Halo Model and Talent Agency will host the Halo Summer Scouting Event June 21 at the Jepson Center downtown.
Agencies from Atlanta and New York, including New York Model Management and Frontier Booking, will be in Savannah to potentially book models, actresses and dancers from the Savannah area.
Halo’s owner, Stephanie Duke-Andrews, said a significant turnout is expected because it’s completely local — all Savannah talent — and with a low price tag.
Some larger conventions, what Duke-Andrews calls “cattle calls,” run as high as a $6,000 entry fee. The Jepson Center showcase runs only $60-$75 depending on the registration date.
The talent showcase is just a piece of the progression that Duke-Andrews has been making in Savannah since opening Halo Model and Talent Agency in 2007.
Duke-Andrews began her journey in New York in 1991 as a 14-year-old model for the Zoli Agency. Her father, a Pentecostal preacher, and mother supported her modeling career, but maintained a parenting role in Duke-Andrews’ life.
“They were very much in control of my young career,” said Duke-Andrews. “They were practical. Did I make mistakes? Yes. But they knew all of that would get me to where I am now.”
Seven years later, Duke-Andrews went to the other side of the camera, leaving New York to work with booking agencies in South Carolina and Atlanta.
“I liked pizza too much. And ice cream,” she said. “But more than the pizza and ice cream, I liked the creativity. I just knew I wanted to be on the other side of the camera.”
After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, she was laid off from the Atlanta agency. In 2002, she opened the first branch of the Halo agency in Atlanta.
“I remember joking with my very first agent that one day I would buy her agency from her,” she said. “And here I was starting my own.”
In 2007, Duke-Andrews moved to Savannah and opened a second Halo branch. Both offices were open for a few months, but eventually Duke-Andrews said she realized Savannah was the “arts mecca of the south,” so she closed the Atlanta branch.
The agency is full-service, representing age groups from 4-100 in acting, dancing, singing and modeling. It acts as a liaison between the big productions — Fruit of the Loom, Macy’s, Coca-Cola and others — and the models.
The Christian-owned company strives for more than booking beautiful people, though.
“We try to be a positive influence on them because everything else in our industry is sex, drugs and rock n’ roll,” Duke-Andrews said. “We teach them about forming boundaries between what they will and won’t do.”
Models and their parents agree the ethical code the Halo agency maintains is a big incentive to sign with them.
Part-time Halo employee and model, Lauren Davis, 20, said Halo is where she found her confidence — a confidence that has gotten her to the cover of Savannah Weddings in August, as well as a runway spot in the Savannah Fashion Week every year since 2010.
“She’s my boss, my agent and one of my best friends,” said Davis of Duke-Andrews. “It’s a funny thing that she does. Young girls come to this place where they think it’s about their looks, but we teach them that it’s more than that — we teach them how to be completely themselves.”
Felecia Berry, parent of 10-year-old model Isabella, agrees.
“Halo is one of the most reputable agencies I’ve come across,” she said. “It’s usually about the money, but at Halo it’s about the person. Stephanie is truly concerned about Isabella’s well-being.”
Duke-Andrews will continue her business in Savannah, giving scholarships to the Jepson Center Showcase during open call events next month and planning a models’ mission trip.