New and in need of help

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Adrianna1312
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New and in need of help

Post by Adrianna1312 »

Hello, very new to all this and feeling lost! Hoping for a bit if guidance. DS will be 13 in Dec. Always wanted to act and we assumed it would pass. All children want to act right?! Well after seeing him as Bugsy in school production we were a bit surprised just how good he was (feeling a terrible parent! :oops: ). In the last two years he now attends drama after school and is doing LAMDA exams with that tutor and he also attends a Saturday drama school. Recently has an audition for a film after his tutor suggest we put him forward. Has made me realise, I'd he's serious then we need to consider looking at agents? Could anyone provide pointers of what to look for, avoid? I keep seeing Spotlight mentored but can't seem to find how you join that first? Any advice would be greatly appreciated and help this new NOPM feel less like a headless chicken!
Moosmum
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Re: New and in need of help

Post by Moosmum »

Hi :) we are new too and found it all abit overwhelming! Agent wise I would say look around,apply for lots and get a good feel for them as what’s right for one isn’t necessarily right for another. Most agencies will get to put kids forward for the same castings bar a few that might get personal recommendations, so it’s important you feel comfortable with the agent and that they are approachable :) most agencies are spotlight registered and so once in their books with put your child on,it’s separate to the agent so will likely be a fee of around 100 per year,they have to be with an agent before going on spotlight. Hope this helps and good luck :) any more questions feel free to pm me xx
Pandora II
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Re: New and in need of help

Post by Pandora II »

13 is a bit of a tricky age - children need chaperones and tutors and licences alongside legislation which says how many hours they can work and so on. It's much easier and cheaper for directors to hire young looking 16 year olds who don't need any of this and can play the 13/14/15 year old roles. A lot of 12-16 year olds use these years to concentrate on training and any work they get is basically a surprise bonus. The Brit School, for example, don't allow students to work professionally.

So your son should not be discouraged if he finds it hard to find an agent or work before he turns 16. A lot of children will have got onto agents books at 7 or 8 years old or younger when there's more work available. Do be choosy about agents - you should only be paying for headshots and Spotlight. Be wary about huge agencies or ones that don't audition for entry.

Have a think about what your son wants to do and his future plan. What dance, music and singing skills does he have? If he wants to do musical theatre then he will need ballet as a core to other dance genres.

Good luck to you both. It's a fairly thankless business for parents and horribly stressful - I am far more anxious at auditions than my DD and am basically the taxi/bill payer for all the training, but worth it for the enjoyment she gets and the artistic training that will last a lifetime even if she never earns what it all cost!
FredaBloggs
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Re: New and in need of help

Post by FredaBloggs »

As Pandora says, 13 is a tricky age to start professional work, and a lot depends on his playing age rather than his chronological one. If he is small for his age and looks 11, then he might be in with a chance (directors often prefer the bonus of an older child's maturity behind a younger-looking face). On the other hand if your DS is 5'4" and his voice has broken, then I think he will struggle to be taken on by an agency below licensing age.

It's worth asking yourself what your DS would hope to achieve by agency representation. If it is more performance opportunities, at this age he may have more chances with local productions. NYT run Saturday classes in London and Birmingham for 11-14s, and once he turns 15 he could audition for NYT proper. If he's a singer he'd be eligible now to audition for NYMT, and there are other audition-entry programmes like Spirit Young Performers and Stagebox which offer elite musical theatre training with performance opportunities.

Also worth considering that agency representation has its down side. For example, you are expected to attend any casting your agent obtains, often at short notice - fine (most of the time) if you live in London, maybe not so fine if you find yourself hastily rearranging your schedule to schlep on a train for 2 hours to attend 5-minute castings several times a week. Secondary schools also seem to be generally less forgiving of absences for castings/auditions as GCSEs start to loom. At 13, your DS might be better off concentrating on sourcing the best training opportunities and seeing where that takes him post-16.
Adrianna1312
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Re: New and in need of help

Post by Adrianna1312 »

THANK YOU! This was exactly what I was thinking but wasn't really sure! His drama school at the weekends has started an agency about a year ago and they are really keen for him to sign with them as he's thier only boy in the 12-14 age group. They are smaller and I think might be a good starting point for him. He's still really keen to apply to a couple of agents in London he's read about and I guess it can't hurt as long as his expectations are managed.
I think it's me who will struggle more with the waiting game and lack of feedback from any auditions.
Does anyone know if agents allow you to look for your own work as well?
Xx
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