How Do I Become A Disney Channel Star?

Question

I am 13, 5' 2" and American.

Answer 1

Disney Channel has Talent Searches occasionally, such as this one last November:

http://apsc.disney.go.com/disneychannel/talentsearch/

When available they are posted on the Disney Corporate Website:

http://corporate.disney.go.com/auditions/


The "Disney Channel Talent Search 2007" in the UK is just about wrapped up.

There are NO current Disney Channel Open Calls scheduled.

Disney Channel has canceled any plans for Open Talent Searches due to the overwhelming turnout at these events. The popularity and success of the shows on the Disney Channel has made it extremely difficult to handle the crowd control and maintain the safety of the participants.

Currently the casting of the shows on the Disney Channel are being conducted through standard industry procedures. The locations of Casting Offices for Disney Channel Productions are not released to the general public.

Answer 2

Call Disney and ask them how you can become a Disney Star.
They will be glad to tell you.

Answer 3

I say good luck and watch the disney channel they will play commercials about when they are doing aduitions and where to call or where to get online and find out more information

Answer 4

Well, you have to apply with disney channel i guess? And you have to live in California.

Answer 5

...
why would you wnat to become a disney channel star?

Answer 6

you start out small time than slowly prove your abilitys than you have a shot

Answer 7

You probably have to be related to someone famous or some top executives kid.

Answer 8

rtt

Answer 9

well i suppose if you smoke loads of crack you have a chance

Answer 10

First off let me say that this question is asked almost ever day in one form or another. In an effort to answer as much as possible I want to first provide you with Disney’s “official” answer first:

As with any career, education and practice are important. A good first step would be to discuss your interests with a school counselor or drama teacher. If you are not currently enrolled in school, we recommend taking some drama courses at your local college. We suggest you familiarize yourself with a local theater group in your area, and read the entertainment industry trade papers, which are available at most libraries. In these you will find advertisements for upcoming auditions. When you feel ready to do so, you might consider finding an agent. Their job is to locate work suitable for you. As most film and television organizations require agency representation, having an agent is almost essential for getting paid work. Please understand that we cannot recommend a particular agent or talent agency. For information on how to find an agent in your area, please consult your local entertainment trade papers or the career and entertainment sections of your local library.

Now that being said, this is the reality. Most of the people who ask questions about getting work on the Disney channel are kids who are fans of the shows they want to work on, and there is NOTHING wrong with that. But you need to realize that being a fan dose not mean that you should be an employee of the show. Too many people have the idea that they are going to go to an open casting call, wow the casting director and get a spot on their favorite show. Honestly your chances are probably better at winning the lottery than this scenario ever happening. There is no magic formula to follow that guarantees you success, if there is this business wouldn’t be this hard to get into to. But what I can show you, is the path to start on if you REALLY want to make a go of this as a career.

You have to figure out if acting is really what you want to do, or if you only want to do it because you are a fan of a particular show or movie or if it’s a passing trend. Would you be just as happy if no one outside of your community knew who you were, but you got to act every week at the local theatre? Or are you after the money fame and celebrity status that might come your way? If your answer has anything to do with the second option, STOP right now and find another line of work.

Start getting training! You can take classes in your school all the way through college. Or if your town offers a professional acting class all the better. You have no idea how many kids say, “I love acting and I know I could be great but I have no training and I’ve never acted before.” That’s like asking an airline to make you a pilot but you don’t know how to fly a plane. Obviously foolish! Start with local plays and build your experience.

Read! Read! Read! Read books, not only on the art of acting but also the business of acting as well. You’re never to young to arm yourself with information concerning the business and how it really works. Later in life if this becomes your profession the information you’ve gained will be invaluable. You can buy tons of books on-line or check out your library.

Once you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve done the research and got some training you need to get yourself professional headshots, and this is GOING TO COST MONEY! If you want to be taken seriously as a professional you need professional headshots. Digital copies from mom’s camera ain’t gonna cut it, nor will photos from your yearbook or glamour shots. You will need to find a reputable headshot photographer and hire them to book a session. Prices usually range anywhere from $275.00 and up. Make up artists are extra and will range from 50-300 dollars extra. Now you need to get a couple hundred copies made to prepare for your auditions and mailings.

Now a reality check! If you want to make a go of this you will need to be in Los Angeles. Two of the shows most commonly asked about are “Hanna Montana” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”. Both of these shows are filmed in Los Angeles! If you want to have a shot at being on one of them, you need to be where the producers can find you. Talent searches are too few and far in between to be effective and you’ll spend more time waiting when you should have been acting and training!

After you have your head shots you or your parents need to start submitting to auditions. Simply put unless you have a very specific look or talent, no reputable agent is going to take you on with no experience. They need to know that they can sell you and in turn make money. If they can’t, then it’s not in their best interest to represent you. You can find auditions through on-line services such as LA Casting, Actor’s Access and Now Casting. Keep in mind that these sites usually charge a monthly fee for their services. Again this will cost you money up front. We never said getting into acting was cheap!

After you have landed a few jobs you can start to submit to agencies, or invite agents to see you in showcases. If an agent likes what they see, you can structure a deal with them. Keep in mind that a legit agent will never ask for money up front, however they will get, at a minimum 10% of your earnings once you’ve booked a job. You’ll need an agent to book MOST Disney gigs, however some do get posted to the breakdowns. Tell the agent up front that you have aspirations to work on a Disney program, but the reality is you’ll have little chance to select the work you go out for. A good place to start would be the publications put out by Wolf press or through http://ww.sag.org

So you still want to be on a Disney show? Then YOU have to be proactive about it. Do the research, find the agents and make the contacts. No one is going to do that for you, without you paying for it! Acting as a profession involves long hard hours of training and work, possibly thousands of dollars in headshots, monthly bill fees and training and that’s just to get a CHANCE to audition.

Long answer short: Get your training, read to get yourself informed, do plays locally to get experience, get your headshots, do small parts to build upon to get experience for your resume, submit to agents, then finally you may have your shot.

As fun as it sounds, and from time to time it is fun, acting is still a job! You have to respect it and prepare for it just like any other job. If you think you can stand in front of a camera, repeat a few lines and make millions, then stay in school and look for another profession. On the other hand if this is really what you want to do and you’re willing to make the sacrifice and do the hard work early on, we may just see you on the screen before you know it. Best of luck!