Category: News & Advice
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19 Tips for Parents of Young Performers Starting Out
New to the world of casting and auditions? We have some advice to share with you from other parents of young performers to help you get started. Navigating a new industry can be daunting, especially when you’re doing so on behalf of your child. You want to do what’s best for them and that can…
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Keeping Your Voice Fit and Healthy
Four ways to keep your voice fighting fit and protected so you can perform at your best. Let’s face it: your voice is your calling card and your main instrument as an actor. There’s no getting around the fact that if you want your instrument to play well for you, you have to look after…
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Meet the Casting Directors: Rosie and James Pearson
Get to know more about husband and wife team James and Rosie Pearson, founders of the award-winning Pearson Casting. When you cast a show that you truly love, it never feels like work to sit and watch extraordinarily talented people singing or reading scenes from the musical. Can you explain a little bit about your background…
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Getting Started in Commercial Voice Over
Experienced voice over artist Abbie Andrews explains what commercial voice over work is and how you can get started in it. By Abbie Andrews The world of voice over (VO) is full of possibilities. As actors, especially when starting out in our careers, we are often defined by what we look like. However, behind the…
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Powerful Pause Meditation: Pre-Self-Taping
This meditation is designed to help you feel more present and connected to what you love doing so you can bring your best self to your self-tape audition. When you’re self-taping at home you may find it harder to switch off as you’re having to wear lots of different hats. It’s important to learn how…
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Casting ‘Heartstopper’, Netflix’s LGBTQ+ Teen Drama
We speak to Patrick Walters, executive producer of Heartstopper, and casting director Daniel Edwards CDG about the show and finding fresh talent. If you’re not already familiar with it, Heartstopper is a beautiful new show on Netflix that shows the blossoming relationship between the main characters Nick and Charlie. The series deals with teen topics like love, relationships, friendship…
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Checking Your Social Media Footprint
How you can clean up your social media history using Social Media Check. Can you remember everything you’ve posted online? Nowadays, we create a significant social media footprint and a post can say a lot about our attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. We might have short memories, but social media doesn’t. We can all make mistakes.…
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How to be a Confident and Resilient Young Performer
Understanding what resilience means for children and tips for how to handle auditions, feedback and social media. As adults we are familiar with the term ‘resilience’ but it’s important to understand that resilience for a child looks quite different from the resilience for an adult. At our recent Wellbeing Series panel, actor Emily Carey, agent…
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Powerful Pause Meditation: Togetherness
Inspired by the tragic events in Ukraine, this meditation focusses on togetherness and how it makes us stronger and more resilient. This 30 minute meditation by Spotlight’s Mental Health and Wellbeing manager, Bea Grist, is inspired by the idea of togetherness and what gets created when we come together. It’s designed to calm and soothe…
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Why I Became an Actor
We spoke to performers attending the Casting Directors Awards 2022 to find out what made them want to become actors. The Casting Directors Awards (CDGs) are over for another year. Trophies were awarded, speeches were given, laughs were had and drinks were drunk. Meanwhile we jumped at the chance to speak with some of the performer…