Talk to me about children's talent agencies

[thoughtfulmusings]

Name changer.

I am very new to all this and have zero performing talent - DD on the otherhand is quite good. Are there some agencies which are considered better/ more supportive than others?

I have done a fair bit of reading on the internet but they all seem to say that they are good.....

Is it better to go with one that also provides training?

Surely your child’s dance or acting school will have contacts?

Only modelling contacts which DD is not interested in.

What sort of thing are you talking about - dance, musical theatre or acting?

Following as my daughter would like to get into "extras" roles rather than anything big. I have friends who get loads of "extras" roles (in quite big film and TV productions) although they're very ordinary unattractive middle-aged men whom I know through their day jobs 😂 and it's apparently quite lucrative as a side hustle.

They say that their agencies focus on adults and that I should look for childrens' agencies. Can anyone recommend any?

Acting primarily but also great at singing.

@thoughtfulmusings

Are you London based? Or elsewhere?

My daughter is signed with an agency but I think my advice might differ dependent on where you are based!

Local commissioning theatre is a good first port of call - even if they don't have open auditions coming up they will have contacts with child agencies and give you local relevant advice. Not all theatres commission work (they just do touring productions) if you can indicate roughly where you are I can advise more.

I would however say to keep expectations in check, it's incredibly competitive and demanding on the parents. My dd was shortlisted once (I didn't want her to do it anyway) but didn't make the cut, sound of music

How old is she?

We are within an hour of central London and she is aged 12 but not that tall.

So the first thing I would do as you are near London (subject to what "not that tall" means!) is to get her into an Open Call for a musical. Look at Jessica Ronane's website - they cast Matilda twice a year as well as others. She's right at the end of most musical theatre options but if you could get her into an actual professional audition it will give her an idea of whether the rigour of auditions is something she would like to pursue.

If she would, then you just need to do some submissions to agencies (that are open to submissions!). There's a lot of lists online. A normal well lit photo will do. If you get any interest then you can consider the specifics of that agency/read online info etc and whether they will suit.

As above, it is super competitive. And annoying having to turn around self-tape video auditions at quick notice. There's an art to them that we still haven't quite worked out. Two that my daughter has been cast off of were, I thought, two of the worst she has done 🤷🏼‍♀️ The jobs she has done have been amazing experience though. She has been treated so well on set and they have been a brilliant life-experience. I'm sure that might not always be the case though!

Also, if she is a decent singer, consider auditioning for National Youth Musical Theatre and British Youth Musical Theatre next year. They aren't professional jobs as such but the experience, as I understand it, is pretty close to a professional show. My daughter is doing her first show this summer so I'll know more after that!

Happy to answer any questions if you have any specific ones!

'not that tall' is good for theatre work. The children need to be a lot shorter than the adults to make it look right on stage.

Does she dance at all? That is something they tend to want in musicals, including from the singers.

Unfortunately 12 will almost certainly be too old for any professional stage roles until 18+

The vast majority want under 5ft and max age of 12... and most want under 4ft 10 in height. Some roles are really tiny - max 4ft 4 for Les Mis for girls, max 4ft 3" for Matilda in Matilda (and at least age 10). The few older/taller roles that I have seen recently, every single child at finals had at least one WE credit on the cv already.

If you are wanting to try out for agents, then have a look at the AYPA list for reputable ones. You generally only hear back from an application if they are taking it further. You will need to send photos (no makeup, jewellery, hats etc - just plain top, head and shoulders well lit), and a letter outlining what training and experience your DD has had. Most will also ask for a video of a monologue and a singing/dance video.

12 is a bit of a bad age as they are heading into dead-zone where productions will cast a 16 year old who is small and young looking to play down as they don't need licences or chaperones. If your DD could still pass easily for 9-10 then that will help.

There are agencies that are more selective than others. The most selective will want big name credits on the cv already, the top children's agencies will also want significant training and some credits unless there a child has a very in-demand look or is very talented.

The industry is massively over-saturated, especially for girls, so you will need immense resilience as most of it is an expensive, thankless slog!

You as a parent will also need to have extreme flexibility, take on the role of reader, lighting designer, sound engineer, camera man, video editor, PA and bag carrier... oh and enough disposable income to pay for the headshots/Spotlight/Equity/travel/training/masterclasses (and if they sing and or dance as well then triple the training costs).

But... the highs are amazing, and DD and I have made some lifelong friends. 10 years in I'd still do it all again.

Try Sally King Agency for SA work for children. They seem to have a good rep with parents.

Only thing I would caution - SA work (extras) is not classed as acting, and if your DD did want to do acting then it can be detrimental to have on a cv, and can mean they would not be cast in certain productions.

A lot of agents won't allow clients to do SA work for that reason (plus they are then unavailable for acting jobs).

Thank you so much for the recommendation! I think being an extra is as far as my daughter wants to take acting. Her main focus is to try to become a professional athlete (in a very expensive sport 🥶) so I don't know whether it would not have been more realistic to make it as an actress 😂

Many thanks everyone - I don’t think it’s professional stage work that she is interested in - though she is going to be involved in some opera work this/ next year (she’s already beyond G8 standard). It will be unpaid so classed as amateur (along with adult professionals). When I say ‘not that tall’, she is the shortest girl in her year at 5 ft 2 in. She does have experience of both NYMT and BYMT and loves them. Dancing is okay but she doesn’t currently take lessons. Singing and acting are definitely her strengths. Do you have any thoughts on Stagebox and TTA as agents @OhCrumbsWhereNow ?

