Mark Summers is a British

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...

, working in both North America and Europe.

Career

Mark Summers began his career as an actor, training at the

Barbara Speake Stage School The Barbara Speake Stage School was opened on 10 February 1945 as an independent school, and was initially set up as a dancing school, by the founding principal Miss Barbara Speake, MBE, and was located in East Acton, London. The school was fee- ...

, before moving into casting for adverts, music videos, film and world tours in both Britain and America. He won the British Advertising Craft Award for Best Casting Director in 2003, and has been nominated on six other occasions. Additionally, Summers has been the chairman of the awards for Best Performance. He has over 12,000 casting credits to his name. Performers he has cast can be seen in works such as '' East is East'', ''

The Boat That Rocked ''The Boat That Rocked'' (titled ''Pirate Radio'' in North America) is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis about pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of Phi ...

'' and '' Queer Eye'', and in adverts for, among others, Aussie,

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer Stre ...

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Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

and

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. Summers has also cast music videos and tours for artists including

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. Summers runs a class teaching the do's and dont's of casting.

Television

Mark Summers and his team (including Associate Director Louise Mason) have also been involved with numerous television shows, most notably joining

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

in December 2009 as a judge on the 6-part BBC show ''

Move Like Michael Jackson ''Move Like Michael Jackson'' is a British talent show made by independent production company Fever Media and Gogglebox Entertainment and broadcast on BBC Three. It aimed to find people who can dance like the pop singer Michael Jackson. The show a ...

''. The show also went into production in Belgium and The Netherlands, aired on SBS 6, where Summers also served as a judge. He is a regular media commentator on dance, media and casting, with a column in ''

Campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

'', and has hosted/appeared on many TV shows, including: *''

Britain's Missing Top Model ''Britain's Missing Top Model'' is a British Reality TV modelling show for disabled women, aired on BBC Three. The premiere episode aired on 1 July 2008. The show courted controversy, with many arguing that the show made disability a spectat ...

'' *"

'', BBC (UK) and SBS6 (Benelux) *''Bump and Grind'' (Trouble TV) *'' Make Me a Supermodel'' (UK TV series) *'' The Boss is Coming to Dinner'' (C5) *''The Model Agent Ireland'' ( The Model Scouts) *''Bust a Move'' (MTV Networks UK)

Other media

In 2009 Summers and his team were chosen to be the UK Casting Directors on Michael Jackson's ''This Is It'' concerts.

Awards

Mark Summers has received many nominations and awards for his work. Having won the British Advertising Craft Award for Best Casting Director in 2003, he set a new record by being nominated on 6 additional occasions. In 2008 he was a Craft Finalist for the Casting category at the British Arrow Awards, an honour which he also won in 2003. In 2010, Summers was honored by Sir Paul McCartney at the

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) is a performing arts higher education institution in Liverpool, founded by Paul McCartney and Mark Featherstone-Witty and opened in 1996. LIPA offers 11 full-time BA (Hons) degrees in a range ...

(LIPA), made a ‘Friend of LIPA’, and was awarded a 'Companionship', one of the highest honors ever bestowed by the University. In 2011 Summers was also made mentor and patron of The Royal Academy of Dance. For the past number of years he has also been on the jury panel for Best Performance by an Actor/Actress at the

British Television Advertising Awards The British Arrows (formerly the British Television Advertising Awards (BTAA)) is an advertising awards body in London, which honours the best moving image advertising in the UK. Founded in 1976, the British Arrows awards advertising agencies and p ...

(BTAA).

Mark Summers (agency)

Mark Summers, located in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London, UK, consists of three separate divisions: casting, dance, and management. They have worked on over 10,000 productions across the world for film, TV, voice-overs, commercials, dance, print, world tours and fashion, representing some of the best choreographers and directors in the world.

Mark Summers Dance & Choreography

In addition to retaining a large number of trained dancers, the dance division represents choreographers such as

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Natricia Bernard Natricia Tara Bernard is a choreographer and creative director based in the UK who has worked with many leading artists for over 20 years. After appearing in a commercial at the age of 5, she trained at the Super Arts Stage school for 12 years, ...

Litza Bixler Litza Bixler (born August 25, 1970) is an American and British film choreographer, Artistic Director and Writer. She is best known for her work with Edgar Wright on '' The World's End'', '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' and ''Shaun of the Dead''. ...

Travis Payne Travis Payne (born July 5, 1971) is an American choreographer, director and producer. He was the choreographer for Michael Jackson's This Is It until Jackson's death. Payne also served as the associate producer for '' This Is It'' and along ...

and

Brian Friedman Brian L. Friedman (born May 28, 1977) is an American dancer and choreographer. Friedman has created the choreography for many popular music artists – such as Britney Spears, Cher, Beyoncé Knowles, and Mariah Carey – as well as for m ...

. The dance division's choreographers and dancers have worked with artists including

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

P!nk Alecia Beth Moore Hart (born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She was originally a member of the girl group Choice. In 1995, LaFace Records saw potential ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Mark Summers Casting

Mark Summers is the Casting Director to

David LaChappelle David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963) is an American photographer, music video director and film director. He is best known for his work in fashion, photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His pho ...

Alek Keshishian Alek Keshishian ( hy, Ալեք Գևորգի Քեշիշեան, born 30 July 1964) is an Armenian-born American film and commercial director, writer, producer and music video director. His 1991 documentary, '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' was the high ...

, Tony Kaye,

Sam Bayer Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1962) is an American visual artist, cinematographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with ...

and

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

Mark Summers Studios

Located next to the West Kensington Underground, Mark Summers Studios has one of the biggest casting studios in London. The state of the art studio features beauty lighting, the photographer's choice of back drops, a client meeting room, and the fastest web upload in London, making live casting available. The design is modern, and the staff is friendly and experienced. The Studio currently accepts bookings.

Mark Summers Management

The management division represents actors, dancers, and choreographers, as well as other performers.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Mark Living people British casting directors British talent agents Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)