ACTING RESOURCES
Expert insights from top acting coach Denise Simon.
As featured in Backstage Magazine and author of the game-changing guide "Parenting in the Spotlight," Denise shares insider tips on audition techniques, working with talent agents, balancing school + acting, and creating a healthy stage-parent relationship. Perfect for child actors, teen performers, and parents stepping into the entertainment industry for the first time.
Explore acting tips and helpful advice in Denise’s selection of blog articles aiming at helping your child actor thrive in their performing arts journey.
Parenting in the Spotlight
For 10 years, Denise Simon was an associate with Fox Albert Management, a leading talent management company in New York, where she managed clients Scarlett Johansson, Mira Sorvino, Lacey Chabert, and Judy Reyes. Simon has coached hundreds of children and young adults appearing regularly on Broadway, television, and in films, as well as educating parents on the business of show business.
Gain gems & knowledge from her best-selling books.
The Actor's Audition Journal is your ultimate companion for tracking growth and celebrating.
Created by top NYC acting coach Denise Simon, this journal helps young performers build confidence and stay organized in their acting journey.
Transform your child’s acting career with tools that working performers trust.
From self-tapes to self-care, nourish your craft holistically. Denise Simon's complete toolkit includes industry-proven resources that support young performers' minds, bodies, and creative spirits.
Access expert guidance through our podcast, build healthy habits with the Actor's Success Journal, and create balanced family dynamics with 'Parenting in the Spotlight.' Because thriving actors need more than just acting tips, they need a foundation that supports their whole journey.
HELPFUL BLOG ARTICLES FOR ACTORS
SELF-CARE
With Broadway lights dark until 2021 and COVID numbers still on the rise in many states, most educators have decided to continue teaching virtually. This has unfortunately resulted in camps and programs being canceled for the 2020 season, causing many students to worry about how they’ll continue to train. Lucky for them, educators have stepped up to the plate creating programming where different classes can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Whether it is Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Hangout all you need is a phone, an iPad, or a computer to get started.
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year. Holidays, travel, family, food, chaos. It’s what life’s about. So what better place to learn about human behavior than at a large family gathering or traveling with Aunt Beth, Uncle Billy, and their three children? Perhaps you’re stuck in the airport due to a weather delay and your flight is canceled. Turn lemons into lemonade this holiday season and work on developing new characters by people watching, try learning a new accent while waiting, tap into some newfound emotions, be observant, or just be thankful.
With a week to a month off for some, there’s enough time to learn a new skill, get introspective with journaling, or give back with community service. Here are some ideas for how young performers can stay active and productive this holiday season.
Many children I’ve worked with have expressed a need to act. It wasn’t just that acting was a hobby they enjoyed, but that they derived more happiness from acting than any other activity on the planet. If you have a child like that, you might worry that participating in the entertainment business will harm them and they won’t be able to live any type of normal life. There are downsides to fame after all. However, my 30 years in this industry have taught me that children who pursue their acting dreams actually reap great benefits from their experiences and they can navigate any downsides and achieve normalcy with your help.
Here are four concerns you might have about the industry and how you can help your child with them as they pursue their acting career.
REPRESENTATION
One of the trickiest and most important elements of the business is finding representation. There are so many options so it can be difficult to know where to begin! It is crucial to choose the right people to be a part of your child’s team! On this week’s episode, Denise Simon answers many commonly asked questions about what the difference is between an agent and a manager and what you can do to cultivate the best working relationship.
I’ve worked in the youth acting industry for over 30 years as an acting teacher, career consultant, and former talent manager. I know and collaborate with many youth agents and managers, and can shed some light on what makes a good agent or manager for your child. Let’s first start with the differences between the two, the roles they play, and why some are better than others.
The interview is the time to personally interact and see if you and the agency or management company are the right fit for each other. It’s kind of like a first date. Sure, you may be nervous. You may be thinking, “If I am just plain old me, will I make enough of an impression?" Your best bet is to be prepared, but also be yourself. Look your best without trying too hard. Relax and have a good time. This is supposed to be fun, remember?
