Is your Child Ready to be an Actor?

How can I get my child into acting? I hear this question on a regular basis since many people know my son is a child Actor.  I always tell people that I am willing to share the information that I have learned. I have held workshops and even created an e-book to assist parents with getting their child into the industry.

If you really think your child is serious about acting and you want to pursue acting as a career for your child, I am going to give you a couple of questions to ask yourself.

Does your child really want to act, model or both?

Does your child have a lot of patience?

Does your child take direction well?

Can your child read and memorize lines quickly?

Is your child comfortable in front of the camera?

Do you or someone in your family have the time to take your child to auditions, rehearsals and to shoots?

These questions are very important and will determine if your child and you are ready for this field. If your child does not have patience, he/she will not work well as an actor. An average 30 second commercial can take six to eight hours to film. There is a lot of sitting and waiting on sets and your child has to be able to be patient.

It is very important that you understand that someone will have to take time out of their schedule to be with your child for memorizing lines, taking your child to auditions and taking your child to shoots. Acting is time-consuming and you will need to organize your family’s schedule to accommodate your child actor. It is best if you can work out a buddy system with a family member or friend.

Here are some things you can do to get your child started:

Your child should start learning two (2) age appropriate monologues and be able to present them. A five sentence minimum monologue is okay for children 5 through 10.

You will need to have a professional Head Shot and/or Comp Cards taken. You will need at least 100 printed copies of each to take with you for casting calls.

Your child should enroll in professional acting workshops/classes.

You may want to register your child with some Extra Casting Agencies so your child can become familiar with working on a set. Extra’s are non-talking roles.

Your child will need to obtain a Work Permit if they are under age 16. You will need to obtain a Letter of Intent from the Extra Casting Agencies and take it to the IL Dept of Labor.

When your child has mastered his/her monologue and has professional pictures, you may want to start shopping around for a Talent Agent. I suggest you research SAG/AFTRA franchised Talent Agents.

Let your child guide this process. If they want to do this, they will work hard and memorize their lines and learn their parts.

Learn all you can about the entertainment business. This is a business and you need to understand that.

In the near future, Chicagowoodmomblog  will be changing its format. I am always sharing information that I find and a few friends suggested I start putting everything in the blog. I will be sharing words of advice, fashion tips and shopping,  links and information on places of interest, casting calls and information that you can use to guide you on your acting journey.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Be blessed and be a blessing to others.

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