Although I’ve only been casting since 2003, I’ve had the pleasure of casting more than my fair share of children. And I love it. Having been a kid actor, I think I really enjoy the opportunity to bring wee ones in and have them “play” for a few moments, really connecting to the truth of what acting is (although adults do tend to forget that core truth). When I reached out to Andrea Clark, a UK-based casting director, she quickly mentioned that casting children was one of the favo(u)rite parts of her job. So, that’s what her POV is all about!
Casting Children
Like so many casting directors, I have found that technology has revolutionised the way I work. Spotlight Link, the UK online submissions system, enables me to turn jobs round much faster and more efficiently than before.
However, I find, one aspect of my job that this technology has not had much effect on is children’s casting.
In the UK, there are lots of specialist children’s agents. Some agents will publish all of their client’s photographs in the Spotlight Children’s Directory, which also allows them to make submissions using the Spotlight Link. Other agents choose to print their own brochures, which unfortunately means their clients cannot be submitted on the Link.
But the main problem with children is they grow up and as soon as a photo is published it is already out of date!
As children’s official photos date so quickly, I tend not to rely on them and instead ask agents to send me recent snapshots. Also, I always chat to the agents about their clients to find out a little about the child’s personality, experience, and background.
Finding the right young actor for a role depends so much on the personality of the child. Unlike adult actors, they do not have years of training and experience to help them hone their craft. Instead you are looking for raw talent, and the best way to find raw talent is to meet as many children as possible.
Children’s casting sessions can best be described as organised chaos.
It is difficult for children to take time off school to attend auditions so I try to see them outside school hours. This gives me a very short window of time to see as many children as possible. Even though I give them all carefully allotted appointments, everyone always turns up at the same time! Suddenly the waiting room will be bursting at the seams with swarms of children and their many and various hangers-on. I remember one five-year-old boy whose entourage included mum, dad, two grandparents, four siblings, and a very large Doberman! I guess, for some kids just attending a casting session is a big day and all the family want to be part of it, even the dog!
Often the child’s character is only a small role and may not have that much dialogue. However, I will probably need to spend longer auditioning a child than I would an adult, as they have very different needs.
I will send a short scene to the child in advance along with a specially written child-friendly synopsis and character description. It is really important to make sure the child understands both their character and the story.
It is also important to check that they understand the all the words in their dialogue. I frequently see children who have learnt the script “parrot fashion.” They may have been told how to pronounce everything, but it is quickly apparent that there are some words they don’t comprehend. So before we start running the lines, I will spend time chatting with the child and explaining everything to them in language they understand.
With particularly difficult scenes, I help the child connect with the emotions of the character by finding a comparable situation or relationship in the child’s everyday life. Children have great imaginations and it is my job to find the best way to help them weave reality and imagination together to create a truthful performance.
Some children will attend the casting session rehearsed and word perfect. Others may only have looked at the script two minutes before arriving. It is difficult to see a child’s potential when they are worrying about remembering the words, but it is equally as tricky when they have over-learnt the script. It is easy for children to get locked into one style of delivery. A great way I have found to break this cycle, and make the dialogue fresh again, is to perform the scene a couple of times using a silly voice. It is amazing how quickly the bad habits disappear once you’ve played the character as a Martian! And a trick for the kids who don’t know their words–well, we read the scene a couple of times, then we both throw our scripts in the bin and we improvise. So often children think they are being tested on how well they can remember the exact words, so I need to reassure them that it’s the emotions and not the words that matter.
The most important thing about casting sessions for children is to have fun. If I am having fun and not taking everything too seriously then the children will relax and have fun too… and that’s when they deliver the best performances.
Although children’s casting is only one small aspect of my job I find it one of the most rewarding. Often it is the least confident child who is able to empathise with the role and it is wonderful to see the child’s confidence grow as they gradually inhabit the character and suddenly realise they are acting!
I think Andrea’s idea about breaking through the “parrot fashion” syndrome with kid actors is especially wonderful. Heck, even for adult actors, getting locked into your choices can be the end of your chance to dazzle us in the session room.
Also, I’m thrilled to see Andrea touching on her love for the online casting tools in place in the UK. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in consistently talking to casting directors since 1999, it’s that we are all finally using the Internet to help make our jobs easier!
About Andrea Clark
Andrea Clark started her casting career in 1991, having completed a degree in television production. As assistant to leading casting directors Noel Davis and Jeremy Zimmermann, she gained invaluable grounding in negotiation, contracts, and talent selection and was soon casting projects including the ongoing series Tropical Heat. Keen to explore all genres of casting, in 1994 Andrea joined the casting team on MTV’s groundbreaking reality programme The Real World. The “street casting” skills she acquired at MTV later proved particularly valuable when casting testimonial campaigns for Dove, Lilt, Guinness, and MasterCard. Returning to theatrical casting, Andrea worked on Franco Zeffirelli’s Jane Eyre, Lynda LaPlante’s first season of Trial & Retribution, and numerous miniseries for American network television.
Working predominately on commercials, pop videos, and short films, Andrea further developed the range of her casting expertise when she joined Candid Casting in 1997. The following year she became associate casting director at Jeremy Zimmerman Casting, collaborating on projects such as Blade II, Hellboy, and Hidalgo. Whilst receiving joint credit on films including Dog Soldiers, Keeping Mum, and Greyfriars Bobby, she was able to expand her own client base casting commercials, independent films, corporate videos, and factual dramas. In September 2006, Andrea set up her own casting company.
This contribution originally ran at Bonnie Gillespie’s online column on March 15, 2007.