TECHNIQUE
Imagine yourself in an audition. You may be reviewing a monologue or reciting lines from a scene as you nervously wait to be called in. While preparing, you remind yourself of the notes that you were given by your acting coach. Once in the audition room, you slate and perform your monologue or scene. What happens next is the wild card. The panel of casting, film, and/or TV directors might smile and say, “Thank you, next!” Or they may give you direction and adjustments. In order to take the direction given, you need to have the foundational skills to act and the ability to understand the language and concepts. A casting director or director expects the actor to be trained and ready for the role they’re auditioning for. To succeed in your audition, you need to understand the differences between working with coaches and directors, and the notes you’ll receive from both.
Having clear and proper speech is essential. It’s how we communicate and share our ideas, and, more importantly, it lets us express emotion. For an actor, the voice and the body are tools that work together to tell a story. If one can’t be properly understood, how can a young actor do their job and get an audience engaged? Many of my younger students have trouble understanding and controlling their voices. Here are five ways young actors can improve their diction.
With productions shut down and theaters only now starting to open up, many of my students have been asking how they can stay sharp in their acting. The great thing about living in the digital age is that students don’t need to wait for opportunities to come knocking at their door. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are all great platforms for young actors to create their own content, garner some attention, and have fun doing it. Here are some pro tips for students who want to start creating their own content.
Kids grow and change quickly. New heights, haircuts, styles, and skills appear daily as they mature. In the entertainment industry, your image, age, and type all play a part in determining what jobs you’ll be right for. Just as you need to update your headshot regularly to stay current, the same needs to be done with a demo reel. Here are the signs your child actor needs a new reel.
One of the most troubling areas of study for young actors is Shakespeare. They feel challenged by the language, vivid characters, and scenes that are often foreign to them. Young actors are typically still growing vocally, physically, and emotionally. Working on Shakespeare helps connect all these different moving pieces so that they can work with confidence. It’s a great way for them to expand their craft, and when given the right material, they can actually have a lot of fun with it.
Every young actor dreams of the chance to deconstruct and explore Shakespeare. High stakes, vivid language, rhythm, and poetry all come together to create a perfect storm of lyricism in his work. This is the kind of material that will really push a young actor to dig deep with his nuanced characters, and it’s pretty popular in the high school scene. That said, it can often be difficult for teens to find material that they can connect to and understand.
Q: How can my child get cast in an indie film? —Jane S.*
Independent films can be a great launching pad for an actor’s career. That being said, getting cast in an indie film is not much different from getting cast in any other medium.
The first things to consider are your child actor’s talent, readiness, marketability, and type.
Let’s be honest. Comedy is hard! Understanding timing, the secret to comedy, and the drama beneath the character’s warped reality is not easy. The first step to improving your child’s comedic game is finding good material. There are plenty of online reservoirs of simple comedic monologues that can work, but I prefer to look to published plays, TV and film scripts, and even novels for more layered, nuanced material.
I’m not a big fan of generic monologue books. Every now and then I’ll run across a piece that is well-written and works nicely, but most of the time they’re trite and obvious. Instead, I look for monologues from plays, movies, and even novels, which contain conflict and good character work. These can be hard to come by for kids under age 12 though.
So here are five dramatic monologues for kids that are sure to push your child to improve their acting skills.
From balancing the drama inherent in comedy to understanding wacky, slightly awkward characters, tackling comedic monologues can be one of the most difficult tasks a student undertakes. The first step to nailing comedy is finding good material. This can be challenging as students often fall into the trap of choosing generic monologues without depth or focusing on surface-level gags. It’s important to remember that monologues should be active instead of passive and be age-appropriate and relatable. It’s OK to piece together several small speeches to make a monologue cutting as well.
ADVICE
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
AUDITION TIPS
One of the most common questions I get asked by parents of young actors is how they can best support their children at auditions. Whether it’s running lines, serving as a reader, or helping with a self-tape, if parents don’t know a thing or two about technique, they may actually be doing more harm than good. I recently worked with a top L.A.-based casting director and when asked how to remedy these issues, her advice was simple: “Take an acting class.” Here are five reasons why that advice is sound:
Many of my students are curious about theater opening up again and changes to the industry. More specifically, the audition process. With Broadway, television, and film resuming production, the question of auditioning in our new reality is increasingly becoming a hot topic among actors.
