Are Casting Director Workshops Useful for Actors?

Casting Director Workshops are considered good by some, bad by others. It is a personal decision you’ll have to make whether to attend or not. In any case, it is best not to spend a lot of money to attend one.

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What Does AB1660 Mean for Your Child Actor?

AB1660 for Your Child Actor – If you live in California and have a child actor (or if you are a teen actor), you have probably heard about AB1660. You may wonder exactly what AB1660 is and what it means for your child actor. AB1660 (Assembly Bill 1660) has been in the news and discussed …

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Do You Want (Your Child) to Become an Actor?

Do You Want to Become an Actor ? Have you every really thought about what it is like to become an actor? Whether you are an adult or a child or teen (or the parents of a child or teen), there are so many issues to think about as you contemplate whether this is something …

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If Your Child Wants to Be On Disney Channel, What Should You Do?

Your Child Wants to Be On Disney Channel – Having a child who wants to be on Disney Channel is not unusual — many children want to be on Disney Channel.  And the thought of your child being on Disney Channel is probably pleasurable to you. However, it is important to determine how serious your …

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Should Your Child Actor Take the CHSPE ?

Should Your Child Actor Take the CHSPE ? When a child actor becomes a teen, it is not uncommon to be excluded from auditions for characters who are meant to be exactly your age. These roles are often specified as “18TPY” (18 To Play Younger) or perhaps as “Legal 18.”  It is precisely at this …

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What Is the CHSPE (Showbiz Term of the Day)?

What Is the CHSPE ? Don’t you hate it when everyone uses acronyms, like CHSPE, and you don’t know what they mean?  I know I do. In this particular case, the term CHSPE is not uniquely a showbiz term (view showbiz terms in my “Showbiz Term of the Day” posts).   In fact, the CHSPE …

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How Do You Quickly Get a California Entertainment Work Permit?

California Entertainment Work Permit – Every minor working in the entertainment industry in California is required to have a California Entertainment Work Permit.  For those who need an entertainment work permit quickly, there is now (as of January 1, 2012) a faster, easier way to get a California Entertainment Work Permit. This new temporary entertainment …

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What Is a Headshot? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

What Is a Headshot? I’ve had several young actors email me recently to ask, “What Is a Headshot?” While I often talk about headshots on my blog and in the emails I send to my subscribers,  I don’t exactly answer the question, “What is a Headshot?” So today I picked “headshot” to be my “Showbiz …

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Are Casting Director Workshops Useful for Actors?What Does AB1660 Mean for Your Child Actor?Do You Want (Your Child) to Become an Actor?If Your Child Wants to Be On Disney Channel, What Should You Do?Should Your Child Actor Take the CHSPE ?What Is the CHSPE (Showbiz Term of the Day)?How Do You Quickly Get a California Entertainment Work Permit?What Is a Headshot? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

Oct 23

What Do Talent Agents Look for in a Child?

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Talent Agents

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Talent Agents

If you are considering starting a showbiz career for your child, you are probably wondering what talent agents look for in a child. Talent agents meet and interview many children, but they only choose a small number of those they see to be their clients.

How can you be sure that talent agents will chose your child? It is important to look closely at your child before deciding to take them to interview with talent agents.

There are certain characteristics that make a child more likely to succeed in show business, and it is these same characteristics that make them appeal to talent agents and other entertaiment industry professionals. (For more information on talent agents, see “Talent Agents.” Also, check for ATA talent agents in LA, NY, and several other locations -> ATA agents.)

When my daughter was young, she often got the attention of those around her. She possessed a large degree of self-confidence, a desire to entertain, and an infectious smile and laugh. People, even complete strangers, often either commented to us that she’d be president some day or that she was going to be a star.

My daughter’s combination of personality and self-confidence, and to a lesser degree, her looks, was what first got her noticed in the entertainment industry. Her talent in singing and acting also played a big part in her being chosen by show business professionals, including talent agents.

Talent agents are typically looking for a variety of characteristics that are likely to indicate that your child could have a successful acting or modeling career.  So, “What do talent agents look for in a child?”

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Oct 17

Saying Goodbye to Another Acting Industry Professional and Friend

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Acting Industry

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Several weeks ago, I was informed that an acting industry professional who was very dear to me had passed away. It was sad to experience the loss of a second entertainment industry professional so soon after the loss of Bob Fraser.

I was hesitant to post on this topic again when so little time had passed since my post “How Do You Pay Your Respects to an Acting Industry Professional and Friend?,” so I waited a little while. At the same time, I knew that I did not want Ruben’s life to have passed without a tribute on my blog.

I knew Ruben Moreno on a much more personal level than I knew Bob Fraser. He was an assistant director at Dee Studio Productions, and I worked with Ruben at this studio throughout two theatre productions. During this time, I got to know him quite well.

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Sep 30

Will Braces Interfere with the Career of Your Child Actor?

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Child Actor

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Will Braces Interfere with the Career of Your Child Actor?

Will Braces Interfere with the Career of Your Child Actor? via Wikipedia

Braces for Your Child Actor

Sometimes a child actor, like anyone else, has crooked teeth and needs braces. As parents of a child actor, we are not happy to see crowded teeth since we think braces will interfere with the career of our child actor or model.

I know I was not happy to see my daughter’s very first permanent tooth come in crooked. The teeth that came in after that one were not straight either. It did not give her the kind of smile I wanted her to have, nor one that is good for most modeling and acting jobs.

Crozats

We went to see an orthodontist here in the L.A. area named Dr. Sack. He is best known for crozats but does all kinds of orthodontic treatments. Crozats are a special kind of removable braces that many child actors get when they are young.

