What am I letting myself in for??

[new at this]

I've been looking at this site for a few days now, since my child has been asked to join an agency, after having had an 'audition workshop'. Before booking him onto the photoshoot I spoke to his school because I didn't know if they would be ok with it and apparently they have students already with agencies and are familiar with the licensing and everything, which helped me make up my mind! Am I doing the right thing?? He's not had any experience whatsoever and this is the first agency we tried - should we shop around?? Oh, and I work full time too ... have a feeling I may be biting off more than I can chew

[Dell71]

Hi and welcome to NAPM. You'll get lots of help on here and will soon learn a lot regarding this profession.

I think you're doing the right thing. You know his school is behind him for a start and as he is just starting out he's done really well already to get a signing with an agent I wouldn't worry about the lack of experience because casting directors normally have a particular look in mind and go off how a child performs on the day anyway. You don't say how old your ds is but everyone has to start somewhere so I'd say go for it and just see what happens.

Good luck to your ds

[new at this]

Thank you! He'll be nine in a few weeks and I wouldn't even be thinking about it if he hadn't mentioned it again after the workshop, but he really enjoyed it and kept asking ... My mum isn't too sure but she's agreed to help and if we didn't give him this opportunity we would be kicking ourselves, wouldn't we?!

[Dell71]

Quite right, you have to take the opportunity especially whilst he's young with no exam worries yet. It's very good for their confidence too. Our dd is 7 and at first my mum and sister where making comments like "she's only 7, she shouldn't be doing so much" (she's not done a lot at all ) & "she has got school to go to too you know" However... our dd is the first in our family to have wanted to persue this line of work, she asked to join the agency and she absolutely loves it. Since my mum and sister have watched shows she has performed in and seen her talent for themselves they are now starting to come round to it and are a lot more supportive
I think adults worry that they might miss loads of school and fall behind but our dd has only had to miss 3 days of school and her agent provides a tutor if she misses 3 consecutive days so they can't argue with that

[Flosmom]

I think you're absolutely right to give it ago and just see where it all leads to. Which may be nowhere but may be somewhere special - who knows? Just be sure to have fun on the way - both of you

And let us know how you get on too.

Good luck

Deb x

[Genevieve]

younger you start with your ds the better, he's shown an interest so now's the time - The only issue you may have is getting him to after school castings...which worry about that when the time comes, theres always a way round these things, but bearing in mind, to start an agent will test the ground with submitting him for as many castings that come along to see if he secures any work for them , and then it may taper out a bit depending upon outcome, but he's chaperoning age, so I wouldn't worry too much if he does secure a job as that will be sorted out by the agent. Good luck to your ds

[new at this]

Thank you all for your lovely comments and help, much appreciated I'm so excited for him and the people at the agency are lovely, although I don't think I'll ever get used to the set up at Media City, didn't realise it was so big! We have a bit of time to let it sink in before he's put forward for anything, the photos aren't until the beginning of May. Does anyone have any experience with the Scream agency? I'm unsure how often he would be asked to go for auditions - I know that's like asking how long a piece of string is!!

[Nemo]

I've been with Scream for just over a year now, and to be honest, I'm not overly impressed. I've had two auditions and I've done extra work on Waterloo Road twice as well, aside from that I've had nothing, although i've attended the required two workshops per year. Actually, they did call me once to offer me extra work in Hollyoaks but I was on holiday, and had given them my blackout dates which they obviously failed to look at before calling me. A friend of mine recently enrolled her DD there, and she's 8, and I've been talking to her about Scream too, as I was wondering whether to stay or not, and she also had problems, with being emailed about castings, replying and never hearing from them again. However, she phoned them and found out there is now someone new in charge who seems more efficient, so hopefully all will get better.

That said, it could just be that no roles that suited me came along and your DS could have much more luck. I've found that the staff are helpful and really nice, so there's nothing to worry about there. Good luck!

[whatamigettinginto]

Hi. I am a newbie here and found this post very interesting as I am just at the stage, after a long time thinking about it, of agreeing to pursue my daughter's desire to dance, act and sing. She is 9 and has been in the choir for Joseph UK Tour and was an orphan in the Annie UK tour last year. She got both of these parts through her Musical Theatre school who held auditions within the school. My concern in taking things further (she would like to join an agency and would love to so some TV/film work) is how can you tell if your child is good enough????? This might sound odd, but I have no experience in this area at all and I worry about putting her out there, only to find that she doesn't get anything at all. I think she is good, but is that just parental bias? She thinks she is good enough - but is that over-confidence? Like I said, I have been trying to solve this dilemma for a year now and my daughter is desperate to take things further. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[Genevieve]

your dd has some credits on her c.v. already -she's showing she's keen, don't hold back. If I were you...i'd pursue getting her an agent, see where it takes you. There's nothing worse than looking back in the future and thinking that you should have or could have nurtured your childs interest in something and talent, and didn't !!
Its such a fantastic experience for children being involved in the performing arts, they pick up so many skills I can't list them all - and auditions are a great experience, and you never know, she may earn some money to put away for a rainy day or shopping trip !
Now's the time, she's at a good age to join an agency, as they don't expect them to have lots of experience and a lengthly c.v. The agents will audition her, and they will snap her up if they think she can get some work, it's very hard to judge as parents without being bias !

[francescasmum]

Welcome to the mad house whatamigettingmyselfinto. It is very addictive! What area are you from?

[whatamigettinginto]

Thank you Genevieve and Francescasmum. I think i have no choice but to go along with all of this! I think I will have a look at posts on here about agents and take it from there. We are in Northampton, but there don't seem to be very many opportunities locally. I have created a profile on Starnow and Kidsccp, but haven't paid any money. I though I would keep an eye on castings and pay if something came up for DD to apply for. It is all very new and scary, although it is exciting too. This site looks like it will be incredibly helpful so I''m very glad I found it.

[Flosmom]

I worry about putting her out there, only to find that she doesn't get anything at all.

Well. If that's the worst thing that can happen, what are you worried about? If you don't let her have a go, she won't get anything (or at least anything more than she is getting right now) if you do, she might. It's a no-brainer as far as I can see.

As for the 'is she good enough?' I don't think she has anything to prove because she has already been there, done that. But good enough doesn't guarantee castings. There are so many random and mystifying reasons why kids do or don't get cast - just read through some of these threads to find out about them. So all you can do is help her to be in the right place at the right time and support her through the inevitable roller coaster of yes, no and maybe that comes with it.

Good luck - let us know how you get on, you're among friends here

Deb x

[whatamigettinginto]

Thank you Flosmum. I think it's time to join the rollercoaster! I have spent many hours reading through some threads on here and it has been very useful. It is good to hear from people who are already involved with all of this and know the ins and outs. Let's see what happens........

[whatamigettinginto]

I have taken the first little step and signed DD up to Starnow. I have paid for 6 months and will see how it goes. I've been looking at agents but haven't made any formal enquiries yet as I am concerned that work commitments would make it difficult to attend castings if offered. ( I work part time, but it is every morning Mon-Fri). One step at a time!