The Rising Star

She’s only 10 years old, but she’s well on her way to stardom.

Meet Sydney Isman, whose name you may not recognize now but you are sure to come across in the not-too-distant future. Sydney is an aspiring actress, who at her young age already has an agent and participates in many auditions.

“I do pretty much everything,” she says. “Commercials, television, movies, voiceovers. I’ve been doing it for about two years.”

Oddly enough, Sydney’s acting career started out almost by accident. “My mom heard about an audition on the radio that was being held by an acting school,” she says. “We actually went for my sister, but then she got nervous and so I did the audition. It was a commercial. They gave me a script and told me to read it, and that was it.”

The successful audition got Sydney into the John Robert Powers Acting School, one of the leading acting schools in the world. She was among ten children chosen out of approximately 600 who auditioned. Now, she is actively studying on the weekends (while attending her regular school during the week) and going to as many auditions as possible, hoping to snatch that dream part. She has also studied with voice acting coach Sunday Muse and has worked with Gloria Mann, a very well-known casting director. Currently, she is recording a voiceover demo.

Out of all the different types of projects she is involved in, her favourite is commercials. “They’re really fun to do,” she says. “It’s also not a really big script to memorize. It’s usually just two or three lines and that’s it, so it’s easier. With auditions, they don’t give you much time [to prepare]. My agent just told me about an audition and I have to go tomorrow.”

When she grows up, Sydney hopes to attend a professional acting school. Most recently, she attended iPOP, which is a five-day convention taking place twice a year, in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles. “They have a convention which is open to all actresses, actors, and models from all over the world,” explains Sydney’s proud mother, Esther Isman. “They audition there for ten hours a day for all the biggest casting directors and agents. And there they can get jobs. [Sydney] did the Los Angeles one, which took place in January of this year. It was very busy. You obviously have to have a good memory to memorize scenes and monologues.”

Currently, Sydney is represented by King Talent, and as her mother explains, it takes time to choose the right agent. “They have to have a bonding and understanding,” she says, adding: “It’s a fun industry. It’s very hectic. You always have to be on time, you always have to be available.”

“You can’t be late [to an audition],” adds Sydney. “That ruins your reputation.”

If all this seems like too much for a little girl, and you are wondering why go to all the trouble, Esther offers a simple answer: “The reason we really did it is that it really helps [to build] confidence in the future. You have to love what you do. You have to be able to take rejections because there will be many of them. She’s taking it very well. It’s a very competitive business, but what they’re really looking for when they’re looking for kids, is for kids that look younger than their age.

“We’re not taking it thinking we’re going to retire on it, but it’s a good experience for a kid,” continues Esther. “It puts them into a schedule, they have to know to be under pressure. I think it’s a benefit. Not everybody is built for it, but she’s taking it very well.”

With her many talents and her dedication to a future career in the hectic world of show business, there’s no doubt that Sydney Isman is on the right path to success.