Though you may not have heard of actress/model Laura Boulay, you're going to want to hear what she has to say. She's the co-author of a book called The Model's Workbook: A Hollywood Agent's Twenty Step Guide to Launching Your Modeling Career. It's filled with tons of info about keeping peeps safe in the modeling industry and she dropped by Kidzworld to share it all with you!
Laura Boulay - Discovering the Undiscovered
It's easy to dream about being the next Gisele Bundchen; the hard part is being discovered. But if you go about it in the right way, breaking into the business will be a lot easier and safer. Take it from Laura - she started modeling when she was 14 and has had a long history in the business."The right way to be discovered is by a legitimate agent working in a legitimate agency. You are not going to be discovered in a mall. You are not going to be discovered walking down the street. Those instances where kids are discovered that way are so rare. They are really the exception. Agents are working in agencies. They have tons of people trying to get their attention all the time. Why would they be out in malls scouting people?"
So where can you find a legitimate agency? Laura says the easiest way is to flip through the Yellow Pages and look under Modeling Agencies or Talent Agencies. Also, any agency that's associated with SAG (Screen Actors Guild) or AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is safe.
Laura Boulay - Modeling Scams
The world of modeling is glamorous, but it's also dangerous. You've probably heard scary stories about predators luring kids and teens through the internet. Using sites like myspace.com, these predators pretend to be modeling scouts and ask for money, take inappropriate pictures of you, or even physically harm you."Every scavenger, every opportunistic predator and scammer out there has said, 'Oh my goodness, this is a great way for me to meet prey!' I just read over the weekend a story about a young lady who a predator got to through myspace.com and met her and raped her. This is unacceptable! 14 years old! But the sites themselves are not inherently bad. It is the people who are using them to get to these kids - that's unacceptable."
Laura points out that the internet is a great research tool, but warns that you should be cautious about being approached in public, like on the street, or through the internet.
"Legitimate casting directors and agents and photographers are not going to try to seek you over the internet. They're not going to be using [social networks]. Absolutely do not give out any personal information. Kids and teens have that dream of being discovered, but they're not going to be discovered [over the internet] by someone posing as a casting director."
Laura Boulay - Preparing for Auditions
Once you get signed with a modeling agency, they're going to send you on a lot of auditions, which can be pretty nerve-wracking! But as long as you're prepared, you'll feel confident and kick butt!"Make sure that you have complete audition information from your agent - where you're going, when you're supposed to be there, what the audition is for, if there's a script you need to have it memorized, and make sure that your look matches what your agent says. What I mean by that is if your agent says this is a casual picnic and you're going to be in cutoff jeans, a T-shirt and you're going to be playing frisbee, do not go in your cute new capris and heels that you think you look good in because you're not going to be cast for the part."
