Slate It Till You Make It with Catherine Donnelly

As someone who’s booked over 50 national commercials and has spent the last decade deep in the trenches of commercial casting, it’s taken me a long time to learn one thing:
you are almost never the reason you don’t get a callback.

Most of the time it has nothing to do with you, your talent, or your tape.
It’s the chaos behind the curtain — the brand, the agency, the director, the client’s cousin, the storyboard artist, the budget, the weather, Mercury retrograde… all of it.

So today, I’m breaking down the 25 reasons you didn’t get a callback — even though your tape was absolute fire.

In this episode, host Catherine Donnelly sits down with Beth Fraser (Elizabeth Nicole Fraser), an actor and former broadcast journalist whose career spans commercials, television, and film. Originally from Douglas, Georgia, Beth grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and earned her degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Florida before beginning her on-camera career as a model for the Home Shopping Network in Tampa.

After moving to Los Angeles, Beth met her husband, filmmaker Johnny Fraser, in 2008, and together they have a daughter, Ondine. Her sister, Brinson, is a storyboard artist on the hit animated series Family Guy.

Beth has appeared in numerous national commercials—including a four-year run as the spokesperson for Nasacort—and in award-winning long-form projects for Apple. Her television and film credits include 9-1-1, Loot, and Baby Daddy. She also stars in the short film Code Red, currently making its way through the 2025–26 festival circuit, including a recent selection at the San Diego International Film Festival.

In this conversation, Catherine and Beth dive into the art of being a great co-star, the importance of having an opinion in the room, being strategic about casting workshops, and how to bring authenticity and confidence to every audition—from commercials to spokesperson roles.

@iambethfraser@slateitpod

In this episode, Catherine Donnelly unpacks the major shift at Casting Networks — namely, the new paid subscription model for all U.S.-based agents and managers, beginning January 1, 2026. We walk through exactly what the new tiered fees are, why Casting Networks says it’s doing this, and how actors who depend on CN for commercial auditions should plug the gaps. (Source: Casting Networks Support, “Talent Representatives: What Should I Know About the New Subscription Model”)

Then we zoom out and take a look at the big picture: how private equity ownership is impacting casting tech. In July 2022, RedBird Capital Partners, along with StepStone Group, acquired a majority stake in Talent Systems — the parent company behind Casting Networks, Casting Frontier, Spotlight, and more. (Source: Business Wire / RedBird press release, 2022)

Throughout the episode, we stay grounded in what you can do now: talking to your reps, updating your profiles, saving your media, and keeping your eyes open for alternate platforms like Casting.com. This is a moment of disruption — but also of opportunity for actors who stay informed.

In this episode of Slate It Till You Make It, host Catherine Donnelly sits down with recurring guest John Fulton, a multi-talented comedian, musician, and actor, to discuss his top ten commercial booking tips.

From his early days as a basketball team captain in Topsfield, MA, to DJing a jazz show at the University of Rhode Island, and eventually hosting Must Love Cats on Animal Planet, John’s career has seen plenty of twists and turns. Now, he's thriving in the world of commercials and TV, and is a member of the comedy band Camp Friends, who just released their new album “Seriously?”

John Fulton

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What does it really take to stand out, book more work, and build a sustainable acting career in today’s rapidly shifting industry? In this episode of Slate It Pod, host, Catherine Donnelly, sits down with Murisa Harba — award-winning actress, director, and founder of About The Work, a Hollywood-based acting studio she launched in 2013.

Murisa has coached thousands of actors across five continents using her signature body-based methods, helping them break out of their heads, connect more deeply to their emotions, and bring undeniable authenticity into the audition room. Her students don’t just feel more confident — they also book more consistently.

Murisa opens up about her own journey from performer to teacher, the challenges and triumphs of creating her own studio, and why she believes actors must lean into their humanity to remain indispensable — especially as AI continues to reshape the industry.

Whether you’re feeling stuck in your auditions, craving more authentic performances, or wondering how to stay competitive in 2025 and beyond, this episode is packed with tools, insights, and encouragement.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Murisa’s body-based approach helps actors break out of their heads and into authentic performance

• Why connecting to your physical instrument changes everything in auditions and on set

• The biggest misunderstandings actors have about what casting and directors really want

• How to know when it’s time to upgrade your training or pivot to the right class

• Practical tools to prepare before every audition

• Strategies for resilience, longevity, and staying grounded in a volatile industry

📌 Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Learn more about Murisa Harba → www.murisaharba.com

• About The Work Studio → www.about-the-work.com

• Free Guide: The Six Keys

• Instagram → @aboutthework

• Facebook → AboutTheWork