I previously discussed another removable dental appliance called a flipper that is common in children pursuing a career in show business (See “Are Dental Flippers Necessary When Child Actors Lose Teeth?“)

My daughter had crozats for a couple of years. The crozats did expand her jaw and gave a little more room for her teeth, but it did not result in straight teeth.

There were a few negatives for us associated with crozats. Since they are removable, sometimes my daughter did not wear them as much as she should have. It is best to take them out to eat, so sometimes she took them out and then forgot to put them back in. Sometimes she misplaced them, and we had to just about tear the house apart looking for them.

Once she took her crozats out to eat lunch at school, wrapped them in a napkin, and then accidentally threw them into the trash. Fortunately, she realized it shortly after it happened and told her teacher.

I got a call from school telling me that she and one of the ladies who worked in the lunchroom were looking through the trash (wearing latex gloves) for the crozats. That sounded pretty disgusting, but I hoped it would be a good lesson for my daughter, and I hoped that they would find them.

I was quite relieved to receive a second call to tell me the crozats had been found. I certainly did not want to have to pay to replace them!

After that, my daughter did become more careful, but her idea of being more careful was mainly to not wear them at school so she would not throw them in the trash! This made her progress with the crozats very slow.

So, my daughter (age 14) now has braces on her teeth (again).  She did not want to get them, and we put it off longer than we should have because we did not want them to interfere with her singing or acting.

The braces my daughter now has are the standard metal braces and wires. That is what she preferred and a good choice for her orthodontic correction.

But since we changed orthodontists to avoid such a long drive from where we now live, we are having to pay the whole amount again for braces. We are talking just under $5000 x 2 for her total orthodontic treatment. (Ouch!) Fortunately, our insurance paid part of this.

So, “Will Braces Interefere with the Career of Your Child Actor?” Continue reading for more information on this topic.

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Aug 26

What Benefits Do You Get When You Become a Child Actor?

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Become a Child Actor

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LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 29, 2009: Dakota Fanning/Child Actor

Become a Child Actor like Dakota Fanning - Image via Wikipedia

There Are Many Benefits When You Become a Child Actor

It always seems much easier for everyone to see negative effects rather than paying attention to the benefits you get when you become a child actor. Instead of looking at the benefits achieved when you become a child actor, people tend to concentrate on all the bad press on child actors.

I get it. The news tends to focus on all the bad things associated with child stars as well as adult stars, so it appears that nothing good can be associated with the acting industry at all (except for fame and fortune — and that only comes to a very select few actors).

I know I’ve posted much more information here on my blog on the negatives that a child and the child’s family face if a child decides to become a child actor (see “How Can You Become a Child Actor When You Have So Much Homework?” and “What Does a Child Give Up to Become a Child Actor?“) So, I am dedicating this post to positives rather than negatives associated with becoming a child actor.

In reality, there are many child stars who have achieved great things, even if along the way the child actor might have encountered many difficulties. Certainly, for child actors who become famous, the sudden stardom can have negative effects. That sort of fame is difficult for an adult to handle, so we can only imagine how difficult it is to deal with fame as a child.

Stars like Dakota Fanning certainly help to bring a positive image of child actors to light. Being in the spotlight is very difficult, and so many children do encounter difficulties and get into perhaps just a little trouble along the way to adulthood. Fortunately, some child actors are squeaky-clean enough to stay under the negative-press radar, and you have to realize how truly special those child actors are.

How many people could claim that they would come off in a positive light if every single thing that they’ve done was broadcast to the world? There are  child actors who get negative press for doing things that so many parents deal with on a regular basis for children who are not tv, movie, or recording stars as those children move from childhood to adulthood.

This is not to say that there is not a larger percentage of child actors who get into trouble when compared to the entire population of children. At the same time, I am also not totally convinced that so many more child actors get into trouble when compared with all children as they grow up.

With that being said, there are many benefits gained by a child who decides to pursue an acting career. So, “What benefits do you get when you become a child actor?”

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Jul 20

How Do You Pay Your Respects to an Acting Industry Professional and Friend?

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Acting Industry, Los Angeles Acting

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I was saddened to see that during the time I was away in South Carolina, one of my favorite acting industry professionals, who was also a friend of mine,  passed away.  Bob Fraser was well-known in the acting industry here in the Los Angeles area as well as around the country (and world).

Bob Fraser was an actor and was a writer for a number of television shows. He also did a little producing, directing, and other stuff. You can check out what he did – in IMDB.

As the writer of the column, The Showbiz Brain, in the free publication put out by Now Casting called Actors Ink, he shared information that I have always found extremely enlightening.  He also shared information through his email newsletters and in his many books, classes,  workshops, and I’m sure in many other places.

I’ve been reading his materials for many years, but just in the last year have gotten to know him as I started selling some of his acting industry products here on my blog.  I enjoyed reading/watching all his materials.

I also really enjoyed my email communications with him. He was always amazingly pleasant, even after he was diagnosed with melanoma in March (I think it was). I communicated regularly with him about how he was doing, but he was always so upbeat, that I had no idea how sick he was. It is amazing how close you can actually get to someone without actually ever meeting that person face to face.

I hadn’t heard from Bob in a few weeks, but since I was getting ready for a trip, I hadn’t really had time to notice. So it came as quite a shock when I saw last night that he had passed away on July 12th.  I am glad that I communicated to him how much I really loved all his products, but I wish I’d realized how sick he was so I could’ve offered more sympathy and tried to help.

I was really sad last night and have not been able to stop thinking about him. I went back and read through some of the emails I had with him over the last few months.

How do you pay your respects to an acting industry professional and friend?

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