NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi all,

Got a call today from DD's agent to say she had been requested for a screen test next week for a main role in a feature film. DD is 8 and gone to a few commercial castings (no success yet!) and has done a few short films, but she's never been to anything at this level before. The film is with a very well known (in Australia) creative team and lead actor, so it will probably be pretty big judging by their previous successes.

So basically I'm freaking out!
She is, of course, completely unfazed by it all and is unaware of the scale of the production. But I feel like I should be helping her to prepare for the screen test, but I have no idea what she should expect! The screen test isn't until next week so we have some time to prepare.

We've got 2 scenes she has to learn that they'll film and there will be a reader there for her to work with. But other than that, I have no idea how to explain the situation to her. Does she slate? Does she look into the camera or at the reader? Does she try and do the actions in the script (writing on a white board, pointing at charts, eating a sandwich)? If she does the actions in the script does she mime them or will they have props? Can she hold a copy of the script in her hand in case she needs to look at it, or should she just ad lib if she forgets?

So if anyone has some advice or tips, it would be MAJORLY appreciated. Any little thing you think a newbie would appreciate will definitely be appreciated.

Hello and congratulations! How exciting! Dd or I haven't got any big screen experience, but my advice would be to learn the script and see it as a workshop. The director will tell your dd what he wants her to do. They don't want the children to be coached by their parents (or teachers) - please correct me if I'm wrong - they simply ask children to learn their lines. Good luck and let us know how she gets on.

A lot of film auditions are done this way now, mainly because the director can't get to all the auditions. Dd has done a few, she should try to learn her script so that she doesn't have to hold it then she will be able to look at the person who is reading with her and react, it will also mean her hands are free so she will have some natural movement.
Good luck.

No advice to add but how exciting for your DD .... wishing her every success Keep us posted!

As Francescasmum says, this is the way things are done so just relax and let your DD do her thing.

Lots of NAPMs have tons more experience than I do, but here's my five-penny-worth.

From our experience, your DD will be asked to perform the lines that have been sent to her, so it's best that she memorises them, but don't stress about it as they won't mind if she takes the script in with her either.

She may be asked for ident and profiles - usually that means saying her name, age and the name of her agent to the camera and then turning left and right so they get a shot of her face-on, and in profile. Don't worry if they don't do this, but it's good to be prepared in case they do. This is the only time she should address the camera and look down the lens. Otherwise, just forget that the camera is there.

There is no need to over-prepare, but it might help your DD to think about the character she is being asked to portray so that she can deliver her lines as the character would - in other words, acting.

Don't worry about where the camera is. The casting assistant (rarely the casting director unless she gets a callback) will put her at her ease and tell her what they want and will probably read with her. They are very good at this.

She may be asked to respond to a couple of redirections. So, for example, if she has played her character as sad, they might ask for angry, or for even more sad, or to move differently. Again, don't worry if they don't do this, but I'm mentioning it because sometimes the child thinks they've done it 'wrong' when all the casting assistant is trying to find out is whether they can work with direction and whether they can portray more than one emotion.

It's unlikely to take more than 5 -10 minutes.

Of course, your experience may be very different from this, so don't worry if you find it set up very differently or if it takes more or less time. But do let us know - its good to share!

Flo did one recently (which she said went badly...) where she was asked to play the role 'girly' then 'girly but fearless' which she found a bit confusing. Then she had to react to an imaginary object, so a few improv skills don't go amiss. I don't think she has ever been given props to work with.

We've also had experiences where they have taken the kids in in groups/pairs to perform a scene. On one occasion, the girl Flo was paired with didn't show up, but Flo's little sister stepped in, even though she had 'retired' from acting a few months earlier. It's good to be flexible! Having said that, Flo didn't get the job

The best advice you can take is to relax, take a leaf out of your DDs book and be totally unfazed. It's great that she is being considered and fingers crossed that she gets a callback and maybe cast in the role. But, as with commercials, they see lots of kids and you may hear nothing.

However - here's the thing - even if she doesn't go forward with this role, the casting assistant/casting director will probably be casting many other projects and it's not unusual for them to recommend kids they've seen in one context for another.

Good luck - hope this helps and do let us know how it goes!

Deb x

Not got much to add except to say never look into the camera unless specifically asked to do so. A screen test can mean different things, this sounds like a read to camera rather than a full blown screen test which involves costume and makeup. Other than learning the lines, I would also suggest thinking about the saying the lines in her own word so she projects the emotion of the scenes as said above. Most importantly just enjoy and break a leg.

Flosmom wrote:As Francescasmum says,


She may be asked to respond to a couple of redirections. So, for example, if she has played her character as sad, they might ask for angry, or for even more sad, or to move differently. Again, don't worry if they don't do this, but I'm mentioning it because sometimes the child thinks they've done it 'wrong' when all the casting assistant is trying to find out is whether they can work with direction and whether they can portray more than one emotion.
Deb x

Thank you everyone!
Deb, that's a good point about redirections. She's done really well learning the lines this weekend. She doesn't always say them word for word, but she knows the general gist of the conversation she is having and says it with slight variations eg. script says "Did you get a job?" and she often says "Do you mean you got a job?"

I hope I'm doing the right thing by not forcing her to remember the lines verbatim as I think she will give a better performance if the words feel natural to her. What do you think? Obviously if it's vastly different, I give her cues.

