If you haven’t noticed, Larry has been pretty busy between being sick, commercial shoots, and his day job. I told him that I would step in and write a few posts from my experience as an actor’s wife and a mother of a future actress.
The Drama Queen
Ever since our daughter was born, she LOVED being the center of attention. She would constantly dress up, sing, dance and put on little shows for us. Seeing that she was our first child, I just thought it was a creative imagination. Boy, was I wrong!
When she entered the 2nd grade, she was cast as a lead in her class play. The music teacher putting on the little production told me that the role is normally for a boy, but our daughter was so good she decided to cast a girl. What was shocking was the fact that she had a TON of lines to memorize and she learned them all by herself. Needless to say, she surprised all the parents {including me} at her natural acting ability. The same thing happened in 5th grade. She took the after-school drama class and got the lead for that play. Once again, she memorized the lines easily and out-performed her fellow thespians.
The Disney Channel
In 2010, we discovered that the Disney Channel was holding open casting calls in Nashville, TN. We decided to make a weekend trip up to Nashville to let our little drama queen experience auditioning. We thought it would be good for her to get a taste of what a casting call was like. We drove up on a Friday night to attend the Saturday morning audition with the expectation that we would drive home Saturday afternoon.
At 8AM, Saturday morning, my daughter and her cousin joined over a 1000 eager young adults waiting for their turn to be “discovered.” She checked in and received a number and a script. During the two hour wait, she memorized the short piece and practiced it with her dad. When her time came to audition, she went in with 10 other perspective actors. After 15 minutes, the doors opened and as she was walking out she heard her name. She was asked to return for a call-back the next day.
We altered our weekend plans and stayed for the callback. After her 2nd audition, we did not hear anything. Like most casting calls, the only time you hear back is if you booked the job. It can be frustrating not knowing if they will be calling or not. It’s a wait-and-see game where you are the one waiting….and waiting.
The Next Step
After Disney, we tried to get her representation through her dad’s agent. We discovered that even though she is very talented, agents may have to decline actors when the agency has a large pool of the same demographic. If agencies do not get a lot of requests for Teen/Tween roles, they will limit the amount of Teen/Tween talent they represent.
Currently, we are holding off on finding representation for acting since she has braces and it can difficult to be cast in anything when you are in the midst of orthodontic treatment. Her desire to get into acting is as strong as ever. She is always interested in hearing about her dad’s auditions and the roles he books. For now, she gets some acting in by volunteering in the children’s ministry at church where she sings and acts out stories for the 5 and under crowd.
Is Acting for Your Child
The way you know your child is interested in acting is by his/her own desire to perform in front of people.
If your child has this interest and they are just beginning:
- Enroll them in a drama club or class.
- Take them on a few community theater auditions or have them audition for their school plays.
- Sign them up for a dance class to see if they enjoy performing in front of an audience.
- If they have a speech team at their school (usually in high school) have them join the team.
thanks for this article I gained a lot of ideas about acting children,I also have a sister who really love acting and she act like a drama queen at home,I will going to apply some tips found here. I also have read this and I found it interesting http://www.exploretalent.com/articles/how-to-become-a-child-actor/
Thank you for this info… I’m in the process of getting my grand-girl in the acting business. At 9 years old she is very eager to do this and seems to have the knack for it as far as confidence and an out going personality. I have had her to a couple auditions and she is always well received but….. I don’t know the first thing about how to get her started on the right path professionally. I appreciate your advice and well research, research, research all of this as I want to help her the right way in regards to this business. Thank you again this has been very helpful. If you have any additional advice, I would so welcome it:)
Pamela,
I’d love to work with you and your “grand-girl” to get started right. The process is a bit more complicated than it may seem which is why there are a lot of ripoff companies taking advantage of the parents (or grandparents) and kids with the dream of being on Disney.
So, I am now doing individual coaching due to the frequent requests I’ve been getting for it. You can schedule a discovery session with me at this link https://actingcareerinfo.com/schedule-session/
I’ll point you in the right direction and how to avoid the ripoffs.
-Larry
Hi. I am interested in getting my daughter into modeling and acting. She is stunningly beautiful and i would like to dip her toes into modeling. Shes three. I know thats young but i see many commercials and ads in magazines that need kids her age. After reading some of what you wrote i am skeptical about going to some of these agencies. So youre saying any place that wants money up front is a scam? Because most i am finding on line seem to want just that. Do you know of any legit agents in my area. Im in Rhode Island. But willing to travel to Boston or Connecticut even. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Ricky
Ricky,
Yes, any company that asks for money upfront that is telling you that they are a talent agency is a ripoff. Go to the SAGAFTRA.org website to search for legit agencies in your area. Agents do rep kids as young as 3, but rarely go younger than that.
Larry
Larry:
My child is now SAG eligible but hasn’t joined yet and received a W-2 this year. I am unclear the cash flow process but the W-2 is going to the agent’s address but addressed to my child. The pay check is coming from the agency directly. I am not seeing the actual pay stub from the studio. The agent supposedly taking 20% cut but the numbers are not adding up. Does the agent typically take 20% of the gross or net?
I do not want to call the agent out but I am not understanding the flow of money on this. Seems like the agent should be supplying some statement to account for their cut. My child ends up paying taxes for the gross amount but we don’t supply a 1099 to the agent so how does the IRS know the agent is receiving compensation??
Want to be professional but am concerned
Cotton,
First, I am not a tax professional, so this is just my opinion. You should receive the W-2 from the agency if it was sent there. Call them if you have not received it yet. Also, if the job was a SAG job, then the agency is only allowed to take a 10% commission (per SAG rules). That may be why the numbers aren’t adding up if you are calculating with 20%. Last, the check the studio sent to your agent should have the breakdown of pay on it (like any pay stub) with the taxes withheld listed on it. I would call the agency and ask for a copy of the pay stub. My agent sends me the stub with their check. There is no reason for them to be offended by you asking for it. Regarding the 1099 question, when you file your taxes, you list the agency’s commission as a business expense in the deductions. That’s how the IRS is notified. Also, they list the commission on their taxes as income. Talk to a tax professional that handles other talent and they’ll help you get it filed correctly. If you’re not sure where to find one, talk to other parents of talent to get a recommendation. Hope that helps.
Larry