Rags to Riches and plucked from the chorus line

[pg]

I was looking at some reviews for "The Children's Hour" as a good friend of my son is in it. She has had some rave reviews and apparently put in a brilliant performance. Some of the reviews are extraordinary - of the " a star is born" variety. This is wonderful of course, though it's also really heartening (and reassuring) to read her very down to earth response in interviews. What really gets my goat though is that in some papers and magazines you read things like:

"New actress ............. – who has worked as a barmaid for the past five years – has also received rave reviews, and been brand an ‘incredible actress’ by many who have seen the show. "

"A virtually unknown actress and former barmaid is being tipped for fame after outshining Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in a new play. "


Now, I would suggest that this is just a teeny weeny bit misleading:
This very talented actress studied at RADA for 3 years and has already appeared at the National Theatre, amongst other venues. She also worked behind a bar before she went to RADA (and possibly since graduating, too) - in common, probably, with about 80% of the acting profession!

This kind of reporting really annoys me. IMO it belittles the hard work, training and dedication which she has shown to get where she is and it gives a TOTALLY misleading impression of the likely route to "stardom".

I know it happens all over the place, but I wish it didn't.

[Welsh Mum]

With you all the way pg. It also makes it seem deceptively "easy" for the onlooker, and youngsters may read stuff like that and not realise the years of work that has gone before. It feeds into the "xfactor" approach to success. However, the newspapers reflect what a lot of peole want to read and therefore stories like "unknown bar maid gets big break" sells more papers than "afters years of work and many auditions RADA graduate succeeds".

[nextinline]

I have heard it said many times before (by those in the business) that it takes 10 to 15 years to become "an overnight success".

[Welsh Mum]

I have heard it said many times before (by those in the business) that it takes 10 to 15 years to become "an overnight success".

Too true.

[MILLET]

Once spoke to a group of mums who told me that I was putting my dc at a serious disadvantage giving them drama singing and dancing lessons and letting them do acting work, as if they wanted to be actors or singers etc when they get older, directors wouldn't want to see them, they would want to see fresh faces "like Connie Fisher who worked in a call centre and had not had any training or had any acting or singing experience before."

I would say that behind every great actor/singer/dancer there is a parent who has spent years of their life ferrying them to after school lessons, waiting in line at auditions and spending freezing cold mornings in muddy fields watching the same scene being redone over and over.

But would we have it any other way

[Caroline A-C]

Connie Fisher worked in a call centre when she wasn't auditioning and that was after she attended Mountview so hardly untrained!!!! You don't get anything for nothing as the saying goes. Success is won through sheer had work.

[pg]

The other thing that doesn't get reported is that very often those who have great success after a lot of hard work often have to go back to the pub and the call centre in between future jobs! This is particularly true as actors' wages are driven down and down. Gone are the days when you could survive for 6 or 12 months on one lucrative commercial while you waited for the next "proper" acting job. It's very hard for those outside the profession to understand that for many actors there is no "ladder" (it can be frustrating for those within it, too!).

[nextinline]

Well Said PG. Even well known actors and actresses have to do other things inbetween jobs. Very few people can exist on just the one gig every few months. As they say, you are only as good as your last job. However, whilst acting has always been an unpredictable career choice, now most jobs are the same. How many of us are in the same job we had after leaving school/college/uni? So I supposethat at least our dds and dss will be used to that!