NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi there

I'm new to this website, so hoping for some friendly advice from those in the know!

I have an eight year old son who I think is a natural actor/performer. He has no professional experience, but has excelled in school shows/assemblies, and has attended local drama clubs and workshops in the holidays. All of which he has enjoyed, although he also enjoys his other outside school hobbies - swimming, tennis etc.

A few months ago, there was an open audition for a TV film that we went for (my idea - he wasn't bothered). He did really well in the audition, and said his lines beautifully, but it didn't go anywhere. I think (of course!) that he was too tall to play the part of a 5 year old. So, all in all, a good experience that he enjoyed.

I'm tempted to send off his details to agencies, but am trying to be sensible at the same time. He doesn't have a burning desire to be an actor, but enjoys it as a hobby. He would probably worry about missing school (and the head teacher has already made it plain that she would only authorise 'occasional' absences from school). But, on the other hand, perhaps we should give it a go and see what happens. No experience is wasted, and all that.

Could anyone tell me the highs and lows, and the things they wish they'd known in hind sight. I'd be really grateful.

Thanks, in advance.

Hello and welcome to NAPM. You've come to the right place if you have a child who loves to perform!

I expect you'll get a few different views on this. Here's mine:

I think that if he's not pushing you to pursue the professional work I'd be inclined to heave a sigh of relief and continue with the local, amateur opportunities/clubs etc. Supporting a child who wants to pursue professional opportunities takes a lot of time and flexibility from the family (and expense too, sometimes, especially if you live outside London). You are also likely to need a supportive attitude from school and an LEA that doesn't take for ever to issue licences.

If he is interested in films, you could also look at student films etc (and you don't need an agent for this). Filming is a very different experience to stage shows. He might enjoy it, and the experience would be useful, but on the other hand he may not enjoy it at all (there's a heck of a lot of waiting around).

Except for a fortunate few, professional opportunities are few and far between. An agent might take him on, if they feel he has a marketable look and/or particular talent/skill. You may get called for commercial castings and these are a complete lottery, often require quite a lot of hanging around for a three minute "audition" and then you never hear anything from the Casting Director (this is the "norm"). TV Drama/Film opportunities are infrequent (though of course they do crop up). Theatre is likely to need singing/dancing skills as well as acting (there are not all that many straight acting theatre opportunities for children in professional shows).

I had one child who was very keen to look for professional opportunities (though circumstances meant that we were extremely limited in what we could realistically pursue) and one child who was content to fill every spare moment with local opportunities and creating his own work. They are both adults now and the one who only did local, amateur work is the one who is now making his way as an adult professional actor. They both enjoyed all of the things they did and learned a lot from every experience.

Thanks, PG. That's really useful. And yes, we do live outside London, so travel time/expense has to be factored in as well.

It's really interesting hearing your experience, and how things have ended up for your DC. I'm quite torn really....

I tend to agree with pg (not suprising as she is the "guru" on here!!) and be led by your child. If he shows no "burning desire" to do professional work there is plenty of stuff he can do as an amateur and locally which will give him experience (to find out if he enjoys it), be fun and enjoyable but less disruptive to his eduaction and family life. If as he gets older he can change his mind.

I also agree. There is so much rewarding stuff to get involved in that it really isn't necessary to chase professional work, with all the disruption, cost, time commitment and emotional roller-coastering involved. Whether he is a 'natural' or not, local drama school or amateur performances will still help to hone his craft and build a CV which may be useful if, at some time in the future, he wants to take it further.

Although you are right that no experience is wasted, by involving a child in auditions and even - occasionally - paid work if they really aren't fired up for it, you risk putting them off for life.

So my advice is to leave it until he is pushing to do more. Even then, think long and hard before you make the move.

Good luck

Deb x