Wendy Alane Wright is a Hollywood Talent Manager with WAW Entertainment. Her clients have appeared in numerous national commercials, movies, webisodes, short films, and on television networks such as ABC, NBC, Comedy Central, BIO, Lifetime, plus many more. Previous to being a Manager and a Talent Agent at Burn Down Entertainment, she assisted many high profile Managers, Agents and Publicists in the careers of Neil Patrick Harris, Johnny Galecki, Sarah Michelle Geller, The Four Tops, The Bee Gees, Meatloaf, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Guttenberg, The Cranberries Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, and Neil Diamond. Wendy is also a Recording Artist, Actress, Author and Music Producer all giving her a 360-degree perspective of the industry.
YOU WANT THE TRUTH? My name is Wendy Alane Wright and I am a Talent Manager at WAW Entertainment in Los Angeles. (www.wawentertainment.com) I attended iPOP this summer, there were 700 kids there. I signed one AMAZING child from it. I am working closely with her and her parents to build her acting career. iPOP itself is a very legit event. That is a great opportunity for me because throughout the rest of the year I have to go to small showcases of 15-30 kids all over the US.
I can’t speak for every JRP franchise. I have heard good and bad things about them but they are VERY, VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE. Way more expensive than regular acting classes and headshot sessions. I do know that every child who attends iPOP does not get signed from the event, BUT A HANDFUL DO GET SIGNED. The talented kids, who are outspoken, have a great monologue, have a good look and are personable get signed and get a lot of interest from many agents and managers. We all gravitate to the best ones. It's not for all people.
You could spend less money flying to LA, getting real headshots done with www.flygirlphoto.com
Creating a resume (see below) and emailing your childs headshot and resume directly to the same kids of agents that show up at iPOP.
There are vultures in this business preying on the dreams of parents and children who are entering show business. You can rely on me and my blogs to always guide you in the right direction. I would also like to suggest you get your information from these reputable sources as well:
CHILDREN IN FILM, BIZ PARENTS and HOLLYWOOD MOM BLOG.
LIST
Abrams Jeremy Apody jeremy.apody@abramsart.com
CESD Phone: Call and ask (310) 475 2111
Daniel Hoff Anna Leigh annaleigh@danielhoffagency.com
Coast To Coast Meredith Fine mfine@ctctalent.com
Osbrink Cindy Osbrink contact@osbrinkagency.com
AEF Milton Perea milton@aeftalent.com
Savage Stella Alex savageagency@gmail.com
Media Artists Group Robin Nassif robin@mediaartistsgroup.com
Howard Talent West Lynn Eriks htwcomm@pacbell.net
Jaime Ferrar Agency Joey Robson Joey@jfala.com
Don Buchwald & Associates Julie Buchwald julia@buchwald.com
Bloc Talent Agency Jennifer Musgrove jennifer@blocagency.com
First Class Talent Cynthia Barry firstclasstalentagency@gmail.com
I LOVE how iPOP gets so many decision makers into the same room, 40-50 top agents and managers and we are ALL looking for great kids. BUT we see way more unprepared kids than prepared kids. Kids that have no business being in show business. You should BE AWARE I believe JRP's take the money whether the kids have a real shot or not. They are offering a little "training", I say that very loosely along with below industry standard headshots. They don't turn down money. Dreams are big business. They are in the dream business. They do put your kids in the room with real opportunity but NO guarantees.The money you spend is gone. You can't expect anything for it.
No one can tell you your child will get an agent at iPOP. No one can tell you your child will work in TV, Commercials and Print. No one knows that. We take chances and sign kids, then submit them to Casting Directors and SOME kids get called in while others never do. WE don't even know how casting will respond to kids. We guess, based on years of experience. A kid could book the very first job they audition for or not book a job for a year or ever. We don't know that either. Anyone who tells you differently is lying.
Parents please understand this: Casting Directors receive about 2,000 headshots for every single role. We don't know who CD's are going to pick to audition. We do know the kids who have an outgoing personality, can speak up clearly, have tons of energy and can act have a MUCH better chance of getting an audition and an agent or manager.
So I think parents MUST BE SMART AND ABSOLUTELY MAKE SURE YOUR KIDS ARE GETTING OUTSIDE TRAINING - make sure your kids are taking additional acting classes outside of the showcase system to get the best preparation and bank for their buck. Don’t spend your last money on ANYTHING like JRP, BARBIZON, JOHN CASABLANCAS. These are systems that makes tons of money. The kids who succeed in this business are very few.
I always suggest to parents and kids who are new to the business to understand these fundamentals:
GET REAL TRAINING Kids over age 4-6 should have improvisation based acting training. Kids ages 7+up should take acting classes, scene study classes, on camera commercial audition classes and improvisation classes BEFORE they pay thousands of dollars to attend ANY Showcase. Your kids need to be READY for the opportunities. So many parents just throw their kids into situations they are not ready for and they throw the money away because agents and managers doesn't sign untalented or unprepared kids.
If you can afford to do it and get your child trained and prepared for iPOP you will have the luxury of meeting with 10-50 agents and managers at once. That is AMAZING, all in1 room at 1 time. You will also have access to people you would not otherwise get access to, especially in rural areas. That's valuable.
But there are OTHER ways to get your child an agent that don't coast you an arm & a leg. Simply send your child’s headshot and resumes to Agents and Managers for .35 postage. Pay $300 for Headshots and $200 a month for acting classes for 1- 3 years and maybe someone will be interested.
Either way it’s a all luck of the draw whether you spend $2,000 or $17,000 on a showcase system. Becoming an actor takes way more than attending a showcase and getting an agent. Even after you get an agent there is SO much you have to do to have a career. Your kids agent might get you an audition but if your child isn't prepared well s/he won't book it.
My company WAW ENTERTAINMENT talent management in Los Angeles is always looking for talented & beautiful kids ages 6-14 for Film, TV, Webseries and Commercials. If you live in Los Angeles or plan to be here for 2-3 months between Feb-July or Sept-Nov. submit headshots and Resumes to wawentertainment@yahoo.com
Please include: Photos of your child, age, height, weight, city and state you live in and a 30 second video of your child talking about something important to them. Sports, friends, school, food, movies etc. You can record the video on your iPhone, upload it to You Tube, mark video as unlisted and include the link in your email to us. If we are interested we will contact you. We want to get an idea of their personality. We look forward to reviewing your submissions.
I HIGHLY suggest every parent learn the facts about breaking your kids into show business by reading my 75 page e-book:"How To Be A Star Right Where You Are" (for parents outside of Los Angeles) or "Secrets Of A Hollywood Talent Manager" (for parents in LA):
That way YOU can make SMART choices about how to get your kids started in commercials, film and TV the LEGIT ways available on my website and save money and time.
http://www.secretsofahollywoodtalent.manager.com.com
And so you know I am not trying to "Scam" you here is a $6 link to purchase the book which is normally $21. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7RRQQCW3S333W
Once you have downloaded it SAVE it to your desk top and read.
Wendy Alane Wright
The Hollywood Talent Manager
WAW Entertainment
http://www.secretsofahollywoodtalentmanager.com
