoing series work. Plan for the rhythm rather than being surprised by it.
Verify the current credit structure, spend tests and thresholds against the Massachusetts Film Office before relying on any figure.
Beyond this board
The Massachusetts Film Office publishes casting calls — and publishes an unusually thorough disclaimer alongside them, stating that it provides the information as a convenience, does not recommend or endorse anyone listed, and does not certify the authenticity of third-party information.
That is the right posture and it carries an instruction. Use the listings; do your own due diligence on every production. Film offices list, they do not vet — the same is true in Virginia and Philadelphia.
Common questions
Does everything really cast out of New York?
Principals often do, and that is a real limit. Background, featured background and local supporting roles are cast here, by Boston offices, on exactly the films that win awards. Both halves are true and only one of them usually gets said.
How far do I have to travel?
Productions shoot across New England — Gloucester, the Cape, Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island — and Boston postings sometimes cover shoots in neighbouring states entirely. Read the location line before you assume it is a city job.
Boston or New York? It is four hours.
Far enough that it is not a commute. Some Boston-based actors carry New York representation as well, and it can work — but treat it as maintaining two bases rather than one with a long drive.
Is taking a class at a casting office a conflict?
It is a normal structure in this market, and both major offices state plainly that they do not charge for auditions or submissions. You are buying training. It does not buy casting, and nobody credible here claims it does.
Other markets within reach
Be on the list before the next feature arrives
Boston's prestige productions cast locally and they cast fast. Set an alert, and get into the local databases — that combination is most of what works in this market.
Set a Boston alert