New Agent before drama school ?

Give advice, ask questions and find out information about Agencies.

Moderator: busybusybusy

Post Reply
User avatar
Truffle1234
Nominee
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 9:36 pm

New Agent before drama school ?

Post by Truffle1234 »

My dd's agent has just terminated representation (by letter which was upsetting for my dd). My dd will be auditioning for drama schools next year - would it be much better to try and get a new agent now, or to wait until after drama school (since most places wont let you work during drama school as I understand it).
pg
OSCAR Award
Posts: 2091
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:28 am

Re: New Agent before drama school ?

Post by pg »

I would definitely advise waiting. The vast majority of drama school students won't have agents and a lot of drama schools have restrictions on the work they allow their students to do whilst training in any case. Neither RADA nor Oxford would give permission for professional engagements (even during holidays) except in the final year of study (and it had to be cleared with the school first).
francescasmum
OSCAR Award
Posts: 2078
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:21 pm
Location: York
Contact:

Re: New Agent before drama school ?

Post by francescasmum »

Obviously PG is the guru and her advise is always expertly given and gratefully received. =D>
However, if your dd is auditioning next year, she will have at least a year before starting at drama school to possibly get some good experience/credits under her belt.
It maybe worth phoning a few agents and sounding them out. There might be one out there who is willing to take her on for the year and see where you go from there.
pg
OSCAR Award
Posts: 2091
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:28 am

Re: New Agent before drama school ?

Post by pg »

No harm in trying, that's for sure! I would just like to reassure her that not having an agent certainly won't go against her.

I think it will be quite tough to find a decent agent at age 18 unless she already has some interesting credits (which of course she may have!). It's a very different market place once you hit 18 (in terms of agents and jobs). An agent who is really interested might well want to steal a march on other agencies and sign her up before drama school and then wait until she graduates, so she could see what kind of response she gets.
User avatar
Truffle1234
Nominee
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 9:36 pm

Re: New Agent before drama school ?

Post by Truffle1234 »

Thanks pg and Francesca - that is really helpful.

I am relieved that it will not count against her in applying to drama school. I can see that it will be hard at this age, but will try and speak to some agents to see what they say. :)
sapphire
OSCAR Award
Posts: 2261
Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 9:50 am

Re: New Agent before drama school ?

Post by sapphire »

It is worth remembering that your DD will already be very busy already next year with schoolwork and auditioning for drama school takes up vast amounts of time as well! My DD did find it hard having an agent and juggling everything this past year and in fact she did feel that the top drama schools were not too keen on the fact that she already had an agent and that that might have worked against her. The flipside of course is that if you don't get into drama school straight from school, you do have an agent which might lead to opportunities during a gap year ... lots of things to consider and not an easy decision! Good luck to your DD whatever she decides to do!
Post Reply