Congrats! The Agent Wants to Meet Your Child!

The eagerly anticipated call comes in…”Hi this is Brandy from The Young Actors Agency and we’d like to set up an appointment for you to bring in your daughter for a meeting with the agent”! Yeah! Your daughter had told you that she felt like she did a great job at the showcase. It’s not that you didn’t believe her but…you know. Whether the agent saw your child in a showcase or just got a picture in the mail from you, it’s still pretty exciting stuff!

Once the excitement settles, the worry about how to prepare for the meeting sinks in. The most important rule is NOT TO WORRY! Agents are people too! They want to meet to discuss the possibility of representing your child. They clearly saw something special and feel there are opportunities there for your child. Every situation is different but I’ll paint a couple of possible scenarios that could take place at the meeting.

A. Agent could be calling several children on the same day and you will wait in the lobby til the agent calls your child in. Your child will go in and they will just ask a couple of questions to get to know the child and their personality. They may ask the child to go out and read over a commercial and come back in and perform it for them. At that point, the agent may let you know that they will contact you in a few days since they have other kids to see.

B. Agent sets up a meeting with just you and your child. This may mean that the agent has a bit more time to spend with you. They may give the child a scene, monologue and/or a commercial to go out and prepare. Do not let this scare you. It will most likely be only one or two of those. The material is usually short and they don’t expect it to be memorized. They just want to see how well the child can “read a script” and get a feel for their personality. Helping your child understand the material is more important than memorizing it. Once the child is done, they will most likely ask to speak to you, the parent. Again no worries. They just want to let you know their thoughts on your child, get a feel for your committment level and see if you seem like you are easy to work with.

C. The agent may ask your child to prepare a monologue to perform at the meeting. This is my favorite…of course since it allow you more time. If you get the chance, have a private coach help your child prepare. Once you are at the meeting, your child will most likely go in do the monologue and then the agent may sit and talk to you and your child.

These are just some examples to give you an idea. The meeting could be super fast or you could be there for an hour. Every agent’s process is different. Keep in mind agents are people too! The agent wants the meeting to go well and for you to be comfortable.

Last bit of advice- be yourself and  give your child the freedom to be themselves. If your child goes in trying to remember all the things you told them to say and not say, they will not be open. Remember…one of our favorite things about kids is that they say the darnest things. Never take that away!

Lorena