- How To Get To The Point Of Applying
- What Are The Basics To Know
- How The Process Works
- What's The Parents Role In All Of This
- How To Make The Process More Efficient
The process of auditions and casting calls for kids and babies involves unique challenges and requires a significantly different approach compared to casting adults. Understanding how to handle auditions for children is crucial for ensuring a smooth audition and casting experience.
How To Get To The Point Of Applying
Before even considering applying to auditions and castings, the first step should be to identify whether your kid or baby could have any interest in acting or modeling, as well as the knack for it.
If the kids themselves don't straight up tell it to you, or at least hint at such an interest, or, as in the case of a baby, simply can not speak, you can discover such potential through observing the child. The kids or babies natural inclination towards acting, singing, dancing, or other creative activities can be considered as the green light towards researching opportunities for auditions and castings.
This research for auditions and castings may involve looking into local theater groups, talent agencies, casting calls, or, more conveniently, online platforms that advertise casting opportunities for children.
However, before applying for auditions and public casting calls, parents can potentially consider enrolling their children in acting classes, dance lessons, or other training programs to help them develop their skills and gain some experience in performing arts first.
What Are The Basics To Know
Conducting public casting calls for kids is a method used to discover new talent. Those are typically advertised in local newspapers, schools, theaters, and community centers, as well as online, including social media and dedicated casting websites.
In such a way casting directors, production companies, or talent agencies can reach a broader pool of potential child actors for various projects like films, commercials, theater productions, and more. Note that castings are to select specific individuals for particular roles in a production.
Auditions for kids is another method, which is more of a public talent display, which typically involves performers demonstrating their skills, such as acting, singing, or dancing, before a panel of professionals involved in the production.
The audition for kids may require the child or baby to showcase their abilities based on specific criteria outlined in the audition information, which can outline the age range, skills, or characteristics needed for a particular role.
Basically, the main difference between casting and audition for kids is their focus and purpose. While castings are for a specific role, auditions are more of an introduction of the performer.
The biggest difference from adult castings and auditions for your kid or baby will lie primarily in the age requirements, legal considerations, and types of roles available.
This should not be a surprise, but performers of a legal age have more various types of acting and modeling work available than kids and babies.
While adults sign employment legal contracts, involving compensation, working hours, and intellectual property rights, child actors require special permits and parental consent. Without parental consent the child won't be able to participate in auditions and productions. Also, child labor laws set strict guidelines regarding their working hours and conditions.
Finally, the types of roles for children are more limited than for adults. There are obvious reasons for that, including safety concerns and production limitations, as well as child performer involvement also usually requires a more flexible production schedule.
How The Process Works
When casting and auditioning children, the process often involves a combination of reading from scripts and improvisation.
Whether it's your first introduction to the process or you already have some entertainment industry background, focusing on games or relatable scenes can help assess the child's ability to engage with the given task emotionally and intellectually. Usually that may include memorizing their script lines and then reciting them for older children, or only doing specific actions for younger ones.
More often than not the audition process will be in-person, with the child required to perform in front of the production team at a specified location and time. Sometimes a self-tape audition is also possible, where the child has to be recorded performing the given script section and submit the video for consideration.
If the audition is a success, you'll receive a callback and the kid or baby will be invited to continue the process by performing again but possibly with different material now.
What's The Parents Role In All Of This
Besides the obvious conducting of applying the child and making other arrangements, parents are expected to be present on set with their young actors.
Due to this, casting directors care not only about the kid or baby but also about their parents because they will potentially have to spend a significant amount of time working together. Parents must avoid being pushy about getting the results early, or somehow interrupting the process.
Understanding the family dynamic can impact the overall experience of working with child actors in the long run. They need to ensure that the parent can positively support the youngster and handle any potential challenges that may arise. That is especially important when it comes to babies who need to be kept calm and comfortable in order to successfully audition and perform.
How To Make The Process More Efficient
Helping your child tap into their artistic potential and dreams, and guiding them through the whole process can get rather time-consuming. Thankfully, you don't have to do it all by yourself.
Hiring a casting agent or agency is a common practice, especially for older child actors aged 12 and while being located in one of the more major industry hub cities. Even more convenient ways to help find the more appropriate auditions and casting calls, amongst other things, are online platforms like KidsCasting. Their experts are focusing on working with kids and babies, in order to help parents introduce their children to the world of acting and modeling.
This way you can receive news about auditions and casting calls, apply to it if you think it's right, and eagerly await what happens next.
