When we think of successful Syracuse University Drama Department Alumni, who comes to mind? Frank Langella, Taye Diggs, Vera Farmiga? What about those that work in the industry but not on stage? Most non- Syracusians are surprised to learn that Aaron Sorkin was not a New House grad but, in fact, an Acting major. The same can be said for Broadway, Film, and Television casting director, Lauren Port. 

When this author was a Freshman Acting Major battling the alarm clock to wake up for Core, Lauren was leading the charge as the Senior Acting Major Representative. Each Wednesday when we would roll into Lab with a hot slice of Franco’s, Lauren would be rounding the troupes, taking charge, and updating the students and faculty on Drama Department events, activities, and performances with great panache. 

A few years later, one half of MelCap Casting, Mele Nagler, relocated to Los Angeles where she now serves as a VP of Casting at Warner Bros, and Lauren stayed on with David at the newly named Caparelliotis Casting. In her ten years working with David, Lauren cast the Broadway productions of Junk, Meteor Shower, A Doll’s House Part 2, The Front Page, It’s Only a Play, Disgraced, Fish in the Dark, Holler If Ya Hear Me, The Trip to Bountiful, Grace, Death of a Salesman, Seminar, Stick Fly, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Lend Me a Tenor, Fences among others. Television credits include NEW AMSTERDAM, AMERICAN ODYSSEY, the pilot of HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and the list goes on and on. She also cast independently for several theaters in New York and regionally including The Goodman Theatre. In 2019 after an impressive tenure in the New York casting arena, Lauren and her husband relocated to Chicago to raise their young daughter near Lauren’s family, and Lauren assumed the Casting Director position at The Goodman Theatre, where she remains today.

When asked about the shutdown and what theater will look like moving forward Lauren explains, “While this pandemic has decimated our industry, especially theater, in unfathomable ways, it has also given us the unexpected gift of time to look inward, reflect, assess and work towards true and lasting change.  The ways in which we did many things simply can’t continue and will no longer be tolerated.  I am genuinely hopeful we are moving in that direction and while I am honored and humbled to call this industry my artistic home, it is my responsibility to actively challenge myself and my colleagues to stay the course towards a more equitable and transparent future for all artists.”