EXCLUSIVE: Broadway casting director Duncan Stewart, whose big-name clients include the Tony-winning Hadestown, the new Life of Pi and the acclaimed The Great Comet of 1812, is dissolving his Stewart/Whitley agency after 14 years to head up the new casting arm of global live event company RWS Entertainment Group.
RWS’ new casting division will be called ARC, and will mine talent for theater, film, television and commercial projects. With the establishment of ARC, RWS’ old casting division, Binder Casting, will, like Stewart/Whitley, dissolve.
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Stewart co-founded Stewart/Whitley with Benton Whitley in 2009. Whitley has not yet announced his plans.
The new venture was announced today by RWS. ARC will be based in New York and London.
Stewart, along with casting directors and associates from both Stewart/Whitley and Binder, will maintain current clients of both agencies, including Life of Pi, long-running shows Disney’s The Lion King and Chicago the Musical, as well as the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes and numerous other productions.
“Bringing Duncan Stewart onto the team to transition Binder Casting into ARC was a natural fit and will help spearhead the industry’s most exciting work,” said RWS founder and CEO Ryan Stana. “His reputation as having one of the most discerning eyes for talent in the industry will elevate our powerhouse team and accelerate discovering world-class talent. He also brings with him a firmly held commitment to treating everyone with whom he engages with respect.”
Said Stewart, “I always knew it would take something truly extraordinary to pull me from Stewart/Whitley and that is exactly what this new opportunity is.”
Patrick Maravilla from Stewart/Whitley will join as associate along with Mark Brandon CSA, Kyle Coker, Anthony Pichette CSA, Amber Snead, CSA and Jarrett Reiche.
Meanwhile, Binder casting director Chad Eric Murnane has launched Murnane Casting, a boutique office casting theater, film, and television projects nationwide.
With over a decade of experience in casting, Murnane has five years as casting director at Binder Casting and three years as a casting associate to Lisa Fields in Los Angeles. He has also worked with casting directors April Webster, Barbara Fiorentino, and Marc Hirschfeld.
Among Murnane’s credits are Into the Woods (Hollywood Bowl), Emojiland (Off Broadway at The Duke), Anne of Green Gables (Goodspeed), and national/international tours of Lincoln Center Theater’s My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Tootsie, and the Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple. On television, he has worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and the reboot of Friday the 13th (Paramount).
Through Murnane Casting, Murnane will continue working with his current clients. The agency will be based in New York City, and include theater, film and television projects, with a specialization in Broadway productions, regional theater, and developing new works with up-and-coming creators.
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