Our Story — Grand Junction, Colorado

We Built the Frame.
The Valley Fills the Puzzle.

GJ Casting exists because a team of performers, educators, and community builders looked around Grand Junction and decided to build what was missing.

How It Started

A Gap Nobody Had Filled. Yet.

Grand Junction has always had talent. Actors, filmmakers, crew, choreographers, educators — they were here. What was missing was the connective tissue. Productions couldn't find local talent. Actors didn't know how to get in front of producers. The community existed in pockets but not as a whole.

GJ Casting was founded in April 2025 to change that. Three performers and educators — with backgrounds spanning acting, nonprofit leadership, educational improv, and professional choreography — came together to build the infrastructure the Grand Valley's creative community had been waiting for.

One year in, we have over 350 actors in our talent pool, a physical studio space, weekly classes, and a growing roster of productions that trust us to deliver. We didn't build GJ Casting for ourselves. We built it for everyone who comes after us.

We built the frame. And everyone in the valley is filling in the puzzle.
GJ CastingFounded April 2025, Grand Junction, CO
Our Mission
To be the trusted bridge between talent and opportunity — building a film and performing arts community in Western Colorado where everyone has a place to grow.

The Team

Three Founders. One Community.

AM
Abigail Mangum
Founder & Director
Actor, nonprofit manager, and connector at heart. Abigail brings a background in community building and performing arts to her role leading day-to-day operations, producer relationships, and casting. She is passionate about making the Grand Valley creative scene accessible to everyone.
TB
Theresa Becker
Co-Founder
Theresa holds a doctorate in educational improv and brings deep expertise in how people learn through performance. She shapes GJ Casting's class curriculum and workshop programming, making sure our education offerings are grounded in real craft and practical technique.
CF
Connie Foutz Monroe
Co-Founder & Education Lead
An educator and master choreographer, Connie brings the body into the work. Her background spans decades of teaching movement, performance, and the physical craft of storytelling. She brings a rare combination of academic rigor and creative joy to everything she touches.

One Year In

What We've Built Together

350+
Local Actors
In our talent pool and growing every week
125
Extras in One Week
Cast for a feature film from an LA director
1 yr
And Counting
April 2025 — April 2026. Just getting started.
∞
Puzzle Pieces
The frame is built. The community fills it in.

What We Believe

How We Show Up

🤝
Community First
We're not just a casting service — we're a hub. The relationships we build between actors, filmmakers, crew, and the broader Grand Valley community are the whole point.
🎬
Professional Standards
We take our work seriously. Producers trust us because we're reliable, responsive, and we deliver. Talent trusts us because we're fair, transparent, and we protect their privacy.
🌱
Everyone Gets a Start
You don't need a resume to walk through our door. You just need to show up. We believe in accessible entry points — from $50 casting calls to free talent registration — because great communities are inclusive ones.
📍
Rooted in the West
Grand Junction is not a stepping stone. It's the destination. We're building something permanent here — a real film infrastructure for Western Colorado that serves this community for decades.
🎓
Always Learning
Our classes, workshops, and events aren't just programming — they're how we build the talent base that makes this whole ecosystem work. Better actors make better productions make better community.
✨
Show Up Ready to Try
You don't have to be perfect. You just have to show up. That's true for our actors, our crew, our producers — and honestly, for us too. We're building this in real time alongside everyone else.

Come Be Part of It

Whether you're an actor, a filmmaker, a crew member, or just someone who loves what we're building — there's a place for you here.

Join as Talent Work With Us as a Producer Get in Touch