How to Prepare

 

One of those fun questions.  “How do I prepare my child for acting?  You don’t.  Too simple?  Thought so, then let us examine the question.  I shall gaze into my crystal ball…

 

This information is not for the stage parent, not one I have ever met has listened to a word I ever said; this is for those of you retaining some degree of sanity, though you be few and far between.  Ninety nine percent of all actors are ‘naturals’; they have a gift.  What they do not have are skills.  I can teach any child to be a Magician, sing (if they have a voice) or walk the beam, etc.  Some performers (notice this word ‘performer’, I did not say actor) have a buried natural gift that does eventually surface through their performing and then they move into the business of acting.  The other one percent of actors that do make it, arrive by accident, some hang on while most, fall by the wayside.

 

My favorite case in point is the Olsen Twins.  Selected because they fit the script for “Full House”, were cute and doubled set time for one child character.  They grew up in the world of sitcom acting.  A major plus is their manager.   The twins were highly directed as babies and toddlers (surprise) and their parts inserted as cutaways.  Assistant Directors stood off camera, prompting lines and giving direction.  After “Full House” (and to some extent during the end of) they made several movies, but their lasting success came with the direct to video market.  The twins have built an empire by appealing to an overlooked market, pre-teen girls.  This set of circumstances does not happen often.  Most child actors disappear because of type casting, lack of talent or, where talent exists, poor management.  Ron Howard (Opie, Andy Griffith show) made it as an actor then moved on to directing.  How many girls that played ‘Annie’ are still around?  The “Home Alone” boys’ father buried his career.

 

Unfortunately there are more than enough parents pushing their child because they think that that is all it takes.  Or they are living a life they were denied through one or more of their children.  There are some very skilful children.  The lucky ones made it through hard work, the Mall circuit, parents with money, etc.  The combination of skill and natural is rare.

 

Many more natural talents are lost than found.  A natural can easily be seduced by virtually everything the world has to offer.  A natural can be the life of the party or a wallflower, Leader or follower, great grades or lousy, attractive or a not.  There is no formula, no foolproof plan, no path to follow, no grand book to buy or ‘single individual’ (your truly) that will make “IT” happen.  (Time to get serious) NO MATTER WHAT AN INDIVIDUAL MAY TELL YOU, THEY CANNOT MAKE YOUR CHILD A STAR WITH A POCKET FULL OF YOUR MONEY.  Having said that, we shall continue.

 

Skills are very important for a natural.  Any skill is.  Marching band, skating, surfing, sing/dance, gymnastics; any and all skills, again for the really non-attentive ANY SKILL.  Skills are great for many reasons.  Discipline is required for all skills, the discipline to master the skill.  Dedication is as important as discipline, because only through dedicating many hours of hard work will your discipline pay off with mastery of the skill.  Appreciation of your skill is as important as any other aspect.  IE, most skills (if not all) require your completed work or performance to be reviewed or seen by someone else.  These venues of presenting ones skills offer the natural rewards through applause or an award of recognition.

 

Skills elevate the self-esteem of the child.  This reinforces any natural talent, builds confidence and allows the child to build ‘its’ future.  Parental recognition of skill accomplishment is the single most important aspect of acquiring skills.  A parent type that does not develop the ability to encourage their child will destroy the child.  If four children are competing and your child comes in forth, a celebration is in order, nothing less.

 

But, on the other hand, would that be the right or left?  Hmm, never matter; the average family has more than one child.  What tares me up more than anything else is the family that invests all time, effort, money and parenting into the natural child.  I have seen these other children, shadows walking around, always looking down at the ground, waiting for the earth to swallow them up.  The parents are on another planet, have no idea and (sadly) could care less.  Part of preparation is including the entire family.  I have seen the acting path destroy many families; girls go anorexic, drugs, smoking, drinking, sex, babies, etc.  Include the whole family, find a skill, hobby or something for the non-natural to focus on and become proud of.  Do not destroy one child in order to dote on another.

 

Part of preparation is detail work.  Improving the product.  Basics like personal hygiene, haircut, clothing, shoes, etc.  Braces, there I said it.  Braces do not destroy a child’s potential; they may place a hiccup in his get along, but nothing more.  I see no reason to opt for the expensive behind the teeth braces; regular will do just fine.  Acne is a concern.  Dumbo ears are fine as are glasses.  Size or shape adds to the products uniqueness.

 

‘Child’, the most important thing of all is that the child is a child, acts like, looks like is a child.  Some parents hurry the child along; make them grow up too fast.  If I am hiring a child, I expect it to be a child, not an adult in a child suit.  Children on the set cost more.  They need a parent or guardian on the set along with a child welfare worker and tutor.  If I am going to spend this kind of money, I want results.  One option a producer/director has is to hire young adults that look like children, they lead a double life; one pretending to never grow up and the other trying to convince the rest of us off camera that they are grown up.  Child labor protection laws limit the number of hours youngsters may work.  Young looking adults can create the child character without the loss of production time and for a reduced cost.  Identical twins for younger parts accomplish the goal of increased production time with some increase in talent cost.

 

A child actor should be allowed to grow up as a child, experience life with wonder, gather skills of interest and select their own friends and playmates.  This approach will make it easier when the time comes to change gears from child actor to has been child actor.

Copyright 2000, All Rights Reserved, JBCorn, Corn sTalks


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