Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

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newgirl
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Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by newgirl »

Hi there

Is there an agency who focuses on tv, theatre and film rather than commercials? Do they all tend to send to commercials, as that is where the money is? Many thanks
TalyaB
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by TalyaB »

My DS was with RKA and we never had a TVC casting - had theatre, TV, film.
newgirl
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by newgirl »

Thanks Talya B will look at their site
FredaBloggs
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by FredaBloggs »

Ds is with Byron's and in 2 years he's had a couple of dozen auditions in total for theatre/TV/film, with a fairly even split between stage and screen, but only about 3 castings for commercials. It might just be that DS doesn't have a "commercial" face, but I do get the sense from the agency that ads aren't their main focus.
tikto
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by tikto »

In my humble opinion - if an agency is a business - why would they not submit clients for adverts if this is what would bring them most money... true that some kids get more commercial than film/stage work but I'd say every reputable agency submits for everything suitable.
FredaBloggs
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by FredaBloggs »

I agree, tikto, and I'm sure DS's agency does submit clients for adverts, but what they publicise on their website and social media are clients' stage and screen successes rather than TVC roles.

It seemed from the OP that newgirl was asking about agencies that don't focus primarily on advert work, and I can sympathise with that. I find the short-notice timeframe of TVC castings tricky with a busy work and family schedule, and they always seem to me like a lot of faff to spend 5 minutes in the casting room with pot-luck chance of success! DS finds theatre and TV/film auditions more enjoyable because, being blunt about it, he gets more of a chance to act in those auditions. The majority of his work so far has been in theatre, whereas he's never been close to being cast in an advert. I don't think either of us would want DS to be with an agency which concentrated on advert work and didn't tend to submit children for theatre roles.
TalyaB
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by TalyaB »

DS's school were supportive during Matilda and Billy, in Yrs 7 and 8, then became less so. A couple of times they put absences down as unauthorised because we had given 'less than a week's notice' (!), so we needed to keep castings in school time to a minimum, so like FredaBloggs we decided that TVC castings, where the first round seems to be purely on looks, weren't a sensible option for him. Also our council insisted they need three weeks minimum to licence, and my impression with adverts is that they are often quicker than this. We explained these issues to RKA and they were supportive.
newgirl
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by newgirl »

Thanks everyone and Freda I will look at Byrons too. we just don't have time for endless commercial castings any more so am interested in keeping a few other doors open if pos. many thanks again
Behind The Scenes
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by Behind The Scenes »

My DD has attended a few TVC castings but has never been successful. As has been mentioned previously they are generally short notice and quite often she’ll be in a room with a lot of other DD’s that have the same look. They often run late and therefore waiting around for just a few minutes in the casting room doesn’t seem worth the effort required.

I asked DD’s agent to not submit her for TVC’s, as I think considering the amount of children they see for one role makes success a complete lottery. DD’s agent said that if she didn’t want to be put forward for TVC’s then the agency wouldn’t be suitable for her.

It therefore shows that TVC work is lucrative for an agency, even if it’s time consuming, incurs travel costs and is complete pot-luck for the DC’s and their parents.
ACookie
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by ACookie »

Because we don't live in London our agent knows it would be almost impossible to attend TVC castings at 24hours notice. Therefore DD only gets put forward during school holidays when we are able to respond that quickly. It's a good compromise.
newgirl
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by newgirl »

Exactly behind the scenes. Our dd has done a few commercials and has had loads of pencils too but loads more nos. I feel we've done our time! If they saw fewer kids like at tv castings we might feel differently about them!
Behind The Scenes
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by Behind The Scenes »

I agree with you ‘newgirl’ - I also think dd has done her time!!!

I once read on social media a casting director complaining about actors not attending castings. He went on to say that out of hundreds of actors that had initially been considered he had narrowed his search down to 70 to audition. Of these 70 only about 50 had turned up for the part that was on offer. He had the audacity to state that he thought it was unacceptable that 20 actors had declined the opportunity to attend a casting as they can be rare to come by.

In the ‘real world’ of work an employer doesn’t have the time to interview 70 potential employees. In fact an employer may only see a maximum of 5-6 people for a job. However, it is seen as perfectly acceptable for a casting director to call in 70 people, with such low odds of them even getting the part. If the production companies were required to pay for each person that attended a casting then I’m sure this number would fall dramatically.

That being said I’ll get off my ‘soap box’ now, as no doubt a casting will come in and like everyone else chasing their dreams my DD will want to attend that casting which could potentially lead to something special.
newgirl
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Re: Which agency for theatre, tv rather than commercials?

Post by newgirl »

Agree in every way ^^^^ - with good spotlight pics and cvs they surely can get a good idea of what the kids look like - would help cut down numbers hugely and save families a lot of time and money
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