Another Agency Question......sorry :)

[Morgansmum]

Ive contacted approx 20 Agencys to re-present my dd and getting so many "No sorry we cannot represent your daughter at this time" for whatever reasons (they usually dont specify), she is very talented and has experience, or any agencys that she is successful with want silly amounts just to go onto there books which im not prepared to do as ive read so many negative things about these agencys,

A lovely lady from C&S Management emailed me back to say they were interested but they already had a child that my dd resembled so couldnt sign her at the mo,

I just feel like its knock back after knock back, I need some advice as to whether I do need to maybe sign with an Agency and pay or hold out for the one that gives her a chance??

[sophiesocks]

how frustrating for you, have you heard back from all the agenys you have applied for, if there are any outstanding i would give them a call and ask if they received your daughters application. who have you applied to so far?

[janine]

Like SophieSocks says which agencys have you tried??Also where do you live?? As unfair as it seems some agents will not accept kids from further than 40 mins from London..

[sapphire]

Wise words Will!

[Morgansmum]

Thank you so much for all your advice, the ones I got a no from were C&S Management, Chilli Kids, Bonnie and Betty, A&J Management and havent heard from the others a few were Mark Jermin, Kelly Management and Elite Talent,

I got a yes from Childsplay and Allsorts but it seems everyone does! Then they want £25 for photos then £160 for the fee etc...

We live in Middlesex just outside central London so we are well within the M25 area that alot of agencies specify,

I guess I will take a breather and try again in 6 months

[janine]

Have you tried contacting(by phone) the agency's that have said no , & not specified a reason,to ask why they declined representation or at least an audition???.... IF the agency's have not seen her for audition it could simply come down to photographs or your daughter not having enough experience on her Cv.. Either way at least youd know what exactly they were looking for, & what perhaps you could adjust or work on before attempting to apply again....... Nothing Ventured & all.......

[Mimi-cat]

We had the same problem and applied to 27 agents in total over a period of 6 months. About half never even bothered to reply and half that did kept asking for silly amounts of showreel material to be sent. They wouldn't consider any tvc or student film material only big credits which of course dd didn't have at the time. We spent a fair few months traipsing up and down to London meeting with the various agents, we met with some of the one's you mentioned and also some of the "big boys" listed in the top 10. In the end after many months we put all the offers of representation to dd and let her pick who she felt would manage her career best

It was very frustrating as we felt we couldn't progress to the next level without a decent agent but couldn't get a decent agent (with the contacts) unless we had an enormous amount of showreel footage after being used to model agents snatching my hand off to sign dd, we were also very naive in assuming the same would happen with the acting side - BIG MISTAKE!!

You def have to be patient (which I know is incredibly hard, I was always thinking of the roles dd was missing out on as we hadn't signed with anyone). I would say that the model agents who double as acting agents will only really get "extra" roles if you want to take the acting side seriously then you will need to consider one of the child one's like Abacus, CS or A&J, if however you really want to hit the big time then approach the big boys like Curtis Brown, Hamilton Hodell, Conway Van Gelder, Ken McReddie, ARG, CAM etc etc, but be prepared to be asked for a huge amount of footage and if you are lucky enough to be called for a meeting, get ready for a grilling (dd looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights at one lol). Even after all this running around & jumping through hoops, you will still get the rejection email from the majority. But ....... you WILL be left with a handful (4 or 5) that will want to sign you and then my dears ...... the world is your oyster

[lilacspanishsun]

HI
Try looking into Platform Talent Management - They are looking for talented kids to join. I dont know what their terms are - but my DS did a film with the owners DS and she is a lovely lady that runs this agency.

[ruby95]

Have you tried Byrons?
I know nothing of their current admissions criteria (as I joined about 11 years ago) but I strongly recommend them.

[notacluemum]

Might it be that there is a certain snobbery by acting agents towards modelling children? What do the more experienced mums think? Might it be wise to underplay the modelling and highlight the acting experience (even though it may be theatre school or amateur). If so, very natural headshots might be the order of the day.

What do other people think?

It must be very frustrating, though as with all things, persistence usually pays off! Best wishes. Mx

[Mimi-cat]

The cv we sent out only included all dd's theatre work, vo, tvc and films & a headshot, we never mentioned any photographic/modelling work as felt it was totally different to acting therefore irrelevant. Of all the agents we did meet with, they all said the 1st thing they looked at was dd's headshot and how well she photographed, then they looked at her credits & showreel. There was also some debate regarding drama schools, the majority we met said they would NOT like children to have attended a drama school as they tend to all be churned out the same (jazz hands & all that) yet some of the bigger one's insisted that dd would need to attend RADA etc.

Model agents tend to get the background artist work and we have been told on many ocassions by different CD's/Producers & agents to avoid doing these (however temped you are) as once they are on your cv a couple of times, it can be quite hard to break away from being cast for just "extra" work. The same was said for background roles in CBBC programmes. I'm not sure I agree totally as I'm sure a few would be good experience for the beginner

I would cast your net as wide as possible keep a note of who you have applied to and see who comes back. Be patient and do not sign with the 1st agent that offers representation (even though you will be tempted) we waited 6 months!! Also go with your gut feeling, we were tempted to go with one of the big London agents (because of the name & who was on their books) but dd wasn't happy with what they were offering, in the end we let her decide who she felt most comfortable with

I would say do not sign with an agent who doesn't ask to meet you or invite you to an audition but will offer representation on the strength of an emailed cv & photo.

[Morgansmum]

Again Thank you all so much for your advice,

I work full time also so its so hard to fit everything in but at the same time I want to be able to do this for dd,

She is only 9 and I have been told that some agents are not into the whole Theatre School kids but dd has come along so much since going, she was at Sylvia Young from the age of 4 but i found the bigger they became the classes were too big and the personal touch wasnt there anymore (in my opinion) although all very nice and friendly, shes now at Italia Conti associate school and she has done so much more and I was told at the weekend that they are holding auditions for there own agency for some of the part time kids so that sounds promising,

I think I will bide my time and not rush things and hopefully the right agent will come along, I just hope they dont see the Theatre School's on her CV and automatically decline as each child has different qualities and it would be a shame if that was the way they worked

[emilyj08]

Hi, I am 16yrs old and I am wondering about agencies as well.
I have contacted abacus & kelly management, and was thinking of curtis brown, Hamilton Hodell & debbi allen associates?
Does anyone know which one would be the best to go for, and the one that could get me more professional casting if I was accepted, as well as suit me with my age?
Thankyou:)

[Genevieve]

you could also consider Kids London as well, for modelling AND acting - I'd apply to all of them and see what comes back- Abacus, CS, DM, Byrons, SY, Kelly Management all get same breakdowns , but some have more on their books than others , but beggers can't be choosers, so if you're lucky enough to have a choice of agent//offers of representation go with who you feel you'd have best relationship with and how many are on their books like you. For top agents like Hamilton Hoddell, Debi Allen, Curtis Brown don't think you'd get a look in if you don't send in a showreel. Good luck

[riverdancefan]

Also depends on age And what suits at the time, my DS is into fun and experiences big time at 11 , he is happy to have extra work. And we consider many different things, I'm not so concerned about his CV at the moment, he has auditioned for main roles. But not been successful so far.
So at the moment we are just happy to be a part of what's on offer, and gain experience where he can.
At 15,16 we may feel differently I think.....I am hoping he may have cracked a decent part.
Stage school? No stage school? Who knows what's right or wrong eh?

I am more concerned about his performing abilities, contacts and training and his employment as an adult performer really.