Advice on Managing Your Child Actor To all the mom-agers and dad-agers out there on double duty as a teacher, we are here for you. We know this time is challenging and you are powering through like stars! That’s why there is no better time for some helpful advice on managing your child actor. Between audition time and math time, you have your hands full. These helpful tips will have you acing your “manager” duties with ease and keep your child on the path towards stardom.
What are the responsibilities of a manager? In general, a manager helps to guide an actor’s career. With regard to your child, this means you will be in charge of steering their career at the beginning. This includes submitting them for auditions, taking them to classes, crafting résumés, getting headshots, creating an acting reel, handling their social media, and being in charge of scheduling.
Should there be a definitive line between parent and manager? The most important thing to remember for both you and your child is the idea of professionalism. When you are advocating on behalf of your child, or when your child is interacting with industry members in front of you, make sure you both act in an extremely professional manner. This shouldn’t be any different than how you or your child would act at their school, a house of worship, or when meeting people for the first time.
What will my day-to-day look like? Your day-to-day will essentially look like that of an adult actor who is advocating for their own career. The difference is that it will instead be on behalf of your child. That means helping to run lines, seeing shows, being on top of research such as what projects are out there that your child is right for, and more.
What does my child need to become an actor?
They will need the big four which are headshots, a résumé, an acting reel, and a social media presence.
Headshot: A headshot is your child’s calling card and the first impression casting directors get of them. Unfortunately, a photo taken by you or a friend won’t be competitive with what’s out there in the professional acting world. It is a worthy investment to hire a great headshot photographer if your child is in this for the long haul.
Résumé: A professional, well-formatted résumé can help your child stand out at an audition. List any professional credits your child has first. Then add smaller credits they may have, like student films and school plays. Additionally, be sure to list all training programs and classes. Relevant summer programs or internships can come in handy as well. Lastly, create a special skills section at the end. Don’t forget to list any special acting awards they may have received, as well.
Reel: The sooner you can get a reel together for your child to showcase their acting, the better. Casting profiles with acting reels often get sorted to the top of a casting director’s list on casting sites. You don’t need to have professional work on the reel at the beginning—high-quality student films are fine. However, including monologues or class exercises is not a good idea unless they’re made to look like real films, not just a video of them in a classroom.
Social Media: It helps to have a social media presence for your child, whether this is on Youtube, TikTok, Instagram/Facebook, or Twitter. Often times casting will look at the social presence of an actor in their decision making for casting the role. Meaning if your child and another child actor are equally talented and fitting for the role, but the other child has a larger following on social media, they may get the role over your child. This is not always the case, but it helps to start building their presence up now.
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