NotaPushyMum.Com

My dd sent off her photo & cv to a very well known reputable agency 2 months ago half expecting to hear nothing back, and so was extremely happy when they replied to her almost immediately. They asked her to send them something on tape of her performing a monologue or a short scene, so I presume they liked her photographs. She sent them a monologue & short scene the next day, which admittedly, was not her best performance. In her own words 'hair was too messy, top was the wrong colour for her colouring on screen, and it was a stupid monologue choice.' I know things like hair/t-shirt shouldn't really matter, but she insists that they do when taping, because they affect the whole professional 'look' of the piece.

Just to quickly elaborate on what 'stupid monologue choice' means - rather than using one of her usual play pieces, she wanted to make sure she performed something as naturalistic as possible (because she mostly wants to be submitted for tv/film work) so she re-wrote a scene from Skins and performed that, and regretted it almost immediately Something about it was just a little bit too 'I want to play this cliche sort of character' and not 'I am committed to becoming a professional actor'

Anyway, she had a few technical difficulties when sending them the tape, which they were extremely patient and helpful over, and they even suggested websites she could use to upload the video onto. I thought this was a very good sign considering they are an extremely busy agency with no doubt 1000s of submissions!

Unfortunately once they'd watched the tape they replied with:

"Thanks so much for that, at the moment we won't be pursuing taking you on. Yours is a look and age group we are not looking for new people to take on board for at present. I would suggest keeping active, getting experience, and perhaps try us again in a few months time. Hope this helps"

So, she's not sure whether this a very polite 'thanks but no thanks', or she actually does have a real chance of getting on their books, she just needs a bit more experience and a better monologue next time!

Any thoughts on this are extremely welcomed! Should we get back in contact in a couple of months?

Thanks

Yes, yes. Definitely try again in a few months. If they had no interest whatsoever they would be more off-putting than that and would have finished the feedback at "at present".

That's not to say she'll get a "yes" in a few months, but there is certainly no harm in trying as she has been invited to do so. Just make sure she doesn't get too impatient and that she really does leave it for a few months (and then contact them telling them what she has done/learned in those months - thus showing that she has taken their advice).

She didn't necessarily make the wrong choice with the Skins monologue. It is inevitable that she will try to find a million reasons that are her fault, but I think it's best to take their advice, keep active, keep a look out for good monologue material and try again. It will be very hard for a young female actor to be taken on by an agency (too many of them around!) but since they have invited her to try again I think she should definitely go for it!

Never give up! As an ex-teacher, I worry a little that she "she re-wrote a scene from Skins " - very often younger people know very little about screenwriting, and it's possible that she focused on the kind of area that the agency simply don't find useful. Skins is a unique programme - and very skilful in it's script design to appeal to not just the age range of the characters. There are so few programmes of this type that it's a very limiting field to use to show your skills. I guess what I mean is that for every skins type acting job there could be 50 cbeebies type jobs. I'm not sure how 'raw' she went, but some agents just don't like that kind of material anyway.

Naturalistic isn't quite what I think of when I look at skins, it's quite unreal to most people. It also sounds like she just wasn't comfy with the character she chose. what did you think of her performance? Was it good, or did you privately cringe a bit?

I remember at an audition for the female lead in panto a young lady turning up and doing one of these hard, rough and angry pieces - and seeing the look on the directors face. Lovely, Darling, but we are looking for a princess not an evil stepmother! As soon as she started I looked at my notes and stared at the intently, not wanting to catch eyes with anyone until the thing was over. Just totally the wrong audition piece for the show.

Leave it a while and have another go. Do the agency have a particular client base - well worth checking out the names on their portfolio, and seeing what roles they're getting - and maybe tailoring the audition piece to that kind of client?

how old is she, btw?

I suspect your daughter is a similar age to mine (17) based on the piece she did, so just wanted to say that my dd went to a workshop audition for a great agency (who my son (9) was already with) when she was 14 and they said she was too tall for under 16 roles, so get back to them when out of licence - we did this and they were keen to see a taped monologue and meet her and they have taken her on So they did mean it - I am sure that the agency means it, otherwise I think they would have no qualms just saying no. Good luck!! x

I know this is a ridiculously late reply, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the advice and feedback - it really has a been a huge help and generally reassuring!

She's 19 (although she was 18 when she sent off her taped monologue to this agency - and her 'look' is much more in the 15/16 age range, so she is constantly being told!)

She's thinking of sending more of a showreel to them when she next applies (probably the beginning of next month - unless anyone thinks that's too soon?) to show a bit of a wider range - is this a good idea? I think it's better than the Skins monologue at any rate, as like people have said, screenwriting is not really a gift she possesses, and the re-written scene did probably not show off her acting to the best of her ability.

I know it is extremely hard for a girl of her age to be accepted by an agency, but she has been trying for so long now (nearly three years ) and I'm starting to get a little bit worried about her. She keeps getting such brilliant feedback from agencies (most notably the callback where she and the five others that were there were all described as 'exceptionally talented') but she has just never been accepted by anyone. But I guess we just have to keep our fingers crossed that someone somewhere gives her a break soon.

Thank you again for all the feedback everyone