"CASTING" A WIDE NET

That's one reason you might see Mary Clay Boland, casting director of CBS' As the World Turns, sitting next to you some night at a Broadway show. Boland, who has done casting for prime time television shows including The Sopranos, says she is overjoyed to find so much talent in the New York theater world. "I go to shows at least once or twice a week. As a soap casting director, it's a gold mine for me," she says.

Some casting directors, such as Guiding Light's Ron Deana (sic) even go outside the professional box, checking out college productions. "I found Tom Pelphrey, who went on to win two Daytime Emmys (sic; Pelphrey currently has three nominations and one win) on our show, in a play at Rutgers. And that was before he was even a senior," he notes.

Read all about the daytime/theater casting world at TheaterMania.com!