Casting calls in Indiana reward people who show up. The state's two most recent features both cast heavily from the local population through open calls rather than agency submissions, and when Little Five held its extras call in Bloomington, thousands of people applied. Union background work pays $231 per 8 hours in 2026, while Indiana's minimum wage sits at $7.25 an hour.
What Indiana does not have is a studio pipeline. The state's film and media tax credit is capped at $2 million a year with a $250,000 ceiling per project, roughly an eighth of Missouri's fund. That makes this an independent feature, commercial, branded content and documentary market.
This guide covers Indianapolis and Fort Wayne auditions, what the work pays, the rules for child performers, and how to tell a real Indiana casting call from a fake one.
Independent features casting in Indiana
Two 2026 productions show exactly how this market works.
Little Five, a feature about the first women's Little 500 bike race, shot in Bloomington in late July and early August 2026. It was produced by Somewhere Pictures with Indiana-based Pigasus Pictures, ran a crew of around 60, and recruited extras through a public online form. Local reporting described thousands of potential extras applying.
Washed Up, Washed Out, the second feature from Brickstone Productions, shot in Fort Wayne across a single week in June and cast nearly 100 Fort Wayne residents as actors or background.
The lesson for performers is concrete: in Indiana the casting pipeline runs through public open calls and online forms, not through a closed circle of agents. Being registered, reachable and quick to apply is most of the job.
Commercial, branded and motorsport work
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway anchors a recurring sports media cluster. FOX Sports Films produced THE 500: Immortality at Indy with Penske Entertainment, a one-hour documentary special shot inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum that premiered in May 2026 after Indy 500 qualifying. Motorsport documentary and commercial work returns to Indianapolis every year around the race.
Alongside that, the state's $250,000 per-project credit ceiling steers production towards commercials, corporate and branded content, which is where most day-to-day casting volume sits.
Fort Wayne and the rest of the state
Fort Wayne is a genuine second market rather than an afterthought: a single 2026 feature cast around 100 local people there. Indiana preempts local minimum wages, so Fort Wayne and Indianapolis share the same $7.25 floor. If you are in northern Indiana, register for both cities.
What does casting work in Indiana pay?
Union scale, effective 1 July 2026
On a SAG-AFTRA production, background work pays $231 for an 8-hour day, with separate payments for overtime, meal penalties and wardrobe. Principal performers are paid under their own schedules. That single day at union scale is worth more than four days at the Indiana minimum wage, which is the clearest argument for pursuing union-signatory work when it appears.
Indiana is a right-to-work state, under IC 22-6-6 since 2012 and upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court. You can work on a union production here without being required to join SAG-AFTRA. The Chicago Local represents members working in Illinois, Indiana, eastern Iowa and Wisconsin.
Non-union rates
Non-union work is negotiated per job and must at minimum meet Indiana's wage floor of $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009. Indiana Code 22-2-2-10.5 bars any city or county from setting a higher rate, so Indianapolis and Fort Wayne are both at $7.25. In practice, film and commercial day rates sit well above that, but the low statutory floor means you should always confirm the actual rate in writing before you accept a booking.
Popular casting categories in Indiana
Child performers in Indiana
Indiana does not require a work permit for minors performing in entertainment. The federal Department of Labor's state table lists Indiana as not requiring one, and state law instead imposes a general duty that minors under 18 must not be employed in work detrimental to their life, health, safety or welfare.
- Since 1 January 2025, 16 and 17-year-olds may work adult hours in Indiana.
- 14 and 15-year-olds may work until 9pm between 1 June and Labor Day.
- There is no Coogan-style trust account requirement in Indiana.
- The employer reporting requirement to the Indiana Department of Labor was repealed effective 1 July 2026.
Because state law asks so little, the protections on an Indiana set depend on the production. On a SAG-AFTRA job, the union's young performer rules apply. On a non-union independent feature, ask in writing about hours, tutoring, set supervision and who is responsible for your child between setups.
How to spot a fake Indianapolis casting call
Indiana's open-call culture is genuine, which unfortunately makes a fake open call easy to stage. Use the same tests you would anywhere.
- You are asked to pay to audition, to be submitted, or to be registered for a specific production.
- A paid role is offered before any audition, from a photograph and a message.
- Money arrives first and you are asked to deposit it and forward part of it onward. This is fraud without exception.
- The audition is at a private address or hotel room rather than an office, studio, campus facility or secure self-tape platform.
- A particular photographer is required before you can be considered.
Real Indiana open calls are publicised by the production, the city or the local press, and you can confirm them independently before you travel.
Official sources: Indiana Department of Labor · Film Indiana · SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local
Casting calls in nearby states: Illinois · Ohio · Tennessee · Kentucky · Wisconsin
Find Indianapolis casting calls on allcasting
allcasting is a casting marketplace: verified casting professionals post roles and talent applies directly. Applying is free, and nobody on the platform can promise you a role.
- Browse Indianapolis casting calls, updated daily
- Go straight to acting roles or extras work in Indianapolis
- Check Fort Wayne too — northern Indiana casts separately
- Chicago productions cast across the state line — see casting calls in Illinois
10/15/20269/20/20269/16/20269/14/20269/4/2026How To
Get Cast From an Indiana Open Call
Indiana casts from public open calls rather than a closed circle of agents, and the recent features here have cast hundreds of local people that way. The calls are announced days, not weeks, ahead and they close quickly, so the performers who book are the ones already registered and ready to apply the hour a notice appears.
- 1Be registered before the call goes outIndiana features announce extras calls days, not weeks, ahead, and thousands of people respond. A complete profile with a current photo, your real height and measurements, and working contact details means you can apply the hour a notice appears instead of assembling it while the slots fill.Pro Tip: Keep your height, measurements and current hair colour accurate. Background casting is visual matching, and wardrobe sizes you from your profile before you arrive.
- 2Submit a photo that looks like you todayBackground and supporting casting in Indiana is largely visual matching: period, era, age range, build. A plain, recent, well-lit photo against a neutral background with no filters, no sunglasses and no heavy makeup is worth more than a stylised headshot. Add a full-length shot, since that is how casting checks silhouette and wardrobe sizing.Pro Tip: Include a plain full-length photo as well as a headshot. Casting checks silhouette for period and era work, and a head-and-shoulders shot cannot show it.
- 3Say yes to availability honestly, then keep itIndiana shoots are short and tightly scheduled, often a single week. Casting remembers who turned up on time and who cancelled. List the days you can genuinely commit to, including early calls and weekends, and treat a confirmed booking as fixed. Local reliability is how a first extras job becomes a second and a featured one.Pro Tip: Turn notifications on. Indiana extras calls have drawn thousands of applicants within days of being announced, and the slots go to whoever applies first.
Q&A
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