Bonnie & Betty<\/a>\u00a0is an agency that represents babies, children and teens for various photographic, commercial, TV, film and stage work. We spoke to founder Bonnie Lia about how parents can help their child navigate the world of performing arts, and the essential information they need to know.<\/p>\n Agents<\/a> An agency represents their actors\/models in specific fields, be it modelling, acting, voice over, etc. It\u2019s their job to build relationships with their clients, such as casting directors, production companies, ad agencies, photographers, etc, in order to receive work for their actors.<\/p>\n Generally, an agency will receive a brief\/casting breakdown and submit an appropriate actor via Spotlight or another method. The client will review the options and decide who they wish to see for the next step. The first point of call nowadays is typically a self-tape request, and then perhaps a live\/in person or online recall. Sometimes, there are several recalls\/callbacks before a decision is made.<\/p>\n Do your research. Parents will post on parent\u2019s forums about the agents they\u2019re with and what work they\u2019ve gotten their child, so take a look at those.<\/p>\n Don’t look at things like sponsored listings. If you search for \u2018top child agencies,\u2019 the first few results that appear that have \u2018sponsored\u2019 next to them have paid to be there. They\u2019re normally a bit dubious.<\/p>\n Once you know which agencies you\u2019re interested in, find out if and when their books are open. When they’re open, they’ll normally have an application form on their website.\u00a0 The next step would typically be meeting for an audition.<\/p>\n Bonnie & Betty opens for every age group about once every 1-2 years, and currently do their auditions virtually. They\u2019ll send a small piece of script over the day before the audition so they can assess the child when they\u2019ve had minimal time to prepare, which are similar conditions to a typical casting.<\/p>\n Take a look at\u00a0five more audition tips<\/a>\u00a0on Spotlight.<\/p>\n A child can only be chaperoned by their parent or legal guardian, or a licensed chaperone.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a parent who works full-time, and the child\u2019s grandparent or adult sibling is often around, then it might be worth them\u00a0becoming a licensed chaperone<\/a>. Even if they don’t end up using it, it’s a handy option. Most councils don’t charge a fee.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s a licensed chaperone on set, the parent usually just needs to drop off and pick up the child. If you\u2019re not comfortable with this, discuss it with your agent in advance so they know not to submit your child in the first place.<\/p>\n Take a look at\u00a0what makes a good chaperone<\/a>.<\/p>\n The number one rule for parents\/guardians is to think about if you\u2019re able to commit before applying to an agency. Imagine getting a self-tape request that needs to be done within two days, but your child’s at football after school one day and judo the next. How are you going to fit it in?<\/p>\n What if your child is needed for a recall at 4.30pm in London, but you work until 6pm? Agents never know how busy a child is going to be, so it’s hard to give parents notice to plan in advance.<\/p>\n Have you got other people around you who can help out? Can you take time off work at short notice? If you can’t, then you need to be sensible and consider whether it\u2019s actually viable.<\/p>\n <\/a>Do Bonnie & Betty charge for headshots?<\/strong><\/p>\n We have a recommended photographer’s list. This doesn\u2019t mean you can’t go to another photographer, but because we’ve pre-approved those photographers, we know that they know what we need. If you do use an alternative photographer, we can\u2019t guarantee they\u2019ll be fit for purpose until we\u2019ve seen them.<\/p>\n We’ve got the modelling division and the acting division, which is quite rare. We need to make sure we’ve got appropriate photos for both, depending on what division the child is on.<\/p>\n How often do you think young performers should update their photos?<\/strong><\/p>\n Annually is fine for over fives. If they\u2019re younger, they’re changing a bit more regularly, so there’s no point in getting professional photos because they’re going to need to be updated within a couple of months.<\/p>\n This may differ with other agencies, so it\u2019s always important to check with your agent if you\u2019re unsure.<\/p>\n <\/a>Is it worth children having videos on their Spotlight profile? If so, should the video be professionally done?<\/strong><\/p>\n Most of our clients have self-tapes on their profiles. So many casting directors have said how helpful they’ve been. They don’t need to be professional, but they do need to be kept up-to-date. This helps when casting directors don’t know who to ask for. Hearing a child and seeing them on camera gives them more of a feel for their personality and character.<\/p>\n We ensure our clients have an ident, where they introduce themselves, show their hands and their profiles, and then talk about themselves for a minute or so. They should also have an acting tape, showcasing a little bit of script or a monologue. All videos should be shot landscape and not portrait.<\/p>\n If they have specialist skills, like piano playing or gymnastics, should they also include a video of that?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes – definitely! But only if they are skilled. The one thing I would avoid is self-taken videos of your child in the chorus of a non-professional show. The casting director won\u2019t know which child is yours! It’s better to do a self-tape of them on their own singing, dancing, or doing a sport – whatever their skill may be.<\/p>\n Once again, this may differ with other agencies. Some may prefer only professional video clips from an actual on-screen job to be added to the profile.<\/p>\n <\/a>Do I need to tell the agent of a change in my child\u2019s appearance?<\/strong><\/p>\n For sure! This includes changes to hair, teeth, etc. Sometimes, clients will be looking for a child that has missing front teeth, for example. If a child has long hair and then it gets cut to a cropped style, we need to know!