After months of COVID-related audition and production shutdowns, the acting world is beginning to reopen. I’m fielding many questions from my students’ parents regarding safety precautions, auditions, schooling, and on set protocols. Here’s some information that you should consider so that you can make wise choices as you think about your child actor returning to work.
Who isn’t in search of an exciting, job-booking dramatic monologue? As an acting coach for kids, teens, and young adults, I understand the struggle, having spent hours searching for engaging material to use as teaching tools. Throughout my ongoing searches, I’ve explored the classics and great writers of the past, but I’ve also found many contemporary playwrights producing current, trendy material.
Q: How can my child get cast in an indie film? —Jane S.*
Independent films can be a great launching pad for an actor’s career. That being said, getting cast in an indie film is not much different from getting cast in any other medium.
The first things to consider are your child actor’s talent, readiness, marketability, and type.
While many think that children have to be a specific type to be cast in TV and film, or that there isn’t any work for teens, that’s untrue. TV and film are actually very accessible, provided you know how it all works. The first step to getting your child into the business is understanding the casting process. Here’s what you need to know.
What do shows like “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Waitress,” “Frozen,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” and “The Lion King” all have in common? They’re all running on Broadway and employ child actors.
There are many roles for children and teens on and Off-Broadway, as well as in regional theater. While good actors make acting look easy, getting cast in a live theater production is no easy feat. It takes hard work, discipline, and persistence. It also requires an understanding of the audition process.Here are five things you need to know.
Imagine this scene: You close out of iMovie and back away from the computer having just finished editing clips for your child’s demo reel. It’s terrific, and you marvel at how well your child’s personality and talent shine. There’s only one problem: how do you get the reel seen by anyone? It can’t get your child work if no one sees it.
So, what can you do? Here are four ways to get your child’s reel seen.
High school sophomores and juniors start your engines. It is time to begin considering colleges for next year's college application process. With many of you planning to visit schools during spring break, I thought it would be both helpful and fun to guide you towards the right performing arts degree with a little self-assessment quiz. Scoring is below. In the coming months, Denise will explore questions about college admissions in a series of free upcoming teleseminars with theater professionals from several well regarded programs throughout the country.
For more than 30 years, I’ve worked with young actors and found that many of them fall victim to the same simple mistakes. Talented children are regularly passed over in auditions because of bad habits that parents sometimes don’t even notice. If you’re on the lookout for these common mistakes and can fix them, you might find your child getting more attention in the audition room. Here are seven mistakes you can help your kid avoid.
SCRIPT ANALYSIS
Having clear and proper speech is essential. It’s how we communicate and share our ideas, and, more importantly, it lets us express emotion. For an actor, the voice and the body are tools that work together to tell a story. If one can’t be properly understood, how can a young actor do their job and get an audience engaged? Many of my younger students have trouble understanding and controlling their voices. Here are five ways young actors can improve their diction.
Some young actors dread working on monologues. Perhaps it’s because they have trouble speaking to someone who isn’t there or maybe they have no idea how to find one that’s unique enough to fit their personality and is interesting to perform. Well, help is on the way!
A PODCAST FOR ACTORS
+ THEIR PARENTS
Parents of child actor’s go-to podcast based on Denise Simon’s acclaimed book Parenting in the Spotlight offers tips and secrets for working & new child actors. A former celebrity talent manager, expert youth acting coach, and career consultant combine her expertise and human kindness to answer how to become an actor with no experience, manage your child’s career, and create happy and successful adults while supporting your child’s dream.
Join Denise at the table with casting directors, industry insiders plus current and former child actors to discuss the intimate details of the business.
PODCAST EPISODES
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
The internet has provided an ease of accessibility that has made the entertainment industry harder than ever to navigate. There is more opportunity to fall prey to a casting scam and bad teachers. However, in this episode, Denise’s advice and tips will give you the tools to spot red flags in the industry. Don’t let a bad advertisement and ill-intended “industry professional” get in the way of your child’s road to success.
Join Denise Simon and CESD talent agent David Doan in this week’s episode to get the inside tips about actor representation. During this interview, David answers many commonly asked questions as well as gives some unexpected advice about the role of agents and what you and your child can do to elevate your career to the next level! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear a top agent’s thoughts on the industry and what talent can do to make the most of their relationship.