This casting is for paid background/extra work. Wanted: People to portray 1880s kitchen maids, and men and women age 20-50 years to play the upper class people who didn’t pay them enough. The casting company adds, “Must be ok working around smoke and have natural-colored hair.” From the Newport Daily News:
According to Grant Wilfley Casting Inc., the roles require multiple days of work throughout May with fittings beginning in mid-April. For both roles, the company notes they are particularly looking for women with long, natural colored hair, while men with hair of 2 inches of length are sought.
“Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes couldn’t resist expanding on the American side of that story — the New York/Newport crowd who could buy the trappings, if not the breeding, of their aristocratic counterparts — in the upcoming HBO series, “The Gilded Age.” I’m not sure how different the American “downstairs” stories can be . . . better plumbing? Actors Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Audra McDonald, and Carrie Coon are already on board. Apparently the story will not be shying away from the racial politics of the day.
. . . the story begins in 1882 — introducing young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Union general, who moves into the New York City home of her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook. Accompanied by Peggy Scott, an accomplished African-American woman, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old money set, and her stupendously rich neighbors, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George and Bertha Russell.
Fellowes’ previous attempt at an American character on “Downton Abbey” was not a success. Presented as a refreshingly plain-spoken counterpoint to the buttoned-up Brits, the two-dimensional Shirley MacLaine character was just loud and annoying.
The Newport Daily News reports a bifurcated application process for the haves and have-nots, so don’t get any ideas above your station. You know what you look like.
And attention out-of-work restaurant workers and Alanis Morissette: Professional culinary training or experience is also a plus for the kitchen maid roles.
Mandatory Covid testing will be provided by production prior to filming. No experience is necessary. Must be lawfully able to work in the US. Go to Grant Wilfley Casting for all the details.