Best for teens

Give advice, ask questions and find out information about Agencies.

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TheatreTaxi
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Best for teens

Post by TheatreTaxi »

Hi all - we are in the process of moving agents and are keen to hear views on the best agents for teens (and yes, I know it’s a slow time). Torn between moving to a bigger name ‘adult’ agency or choosing one of the well known ‘child’ agents. TIA.
TheatreTaxi
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Re: Best for teens

Post by TheatreTaxi »

Hi again - agents who have made offers/who have expressed an interest so far are Mark Jermin, Young Actors Agency, Byron’s, Williamson and Holmes, Allen and Abel, TCG. Would really value any comments/advice/recommendations. TIA
FredaBloggs
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Re: Best for teens

Post by FredaBloggs »

How old/tall is your teen, TheatreTaxi? And are they mainly interested in theatre, screen or a mix?

I think there are pros and cons to "adult" vs "child" agencies for teens.

For a younger/smaller teen who still has a reasonable prospect of getting child roles, a specialist "child" agency with good contacts could give them the chance to build up their CV, with a view to attracting the interest of a higher-tier adult agencies post-16. However, in my experience (and especially in the current post-COVID climate where there seem to be lots of younger child roles and very few tween/teen roles), these agencies often focus on their younger clients while teens are left to drift into the dead-zone with no real forward planning.

For older/taller/changed-voice teens who are unlikely to be cast until out of licensing, an agency with an adult roster is usually a better option - you get continuity with the post-16 transition, and they are more likely to have the contacts to get their clients seen for good post-16 roles.

The key question is - are any of the adult agencies currently expressing interest ones that you would aim for if you were applying post-16? If yes, it would seem sensible to go with them now. If no, and you want to aim higher post-16, you could consider a "child" agency to try to get additional marketable credits.

You've got a real mix of agencies expressing interest already. I only have personal experience with Byron's - they are great and have strong adult and child divisions. I would say they lean slightly towards theatre roles rather than screen, but their clients (adults and children) do get good screen roles.

Mark Jermin has a good reputation but is very large - do they have lots on their books already with a similar look/casting type as your DC?
Williamson and Holmes also has a good rep, but I would say also leans towards theatre roles.

Allen and Abel is a good all-round child/youth agency, and I hear good things about their communication.

Young Actors Agency is very active on social media and their clients seem to have lots of auditions for commercials/short films/smaller TV and film roles.

TCG I hadn't come across before, but some of their younger clients have some very good screen credits.
TheatreTaxi
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Re: Best for teens

Post by TheatreTaxi »

This is incredibly helpful! Thank you so much! I’ve got 2 kids - one who is older and can play down and one who is younger but with a broken voice so it’s a real dilemma. Particularly interesting to hear your thoughts on MT vs TV focus as my eldest in particular is keen to expand TV/Film work now.
FredaBloggs
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Re: Best for teens

Post by FredaBloggs »

If you have a DC who wants to do screen acting, then don't do MT (or do one good WE or tour role for the credit and the experience, but no more).

Screen acting is so much harder to break into, purely as a numbers game. Unlike MT, a production only needs one child per role, and there is much more focus on casting a child with exactly the right look (e.g. to play a younger version or child of an adult already cast). Yes, talent counts - but looks, previous screen credits and luck count for at least as much. An MT contract takes a child out of circulation for screen roles for months, and MT credits don't count for much with CDs and producers of TV/film (unless it's a huge role like the title role in Matilda, and even that has less clout than it used to when the show was new). Even a tiny screen role in a good-quality TV series or film, on the other hand, greatly increases the chance of being cast in other screen roles (and attracting the interest of a top-tier agency). I'm afraid I'm rather cynical about this, having followed the careers of lots of young performers as they develop.

There also seem to be far fewer opportunities to build a CV with small screen roles than there used to be. Short film and student film castings fell off a cliff with COVID and only now seem to be recovering slowly. However, people making short films often don't want the hassle of dealing with child licensing. My suspicion from general parent gossip about castings is that in order to minimise the number of people on set, TV and film productions are only using younger children when they absolutely have to, and tween/young teen roles are either not being written or are being aged up so that over-16s can play them.

Unfortunately, my experience with my teen DS is that once their voice breaks, that's it for screen roles until they're out of licensing unless they already have huge credits, even if they are small for their age - they might still look 12-13 physically, but they can't sound it any more!
TheatreTaxi
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Re: Best for teens

Post by TheatreTaxi »

That’s certainly all in line with our experience
FredaBloggs
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Re: Best for teens

Post by FredaBloggs »

Best of luck with your decision-making - you must have a talented pair of DC to have so many agencies interested!
TheatreTaxi
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Re: Best for teens

Post by TheatreTaxi »

Made our decision- Byron’s it is! 🎉
FredaBloggs
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Re: Best for teens

Post by FredaBloggs »

Ah, good decision! Byron's is great :)
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