Jessica Straker is a casting director, writer and producer working predominantly in Film & TV. She is also a founding co-director of We Are Bridge, an organisation focused on career sustainability for underrepresented street cast talent following their first credit in a major lead or supporting lead role through bespoke aftercare and production welfare support. She is a probationary member of the Casting Directors’ Guild (CDG) & a candidate member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB).
Casting
Jessica started her career as an associate on critically acclaimed and award-winning, ROCKS, before assisting on the multi award-winning anthology series, SMALL AXE. In 2021, both projects went on to win BAFTA Craft Awards for Casting & Scripted Casting respectively.
Since then, she has applied independent filmic street casting sensibilities onto television for upcoming BBC Three series, GRIME KIDS & has worked on a multitude of projects by various established and emerging directors. Her work specialises in community-focused advocacy and authentic representation, helping those with great ideas find the most honest ways to express them through a mix of street casting, traditional casting, script research, story consultancy & development workshops.
writing
In 2018, Jessica was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in flash fiction whilst completing her Creative Writing MA at Oxford Brookes University. In 2021, her debut manuscript was longlisted for the Laura Kinsella Fellowship & Penguin WriteNow. Her non-fiction writing and journalism has previously been published in print and online by gal-dem, g-irl, Girls in Film, Mass Appeal and The Guardian.
PRODUCING
Jessica is currently working on upcoming Leeds-based TV drama for Channel 4 DANCE SCHOOL as a Community Executive Producer - working to ensure the shows legacy feeds into the local community through the continuation of its trainee scheme in partnership with 4Skills & NFTS; the distribution of opportunities and support for the existing arts landscape across West Yorkshire. She is also an Associate Board Member for Abandon Normal Devices, a radical arts organisation and festival in the North of England. Her previous project, Juice VCR (2014-2019), was an online web channel showcasing the latest visuals from DIY + independent artists. In 2018, the platform hosted the UK premiere of cult 90’s public access television show, CONCRETE TV with Q&A during a late-night screening at London’s Rio Cinema. Her creative producing skills include: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier Pro); Event Producing; Programme Curation; Hosting & Public Speaking; DJ-ing; Videography; Photography; Social Media/Community Management & Front-End Web Development (HTML, CSS, Javascript).