Auditions
How auditions work.
When a casting opportunity comes in, Sprout will reach out with the details. Your response — and how quickly you give it — matters. Clients move fast, and being responsive and prepared is part of being a professional.
Confirming or Declining
When you receive an audition request, respond as quickly as possible — ideally within a few hours. Let us know clearly whether you can attend or not. If you're unsure about availability, say so and give us a timeframe for when you'll know. Never leave a request unanswered. A non-response is not a decline — it creates confusion and can affect your standing with clients.
Self-Tape Auditions
Many auditions are now submitted as self-tapes. Read the casting instructions carefully — they will specify the format, framing, length, and what to say or do. Submit your tape as early as possible. Last-minute submissions are often missed. Use good lighting, a clean background, and record in a quiet space. Review your tape before sending it.
Slates
A slate is a brief introduction at the start of your audition tape. Unless instructed otherwise, a standard slate includes your name, age, and the agency you're represented by. Keep it natural and confident. Example: 'Hi, I'm [Name], I'm [age] years old, and I'm represented by Sprout Kids Agency.'
Deadlines
Casting deadlines are firm. If a self-tape is due by noon, it needs to be submitted before noon — not at noon. Build in time to review and re-record if needed. Missing a deadline means missing the opportunity.
Reading Casting Instructions
Always read the full casting breakdown before responding or submitting. Instructions often include specific wardrobe requests, framing requirements, or things to avoid. Missing a detail in the instructions is one of the most common reasons a submission gets passed over.
Availability
Only confirm an audition if you can actually attend. If you're booked on the shoot date, let us know before confirming the audition. Canceling after confirmation — especially last minute — reflects poorly on you and on Sprout.
Self-Tape Guide
The Sprout Self-Tape Guide
Read the casting instructions. Keep it simple. Get it in early.
Self tapes do not need to be complicated. You do not need a professional studio, an expensive camera, or a perfectly designed self-tape room. What we want to see is your child. Good lighting. Clean background. Clear sound. Follow the instructions. Let their personality come through. That is really the foundation of a good tape.
The casting instructions for that specific audition always come before anything in this guide. Read them first. Every time.
Get It In Early
The faster you can get a self tape in, the better. Deadlines are deadlines, and they are there for a reason. But please do not automatically treat the deadline as your target submission time.
Casting directors often review auditions as they come in. Sometimes they see someone they love early and they already feel like they have found what they are looking for before every tape has even arrived.
So if you can tape today, tape today. If you can submit early, submit early. We would rather you take the time to send a good tape than rush and send something sloppy. But do not sit on a finished audition for two days just because the deadline is not until Friday.
Early is always better when you can make it happen.
Stop Coaching Them
This may be one of the most important things we can tell you. Please stop coaching every word out of your child.
The biggest mistake we see on self tapes is overthinking. And usually, somewhere behind that overthinking is an adult trying very hard to help. We know you are trying to make the tape better. But when you tell them exactly how to say every sentence, what face to make, when to smile, where to put their hands, and then make them do it seventeen times — they are not being themselves anymore. They are performing your version of themselves.
Casting wants the kid.
Take the Pressure Off
The kids who instantly stand out are usually the ones who seem comfortable. They are excited. They are not afraid to talk. They are not sitting there worried about whether they are giving the right answer.
Instead of: "Okay. Stand up straight. Say your name. No, say it louder. Smile. No, a real smile. Let's start again." — try actually talking to them. "Hey, what's your name?" "What have you been obsessed with lately?" "Wait, you did what?" Be silly with them. Make them laugh. Let the conversation happen.
When you take away the pressure, you get a much more natural response. And that is when you see them shine.
That is the kid we want casting to meet.
There Is No Perfect Take
You are trying to create the perfect take. There is not one. Some of the best moments we have seen in casting rooms were not perfect at all. They were the little nuances you cannot really direct. The reaction on a kid's face when they are asked something unexpected. The way they laugh. The pause before they answer. The weird little thing they do with their hands when they are thinking.
Those are the things casting directors miss when everything becomes too rehearsed. Casting does not need your child to look like a perfectly produced version of themselves. They need to be able to see them.
So if you really want to give your child the best chance: do not throw away the best take because they stumbled over one word but everything else about it was alive. Do not make them repeat a genuine laugh until it is not funny anymore. Do not rehearse the personality out of them.
