Acting auditions
Remember the movie Home Alone with Macaulay Culkin? I remember after the success of that movie, everyone suddenly had acting jobs in their sights. Advertisements for acting auditions to be held at the local mall started to appear in newspapers and children with their parents were flocking to them hoping to be the next child star. Acting never appealed to me, but it immediately caught the eye of my friend, who quickly signed up for one of these auditions for teens. It was held at the local mall, and he had to stand in line for over two hours with other eager teens who were already dreaming of their movie trailers. I remember talking with him the day after the audition, and needless to say, he was less than thrilled. Aside from the long wait, he was hastily thrust a half page sheet containing some poorly written lines, which he had to recite in front of bored talent search agents. They seemed to be more interested in his appearance and stature rather than any acting abilities. He had his five minutes in the spotlight before being ushered out to make room for the next teen in line, left only with a vague promise that they would contact him if they were interested. Ever since then, he steered clear from any more auditions for teens or even any acting auditions in general. Rather, he turned his eye to modeling auditions. This turned out much better for him, since he was very photogenic and could really shine on print. Many of these auditions conducted an initial screening by reviewing pictures and bios submitted by applicants. The modeling auditions that he actually attended were much more attentive to each applicant, since they were already in their second and third rounds of cuts and more likely to be hired. Finally, he landed a modeling job with a major retail stores clothing department. He had his fifteen minutes of fame, showing off the latest style in jeans and denim jackets before he was left jobless again. Now, he holds a normal day job, nothing like the acting jobs or modeling jobs that he aspired to when he was younger. Perhaps the real motivator for these jobs are parents, who wish to live out their own desire for fame and accomplishment through their children. Look at how many parents submit their babies for baby modeling.