Experienced and aspiring actors will soon have chances to prove they have what it takes to be in the movies.

Paulina Lagudi, director of “Mail Order Monster,” a family film set to begin shooting this summer, is looking for local actors to appear in the movie.

The Cave City Convention Center will host a casting call for “Mail Order Monster” at 7 p.m. April 11.

“It’s just to kind of get a sense of the talent and the people there,” she said.

There are several roles Lagudi wants local actors to fill, including the protagonist, the girl who bullies her, the titular monster, a restaurant owner, a math teacher and a sheriff. “It’s actually quite a mix,” she said.

Because much of the movie takes place in a middle school, a large portion of the extras would need to be able to appear to be about 12 years old, Lagudi said.

“That mixed middle school age is what we’re looking for,” she said.

Lagudi is interested in hiring local actors because she wants “Mail Order Monster” to be a collaborative effort between her and the community she’ll film in, which hasn’t been decided yet.

“I don’t want to be like ‘Thank you,’ come in, film my movie and leave. I want it to be a collaboration,” she said.

George Shamieh, the producer of “An Uncommon Grace,” the Hallmark Channel movie that was filmed in Hart and Barren counties in November, will return to southern Kentucky in mid-May to film another movie featuring some Amish characters and plans to hold a casting call to find local actors for some of the currently untitled movie’s parts.

Shamieh said he’s unsure when and where the casting call will be held or what kinds of roles will be available.

“I will be in Kentucky in like three weeks and then we’ll see what we’ll do,” he said. “We’re still finishing the script at the moment.”

With these impending casting calls as a backdrop, V and C Talent LLC, a Bowling Green-based talent agency, is looking to expand its roster and will provide advice to interested people on how to approach the casting calls, said Cheryl Mann, the agency’s owner.

“With the tax incentives in Kentucky, I feel it’s good for me to get more talent,” she said. “At this point, I am looking for all ages, all ethnicities.”

The open call will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday at V and C’s office in Western Kentucky University’s Small Business Accelerator at the Center for Research and Development on Nashville Road, Mann said.

V and C will also host a free workshop at the Small Business Accelerator from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday for anyone wanting to learn the basics of the Hollywood casting call, including how to perform a monologue, what constitutes a proper headshot and the importance of a resume, she said.

She said the film industry seems to be gaining momentum in the area, providing local people with more opportunities to appear in movies made in their own communities.

“I think we’re on the up and up. I’m real excited and upbeat,” she said.

This article has been updated since its initial publication to correct the date of the casting call.