Finding Minor roles for minors (pre-teens)

[dancetaxi2]

My son, who is 12, is passionate about two things - dance and saving money (he is a super pet sitting/plant waterer for some of our neighbors). NYC is a reasonable commute even after school on weekdays. What steps should he and I take to a) find small dance/extra/supernumeriary auditions b)what to bring to the auditions.

Edited October 11, 2006 by dancetaxi2

[Mel Johnson]

For pre-teens, I find that finger rolls are usually best, although ordinary dinner rolls are nice, too. Kaisers are a little too much, and entire baguettes are, well, just out of the question unless the kids are in a growth surge. You find them in the bakery section of your local super market. Or did you mean roles? For those, see the audition notices in trade papers like Backstage. They'd be more likely to cover ballet auditions than would Variety. I miss Dance News. They always had those notices in.

[Clara 76]

Mel you're naughty!!

 

dancetaxi2,

ABT sometimes has auditions for supernumerary roles, but I don't know how often they use children. There are several publications like the ones Major Johnson mentioned, that may have the information you seek. If I am not mistaken though, there are probably many more auditions for musical theatre than there are for ballet per se. Another option is to try to get an agent, but that in and of itself, can be quite a party trick.

[cheetah]

We're in DC - not NY - but we found that the best source of information for super roles was the actual venue(s). Some productions will have notices in the paper, but some only seem to tell their contacts at the performance venue. A good example was a tour by Royal Danish Ballet - they had great opportunities for young girls but the only people that heard about them were those that were at the audition for roles for the Kirov! We have found, however, that 12 is a tough age for male roles, unless your son is short. We've seen lots of roles for younger boys, but often under 4'8" or so, and then again for those who are tall enough for "adult" roles. That was something like 5'6" and above. We've known kids to get roles with Joffrey, Kirov, ABT, Ft. Worth-Dallas, Moscow, and Royal Danish. There's probably lots more. Some of our regional companies also put out notices of auditions in local newspapers. I think I've also seen some notices on the YAGP site - at least for ABT. Another thing to look into are Debbie Allen's productions. She's at the Kennedy Center every spring with a performance that typically incorporates lots of area young artists. Not sure if she tours in NY. I never thought about it, but operas also use lots of supers - at least here. We were sent a letter asking if DS wanted to be on their "call" list for productions. As to what to bring? We usually bring homework! No one has ever asked for anything except a signed waiver. DS has never even "auditioned" (though his friends that did the Debbie Allen productions had to actually dance.) He simply stood in a line and was selected - or not. This was after being warned to come prepared to dance. Sometimes he's had to fax a "resume" in advance, but that's it. Other parents came with glossy photos, bags packed with makeup and dancewear, etc. Pay isn't great (and varies significantly) especially after gas and parking, but DS has always had loads of fun - and made tons of friends.