Kids talent agency

[Loulou161]

Hi all,
my daughter does musical theatre and loves and thrives and wanted to do more so I signed up to kidstalent.agency and now I’m panicking it’s not legitimate! Any one have any experience with this? Thanks

A link to the website I used https://kidstalent.agency/

Your best bet is to ask your DD’s musical theatre coach for advice, she may well know someone or have links to industry and will be able to guide you better to avenues that will suit your DD

Sorry @Loulou161 I don’t know for sure but the website looks thin, the contract very strict, and the company can’t be found on Companies House. There are lots of current and dissolved ‘talent’ companies registered at that address but it’s not clear if this agency is actually related to any of them nor who runs it. They don’t seem to have a lot of clients who have actually got any jobs of note. Personally I would cancel my contract and start again. As per pp’s advice, ask around for recommendations.

Their building is a virtual office address in London. Basically they pay a fee to this company https://www.yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk/knowledgebase/where-are-we-located in order to have a mailing address.

kidstalent.agency isn't one I've come across before. A quick look at their website suggests that they mostly do commercial work and modelling - I can't see many acting jobs on their "Latest work" page.

They also charge a monthly fee. Agencies shouldn't charge fees for representation; they make money from commission when a client books a job. This agency gets around this by saying that the fee is for hosting and maintaining a child's profile on their website, but this is something that reputable agencies do without an additional charge.

My sense looking at the website is that they're not a scam, but they will have hundreds of kids registered with them and your DD may or may not ever get an audition through them.

If your DD is predominantly interested in musical theatre, you don't need an agent to get auditions. Most MT auditions are advertised via open call and parents of unrepresented children can apply directly. Jessica Ronane Casting (Matilda) has a mailing list you can sign up to, and other casting directors regularly involved in casting children for professional MT, such as Verity Naughton and Debbie O'Brien, put out calls via social media.

If you want to have an agent, I suggest looking at the agencies who are members of the Agents of Young Performers Association (AYPA).

Jessica Ronane has literally just put out a call for submissions for Matilda.

OP, how old and tall is your child and do you live within the M25/1 hour from central London?

For MT, kids really need to be aged between 8-12, under 4ft 10 and generally very small for age - my DD as a child was 2nd centile (so smaller than 98% of other children her age). Roles like Matilda want girls aged 10 and under 4ft 3, Little Cosette in Les Mis is under 4ft 4 and they tend to be 8/9. Gavroche is generally 10 and under 4ft 7.

The within M25/hour from London rule is because they have to attend their own school during rehearsals/show run, but you can get a last minute call to cover and have to be able to get to the theatre within an hour.

If you tick all those boxes, then you can generally find all the MT kids auditions on social media. I've recently seen ones for Oliver (under 4ft 9) and Matilda (all roles)