How to Be an Agent for Kids
An agent for children helps talented kids obtain roles in movies, television shows and commercials. A child's agent may also help children find roles as models in catalogues. Becoming an agent requires very little start-up overhead, but does require a keen eye for talent to be successful. Children's parents may seek out the agent directly or the agent may need to recruit talent for his roster.
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Instructions
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Advertise in local newspapers, magazines, on television and radio. Post your card or a sheet of paper advertising your services on bulletins boards at the library and in children's theaters.
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Visit local school plays and community theater productions looking for children with natural talent. Approach the child's parents after the performance has ended. Invite the parents and child to your office to discuss cost of obtaining head shots and your role as an agent in promoting the child's acting. Ask the parents to prepare a resume of the acting productions that the child has been in.
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Carry your business cards with you everywhere. Keep an eye out at the grocery store, in restaurants, and on general outings for children with attractive, cute or haunting looks. Children with these looks are necessary for a variety of parts either as models or actors. Offer your business card to the parents of the children you notice and explain why you think the child may have a career as either an actor or model or both.
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Keep multiple copies of your clients' head shots and resumes in manilla folders specific to each client. Maintain these records in a file cabinet so that you have easy access to client files.
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Encourage parents to send their children to acting, singing or dancing classes to develop the child's talents. For children with natural acting talent, emphasize taking singing and dancing lessons to expand job opportunities for the client. Movies and television shows employ good singers and dancers too, though, less often than live theater productions.
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Submit client head shots and resumes to casting calls for modeling gigs and acting roles. Send the client and his parents to open auditions where the actors wait with dozens of other actors for the opportunity to audition for roles of unspecified types.
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Bill your client 10 percent only when the client is paid for jobs.
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Tips & Warnings
Be patient with overbearing parents.
Require that all clients and their parents meet with you by appointment. Enforce this to ensure that all clients get time with you.
An agent may have dozens of kid clients on their roster but may only earn money on a few.
Beware of children with bad tempers. Such children may find their opportunities cut short in the acting and modeling world.
References
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