Annabel Clayton
Head of Web Series Casting
‘Across my time working in the Film & TV Industry, I have ultimately found myself gravitating towards web series and narrative online content as it is fast becoming the platform of choice for young filmmakers and creatives.
I have often found when working across these projects that casting can be a neglected part of the creative process.
Oftentimes, low budgets necessitate wearing multiple hats—causing the creative team to absorb anything and everything, potentially casting the next-door neighbour or a second cousin who potentially has little performance ability simply because that’s the only option. Finding the right actor for the role could not be more imperative and should never have to be compromised.
It is my mission to create a space for casting within web series and narrative online content - catering our services to fit conservative budgets, but still achieving the same high-end results of big budget productions.’
WICKED WOMEN
PRODUCTION SET FOR 2024
Wicked Women is a gripping and evocative series that transports viewers to late 1980s Sydney, where 19-year-old Bec embarks on a journey of self-discovery and sexual liberation. Set against the backdrop of a burgeoning queer movement, Bec falls deeply in love with her flatmate Francine, and their shared passion for kink leads them to launch Australia's groundbreaking Lesbian erotica magazine.
Created by Kate Lefoe
Produced by Hayley Adams
JAFFYs
Wish we could give you more info on this one but it’s under wraps! Watch this space….
The Single Squad
Who says you can’t cast a podcast?! It was fabulous to work with incredible Hayley Adams & Michelle Melky at Amplify across the first ever narrative teen podcast - THE SINGLE SQUAD.
A dream to work alongside some of the biggest names in TikTok - Maddy MacRae, Finn Burton & Moldoga + so many fantastic performers.
Listen here on SPOTIFY
Catch all the BTS on TIKTOK
Wispy
Wispy was a dream! Magic? Romance? Vlogging! COUNT US IN!
Thank you to Emily Kruse & Molly Daniels for having us on board.
Cast: Patrick Jhanur, Ming-Zhu Hii, Adam Saunders & Emily Kruse
Watch Wipsy HERE
Scattered
Casting Scattered was truly a special experience. As a member of the queer community myself, sourcing leads across so many diverse gender identities and sexualities was a pretty damn exciting prospect.
Our final cast featured the outstanding Kurt Pimblett as ‘Bo’, a trans actor who had recently graduated VCA; the beautiful and captivating Zenya Camerlotti as ‘Sami’, who brought so much joy to the screen; as well as the compelling Campbell Connelly – a performer you just can’t look away from
One of our supporting roles called for a real DRAG KING, and this led to possibly one of the most entertaining and fun casting sessions we’ve ever had. We got to watch the stylings of Melbourne’s best Drag King performers and this led us to the absolute standout Sexy Galexy, whose nuance and natural ability creates a very watchable performance.
An absolute pleasure to work on this and if you haven’t already WATCH SCATTERED NOW!
A big thank you to Hayley Adams, Michelle Melky & Logan Mucha who had us on board for this.
Celebration Nation
An absolute honour to collaborate with the very funny and fabulous creators: Molly Daniels, Gaby Seow & Jenny Zhou on Celebration Nation.
Workaholics meets Broad City—Celebration Nation is workplace comedy about the employees and customers at a party supplies store.
We are absolutely thrilled with our cast, with Louise Seversen as the bizarre and brilliant store manager, alongside Ross Daniels and Matthew Connell, both equally standout comedy additions to the wacky and wonderful employees.
It was a pleasure to work with the very talented director Jess Harris on this series.
Celebration Nation was nominated in the 'Achievement In Casting' category in the 2021 CGA awards.
WATCH CELEBRATION NATION HERE
Deep End Chapter Three: Everything Gone
Deep End (Chapter 3): Everything Gone is a beautiful project in scope and choreography shot fast and furiously in between COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne, making for a challenging but rewarding casting endeavour.
The casting brief required sourcing twelve diverse performers across different generations—all with extensive dance and acting backgrounds. We were overwhelmed by the huge response of applicants and had the privilege of viewing an exhaustive range of dance styles and techniques across the casting process.
Our final cast features a wonderful and extremely dynamic ensemble of dancers, choreographers & actors who made for some powerful and emotive portraits within the film.
Cast: Tarik Frimpong (Mary Poppins Returns), Zoee Marsh (Tarzan - The Musical), Jayden Hicks (Transit Dance - Choreographer), Trevor Santos (Melbourne’s Own - Choreographer) as well as the truly stunning Freya List, Jess Mohi, Rohana Hayes, Teagan Nowicki, Steve Fernando, Cory Derrick, Kaitlin Malone & Lachlan Hamil.
Everything Gone was created by award-winning director/composer Emily Dynes & acclaimed choreographer Sian Kelly.
Love Songs
The first TikTok web series
Love Songs couldn’t have been a more fabulous web series to kick off the new department within Highway. Love. Teen Drama. TikTok. Unbeatable recipe. We were incredibly excited to open up and explore the potential of TikTok influencers in some of our roles and were overwhelmed by the large response we garnered from our social media callouts for TikTokers.
It was so fantastic to have discovered the talented Morgan Hipworth (Bistro Morgan) and Leon Kreober (X Factor Finalist) for their debut on the screen - and in the mix with top actors, in particular the fabulous Luca Sardelis (The Hunting) and Jenny Zhou (Girl, Interpreted) who are outstanding performers. Love Songs could not have more of a pleasure to work on, particularly collaborating with the powerhouse creative team; Hayley Adams, Michelle Melky & Alyce Adams.
Watch this space for exciting announcements of new web series casting coming soon!
Do you have a web series in development? We work with budgets of all shapes and sizes - come and have a chat to us about your project and discuss how it’s possible for us to collaborate!