<\/p>\n What else is important for the parent to keep up to date?<\/strong><\/p>\n We ask parents to update a child\u2019s measurements every three months. You should also go through all of the sections on your child\u2019s profile and remove any skills they no longer practise or add any new ones that aren\u2019t listed, because we’ll often submit children for a job based on their skillset. Clients also search on Spotlight by skillset. A lot of parents forget to add languages, for example.<\/p>\n Height is probably the number one thing, especially with stage work. They’ve always got a height limit, and they normally measure the child at the casting, so it’s going to be a waste of time if they’re not the right height.<\/p>\n What’s the normal amount of auditions a child may get?<\/strong><\/p>\n There is no \u2018normal\u2019 in this industry, unfortunately. It\u2019s a, \u2018How long is a piece of string?\u2019 question. Some children get self-tape requests every other day, some get one once every two months. We just never know.<\/p>\n All a parent can do is to make sure everything’s up-to-date, and we can make sure we’re doing our part and submitting them for the jobs.<\/p>\n Do you recommend a child goes for every audition they’re called in for?<\/strong><\/p>\n Definitely. If it\u2019s for something that the parent doesn\u2019t want them to do, then that’s fine – just tell the agent and we’ll let the casting director know. If, on the other hand, they just don’t think the job brief matches their child, they should still audition and let the casting director decide. They’re asking to see them – do the self-tape and see what happens!<\/p>\n Also, casting directors have very good memories, and they will bear the child in mind for other things if they’re not right for that particular project. It’s a missed opportunity if you don\u2019t go for everything you\u2019re called in for.<\/p>\n What are the costs for the parent?<\/strong><\/p>\n Headshots, typically, shouldn’t be any more than about \u00a3100 for a session and the copies of the shots. Then you’ve got your Spotlight membership. Self-taping has made it more affordable in terms of not having to take a child to a casting. If they need to be seen for recalls though, that could work out expensive if you\u2019re outside of London.<\/p>\n How do casting directors search for young performers?<\/strong><\/p>\n They either use search functions, where they can\u00a0search for any information that\u2019s on a Spotlight profile<\/a>. Or they will send breakdowns out on Spotlight and ask agents to submit what they’re looking for.<\/p>\n When adding skills to a child\u2019s Spotlight profile, how many should you add and how competent should the child be?<\/p>\n Add everything that they\u2019re capable of and can comfortably do if they were called into the casting room and asked to perform that skill. Some skills, like horse riding, can\u2019t be done in the room, so it\u2019s a good idea to have a self-tape of that on the profile. Don’t add something as a skill if they\u2019ve only given it a go once or twice, like archery at a summer camp.<\/p>\n You have the option to put it down as either \u2018skilled\u2019 or \u2018highly skilled\u2019. If they’re amazing at the skill, make sure to flag that and provide notes to your agent. If you\u2019re not sure whether to add a certain skill, check with your agent. It’s much better to check than to potentially miss out because it isn\u2019t on the profile.<\/p>\n <\/a>Is there any training you’d recommend for children?<\/strong><\/p>\n A lot of children\u2019s drama classes are about building confidence, which is really important. It’s about them being able to go into the audition room and give it a go. Once they’re with an agency, we\u2019ll often do workshops, self-taping tips and things like that.<\/p>\n If a child is going for something like\u00a0Matilda,\u00a0for example, then they\u2019ll have to have performing arts training, but it will depend on the role\/job. Training doesn’t necessarily mean that one child’s better than another.<\/p>\n Knowing how to self-tape is a really important skill now. We have a step-by-step guide of how to self-tape for parents. You could have the best child in the world, but if the parent can\u2019t do a good self-tape of them, the child’s not going to get anywhere, unfortunately.<\/p>\n Are there any other skills parents should familiarise themselves with?<\/strong><\/p>\n Always read your emails, have a look through self-tape requests beforehand, and if there’s anything you’re unsure of or anything that’s unclear, double check it with us immediately and don’t leave it to the last minute.<\/p>\n Thank you Bonnie for sharing your advice for young actors and their parents!<\/em><\/p>\n Children\u2019s agent Bonnie & Betty share their advice for young actors and their parents\/guardians about how to make the most of your Spotlight profile and improve your casting chances. Bonnie & Betty\u00a0is an agency that represents babies, children and teens for various photographic, commercial, TV, film and stage work. We spoke to founder Bonnie Lia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[41,72,51,101,44,70],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-young-performers","tag-agents","tag-auditions","tag-headshots","tag-parents","tag-starting-out","tag-young-performers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAudition tips<\/a>
\nChaperones<\/a>
\nAdvice for parents\/guardians<\/a>
\nPhotos<\/a>
\nVideos<\/a>
\nUpdating your child’s Spotlight profile<\/a>
\nTraining<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>How an Agency Works<\/h3>\n
Joining an Agency<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Audition Tips<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Chaperones<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Advice for Parents\/Guardians<\/h3>\n
Essential Questions and Answers for Parents<\/h3>\n
More Tips for Young Performers and Parents:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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