NotaPushyMum.Com

Can anyone recommend a good agency for my 17 year old daughter, who has a passion for musical theatre

Welcome to the forums!

This isn't a simple question to answer, but many people have offered advice and experience on the threads you will find here.

So my advice is to put the kettle on, put your feet up and read through all the threads. You'll find all the information you could hope for and the answers to questions you haven't even thought of.

There is a section on agents that may be a good place to start.

Hope this is helpful

Deb x

Hi Jamalibry

There is masses of information on this site about trying to find an agent. It will really pay dividends to spend some time reading through lots of the the threads. What suits one actor may not suit another and recommendations are fraught with difficulties.

EDIT: Flosmum got there first!! Hi Deb

Make sure you avoid the charlatans (lots of advice on the site about that) - don't join if there's any kind of fee to join the agency (Spotlight fee is different) and beware of any agency that has hundreds and hundreds of clients. Otherwise, get hold of a copy of Contacts, do as much research as you can, send in submissions to any agents that seem suitable and see what happens.

Musical Theatre at 17 is tricky. An agent is unlikely to take her on at 17 with a view to getting professional MT work I would think - is she still in full time education? Most adult MT performers (and I think that agents and CDs will be comparing her to young adults) will have already trained on an accredited MT course. Have a think about what sort of work she would be hoping to get - check the programme for a likely show and see whether you can find out about the performers' backgrounds/history. Even performers who have trained for three years on an accredited MT course can have trouble getting representation.

An agent may take her on with a view to her getting other work - if she has what they regard as a commercial look or if her CV is of particular interest or if they are interested enough to audition her to see what she can do. If she is in a show - you could also try inviting agents to come and see her - but be aware that most of them received dozens of invitations a week to see shows...

At 17 - with a passion for MT - my advice would be to think about future training rather than agency representation at this stage.

Following on from what PG said you also need to be very careful with an agent that asks you to attend 'Clients workshops' which they say is to be assessed once you've been accepted on their books. You will probably find there is no mention of a fee anywhere until you are joined up with them (even though they pride themselves on not charging a fee to be on their books). In effect you are actually paying to be on their books, all those clients @ approx. £30.00 a time all adds up. These in my opinion are nothing more than a money making session. It's also a 'crafty' hidden fee which you will probably be none the wiser of until you are called for that workshop! All very mis leading, they may quote the usual £90.00 Spotlight Fee on their page but there may be no mention of a workshop charge.

If you are happy to pay what I feel are 'hidden' fees, also bear in mind where your agent is based to where you live if you want to be travelling up & down the country twice a year. We've done a 4 hour round trip in the past for an approximate hours workshop. Something I am so glad we will never have to do ever again.

Most certainly never sign up with an agent who approaches you on here. I've heard that a lot recently. It's very very wrong.

Hi , My son has been Accepted for UKMMagency, but why is it that they want you there within a few days as they are closing the book on his group ! this sounds a bit pushy to me , plus we are on holiday then !
will a decent agancy wait until after we come home or is it a sales ploy ??
Regards
N Power

Has he been accepted without meeting them already? Or do you mean he has been given an audition with them?