Has she taken Gd 8 with a reputable exam board? She won't have a developed voice at her age will she?

With ABRSM - numerous comments from teachers and examiners on how strong her voice is already and still developing.

Sorry it cut half of my message off. The last exam she took was Grade 7 (distinction with 29s for her pieces) but the songs she is singing now are diploma level. I know that she has to take Grade 8 before she can take the ARSM - Grade 8 exam is planned for autumn term.

That depends on the quantity and quality of training as well as the underlying ability.

People who have spent their life in the music industry thought my DD was 19/20 when they heard raw phone recordings of her at age 12 (and pre-puberty).

Two years on her voice has developed massively, and it will continue to develop and change for many years to come.

I always thought that it would be impossible to be G8 in singing at that age - compared with an instrument that is less dependent on physical size and development - but it is entirely possible. Many choristers are G8 at that age. You just pick pieces that are suited to their voices and their physical and emotional level.

Re: TTA and Stagebox - we are with neither but have close contacts with each of those. Both run audition days and you sign up for that via a form on their websites.

Stagebox options are musical theatre (which would be a triple threat situation so dance expected as far as I know) or an all acting option which would be for screen. Everyone I know personally with Stagebox joined via one of their audition says but that doesn’t mean they don’t open their books at other times of the year. There is a fee for the audition day but it’s run like a workshop so hopefully she would feel she got her money’s worth. Stagebox also do training so I would make sure you’re up for their training options if you’re considering them as an agency. You audition to get a training place and then they talk representation after that.

TTA have auditions next month I think. They represent kids who train at a variety of places in a range of disciplines, so she might be more at home there without dance.

She’s too old for children’s West End roles and like others said, there’s then a gap - there are next to no stage roles between 12 and 16. A focus on screen work would be proactive if it’s something she would like. Voiceover work could also be good for her as there are animated roles that require singing as well as acting.

Back to your original questions: there are rubbish scam agencies and then there are very many reputable agencies and there’s not really a best place to go - it’s about finding a good match for you. Sometimes due to communication styles - some more blunt, some not; some phone, some do everything by email and expect you to always be checking your inbox. But also because you don’t really want to be too similar to another kid already on their books. If there is another girl the same height, similar look, similar talent, they may end up having to compete against each other in a way just to be submitted for a role, so it’s handy to avoid that. Keep in mind if an agent asks for money up front aside from booking a headshot session or a workshop day, then I would move on. Agents make their money by taking their cut when they are successful in getting you work and shouldn’t be trying to earn money from signing kids to their books.

Agencies attached to training have pros and cons. Pro being that the kid is constantly in front of the agents and hard work and progress and talent will all be noticed and keep you on their radar. Con being that you may find they offer more and more classes (costing you significantly more) and it can be hard to say no when it feels like it will help your child’s chances. It can help to set a budget before you get to that situation and then if more is offered, say you can’t afford this as well as that; which one option would be more beneficial, etc. Do see what their opinions are on studying with teachers outside their organisation as well. Imo agencies that disallow study from anywhere else are not in the child’s best interest. (For context, I have a professionally working child and our agent is through a theatre school and we are very happy there, but we do also train elsewhere and we don’t do any secret keeping about that!) It sounds like the opportunities for young people at the Royal Opera House might be right up your daughter’s street and you wouldn’t want an agent to talk you out of that in favour of something inferior.

If you haven’t already, I would make sure your DD has a good current headshot and a self tape with a monologue and a song. Having that ready will make approaching agencies much easier.

If you’ve read all this, my last thought would just be to make sure this is the route your child wants to take and that she’s cool with missing social opportunities with friends, dropping everything to tape, training a fair whack but still keeping schoolwork up to date (school need to be on side for licensing). And you need to be supportive enough to facilitate self tapes and flexible enough to drop everything to take her to castings and/or work. Saying to an agent that you can’t make something will hurt her chances of being submitted in the future, so it’s good to go into it with open eyes.

all the best for your DD finding happiness and success!

Just to add there are several helpful Facebook groups for parents of child actors in the UK. They have lists of reputable agents and also scam agencies. As previous posters have said 12 is a tricky age for theatre unless they are already established. However it's a great time to focus on training especially for screen. There are several castings for younger teens-its not impossible. My dd is now just out of licence and just about to finish filming a series she's been involved with since she was 13. She has worked really hard to get where she is now and is extremely driven. I would suggest your dd take some screen lessons online-if you join the teen actors under licensing age uk page on Facebook you will get a lot of info and advice.
There are open castings which you can submit a tape without going through an agent -if you follow several casting directors on Instagram they pop castings up on their page.

Thank you so much for all your helpful advice @OhCrumbsWhereNow, @CatatonicLadybug and @nancypineapple. It is really appreciated!

Sorry to hijack but does anyone know of agencies that recruit people to play actresses hands in films when they need to perform on a musical instrument? DD plays a fairly unusual instrument that historically a lot of women played but is now pretty well all men? She tthought that there might be a market for a performer who has small hands (so could be a woman or a child).

hi, I signed up to kidstalent.agency for my dd and now I’m panicking it’s not legitimate! Any advice? Thanks

It's not one I know (we've never done modelling/TVCs etc) but looking at the website it looks legitimate.

Commission is in line with norms.
Spotlight fee is standard and paid to them not the agency
No other fees and they're not trying to flog you a portfolio of unusable photos

All looks fine.