Danica Rodriguez (she/her/hers) is a casting director who welcomes nuance & specificity in every room she enters.
Danica has been in the New York theater scene since she received her first work permit, joining the New Victory Theater in their operations department. After trying on multiple theatrical hats early in her career, working for Access Theater, NY Fringe & supporting private play readings, she soon discovered her love of casting and pursued it whole-heartedly. Danica began her casting career in television working at Marc Hirschfeld Casting & Warner Brothers Television Casting NY under Meg Simon & Findley Davidson. She then pivoted to Off-Broadway theater, joining The Public Theater’s casting department, under the guidance of Jordan Thaler & Heidi Griffiths. She now resides in DC, working as Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Resident Casting Director under Simon Godwin’s leadership.
In these positions, she would work on over thirty main stage plays & musicals as well as dozens of workshops & developments, while simultaneously contributing to these institution’s accountability & anti-racism committees. Danica’s core values of generosity & equity led her to her role as trainer & educator for Broadway for Racial Justice’s Casting Directive, a 9 week program focused on increasing accessibility to the casting profession for the BIPOC community. Danica continues to freelance, taking on projects connected to The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth, The Folger Shakespeare Library, Netflix, LALIFF, JAG Productions & The Civilians, and has recently been named a 2021 TCG Rising Leader of Color, bringing her keen eye to a multitude of artistic mediums.
As a proud Latina, Danica knows personally just how much representation matters & is dedicated to centering & celebrating the voices of the global majority. She believes inclusivity is a radical act, actively choosing to uplift the voices of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Women, Trans folks & Queer artists by supporting their projects & carving out space for the community in all of her creative spaces. Danica challenges antiquated notions of “the way it has always been done”, by leading with generosity, kindness, transparency, joy & gratitude.
Danica holds a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in Film & Media Studies from Dartmouth College, finishing her major with the department’s first casting focused thesis. She is a born & raised New Yorker and a proud Puerto Rican Mexican woman. Danica is also the only child of two amazing parents, that without their sacrifices & lessons, would not be the woman she is today.
A NOTE ON MY CASTING PHILOSOPHY & CORE VALUES
As an act of accountability, solidarity, self-love & advocacy for my community, it is important for me to state my core values, their definitions & the actions I take as a casting director committed to color conscious authentic casting. It is what originally inspired my pursuit of this career and it continues to motivate me in my practice today.
My work is rooted in the desire for greater industry change, meaningful inclusion, & purposeful centering of voices so often marginalized in our communities. I am grateful that I am able to embody the change I want to see in the world through my positional power & profession, but I want to do so responsibly & effectively. So, not only do I invite you to read the following, I also invite you to engage with me & hold me accountable to the promises below as I acknowledge that I do not have all the answers & welcome opportunities for growth.
In my work, I believe:
Representation matters. There is power in authenticity, nuance & specificity. In my casting process, we celebrate & honor equity, diversity & inclusion.
Warmth is a radical act. Kindness is a radical act. Empathy is a radical act.
We must implement care in every step of the casting process by practicing harm reduction, prevention & repair.
Transparency is the only way towards creating an equitable casting process. This includes but is not limited to compensation, time commitment, company/theater policy, positions of power etc.
Advocacy for actors must be prioritized in creative spaces. Their success is our success.
I choose to:
Lead with curiosity, generosity, kindness & respect.
Embrace intersectionality & decentralize whiteness by uplifting BIPOC & Queer voices.
Commit to anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia, anti-classism, anti-ableism & anti-fatphobia in all aspects of the casting process.
Invest in my own education & personal growth, including unlearning prejudices, biases & harmful patterns of white supremacy.
Recognize the difference between intent vs. impact, leaving room for greater understanding & compassion.
Acknowledge the power structures inherently created in audition spaces and hold creative teams accountable to fairness, warmth & appreciation.
Advocate for living wages for actors, monitors, readers, accompanists, assistants & associates, encouraging a casting process that prioritizes financial accessibility.
Practice gratitude & thoughtfulness.