Scheduling Auditions For Child Actors
How long does an audition for a child actor take?
If it's a commercial, then less than a couple of minutes. This is because most commercials are less than 60 seconds. It could take an hour by the time you get to the lobby, you sign in, you wait your turn, you go into the room for 3 to 5 minutes, you do the action and that you leave; it could take an hour. I would definitely plan on an hour if I was taking a child to an interview. But, the actual interview itself is probably less than 5 minutes.
What could make an audition for a child actor get behind schedule?
A lot of times people show up with different schedules. We'll put an audition out and we'll ask for three kids every 10 minutes to show up. Well, if people can't come at the time that we asked them to, they will come late or they will come early. Suddenly we've got 10 kids every 10 minutes. You then have to sit and wait for your turn or as soon as we can get to you. But if it is a TV show or if it is a movie, your content is longer. Your audition is basically going to be reflected in what they need you to do. But if we have a 30 second commercial, and we ask you to do it two or three times, it won't take you all day.
Will a child actor need to miss school for auditions?
No, if it's a junior audition the same rules apply. We are not allowed to bring children in until they are legally out of school. If the child is homeschooled then it's more flexible, but typically we schedule our kids, school aged children, after 3 or 3:30 in the afternoon.
