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Your Kid Wants to Be a Star? Real advice from a Casting Director

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Some of you may know that my husband is a casting director for television and film (Chase has worked on Sleepy Hollow, Need for Speed, Satisfaction, Playstation’s POWERS and many other awesome projects).  He’s even won an Emmy Award for his work with Stranger Things on Netflix! Others of you may have even asked my advice on your children in film, television and commercials!  What you may not know is that developing and building a film career is a long and challenging process.  If your child or teenager is eager to break into the world of film and television, take a peek at this advice from Chase.  He’s listed a series of tips that will guide you through your process, and make sure you don’t become one of those “Stage Moms!” Take it away, baby….

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Advice from a Casting Director

Many parents think their children are precocious, outgoing, and capable of anything. We’re their parents, of course, we should think that! However, the reality is that acting isn’t for everyone. So how do you know?  Below are the steps to take to get your child into acting. These are in sequence and build on each other, you should not skip to the next step until you’ve completed the current one.

advice from a casting director

1. TAKE CLASSES

As with any profession, training is key to success – and acting is no different (remember, this is a JOB!). Enrolling your kid in acting classes not only gets them the training they’ll need on set, but also allows you to see if they have any real talent or interest in the arts.  ***Be sure to do your research: Classes can be expensive and anyone can claim to be a teacher. Talent scams happen. Do as much research as possible on the studio and it’s teachers as well as the costs involved to make the most informed decision possible.***

2. DO THEATRE

Once your child has taken some classes and shown real interest in acting it’s time to get them some experience! When just starting out you want to find any opportunity to put into practice what they’ve been learning. Professional, community, church theatre, paid or unpaid, are all good experience at this point. Enterprising parents may even find independent or student film projects looking for kids, which are great too!

3. GET HEADSHOTS

Professional headshots can make a huge difference when trying to get attention from agents and Casting Directors – which is the next step. Shop around and research photographer’s work to see what you like. Be prepared to spend some money: good headshots aren’t cheap!! Your headshot is the first impression anyone in the industry is likely to have of you, make sure it’s the best possible!

4. FIND AN AGENT

Now that you’ve gotten your child the training, experience, and materials to be considered a professional actor you may want to consider hiring an agent. A Casting director hires straight from agencies in town. Research the agents in your local market and send in your headshot with a resume listing experience and training to all of the reputable ones. If an agency is interested they’ll reach out for a meeting and/or audition for representation – each agency is different so make sure you understand what they’re looking for in the meeting! Note that this is how you would handle a regional market outside of LA or NYC – those agencies are a different challenge altogether!  **Tip: The best way to get in front of an agent is through networking! If you can get a recommendation for your child from their acting teacher or another industry professional your chances of a landing a meeting are much better!**

5. STAY PREPARED!

At this point many people think an agent all their child’s dreams will come true – TV show, commercial, and feature film roles are just around the corner, right?  THINK AGAIN!  Now that you’ve teamed your child up with an agent you need to keep them in classes and their headshot/resume updated. Doing this will keep them prepared as they develop in the industry. Remember it’s a business at this point and should be taken seriously, but… 

6. BE AWARE OF YOUR CHILD’S CHANGING INTERESTS

Yes, this is a business, but your child isn’t an adult and their interests will change regularly. As a casting director in Atlanta, I’ve dealt with all kinds of kids and parents and all of the successful kids have a passion for it and really enjoy all parts of the process. On the other hand, I’ve seen many parents who force their kids into it – and the kids are simply miserable. Always remember that kids will gain and lose interest in many things as they grow up and it’s best to go with the flow than to force them into any one thing. Kids that don’t enjoy it and are being made to perform by parents with stars in their eyes rarely succeed and their apathy is apparent 100% of the time on camera. Know that it’s OK to take a break to play baseball, dance or any other normal kid activities!

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