Filmmaker holding casting call at Encinitas skate park for girl skaters

A feature film about skateboarding is holding a casting call in Encinitas on Nov. 14.

The independent feature film is casting girls ages 11 to 18 who can act and ride a skateboard like a pro

San Diego Union-Tribune

Nov. 7, 2021 5:41 PM PT

ENCINITAS —

The makers of an upcoming feature film on girl skateboarders will be in Encinitas on Nov. 14, holding an open casting call for girls and boys, ages 11 to 18, who can skate like a pro and act.

Los Angeles casting agent Lisa Zambetti said the film, titled “Skaters,” is a scripted story about a group of young skateboarders — four girls and one boy — who support each other through triumphs and disappointments. A national casting call is under way. However, Zambetti said the film’s writer and director, Cynthia Arzaga, spent some time in the North County area immersed in the local skating culture. Arzaga wants at least one local girl to be featured in the independently financed film.

The film’s fictional story is about a 14-year-old skater named Kira who is trying to break into the competitive field of contest skateboarding. She’s hiding an injury from her tight circle of friends and fellow skaters, and she’s struggling at home because her mom has bipolar disorder.

The casting call will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at Poods Park, 429 Santa Fe Drive, in Encinitas. Skilled skaters of all ethnicities and genders, ages 11 to 18, are invited to try out for lead roles in the film. The producers are looking for skateboarders who are experienced in street, transition and vert skateboarding techniques.

Auditioners will need to fill out a safety waiver for their skating tryout and do an acting audition. Helmets will be required while skating. Children under 18 will need parent or guardian’s name. To sign up, visit ryco.org/skaters/opencall. No appointment necessary. For questions, email skatermoviecasting@gmail.com.

The film will go into production in January or February 2022.

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Pam Kragen

Pam Kragen is the arts and entertainment editor, as well as the chief theater, dining and opera critic, for the San Diego Union-Tribune. She joined the Union-Tribune staff in October 2012 after 27 years at the North County Times, where she served as the Arts & Features Editor, as well as the paper’s longtime arts writer and theater and opera critic. She is the co-founder of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from San Diego State University and completed fellowships in theater criticism at the University of Southern California and opera-classical music criticism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. And in 2022, she was chosen as one of the fellows in the prestigious National Critics Institute, run by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterf, Conn.