{"id":83135,"date":"2013-09-17T08:27:20","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T12:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=83135"},"modified":"2015-12-14T11:05:21","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T16:05:21","slug":"pat-mccorkle-perfectly-cast-in-role-as-teacher-acting-talent-scout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/09\/pat-mccorkle-perfectly-cast-in-role-as-teacher-acting-talent-scout\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat McCorkle Perfectly Cast in Role as Teacher, Acting Talent Scout"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pat<\/a>
Pat McCorkle teaches casting and performance in the Department of Dramatic Arts. (Photo courtesy of McCorkle Casting Ltd.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019ve attended plays on Broadway, Off-Broadway, or at regional theaters such as Connecticut Repertory Theatre in Storrs, New Haven\u2019s Long Wharf Theatre, Spoleto Festival in South Carolina, or Toronto Centre Stage in Canada; seen films such as \u201cThe Thomas Crown Affair,\u201d \u201cDie Hard with a Vengeance,\u201d or \u201cThe Year of Living Dangerously;\u201d or watched network or cable television shows such as \u201cSesame Street,\u201d \u201cThe L Word,\u201d or \u201cChappele\u2019s Show,\u201d you have seen the work of Pat McCorkle, adjunct professor of practice in casting and performance in the Department of Dramatic Arts.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t have seen McCorkle herself; rather, it is the long list of notable and award-winning actors that she has cast in those productions on stage, film, and television.<\/p>\n

McCorkle, who joined the UConn faculty in 2007, has taught courses in \u201cActing for the Camera\u201d and \u201cAudition Technique,\u201d and has prepared students in the Department of Dramatic Arts for their \u201cShowcase\u201d performances, all while continuing to maintain a very active role at McCorkle Casting Ltd. in New York City, one of the leading casting firms in the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few people in the world who have seen as many actors as Pat McCorkle,\u201d says Vince Cardinal, head of dramatic arts and artistic director for the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. \u201cShe has looked at what works, what doesn\u2019t work; how actors have grown and developed over years. She brings to our students that sense of human development as well as industry success. She\u2019s not going through a Rolodex when you talk with her. She\u2019s pulling out names and credits and successes from her powerful memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCorkle describes her role as a casting director in straightforward terms: \u201cWhat I am is a personal shopper for producers and directors. They tell me what they need \u2026 My job is to show them or find the people who fit all the parameters appropriately and who would fulfill the director\u2019s artistic vision for the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s invested in the development of actors, and sees the University as the beginning of the investment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With a theater and speech degree from Douglass College at Rutgers University and a master\u2019s in theater education from New York University, McCorkle entered the theater world as a subscription manager at the prestigious Circle on the Square in New York City. Soon, she began to assist the theater\u2019s casting director, the legendary Roger Sturtevant, and found a role that suited her skills. After working at Theater Communications Group, where she cast dozens of young actors who went on to major stardom, she opened her own agency, where she would continue to cast many of those same actors in increasingly important projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about casting is it\u2019s going to be 90 percent of the success of the show, pro or con,\u201d she says. \u201cActors are constantly changing. Every day there are new people coming into town. That\u2019s why I love teaching so much, because you get to meet so many new actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCorkle sees as many actors as she can in films, plays, and television to gain insights into the nuances of their performance, so she can know how they might be able to be cast for a director\u2019s specific needs for a production. She notes that while working with director Peter Weir to cast actors for the film \u201cThe Year of Living Dangerously,\u201d there was a worldwide search for an actor to play the key role of the diminutive photographer Billy Kwan against the radio correspondent portrayed by Mel Gibson. McCorkle suggested that Weir consider having a woman play the role of Kwan, which led to the casting of Linda Hunt, who won an Academy Award for her performance.<\/p>\n

More recently, McCorkle\u2019s casting of a young Keke Palmer as a 10-year old with veteran actor William H. Macy in the television film \u201cThe Wool Cap,\u201d earned both actors multiple award nominations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenges are new every day,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes it hard, but that\u2019s also what makes it fun. It\u2019s not boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pat<\/a>
Pat McCorkle teaches classes in 'Acting for the Camera' and 'Audition Technique.' (Sean Flynn\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McCorkle says one of her major responsibilities when working with students who have the skills and mechanics of acting, is to help them understand the process of auditioning for a role and how the industry works. She provides a \u201creality check\u201d and helps improve their skills for delivering a strong audition performance to secure an acting job. In casting successful actors to perform in Storrs with students, she wants to cast actors who she knows will enjoy working with new talent and assist in teaching them about their craft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing for us that really sets our situation apart is that artists trust Pat, so when she calls them and says, \u2018Come and work at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, it will be a good experience for you,\u2019 they automatically trust that she will set up a good experience,\u201d says Cardinal. \u201cI think she\u2019s invested in the development of actors, and sees the University as the beginning of the investment. She\u2019s as invested in the university actor as she is in the Linda Hunt with the Oscar. She\u2019s in it for the long haul for the course of a career. She gets on board while they\u2019re still in college. It\u2019s a mission to help support and develop actors in this profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporting actors and dramatic arts also extends to McCorkle\u2019s activities as a board member for various theatrical groups and industry organizations, including the Laurents\/Hatcher Foundation, which provides an annual award to an emerging playwright that includes a cash prize and production costs to stage the new work. The organization is funded by royalties from ongoing community and regional productions of the musicals \u201cGypsy\u201d and \u201cWest Side Story,\u201d and other shows written by Arthur Laurents, the Tony Award-winning playwright who wrote for stage and film for more than 65 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to help the world, you\u2019ve got to give back,\u201d McCorkle says of her work on behalf of the arts. \u201cArthur developed this foundation. He was interested in how difficult it was for a new playwright to get going. That\u2019s still our focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the fall season of classes and next Connecticut Repertory Theatre season nearing, and several other projects on the horizon in New York and elsewhere, McCorkle is busy working with directors to find the right actors for new productions. There will be \u201cBig Love,\u201d \u201cThe Three Musketeers,\u201d and \u201cMuch Ado About Nothing\u201d in Storrs. In New York City, some new major Broadway productions need actors. In New Brunswick, N.J., there will be a production of \u201cKansas City Swing,\u201d a play about baseball\u2019s historic Negro League that focuses on the national pastime and jazz. There will be casting calls for several films, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of the people who likes all of it, which is why I have an independent company,\u201d she says. \u201cI like the mix. It\u2019s always interesting what\u2019s coming up. I\u2019m currently working with playwright Nicky Silver\u2019s adaptation of a Kurt Vonnegut play, \u2018Make Up Your Mind\u2019 for Broadway. It will be interesting to see how that works.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The head of one of the leading casting firms in the nation is helping UConn student actors develop their talents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":83725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[55],"class_list":["post-83135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-29 10:21:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83135"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107144,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83135\/revisions\/107144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/83725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83135"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=83135"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=83135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}