by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
These days, breaking into modeling or acting can be impersonal.
You submit your comp card or voters via a website… and wait for someone to get back to you.
But on Aug. 26, the impersonal process through a computer screen becomes personal and face-to-face when Get Discovered Model and Actor Showcase comes to the Westbrook Outlets in Westbrook on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 12 to 4 p.m.
The free event is organized and presented by John Casablancas Modeling and Acting Agency in Connecticut.
Get Discovered is offered several times a year and each time a different set of agents comes to sit and see—in person—prospective models and actors.
This time, said Tina Kiniry, president of John Casablancas in Connecticut, New York Model Management, LA Model Management and John Casablancas will scout the talent to see who has what it takes to be a high fashion or commercial model or an actor.
You come, said Kiniry, fill out a form, get your photograph taken, and then walk down the runway before the scouts.
In terms of what scouts are looking for, Kiniry said it’s hard to say. “It depends on the market they’re interested in.”
But, said Kiniry, now is the time to get into the world of fashion and entertainment. No matter your look, “There’s an agency looking out for your type.”
Even if you don’t win the Get Discovered event, it doesn’t mean you won’t make a mark, said Kiniry. She cited supermodel Cindy Crawford as an example. Years ago, she competed in an international modeling competition. She didn’t win. But someone saw her and saw potential.
And now she’s a household name, said Kiniry.
Although ambitious models and actors can submit photos and resumes through websites of agencies, Kiniry said, you’re much better off when scouts can see you in person at an event like Get Discovered. Sometimes there’s an intangible that a scout can’t pick up on from the screen of a computer—maybe it’s how you walk the runway or how you exude confidence.
You don’t have to be runway or screen ready right now, said Kiniry. The agents are trained to spot raw talent and potential .They recognize most of the participants at an event like Get Discovered are just getting started.
Super model Emily DiDonato is someone who worked her way through Get Discovered competition in Connecticut, said Kiniry. She first saw DiDonato when she was just 10-years-old. The youngster was walking by at the Danbury mall and Kiniry stopped her and said, “You should sign up.” And DiDonato did.
She didn’t win, said Kiniry. She was still raw. But that was where the journey began.
Now she’s a top international model who has been a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and has been the face of Maybelline makeup.
As far as how many people typically arrive for the Get Discovered events, Kiniry said between 300 to 500 people is typical.
When people attend Get Discovered on Aug. 26. They also will see, in-person, the potential success that waits for them.
Isabella Maldonado, 9, had participated in a previous Get Discovered event. She is now working in Los Angeles as an actor, having landed an agent out there, said Kiniry.
Maldonado will be coming back to Connecticut to help emcee the event on Aug. 26.
Get Discovered will be held at Westbrook Outlets, 314 Flat Rock Place, Westbrook from 12 to 4 p.m. The event is free.
For more information, go to NewYorkModels.com, LaModels.com or Johncasablancasct.com
