It’s time once again to shine a spotlight on our younger members for the ‘Into the Spotlight’ Young Performers competition!
We have new themes, new judges, and exciting prizes to be won – a year’s Spotlight membership, £100 worth of camera equipment, a career advice session, a Spotlight goody bag and more!
All you need to do to win is enter a self-tape of a brilliant performance – whether it’s your favourite poem, a monologue or duologue – that links to the theme of your age category.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
What’s the Theme?
All performances are open to interpretation and you’re free to adapt to whatever suits you. They can be your favourite poem, a scene you’ve been in, a film or television show, a monologue, a duologue or something you’ve created yourself. The themes per age category are as follows:
- 4-7 – Friendship – What makes a good friendship?
- 8-12 – School – If you could, what would you change about school?
- 13-18 – Inspiration – What inspires you for the future?
If you’re not sure how to pick your performance piece, these are some suggestions to consider:
- Choose a classic
- Adapt a non-musical song
- Choose your favourite poem and turn it into a monologue performance
- Perform a duologue with someone (the other person must remain off camera)
- Create something completely new showing your interpretation of the theme
Please note: You must create your performance with the theme that is in line with your age category. If you select a different theme from another age category your entry won’t be included.
The Judges
We’re delighted to announce not one, not two, but three amazing casting directors as our special guest judges for this competition, with one judge per age category.
Hannah Simons – 4-7 Age Category
Hannah specialises in casting commercials and music videos and has a rich history of working in film and television, beginning her career with films such as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, The Boat That Rocked and Nanny McPhee. Since then, Hannah has worked across a number of independent films, TV dramas and commercials, working with brands such as ITV, MTV and Pulse.
Emma Sylvester – 8-12 Age Category
Emma began her casting career in 2016 and specialises in TV and children’s casting. From 2017 to early 2024 Emma worked as part of the in-house casting department for the BBC as casting assistant and casting director across numerous shows, most notably Holby City, Casualty, Doctors and Father Brown.
Lauren Evans – 13-18 Age Category
Lauren has an extraordinary casting CV, working across a number of television shows and films, most notably Game of Thrones, The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl and Gavin & Stacey 2019 Christmas Special. Lauren was also the co-casting director, alongside Nina Gold, on Paddington 2 and Taboo, and worked independently across three series of Sex Education, for which she won a CDG Award for Best Casting in a TV Comedy in 2020 and 2021.
The Prize
- Free Spotlight membership for one year
- Career advice session with our Spotlight Customer Success Manager for Young Performers, Ellie Samuels
- A Spotlight goody bag
- Self-tape equipment (curated by audio-visual specialist, Nicholas Peel) worth £100
- Your entry will be shared with our casting director, agent and performer members in our newsletters as well our news pages on our website.
Please note: Winner videos do not have to be included on our website and made public if you choose not to.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Rules of Entry
- You must be between the ages of 4 and 18.
- You must be a current member of Spotlight to enter.
- This competition is open to Spotlight Young Performer members worldwide.
- You may enter only one piece, per competition.
- Your piece should be up to a maximum of one minute in length.
- Please only submit video footage that you have filmed for the purpose of this competition. Please do not submit footage that is currently being used for any job opportunities that is subject to an NDA or contractual agreement.
- Please do not include copyrighted material in the background of your entry.
- Please read all terms and conditions carefully before submitting your entry here.
- THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Good luck!
We were blown away by the entries from our last ‘Into the Spotlight’ Young Performers competition, so thanks to everyone who entered!
Take a look at our website for tips on choosing the perfect monologue to perform and self-taping advice.
