How do children’s auditions work?
As an agent it is my job to get your child seen by as many casting directors as possible to give your child the very best opportunity for work. I will be in contact with casting directors personally and also through sites such as Spotlight, where many casting directors post their jobs on the site for agents to look at and put forward who they think would best suit the role.
So how can parent’s support a child with ambitions without becoming a dreaded “stage parent?” Some parents whose child or children are interested in acting are actually quite scared about the whole audition process it can be daunting for both parents and children. Parents worry about the rejection their child will receive but it’s a good learning process for both children and parents.
Once I find a job that I think is suitable for your child I will put them forward for consideration, at this stage I can puts lots of children forward, you then have to wait to see if your child is picked to attend a casting. Once they decide who they would like to see, I will then receive an email with all the relevant information for the casting and pass this on to the parent so they know what date, time and location the casting is. This may be for TV, film or photography work for modelling. It’s important that you also let your child know beforehand that they may not get the part.
The parents then take their child along to the casting and the casting director will see if your child is what they are looking for, When you arrive you will wait in the waiting room until your child’s name is called. Casting directors don’t allow parents into the audition as it changes the way children react, the children don’t know whether they are supposed to respond to the casting director or the parents.
Sometimes your child will be taken in with a group of children or it can be on their own, the casting director will play games with the young ones to see how they react or may ask them to do certain things. If they had lines to learn, they will be asked to recite them. Castings don’t take very long, usually around 15-20 minutes. Your child will then be returned to you for you to go home. You will not be told on the day if your child has been selected.
If the casting director likes your child they will usually be asked for a recall, this means they may want a group of children to go back before they choose the child for the part. Again you will go home afterwards and the casting director will usually call the agent around 24-48 hours later if your child gets the part. I will then call you.
If you hear nothing, your child has not been picked on this occasion. Let your child know that it’s nothing they did wrong, they just weren’t what the casting directors were looking for this time. Rejection is the hardest part of the process but as long as you and your child know they won’t get every job, there isn’t any need to worry.
