Casting Director Daisy Hicks In Conversation with Monica Sayers

Host(s)

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  Daisy Hicks

  Born in Dubbo NSW, Daisy Hicks is an award winning Casting Director whose work spans across both screen and stage.  A selection of Daisy's credits as a Casting Director and Casting Associate include: Tough (Pink Moon Films), It's Fine I'm Fine (SBS), & Juliet (Michael Cassel Group), Seasons 1-3 of Bump (Stan), Joe Vs. Carole (NBC Peacock & Stan), The Dismissal (Squabbalogic), Frayed Season 2 (ABC), Way Out Assistance (Bus Stop Films), the Australian premiere of The Wolves (Belvoir Theatre & Red Line Productions), The Funny Ones (ABC/Unko), Dreamweaver (Conti Bros. Films), Miracle City (Luckiest Productions) along with many, MANY national and international television commercials and music videos.  Daisy is also an in-demand self-tape director, workshop facilitator and 1:1 audition coach.
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  Monica Sayers

  Monica Sayers is a proud Australian born Chinese artist working as an actor, voiceover, yoga teacher and DJ. Having studied at Actors Centre Australia & ATYP, Monica continued her training at NIDA, graduating with a Bachelor in Dramatic Arts in 2004. Over the years she has worked extensively across different mediums including TV’s - The Messenger, The Unlisted, Rake, Love My Way, Last Man Standing, All Saints, The Royal (UK) and The Clinic (IRE). She has featured in countless commercials, corporate training videos, short films and voiceovers. In 2022 Monica recorded her first audiobook Raised By Wolves, an autobiography by food and drink editor/presenter Jess Ho, accounting her life in the hospitality industry and growing up in a migrant family in suburban Melbourne. Monica’s main theatre highlights are Romeo and Juliet (Bell Shakespeare) Chimerica and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Sydney Theatre Co) Hay Fever (Melbourne Theatre Company) Moon Rabbit Rising (Belvoir 25A) Let The Right One In (Darlinghurst Theatre) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes the musical (Hayes Theatre) Monica is now moving into directing pieces for stage and screen. Last year she acted and co-directed a short film In A Moment, a Seb Berry production. She stepped into assistant director and dramaturg for the Diploma Stage and Screen course Showcase, helmed by Darren Yap, and in February this year, Monica directed an excerpt from Eric Jiang’s play Noodle Salad, to celebrate Lunar New Year, produced by Slanted Theatre and Nation Theatre of Parramatta part of Dragon Tales. Following on, Monica directed two pieces at Nida - a circus themed cabaret and a concert style performance with the diploma students. Monica is a successful applicant in the 2024 Staging the World Mentorship Program by National Theatre of Parramatta, working closely with international director Mina Morita from Crowded Fire Theatre Company San Francisco. This will take place over two weeks in September and October.