So You Want to Be a Child Star
by Neva Marie

For as long as he could remember, Matt Petromilli wanted an agent. When he asked his mother about it on his 12th birthday, Donna Petromilli said, "I don't think so." He said, "How about headshots then?" She said, “By the time you get the agent, the headshots will be old." So they compromised on a vocal coach.

Donna Petromilli felt there are very few child actors who pursue acting as adults, and if Matt wanted to act for the rest of his life, he could be a kid first.

Then Matt turned 15 and met agency director Dee Dee Shaughnessy at John Erlendson (JE) Talent. The agency was building up its child/teen division. Since children's divisions are not typically the highest-grossing division for most agencies, JE Talent used its child division as a starting point for young actors who are committed to their craft with real potential to be strong performers.

For Shaughnessy, the fun part about working in JE Talent's child division is seeing the enthusiasm young actors bring to their work. "They are so hungry for it...these experiences are their first, so they bring a different joy to their work than most."

According to Shaughnessy, the agency seeks children who "are very professional and involved in their own careers, that acting is fun for them."

Matt wanted to expand his resume and continue to move from community theatre and school productions to more professional work. Matt has performed at Broadway by the Bay, Dance Arts Center and San Mateo High School and has studied singing privately.

"It's really fun knowing that I'm getting the chance to audition for Microsoft or Verizon. That's really cool," he says.

"He gets very excited to try out, and it's been fun to watch him get excited," Donna Petromilli chimes in. "He doesn't get discouraged. He only got discouraged once. The downtime lasted one evening, and then he moved on."

It's a different story for Brett Gaynor, 18. She started wanting to act when she was 7 and watched her mother, Rebecca Schenone, on stage in community theatre. Brett doesn't have an agent. Brett acts "because it feels like my destiny," she laughs. "It's the only thing I'm good at."

Brett wants to get an agent, but doesn't know how to begin. She thinks it would be good if there were someone who could help: "Nice acting instructors or someone I could call that could set up interviews, auditions, help with my resume."

Most agencies suggest sending an 8-by-10 headshot with resume attached, noting current clothing sizes and date of birth. A simple cover letter and a self-addressed stamped envelope should also be included to encourage a response. If interested, the agency calls to set up a meeting.

Shaughnessy wants kids to contact her when they are ready to hit the ground running. Sometimes she's approached by a parent whose child isn't motivated.

"For the most part, the children are motivated," Shaughnessy says. "We find that when the child is age 4 or younger, the parent brings them in. When the kids are older, they drag their parents in."

"It's a difficult enough business, which involves a lot of time and emotional effort--you have to really want to be in it," Shaughnessy says. "Sometimes we encounter a child who has the passion; they just have not found the path to expressing it yet, so that involves a little more patience."

Brett recently lost out on a part because she was too old. The rejection factor is hard to take at any age, and hard for any actor. Matt beats himself up when he feels he hasn't done as well as he could. "The hardest thing," Matt says, "is how many people there are who are just as talented as you are and are willing to work just as hard as you. It's like, wow, there's just so many kids like me."

At auditions, Donna Petromilli stays "away from it. Matt has the talent. And it's either going to be the talent they're looking for then, or the talent they're looking for later. He has to fly on his own. Besides, he doesn't take direction well from me."

Matt maintains there are definitely "Show Moms and Dads" who hold the scripts and coach the kids in the lobby. He's thankful his mother isn't one of them.

"I don't give direction to Brett," Schenone says, because as an actor and playwright herself, she knows how it feels. "The most important thing is learning how not to get cast," she explains. "It's not that you didn't get the part--it's that you increased your audition experience."

"You deal with all different people," Brett adds. "You just have to be humble and measure yourself against what's right for you." Brett currently studies at American Conservatory Theater's (ACT) Young Conservatory.

There's a professional enclave of actors that circulates in the Bay Area community. Jumping into the pool of talent and staying in is a learning experience.

"We treat our agency like a family, and at the same token, the business is based on a 'people-buy-people' basis. The client will chose to hire professional people of a like mind, people that they connect with, that will provide the least stress and are the most easy going and cooperative," according to Shaughnessy.

Parents have to be educated on the ins and outs of the trade, requiring an investment of time by parent and agency alike. The parent needs to get a current work permit, open a Coogin account, get headshots and zed cards if the child will do print work and modeling, and finally, keep all these things current. Or, as Shaughnessy puts it, "The better prepared you are, the more secure you feel when faced with the elements outside of your control, namely, "Will the client hire you?"

The agency acknowledges it's frustrating to keep materials current when kids change so rapidly, but maintain its importance nevertheless. "Part of being a professional performer is investing in yourself so that clients recognize you as that professional," Shaughnessy says.

When parents are dedicated and trustworthy, then the agency has greater faith that auditions will go smoothly.

And what about the "awkward age" of acne and braces?

JE Talent says clients are often interested in kids that are believable as real kids--quirks, growth spurts and all--and so encourages its talent to stay the course. "It is important for kids to feel comfortable with themselves," Shaughnessy says, "because that is what reads to the clients more than anything."

The real challenge is the older teenager, Shaughnessy maintains, not only because of the life changes involved, but because most clients will hire adults who look like teenagers, saving the cost of a studio teacher, logistics of paperwork and limitations of set time.

JE Talent recommends that teens take on-camera and acting classes. This makes them more valuable young adults.

It's hard when your nose is pressed against the glass. Brett has plans to go UCLA in a year or two after scoring some local college credits in theatre and academics. "I'd rather be a student and be really serious than be like Lindsay Lohan and do anything that comes my way," Brett says. "There's a thin line between a creative mind and an art mind and craziness, and I think I'm a little bit of both. I think my life experience has committed me to an art that allows you to connect to people," she continues. "Even watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has gotten me through the hardest day of my life, and if I can get someone through one of their hardest days of their life, that's a career I'm committed to."

Her mother thinks a college education is just as important as an acting education. And in the meantime, Schenone says, "It's a very good path to see yourself as an actor who also produces, an actor who writes, or an actor who directs. Don't sit waiting--create something for yourself."

Both Brett and her mother hope that she will be able to find a good agent in San Francisco and then one in Los Angeles.

Matt insists that "the only thing that would make me quit would be if I were starving on the streets. I could...have no money for anything but like canned soup but whatever; it's really what I want to do. If it comes to the point where I can't afford to buy the bare necessities and I'm not finding too much work, maybe I'll have to steer into a more solid path, so I'll always keep it open as an option."

Donna Petromilli says she has "never, ever seen Matt uncomfortable on stage. It's like he's at home up there."

Shaughnessy says, "All parents we have encountered have made a point of saying that they will keep their child involved as long as it is fun for the child or until the child expresses they no longer have an interest."

Shaughnessy talks of an actress with the "it factor": the combination of charisma, enthusiasm and dedication to the craft. "We recently signed a young actress who has little experience outside of school classes and plays, but she has such a unique energy, a real sparkle in her eye and a fun sense of humor, and she expresses such a freedom to play and take the plunge that we could not resist signing her. We were so happy when she and her family agreed to work with us. She is off to a great start with new headshots. She enrolled in on-camera improv classes and has made it to every audition we called her about so far, so she is going about it the right way. It's that combination of creativity and discipline. That's a true sign of talent."

Neva Marie is a professional actress, writer and director. She's represented by the JE Talent Agency.