Jordan & Carrie Elsass and Donise Hardy
Do you want to learn about the challenges young actors face, and how they and their parents safely & successfully navigate wily world of our industry? We’ve put together just the right panel with actor Jordan Elsass and his mom Carrie Elsass, and casting director Donise L. Hardy, CSA to share their trials & tribulations and answer audience questions on Wednesday, September 12th at Opal Divine’s Austin Grill.
A former educator, Carrie Elsass is the mother of actors Jordan Elsass and his older brother Derek. When Derek was in elementary school, he received several callbacks after an open call for a feature film, and after that experience, Carrie formed a negative stereotype of child actors and stage mothers. When the family moved to Georgetown, home of The Palace Theater, she allowed Jordan to audition for a play, and he spent 2 years enjoying performing in a number of plays, until he was discovered by an agent. Carrie reluctantly allowed him to sign on, and he has never looked back, now planning a career in the industry. While still a little fearful, she has learned a lot and is supportive. Carrie has spent hundreds of hours on film sets, including acting as a set tutor on 2 major SAG productions, and enjoys helping those new to the industry in traversing the unfamiliar waters that they will surely encounter.
Jordan Elsass has been involved in the acting world for 7 years, and has been in numerous commercials, plays, films, and television shows, most recently completing a role for a TNT show not yet aired. Jordan hopes to make a career of acting. He informally started his acting career at age 4, when during a VBS production he decided to improvise his way onto his family’s “Greatest Life’s Moments” DVD. It was clear that he loved humor and finding a way to make people laugh as often as possible. Entertaining people is a gift he greatly enjoys!
In 2012, Jordan was cast in multiple main stage theatrical productions, including “Inherit the Wind” (with Carrie cast as his mother) at which talent agent Tory Christopher and casting director Donise Hardy just happened to be in the audience. He quickly signed on with Tory and took off from there. In 2014, he completed filming his first lead role for a potential TV pilot called, “Billy and the Bandit”, playing the role of Billy. This show featured Western stars of the 1960s, including James Drury, Gary Clarke, and Roberta Shore from “The Virginian”, and Buck Taylor from “Gunsmoke”. In late 2016, he played a lead role in a feature film “Pony with a Broken Wing” with actors Tom Arnold, Jonathan Silverman, and Charisma Carpenter. And he was cast in the National Geographic mini-series “The Long Road Home”. In the fall of 2018, he co-starred with Liana Liberato in a short film directed by Paul Wesley of “Vampire Diaries”. He has also been cast in many commercials and other film shorts. One of his gifts as an actor is the ability to play a broad range of roles, from serious drama to slapstick comedy and everything in between. He relishes being on set and continues taking classes to further hone his skills. he attends Austin Community College, working on both high school and college credits, and is a Mixed Martial Artist. Jordan lives with his family in Georgetown, Texas.
Donise L. Hardy, CSA, began her long & illustrious career as a high-fashion model, a print model, an extra, an actor, a baby booker, a talent agent, and an extras casting director, giving her a unique perspective on principal casting. Donise began her casting career in San Francisco in 1991; 3 years later, she established her Los Angeles firm. In 1999, a move to Austin swiftly positioned her as the busiest commercial casting director in the State of Texas. She has cast hundreds of commercials, dozens of films and industrials over 27+ years. Throughout her career, she has taught classes, specializing in commercial audition technique. Her classes are in high demand and consistently recommended by agents, coaches, talent, and parents of actors throughout the state. Having conducted thousands of auditions gives her a special insight into the process. She recently published, “ACTING CAREER BASICS: On-Camera Audition & Industry Tips” available through Amazon. And many know Donise as a Core Member of The Network Austin Mixer whom we appreciate and from whom we benefit by her boundless energy, determination, perspective and passion!
This month’s mixer offers a rare opportunity to learn about the ins & outs, the joys & disappointments, and the struggles & victories that young actors and their supportive parents experience. We are thrilled about having this panel, and hope all of you join us on Wednesday, September 12th @ Opal Divine’s for this passionate, informative, and enlightening mixer!
Last Month:
The Austin Film Festival (AFF) is recognized as one of the best and most important film festivals, and we extend our deepest thanks to the following members of AFF for contributing their time and insights about AFF and the Festival & Conference at our Wednesday, August 8, 2018 mixer:
Samantha Levine, Marketing Director
Rob Gonzalez, Volunteer Manager
Gabbi Lindgren, Script Competitions Coordinator
Samantha Johnson, Executive Administrator
Explore the many programs of the AFF, and don’t miss this year’s Silver Anniversary Festival & Conference from October 25th to November 1st!
We’re also very grateful for their generosity in offering us our own promo code for a $25 discount off this year’s Lone Star Badges: NAM25
See photos here, and more mixer photos here.
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Mixing & Networking @ 6:00PM, Announcements @ 6:30, Speakers @ 6:45
Followed by More Mixing & Mingling and Networking
Born and raised in Texas, Samantha graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in English. Her passion for writing and storytelling led her to the Austin Film Festival where she began as an intern in the Conference Department before taking on the role of Film Marketing & Events Coordinator. Most recently Sam served as the Office Manager and she is thrilled to now be taking over the position of Executive Administrator at AFF. Out of the office, you can find Sam in the Red River District enjoying live music or binge-watching movies over queso and champagne.
Originally from Eagan, Minnesota, Gabbi moved to Austin in January of 2015. Since her move she has filled a number of roles within AFF from starting as an intern in the Development Department to eventually serving as the Registration Director for the 2015 Festival before transitioning to her role in the Screenplay Department in which she coordinates all things administrative for the Competition. In her free time she enjoys throwing the Frisbee for her dog, Jasper, eating breakfast tacos, and of course, watching movies.
Originally from Chicago, Samantha attended the University of Texas at Austin and has stayed in the city ever since. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance with a concentration in RTF. Samantha originally joined AFF as an Office Management Intern for the 2013 Festival and has also filled the roles of Event Coordinator, Office Manager, Theater Operations Coordinator and Script Reading Coordinator. Samantha is looking forward to furthering the mission of AFF through marketing efforts. In her spare time, Samantha enjoys yoga, going to see live music and theatre, performing and sleeping.