acting?????????

Question

my 11 year old wants to be an actress. but what should i look for in agencies?

Answer 1

Before you even consider agencies, you might want to find out if your daughter has any real talent. To a parent,
every child is gifted, but to an agent it's a different story.
They look for commerciality according to the trends today.
These can change on a dime at any time, so it's important
to enroll your child in a very good acting school for kids
so she can start to get her feet wet and decide if it's really
for her. Only then should you start thinking about agencies.
You shouldn't have to pay a dime if your daughter has
what it takes. They will take care of everything. I suggest
you get head shots and photos of her in various types
of activities i.e. swimming, playing volleyball, running
with a dog, hanging out of a tree. Good luck and make
sure you don't go the Jon Benet route.

Answer 2

To find legitimate Talent Agencies, you should be in NYC or LA, otherwise you are more than likely to find only scams.

Legitimate Talent Agencies do NOT charge money, to represent actors. Legitimate Talent Agencies can only take a 10% commission from what an actor makes.

Until you can move to where the entertainment industry is located, don't try to find talent agents as you will be disappointed and lose a lot of money.


You can mail your daughter's headshot and resume, if she has, one to this talent agency, they have a children's department. The following is a legitimate Talent Agency. You do not pay fees. When your child books roles, the agency takes their 10% commission first and you get the remainder.

Abrams Artist & Associates Limited
275 7TH Ave Suite 26
New York, New Yok
10001-6708
Phone: [phone]


Barbizon and John Robert Powers are NOT legitimate talent agencies.

They are scammers that prey on uninformed parents and end up charging you them thousands of dollars.

Answer 3

You may want to get your daughter into smaller community theatre or school play roles first, to acclimate yourself and her to the kinds of things you do when you're acting. You didn't say whether or not she has done any acting... if she has, great! If not, the rehearsal process can be eye-opening, especially if she's working with adults as well as kids onstage. Find out if she will still enjoy it in a "real" environment like community or amateur theatre.

When you're looking for agencies, look for ones that work specifically with your daughter's age range, and find out what their other kids are doing. Does your daughter want to do commercial work? Ask them what kids they've had in commercials lately, and what auditions have they sent people to in the last few months. Does she want to do TV or movies? Ask about that. Does she want to do stage work? Ask about that. The agency should be tailored to what you and she want her to do in acting gigs in the future-- they'll be able to help her more and point her toward the roles that will be suited to her.

If you live in a mid-to-large size city, many theatres and universities do summer children's workshops. These are a great way to give your child experience, and also meet other child actors' parents and get advice from them about how their children find work. Most of the kids in this kind of thing are doing it for fun, but there's always a few who you know are going to go on to do great things, or are doing them already.

Good luck, and remember that at the end of the day gaining skills and learning about herself are the things that will help your daughter the most in this stuff. She might not ever be famous but if it's approached from the right direction, working in the performing arts at a younger age can do wonderful things for a kid.

Answer 4

I would suggest meeting with a couple agents nearby by searching the Better Business Bereau to find some. Do not go with agencies such as John Casablanca because they cheat you out of your money. They make you pay thousands of dollars in classes and you do not get that many jobs. From my research agents should be free and find you jobs. They only get paid 10% when you get a job.

Answer 5

Lots of children want to be actors. She's not ready for an agent. If she's really serious, let her try out for a local drama class first to see if she has any talent. You have to start at the bottom. (An aspiring actress in performing arts school)

Answer 6

depending on where you live look for talent agencies near you.
Some malls have an agency located inside them (John Robert Powers) is nationwide...or O'brien and Rodman in San Francisco is another)..

the Pennysaver magazine usually has listings for casting calls as well..

Answer 7

Oh, what nonsense people spout, thinking they are helpful.
By the way, only listen to children like Jessie O when she learns how to spell...
An 11 year-old may become enamoured of many things. It's good to encourage interests. Summer is here...look for a theatre camp, have her get involved in the offerings in middle school (where I assume she is going), perhaps lessons...there are plenty of people willing to take your money for such things. Looking for an agent would be foolish.

Answer 8

has she tried any thing else?
is she shy? does she know what its like to be on the stage?
Does she know what its like to be in front of a mountain load of ppl? if not I would get her involved in other activities like stage acting and Talent shows in ur communnity let her try new and different things before she sets her heart on the movie life