A play contains 15 speaking roles, 10 of them female and 5 male. If the director can choose among 16 female actors and 9 male actors to fill the roles, how many different casts are possible? (NOTE: A cast includes BOTH the actor AND the role that they play.)

I'm just confused on how to set this up. It deals with permutations cause I know there's order, but I'm still not sure what I should be choosing from. I know that I have to multiple the female roles and male roles to get the total, but could you help me set it up? Thank you.

1 answer

Out of 16 actors, there are 10 female roles.
Out of 9 actors, there are 5 male roles.
Therefore, 16P10 * 9P5 = Answer