Dear Actors,
At Fishpond, we always strive to celebrate your talent as best we can and this year, we’ve evolved the Showcase to make it even more impactful. We’ll run four seasonal Showcases (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter) so we can give each one the time, focus, and care it deserves.
Every Showcase features a guest industry expert as judge, a creative brief, and the chance to share your best work. The most exciting part? Every actor who enters receives individual feedback. Whether you’re shortlisted or not, you’ll hear what you did well and where you can grow – personalised notes from casting and industry professionals, unique to Fishpond.
Summer Showcase Judge
This Summer, Sarah Hone (Casting Director and Associate Artistic Director at Bow Street) will evaluate your self-tapes and choose her favourites. Sarah will also provide personal feedback on her top picks, outlining why she found them so impressive. Sarah always wants to champion actors in Ireland; so this is your chance to stand out with a memorable scene.
About Sarah
Sarah Hone is an experienced actor, casting director, acting coach and dramatherapist. She has a BA in Theatre and Performance and an MA in Dramatherapy, and has worked as a professional actress in Ireland, USA, Australia and Japan. She has taught acting in universities such as The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney and Temple University Japan and now works full time at Bow Street.
As a Casting Director, Sarah recently worked on the award-winning short KIKI (2024), which is now eligible for Oscar consideration. She also cast Trad (2025), which won the Audience Award at the Galway Film Fleadh this month. Sarah is always on the lookout for top talent in Ireland, and we’re proud to say that she cast both of these projects with the help of Fishpond. No doubt she’ll cast something equally as exciting next, so embrace this opportunity to make a lasting impression.
Get Creative
Sarah has personally chosen two script options for you this season.
• For the adult actors (over 16), Sarah would love to see your take on All of Us Strangers.
• For the younger actors under 16, Sarah has selected Aftersun.
You might be sensing a theme here – Irish actor Paul Mescal appeared in both. Listen to this voice note from Sarah, telling you why she chose these scenes for you to work on for the Summer Showcase.
Get Seen
Sarah’s top talent will be shared directly with our full caster database of over 1,000 industry professionals. This includes casting directors, directors, producers, and production companies across Ireland, the UK, and beyond. In addition, we’ll add a Showcase badge to your Fishpond profile, so that casters using Fishpond can easily spot you. We’ll also be proud to share your tape across our platform, in our newsletters, and on our social media channels.
Get Feedback
Every single actor who takes part in the Showcase will receive feedback on their self-tape. If shortlisted, you’ll receive direct feedback from Sarah. If not shortlisted, the Fishpond team will offer specific feedback on what you did well and where there’s room for you to develop.
Plus
Following the Showcase results, we’ll also hold a live talk with Sarah at the end of August that you can attend online, where she’ll share even more insights on your work and advice for screen acting.
No one else is doing this. We believe that actors thrive with clear, constructive feedback, not just a yes or no. Our Showcase helps you grow, builds your confidence, and strengthens your self-taping skill. It’s not about competition. It’s about getting seen, staying inspired, and levelling up your craft together.
Closing date for self-tapes is Monday 28th of July at 5pm – log in to your account now for all the details. We can’t wait to watch your work.
From Aislinn and all at Fishpond
