Vertical Drama Acting: Casting, Shoots and Pay

Vertical dramas (also called micro-dramas or verticals) are serialised stories shot in portrait 9:16 for phones and released in chapters of about three minutes or less. They are cast mostly through online casting sites, shot fast, and since late 2025 can be made under a SAG-AFTRA Verticals Agreement that sets day rates for performers. Casting directors who cast them told us what wins the role.

What is a vertical drama?

SAG-AFTRA's contract bulletin describes verticals as new media programs shown in a 9:16 aspect ratio, made of chapters of about three minutes or less that end on cliffhangers. Typically the first few chapters are free on social media and viewers pay in an app to keep watching.

Several apps are built around them. ReelShort, from Crazy Maple Studio, calls itself a home for short dramas and "vertical stories". DramaBox is listed on the App Store as a free app with in-app purchases. SAG-AFTRA's own magazine names CandyJar as a platform producing union verticals. Casting director Sheela Sharma, who told us she has cast more than 40 verticals, said the stories run on familiar tropes: the secret billionaire, the cheating husband, the scheming best friend.

How are vertical dramas cast?

Mostly through breakdowns on casting sites, then self tapes. Sheela Sharma said casting reviews headshots, sometimes a reel, invites tapes and then sends the client about eight to ten favourites. For leads, the clients are very particular and may ask her to reach out to other actors too, because the leads sell the show and appear on the poster. Verticals now have fan bases that follow particular actors.

Two practical points from her: most of the verticals she casts hire locally in Los Angeles, because budgets don't stretch to flying and housing actors, and families are cast to look alike, which can narrow who fits.

Casting director Harriet Greenspan, who cast her first vertical recently, said that when the format started many agents didn't want to submit on them and many actors didn't want to do them, so casting directors promoted the roles on social media. Start with our guide to casting sites.

How do you audition for a vertical drama?

Hit it the first time. Sheela Sharma was clear that verticals rarely offer a callback to try something different. With so much money riding on marketing, she said, the clients want to see you land every beat on the tape.

• Dress the part. For other projects actors are told not to wear a lab coat. For verticals, she said, give them exactly what the role looks like, because there is no room for imagination.
• Know the tropes. Scripts usually go only to leads, so work out from the description where your character sits. The best-paid supporting role is usually the antagonist. Watch two or three verticals; the first episodes are free on most platforms.
• Tape horizontally. Sheela said she prefers landscape self tapes even though the show shoots vertically, because she wants to see your eyes; a vertical tape can read as inexperienced. Harriet Greenspan agreed it is fine to audition horizontally.
• Connect with your reader. The lead roles, she said, depend on subtle reactions in close-up.

What is the acting style in vertical dramas?

Bigger than prestige TV, but not one note. Sheela Sharma said the over-the-top characters can play heightened, while the leads, especially the lead woman who goes through the whole emotional rollercoaster, need real, subtle work because so much is in close-up.

Casting director Scotty Mullen called verticals the new soap opera: not for the shy, he said, but a lot of good experience. He and Lisa London both mentioned that male leads often spend scenes with their shirts off, so know what a role involves before you take it.

What is it like to shoot a vertical drama?

Fast. Under the SAG-AFTRA agreement, performers are paid a day rate that covers every chapter filmed that day, rather than per chapter, so expect to shoot a lot of material in each day. Harriet Greenspan described verticals as shot like a movie and then cut into episodes.

So arrive with your lines solid and ready to go in few takes.

Are vertical dramas union or non-union?

Both exist. SAG-AFTRA announced its Verticals Agreement in October 2025. As of November 2026, its bulletin says it covers projects with budgets up to $300,000, shot entirely in the US, by independent producers (studio members of the producers' alliance use a different new media sideletter). It includes overtime, rest and meal breaks, protections against AI use, and requires a stunt coordinator where there are stunts and an intimacy coordinator where there is nudity or simulated sex.

Because the agreement exists, SAG-AFTRA says verticals now fall under Global Rule One: members must work them under a union contract. Plenty are still made non-union. Scotty Mullen said that's because producers want to keep them cheap. More on the choice in union vs non-union actors.

How much do vertical drama actors get paid?

Under the SAG-AFTRA Verticals Agreement, the minimum day rates are:

Source: SAG-AFTRA Vertical Programs Agreement bulletin, as of November 2026. Producers also pay health and retirement contributions on top (21.5% from 1 July 2026), and payment is due within thirty business days of the work date.

These are minimums, and well below the TV and film day rate on our SAG-AFTRA rates page. Non-union pay varies by production and no primary source publishes a standard figure, so we won't quote one. The casting directors we asked were positive about pay from their side of it: Harriet Greenspan said actors were getting a nice payday, and Scotty Mullen said the productions he has worked with pay and you don't have to chase your money.

What red flags should actors watch for?

• Paying to audition. Legitimate productions don't charge actors to be seen.
• No contract. Get the day rate, hours, payment date and how your image will be used in writing before the shoot day, especially on non-union work.
• AI and likeness terms. Read any clause about digital replicas or reusing your face or voice. The union agreement includes AI protections; a non-union contract may not. See will AI replace actors?
• Surprise nudity or intimacy. Under the union agreement, an intimacy coordinator is required for that content. Never agree on the day to something that wasn't disclosed.

This is general information. For your own contract, check with your agent, SAG-AFTRA or an entertainment lawyer.

Are vertical dramas worth doing?

For many actors, yes, as long as you go in clear-eyed. Harriet Greenspan called them a great way to get current tape on you. Scotty Mullen said the experience is real and the community friendly, though nobody knows how long the boom will last. Casting director Lisa London, who hasn't cast one, said actors she knows who do them are doing well.

On your resume, list them honestly. Kym's advice for web series applies: put the title, your role and the platform, and label it so casting knows what it is.

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All rates current from sagaftra.org as of 10 November 2026.