From Paradise Riders to fishmongers to brawling supermodels, Jigsaw Casting takes pride in knowing a lot of strange people. As Jigsaw approaches its 10th anniversary this coming August, Playback On the Spot takes a look at how the company started, what has made it successful and where the next 10 years may take it.

Jigsaw founder Shasta Lutz spent the late 1980s working and touring with the Jeff Healey Band, long before she even understood the casting business. Struggling to pay the rent, Lutz accepted a job as a bartender at a party for a group of photographers in 1991. Although she admits to being ‘the worst bartender in the world,’ this seemingly innocuous gig turned into a joyous career for the young go-getter.

She explains: ‘I took the opportunity to hand out these business cards that said ‘Shasta Lutz, WIC’ [Woman In Charge]. I thought, with 500 cool, creative people [at the party], I’m sure one of them will bite. And the next day I got a call. This guy said I was great at handling 500 people – I stopped a brawl from happening. He asked if there was any way I could put together 40 people for a Molson Canadian poster.

‘When I heard the word ‘casting’, I was thinking fishing. How could there be such a job? I’m not into metal work. And these people were like, ‘You’d be really good at this.’ ‘

Lutz was successful in gathering 40 of her friends together for the poster. So successful, in fact, she received a call from a production company that was doing a TV commercial ‘based on continuity from the poster.’

Only Lutz knew who everyone was. ‘So this is where I could have gone casting director or I could have gone agent,’ she says. Ask a few spot directors around town, and they will most likely tell you Lutz made the right choice.

‘There were four other photographers who worked with the photographer who hired me, and they started to call.’ Although Lutz only brought in $2,000 that year, she had grown to love her new line of work, and began to draft a business plan.

‘I basically got cards that said I was a casting director and I went around to different photographers and production companies saying I had been in the business for ages and, ‘Instead of wasting your time with a raft of examples, here’s my best work.’ I showed them my Molson Canadian commercial and my Molson poster print. And then I didn’t have to employ the ruse any more, because I had a pretty solid portfolio behind me,’ Lutz says.

At the time Lutz sashayed into the business, ‘real people’ casting – ‘escaping the gorgeous model look’ – was the hottest thing. It was Lutz’s talent for real-people casting that kept her busy in the first four or five years of business.

It was during one of these real-people quests that Lutz met Tara O’Grady, then a student at Ryerson’s Radio & Television Arts. Says Lutz: ‘I was doing a 7-Up campaign and I was looking for cool chicks.’

A mutual friend called O’Grady and suggested she audition to earn a little extra dough for school. The good-natured O’Grady still laughs about the experience.

‘She made me stand on apple boxes and she checked me out. And she said, ‘Did Jane mention I was looking for a cool girl?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, can you lose the pearl earrings?’ ‘

O’Grady happily removed her ‘uncool’ jewelry and ended up getting the job for 7-Up. Then, when she was finished at Ryerson, O’Grady went to visit Lutz and said, ‘I don’t know what you do exactly, but whatever it is, it looks pretty cool – and if you ever need anyone, let me know.”

After giving O’Grady a test project for Crystal Light, Lutz hired her as an assistant casting director. Once she had gained some experience, and had proved herself a powerful casting maven, O’Grady was promoted to casting director and now heads up Jigsaw’s print division.

Melissa Cassin, who joined the company last May, had done a few jobs with Lutz several years earlier. Cassin, who fell in love with the business working with Jigsaw, went out and plied her new trade with other casting directors. Eventually, Cassin, with her ‘great eye,’ was casting ‘all the music videos in the city.’ Lutz saw an opportunity to bring her old friend on board permanently.

‘Mel had her finger on the pulse of hot, cool, funky and interesting non-represented talent. She had a great roster of resources. And she was doing every music video in the city. I thought, that’s one thing we don’t have. So I called up and said, ‘What do you think about partnering up? How would you like to become an associate at Jigsaw Casting?’ And with her coming over, her amazing resources came over.’

Now, with three casting directors under the age of 35, Jigsaw is ‘no longer the best kept secret in the business.’ With O’Grady in charge of print, Cassin concentrating on music videos and cool, funky types, Lutz has time to concentrate on the commercial work that built her reputation.

Lutz explains some of the factors that set Jigsaw apart: ‘We speak with clients at the quoting stages. That is, we won’t accept a job unless we’ve spoken to somebody about what the actual specs are.

‘Also, we cast all of our jobs. If you hire us, you get us. You don’t get an assistant or a hired actor or a cameraman. You get us from the beginning until the end.’ She goes on to note that to fulfill this company policy Jigsaw doesn’t take every job it is offered.

‘It would be more lucrative if we [did],’ Lutz admits, ‘but in the event that something goes wrong or they add a new character or another script is approved – we need to be there for our directors to tackle any problem that comes up.’

The Jigsaw team takes this approach one step further by directing every casting session that comes through the shop. ‘You’re talking to everybody as they come in and out. Getting feedback from directors. You know how it went because you were there,’ Cassin explains.

Adds Lutz: ‘Directors are thrilled to be able to sit back and observe the performance. We’ve got little code names that we come up with if we’ve seen enough. Or, they want to be able to call you up and say, ‘What did you think of John? Is it just me or do you think Cathy is controllable? I’m a little concerned about her.’ And if you’re not actually there running the session, then you’re lying.’

Like an eternal flame, the Jigsaw research fires are always burning. Says Lutz: ‘We spend a good deal of our time researching people who we may need in the future. So, if you call us up, we have every bagpiper you could possibly imagine. We know where all the kickboxing clubs are in the city. We’ve called all these people before. We’re on good terms with them. Plus we keep tabs on every single person we’ve booked.’

Jigsaw’s meticulous research has led them as far as photographing HMV clerks and perusing newspaper personal ads. ‘It’s all in our database. ‘I need a great European cleaner’ or ‘Where can I find midgets?’ The kind of stuff we’re asked for, even though it’s totally diverse, eventually ends up repeating itself,’ Lutz says.

Jigsaw’s website went live this month and should help facilitate its clients’ needs even more efficiently. Reels, portfolios and a webcam are all part of the site launch. The webcam is designed so people can ‘log in any day and see the pretty, crazy, wacky stuff at the Jigsaw subway station.’ (Jigsaw has a Toronto subway car in its studios – providing a waiting room and an excellent opportunity to display the company’s print portfolio.)

Ninety percent of Jigsaw’s business was from the U.S. during last summer’s SAG strike, and that success during the labor problems won over new clients. Now, the company has settled into a 70/30 Canada/U.S. split. Part of the company’s success in securing a U.S. clientele was Toronto’s ‘amazing, culturally diverse talent pool,’ something the women of Jigsaw say is quickly gaining a reputation south of the border.

Always willing to ‘take chances,’ Jigsaw saves 20% to 25% of its auditions for ‘fresh faces’ and will even consider ethnic talent when a project has specifically called for Caucasians, ‘because maybe they will be the perfect fit.’

Says Lutz: ‘Most casting directors tend to bring in the ringers, the people they’ve worked with before – and that’s it. But if you don’t open yourself up to new talent, you’re going to see the same people on the air.’

In the future, Jigsaw plans to continue its print, music video and spot work, while through the prompting of Cassin, the company is considering getting more into live theatre, musicals and dance numbers as well.

With 10 years of work, the Jigsaw puzzle is coming together. If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see three highly professional women having a great time. *

-www.jigsawcasting.com