Veteran casting director Duncan Stewart has announced the founding of a new company. The casting office, called Define, is an independent, full-service agency based in New York City working across theater, film and television.
“Casting isn’t guesswork,” said Stewart in a statement. “It’s a discipline built on experience, precision and attention to detail. You’re constantly matching numerous variables: an actor’s specific skill set, a director’s vision, a producer’s budget, a role’s exact demands. Getting that right, consistently, well, that’s the job. It’s also the discipline our clients demand and expect.”
Stewart began his casting career Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, after which he joined Barry and Fran Weissler’s National Artists Management company as director of casting. In 2011, he and Benton Whitley co-founded the prolific Broadway casting firm Stewart/Whitley, which assembled the original Broadway casts of “Hadestown,” “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” and “Life of Pi,” and selected replacements in the long-running revival of “Chicago.”
Following the dissolution of Stewart/Whitley in 2023, Stewart served as the vice president and casting director at ARC, the theater, commercial and film/TV casting office of RWS Entertainment Group. Stewart’s recent casting credits include “A Wonderful World,” the 2025 revival of “Othello,” “Real Women Have Curves” and the 2026 revival of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”
“Define is my next chapter,” Stewart continued. “A chance to define who I am as a casting director in and out of the room, define the colleagues and artists I get inspired by, the rooms I build and those I walk into, and all the while sharing the same artistry, integrity and ‘go the extra mile’ philosophy that’s guided and served me well for over two decades.”
