the anvil

Join the run club from Forge Film Acting and Pillar Health Co

Join us as we sit down with the star of the Forge's Mondays, Actress, Creative Siren, & Teaching Artist, Chaz Hodges! Chaz's immense talent extends to both stage and screen, with recent roles including Sage in P-VALLEY on STARZ, and Talisha King in a brand new screenplay reading of CATERPILLAR BUTTERFLY at SAG-AFTRA Chicago. The Forge is thrilled to host Chaz teaching Acting for Camera on Monday nights at studio before she heads off to Minnesota to play Marie in the musical “

Pillar Health Co didn't see the access to high-quality, proactive care for actors and filmmakers - so it built us something.

Get the nitty-gritty about commercial usage, renewals, options, and more intricacies of the commercial casting world.

Interview with Brittainy Barattia, Senior Agent @ Gray Talent Group, Head of Midwest On Camera, Commercial, and VO Departments.

Get to know the incredible Filmmaker, Casting Associate, and Studio Manager, Lauren Acord ! You may know Lauren as the face of the Forge, welcoming actors, artists, and casting teams, agents, and filmmakers to the studio. Because Lauren is so busy putting her expertise into action each day, most people don't know just how vast her experience in this industry truly is. From her days at Saturday Night Live , to now working in casting for over 6 years, Lauren Acord has a wealt

The last Demo Camp of 2025 was a success! Learn how a new demo reel is created, writing andproduction

A chat with Theatre Manager, Maggie Spanuello

Read producer Brett Hays' post about Senate Bill 1911, which expands Illinois film incentive

Learn more about our Kids Academy (forge film acting, but for kids) teacher Emma Knott

We updated our look and made our website so much easier to use. What do you think?

Our sister company, Compass Casting, posted a blog about how actors can help casting offices help them. Check it out here: Actors tend to...

Actors need boundaries for their work like any other professional - let's talk about yours.

A chat with Costume Designer Halley Sharp

Understand more about tattoo clearances, and enjoy our free template!

Hear from talent agent Lauren Smith in our conversation with her over coffee

The three big questions that kept popping up from the open call, and our take on their answers

Usage is something every actor needs to know before their commercial auditions. Casting Director Sarah Cayce digs into usage in her four-minute informational video

the short documentary SHE'S YOU shot at the chicago forge, and we were so happy to have them

Our founder, Sarah Cayce, is the casting director and owner of Compass Casting, our sister company. She wrote a blog about From Compass...