Where can I find the best acting agents in Atlanta, GA?

Hollywood acting?????!!?

• I really want to become an actress, but I don't know where to start. I'm 16 years old, and I live in Atlanta, GA. Are there any agents I could see? Yesterday, I was driving and I heard an ad by the Disney Channel people calling all 7-17 year olds and I called when I got home, but I decided to call quits because I hate Disney Channel. It's not what it used to be. I'd love to be a Hollywood actress, but I don't know where to start. Thanks in advance. Xx

• Answer:

  Acting is like any other profession, You have to get training and experience. You have to start small and local and work your way up. It's too early for you to be thinking about Hollywood and agents. You need to take acting classes, try out for school plays, get in touch with local community theatres to see if they're holding auditions for any roles in your age range. (Students get cast in all the roles in school plays, no matter how old the characters are, but at community theatres, they have actors of all ages, so you'll only be considered for characters close to your own age.) If there are any summer theatres near you, they might already have filled all their apprentice and intern slots for this year, but it wouldn't hurt to get in touch with them just in case, even if you're just laying the groundwork for next summer. You'll be a college student soon, and you can consider majoring in theatre or taking as many theatre course as possible, and auditioning for as many campus plays as possible. Professors in the theatre department will be able to give you lots of useful career advice. People who want to go from zero acting experience to Hollywood stardom overnight end up going nowhere. The people who have a shot are the ones who are willing to do the hard, unglamorous, step-by-step work to gain the necessary training and experience.