My 10-year-old son got an agent in New York at age 8 and we were thrown into the high-pressure, unpredictable audition process in sink-or-swim fashion. We’ve had to learn everything by trial and error. If I’d read casting director Jen Rudin‘s book then, I could have saved my son from a lot of heartache and humiliation.

Inside the Casting Process

The casting process is almost always entirely mysterious and this book works magic: taking the reader behind the scenes of the casting process and into the head of a casting director. It’s an easy and engaging read, covers every question a stage parent/actor might have, and is written by an expert who has been on both sides of the casting table. My son and I loved the “Epic Success” and “Epic Fail” audition sidebars, in which actors shared their audition experiences. All the direct quotes from other experts in the field were illuminating as well.

Jen Rudin’s Mock Audition Boot Camp

Thanks, Jen, for giving actors and stage parents such a useful tool and fun book to read (I read it in one day—could not put it down). I also highly recommend Jen’s acting workshops, which my son has attended. Instruction from the people who actually cast actors in major movies and Broadway shows—it doesn’t get better than that.

Buy “Confessions of a Casting Director”

I get many requests for info about commercial modeling. Aspiring models who don’t hit the 5’9″ fashion modeling standard often figure they’ll go the commercial route. “Commercial” does not mean just doing TV commercials, though that is part of it. “Commercial” is a term used to describe a more girl-next-door (guy-next-door), real person look, versus a more extreme editorial look.

Commercial Modeling and Acting Prep

Those same aspiring commercial models who write to me sometimes think this whole commercial modeling thing is a snap. Actually, you need to hone your craft more in this field than you do with straight-forward posing and catwalking. Take some acting classes! Take acting classes before you even think about approaching agents. If you are near New York City, you can attend workshops with actual casting directors, like Jen Rudin. My son participated in her Mock Audition Boot Camp this weekend and got valuable feedback from someone who casts kids for a living. You will NOT get feedback from actual castings or auditions; casting directors are too busy to hand out personal critiques. It can get frustrating wondering what you are doing wrong when you don’t book jobs (half the time you probably just aren’t the right look for the part, but you won’t be privy to that self-confidence saving nugget of truth).

Jen Rudin’s Mock Audition Boot Camp

Stay tuned for a review of Jen Rudin’s book, Confessions of a Casting Director, hitting stores on December 31!

Audition Attitude

I can’t say it any better than Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston:

See a listing of the top New York Commercial Agents

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