10 Tips for Getting Your Kids into Film, TV, and Modeling Without Moving to Los Angeles or New York

Interested in starting your kids off in the entertainment industry? Here are 10 steps to getting your child started in the biz - without leaving your hometown.

useful terms:
theatrical agent: agents that book actors for Film and Television
modeling agent: agents that book models. Often Children's theatrical agents will also book models.
commercial agent: agents that book actors for commercials
print modeling: modeling for magazines, pictures of any type, such as cereal boxes, or toy boxes
fit modeling: modeling for fashion designers that need a perfect size in order to make their product
runway modeling: fashion shows
voice overs: your child's voice, not face, will be used to dub commercials, video games, radio advertisements

1. Build their acting resumes. You can do this in a number of ways. For Acting in TV/Film and modeling, it is helpful to sign them up for Community Theater. It will give them practice auditioning, learning lines, and getting up in front of a crowd. The great thing about Community Theater is you don't have to be in a major city. When they start auditioning for film and TV, they will have a leg up on kids who haven't done theater. You might find some resistance at first-many prospective young stars don't like the idea of theater. It may take prompting, but is a guaranteed point in their favor. If your kid is too young for theater, start them in another performance-based class such as dance or music. Another avenue is Fit Modeling. If your child is a perfect size "8" or "10" they can make a lot of money modeling for clothing desingers who need young models to measure their new products. If this is the case, you don't need to sign them up for community theater, since fit modeling is done privately. However, if your child has experience in front of an audience, it will help them get an agent. So even if you go the fit modeling route, it can still be beneficial to sign them up for community theater.