Expert: Peter Messaline - 8/18/2007

Question
QUESTION: How do i become a singer that performes and an actress like miley cyrus cause i wanta work for disney

ANSWER: You sound young, but I am going to treat you like an adult, because you are trying to get a shortcut into an adult world.

Go to this website and look at the Disney auditions.
http://corporate.disney.go.com/auditions/index.html

The people most likely to be auditioned are those who have had training and experience in shows with other producers. Disney can pick the very best, even at the very beginner level.

They see many people each year, and many, many more can't get an audition.
From each hundred people who do audition, maybe one or two get a chance to be in a Disney show.
Each Disney show has a busload of chorus and extra roles, and only a handful of the sort of performer you want to be.
No matter how good you are, the odds are really really against you.

Forget about being in a Disney show for the moment.
Start by becoming a performer.

Find a drama class, enjoy the classes and learn the start of what being an actor is all about.
If you want to sing, you should take singing lessons. if you want to dance, dancing lessons.

While you are taking classes, enjoy what you are doing. You won't get good unless you relax enough to enjoy acting and singing and dancing. If all you're thinking about is your ambition at the end, you'll miss out on the creativity and joy that makes a good performer into a successful performer.

It all takes time, and determination, and luck. Don't always be looking at the magic castle on top of the hill; enjoy the trip that is taking you in that direction.

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QUESTION: well i do take lessons on all those things i even play the recorder hamonica piano key board and the violin i write my own songs and im in chorus ive been performin all my life well ever sine i was 4 my sisters r very expierienced there 16 they both teach me everyhing
ANSWER: Congratulations on all your classes.

If you want to be a performer, you need to take that training to a higher level, and go to college. Most US performers start in college.

You say your sisters are 'very experienced'. What do they do? What are they teaching you? Are they professional performers?

Look again at my figures about the Disney auditions.

<<They see many people each year, and many, many more can't get an audition.
From each hundred people who do audition, maybe one or two get a chance to be in a Disney show.
Each Disney show has a busload of chorus and extra roles, and only a handful of the sort of performer you want to be.
No matter how good you are, the odds are really really against you.>>

Acting is a career choice -- talk to your parents about what you will be able to do. They will need to be behind your choice, no matter what it is. You can't move a foot without their support, and you'll need all sorts of money and time from them.

Keep on keeping on

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QUESTION: well they teach me to read different types of music all the instruments i play i learned from them they have been  performing alot in fact were all trying out for pied pipers i live in florida and we have disney here my whole family sings one of my realatives back then was the first person ever to appear on screen of corse he played in silent movies but i have alot of expierience i take pivate lessons on alot of stuff i learn every day my sister jessica is so advanced she tutors younger students my dad pays for usually all the things i do and he offered to pay for everything i do
ANSWER: You are lucky to be surrounded by people much closer to what you are aiming at than I am.
Go ahead and enjoy what you are doing. Remember the Disney odds and don't get too fixed on that one outlet for your skills. Ask your teachers about getting performance experience.

Be well. be happy

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QUESTION: Thank you I have an audition with disney I have everything ready i still practice but i have to get ready for school too my mom says expect the worst and pray for the best but keep my head up and keep practicing
ANSWER: Well done for getting the Disney audition, no matter what it is for.

Your mother is quite right about school -- don't wreck that track for the sake of something that might lead nowhere.

Where did you apply for the audition?

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QUESTION: I will ask my dad hes the one that set it up but ill ask
ANSWER: Please let me know.
I do not have a good feeling about this.
=|:(

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QUESTION: Why dont you have a good feeling about it?????
ANSWER: I shouldn't have said that, but I wanted to be sure you passed on the information about exactly what the situation was.

With luck, there will be nothing to worry about, but there are plenty of traps out there waiting to catch people with powerful dreams.

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QUESTION: Oh I know,Im friends with Cole Sprouse I know all about it dont worry my mom tells me reporters will be following me trying to catch me doing something wrong there will be a story for everything even if I probaly tie my shoe wrong
ANSWER: I wasn't talking about stalking and the tabloids, but simply fake agencies and managers who seem to be offering the moon, but after you pay their fees, their promises disappear.

I was concerned because you seemed to have gone very quickly from someone with no knowledge of the business to someone with an audition for Disney set up by their father. I feared that he had contacted a manager with greed where his heart should be.
Here's advice from
http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070325192204AAt6zUp
<<<
I'll post this yet again:

"The Disney Channel" doesn't have auditions. It's not a junior high play. The shows on the Disney Channel have casting people who send out what are called "breakdowns" to registered agents. These are lists of roles that are being cast and the types of actors that are needed. The agents then comb through their clients to see if any of them meet those criteria. If they do, those actors (or the video reels of their previous work) are sent out to read for particular parts. The network doesn't just hold an open audition and hope that people will show up.

You're not going to get seen by anyone at any of the production companies just by contacting them and telling them how much you like their shows. You need to have a legitimate agent who will send you out for jobs, and even then the odds are slim of A) even getting an agent in the first place, B) getting sent out for something, and C) getting sent out for a show on the Disney Channel.>>>

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QUESTION: Oh of course my mom told me that were going to find out everything there is to know about this guy she wants to know how many people he has helped and how many got through she wants to know everything so do i

Answer
So you have gone to a manager.
Don't rely on him to tell you who he has helped and what percentage were cast.
Google his name, and the name of his company, and look for comments from other people.
If he starts to charge you fees for services, that is a very bad sign.
Your mother is right to be cautious: there are more cheats than trustworthy people when it comes to promising to get kids auditions with big name companies.
I wish you all the luck in the world, but I still have a bad feeling about this deal