What about agents, casting directors & jargon?

Footlights Personal Management (FPM) is managed by Jo Fisher and a team of professionals, please see our section on casting agency for further details. Wr are happy to take on any new or exisiting chidlren after they have completed two full terms with us.  For 17 - 21 year olds (trained) we require a CV and/or show reel, you will then be invited in for an audition.

All  children and actors must have professional headshots taken by our photographer at a cost of £59 for 30 heashots. They also MUST join Spotlight.

Please be aware that that casting professionals, directors and production companies are usually working to a very tight deadline. In light of this they have little time for 'games' or 'giddy' or 'shy' children, We don't mean to sound harsh but if your child isn't confident , there is little point in them audtioning at the moment - THEY ARE STILL GREAT KIDS - but will probably need to attend regular skills  (acting, singing and dance) classes to build their confidence.

Licencing ( for all children and young actors aged 15 years or under including babies!)
As above - tight schedules are the the norm. For every single job that a child or young actor gets, they will need a NEW licence, which means - two passport photographs, a letter from school, giving permission for the child to be absent if necessary, a letter from the doctor stating your child is fit and well and a copy of the child's birth certificate or passport. This all gets sent off to your child's LEA ( Local Education Authority) and it is all done at a RAPID SPEED usually. Big tip - build a GREAT relationship with your doctor so they will sign off letters at a moment's notice and not charge you

Favouritism

really doesn't exist! It may seem that other people are getting auditions and your child isn't, however this is nothign to do with us having 'favourites' it is simple what the casting directors are asking for.
In all honesty boys get more opportunities than boys and young children ( 5 -7 yrs) and teens (14 -19yrs) generally get more opportunities too.

Having said that if your child has their photographs taken, they join Spotlight and then join our  agency FREE OF CHARGE, then they will have an opportuntiy of being seen - if they don't - noone knows about them so chances are they will never be seen!

Jargon

Breakdown:  This is what we receive on a daily basis. It is a list sent out to all agents all over the UK and contains descriptions of all acting jobs avialable in various fields, commercials, films, tv drama's etc. We carefully read the breakdown and see if any of our children/young actors match the brief ( breakdown). If so then we make suggestions. ( see below) So you see, it is in our interest to suggest the appropriate children/young actors, if we just suggested 'favourites' we would narrow our chances of getting work. We MATCH what they want. Nothing else.

Suggestions/submissions:This is a term coined by casting directors and the like when asking for us ( agencies) to submit children/young acotrs for a job. What it means is we read the 'breakdown' and then 'suggest' or 'sub' children/young actors who fit with the description of the character that the casting director is asking for.

Pages:Scripts that are often sent for children/young actors to learn before an audition. IT IS ALWAYS in your child's/young actors best interest to LEARN as much as possible before the audition if they can. Often they don't get 'pages' and are asked to 'improvise' - see confidence above!

Buyout:This generally means one set fee that your children/young actor will get paid for the company to use the footage for 12 months, we will always notify you of the pay scale and expectations of pay.

Audition fees:Are generally UNPAID. Often auditions are in London, and on top of this, not usually paid, so if this bothers you, let us know and we will not submit your child for London auditions.

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