I’m a teenager, and I want to act. Can you help me?
The first thing I would say to any young actor is to start acting as soon as possible. Whether you are taking acting classes, performing in local drama clubs and amateur theatre groups or simply reading your favourite plays, any experience is great experience. Click the Getting Started category to read all our posts and articles on the first steps to becoming an actor!
Are there any auditions at the moment?
If you don’t have an agent, it is tricky to get news of auditions and casting calls that are specific to your age, location and type. Anything I know of will be posted either here, on Twitter or ScreenTerrier will have posted it over at their site. If you don’t fit the audition brief of anything casting at the moment, that’s tough luck, but something else may come up. I have no informant and only post news as and when we hear of it, so please don’t contact me asking if there are any auditions for you specifically.
How often do you post casting calls? What about auditions in the USA?
We aim to inform you of any casting calls or open auditions whenever there are any for teens in the UK. Unfortunately we can’t keep track of news all the time, so we suggest you check out ScreenTerrier as another reliable source. As for casting call news in the USA, I tweet about those but do not post about them. Be sure to follow me on Twitter!
How do I get experience without an agent?
Get local! Join a local youth theatre, start a drama club, or find a local college or university film course that needs actors for their student films. From there you can start building material for a showreel and listing your credits on a CV. Recognise each opportunity you may have to perform something new, and avoid turning down any chances that come your way!
What are open casting calls?
There are sometimes very rare opportunities to get professional acting work without an agent. This is when the casting team behind the project will look for actors not necessarily represented by an agent. They put their casting breakdowns out for everyone to see in the hope that the right candidate for the project will come along to their open audition or submit their details to them via email. Read our What is an open casting call? post for more info.
Can I contact you with news of auditions?
We’d appreciate any news on what’s happening at the moment. If you’ve heard of a casting call you think others may benefit from then we’d love to know. Email me at olivia@straightfromschool.org!
Can you let me know straight away of any casting calls?
We don’t have any form of mailing list, just bookmark the site and keep checking back!
Can I ‘join’ the site?
Straight From School is not an agency, directory or collective of aspiring actors, we’re just an online guide for young actors. It is however, a community, so keep checking back and commenting!
If your question hasn’t been answered in our Frequently Asked Questions, click here to Ask Olivia. If you would like to email Olivia instead, contact us here.