Show them real.
The Basics
Background
Keep it simple and uncluttered. A white wall is ideal. Gray works great too. Any clean neutral wall in your house is completely fine. What we do not love anymore is the super bright blue self-tape backdrop. Pre-pandemic, blue was the standard. We see it everywhere now and it is overdone. The background should not be what we notice first.
Lighting
Your child should be lit from the front, not from behind. If there is a bright window directly behind them, your phone will expose for the window and their face may end up dark. We want the light coming toward their face. Think soft, even light that shows them at their best. Natural window light can work beautifully. A ring light or simple continuous light works too. You do not need a professional setup.
Your Phone Is Fine
An iPhone or other current smartphone works great. If you own a camera and know how to use it, amazing. But please do not think you need to go buy a professional camera to make your child competitive. You do not. A well-lit, properly framed iPhone video with a natural kid will always beat a technically perfect video where the child looks uncomfortable.
Film Horizontally
For most auditions, film horizontally unless the casting instructions specifically request something different. And stabilize the camera. A tripod is ideal, but anything stable is better than someone holding the phone while the frame moves around. We want to watch your child. We do not want to feel like we are on a boat.
Framing
Follow the casting instructions first. Generally, when your child is speaking, you will be somewhere around chest-up framing. Casting may also request a full-body shot, profiles, a walk, a little movement, or close-ups of their hands. Give casting exactly what they requested. Do not add ten things nobody asked for because you think more is better.
Commercial vs. TV and Film
For most commercial and print auditions, your child can speak directly into the camera. We want that connection. For TV and film, they will generally perform slightly off camera, usually toward the reader. That small difference matters. If the casting gives specific eyeline instructions, follow those instead.
Audio
You do not need a complicated microphone setup. A quiet room and your phone are usually perfectly fine. Turn off the TV. Move away from the dishwasher. Try not to tape while three siblings and a dog are having a party in the next room. If you need to clean up minor background noise, CapCut can help. But do not overproduce the audio. Clear is the goal.
Your Standard Slate
Have a simple standard slate ready to reuse when appropriate. At minimum: name, age, height, Sprout Kids Agency. You can also let them add something small about themselves — something they love, what they are into right now, their favorite sport. Then adjust the slate based on what each specific casting actually requested. Having a good basic slate ready makes last-minute auditions much easier.
How Many Takes?
For most commercial and print auditions, one strong take is enough unless casting asks for options. If they specifically want two takes or different versions, give them that. But for a straightforward commercial audition, do not send five nearly identical takes because you cannot decide which one is perfect. Pick the strongest natural one and submit it. Strongest does not mean most perfect.
Consistency Helps
When possible, keep your child's basic self-tape appearance consistent. Similar simple clothing. Similar hair. Similar setup. That does not mean they can never change. It means you do not need to reinvent the wheel for every audition. Consistency also makes it easier to reuse certain materials when appropriate. Not every audition needs to become an entire production.
Self-Tape Essentials
You do not need to go out and buy equipment before your child can submit an audition. Your phone, a clean wall, good natural light, and somewhere stable to put the camera can absolutely get the job done. That said, having a few basic things ready can make your life easier when an audition comes in unexpectedly. We have linked some optional self-tape essentials for families who want them. They are not a requirement. They are simply tools that can help you create a clean, consistent setup quickly.
Where Do I Send It?
Follow the submission instructions. If the audition came through Casting Networks, submit it through Casting Networks unless we tell you otherwise. If we contact you directly and specifically ask you to send us the tape, we prefer Dropbox. Please do not randomly send WeTransfer links or Google Drive folders unless we have asked you to. The fewer places we have to chase files, the better.
Deadlines Are Deadlines
Please submit on time. Actually, whenever possible, submit before on time. Casting is moving quickly. If something genuinely happens and you are having an issue getting the tape in, communicate with us. Do not disappear and then send it six hours after the deadline without saying anything. We may be able to help. We may be able to ask for an extension. We may tell you they are already closed. But we cannot do anything if we do not know.
Read the instructions. Keep the setup simple. Get it in early. Do not overcoach. Do not chase perfect. Show them real. And let us see your kid.
A note on professionalism.
Casting directors remember who shows up prepared, on time, and easy to work with. They also remember who doesn't. Every audition is a chance to make a good impression — even if you don't book the job.