In the end I just went through the synopsis of the film and the character outline we got and then applied what we knew about the story and character to the script scenes we got. We discussed each line and what the character would be trying to achieve and how she would be feeling and then DD came up with her own delivery for them.

Tomorrow I might get her to try some of the lines with different direction, like you said Deb. eg Try that line like you're angry about what's happening. Try that line like you're scared about what's happening. etc. I'll warn her that they might ask her to do that in the screen test and to be ready to change her delivery accordingly, but to go in with her own performance to start with.

Do they usually get them to stand or sit? We've practised both but she much more natural when standing.

Dont over rehearse her it will loose its freshness.

Agree with everyone else - they will let her know what they want. Don't worry about being exact - and definitely don't over rehearse.

She's very young so they are highly likely to be friendly, patient and encouraging. Do warn her that she may not be in the room for long though - that can be a bit un-nerving if you are in and out quickly and unless you know it's quite likely, you might think they don't like you/are not interested.

All the best and keep us posted!

On the standing/sitting front - who can tell!

I agree with the advice not to over-prepare. Being relaxed, happy and co-operative is much more important!

Good luck

Deb x

pg wrote: She's very young so they are highly likely to be friendly, patient and encouraging. Do warn her that she may not be in the room for long though

Funny you should say that! Last week she had a casting for a commercial and the casting director (who owns the company and is well known) was sooooooooo short and rude with her. CD walked out into the waiting area and literally called "Next!". Not, "Not please", or "Who's next?". Another girl was there before us and started to stand up, but the CD went straight for DD and grabbed the piece of paper out of her hand that they thought was the form we filled in (which I was holding). It was a drawing DD was doing and the CD said "Oh, I don't want that" and tossed it back at her and grabbed the sheet out of my hand and walked away. DD followed the CD into the room and was out 30 seconds later.
Every other casting they've been busy and a bit of a cattle call, but there have been smiles and encouragement (even if I can tell it's fake, they've at least made an effort to con the kids!) but this was terrible and like all the nightmare stories you hear about.

DD didn't get a call back anyway.

So she knows it can be a very quick process!

And that they may not be encouraging, but to just get on with it anyway. Hopefully they'll be more like the other experiences we've had with people who appreciate the best way to get the best out of a child is to make the child like you!

Totally agree with the over-rehearsing thing too. We've gone through it a few times so she understands the whole reader/actor/camera process and to get her familar with her lines and when the reader has lines. But she isn't likely to know them all completely off by heart because they're quite long blocks of dialogue for a child. But she'll know them well enough to just glace at the sheets to remind herself while still 'acting'. We're going to have another read through tonight (Monday) and then leave it again til Wednesday when she'll have the casting and I'll probably get her to have a read through in the car on the way.

To be honest, I don't think the role is quite right for DD, or vice versa. She has a delicate look and character (sad waif!), yet the character is a ballsy girl with attitude. But as other people have pointed out, it's a great opportunity to be seen by a well known CD, so it's worth giving it 100% even if it isn't likely that this is the right fit.

Will keep you updated on the weeks of expected silent torture afterwards!

We have also experienced rudeness at castings - though only at commercials. My girls even referred to one CD (who saw them both a few times) as 'the stressed-out one' because she always seemed to be in a flap! Not surprising, as her castings always seemed to be chaotic.

Lets hope this experience is a calmer and friendlier one.

Deb x

Definitely don't over rehearse as it makes it harder for the child to be redirected. If you wanted to practice I would suggest doing a little bit of getting her to try out doing it in different ways - ds2's successful auditions have always involved being asked to do something in a different way. I suppose if it's a long casting process they might save that for later auditions, with the first being about look and sound.

Hope it goes well for her. Definitely tell her not to look at the camera as well. That was something the director was very clear about in ds2's recent film (apart from shots that were deliberately straight into camera).

Sorry everyone for the delayed update!
No news on call backs, but I doubt we'll hear anything if it's a no.

Ok, so we got to the casting place and there was another girl waiting with her mum too. When the casting assistant came out she went straight for the other girl and they did the whole "How are you, nice to see you again" overly friendly thing, which was quite off-putting! The other girl seemed older than DD and looked very different. I;m certain she was going for the same role as she was dressed similar to DD to match the role - tom boy, country look. She was super confident, chatty and comfortable which I think made DD a bit self-conscious!

The girl came out and DD went in. I could tell she was nervous but she smiled and chatted, just not a bubbly as she usually is!

While she was in there, the other girl was called back into anther room by a different casting person (again, they were like BFFs). I don't know if it was a second screen test for the role or perhaps they were fitting screen tests in for 2 different jobs while the girl was there.

Anywayz, DD was in there for about 15 minutes. She said she had to do the 2 scenes from the script with a reader. She did a practise first and then they filmed it. They had some props in there for her to use that matched the scene - a flip chart with bullet points the character goes through in the scene. DD said she improvised with them in the scene which I think is a good thing. We hadn't practised with any props, so I assume it's a positive that she was comfortable enough to do it.

At the end they asked if she had any questions and she asked them if the animals in the film would be real or photoshopped in! Hahahaha! They'll be real btw.

She said she had fun and enjoyed it, which is the main thing.

I'm not holding my breath for it as the character description doesn't really match her look or acting style. But I suppose you never know!

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

Will keep you updated if I hear any more, but at this stage it's "Don't call us, we'll call you"!

does any one know what the feature is called thats holding castings for in the uk for australia??