ACTING SERVICES


JBCorn has directed hundreds of young people in film, video productions and commercials.

He has managed and trained actors for live events and amusement parks.

The Business of Acting, intro

The parental dream of having a child star can become a nightmare, first as an unobtainable obsession and second as an obtained goal.

Catch 22 ring a bell, anyone?

Hi, my name is JBCorn. I am an award winning TV/Film producer that specializes in programs for young people, staring young people. While I may not have seen everything, it is hard for me to imagine what I have missed. This column is dedicated to those parents with talented children. A talented child may not be destined to be a movie star, but may be gifted as a dancer, gymnast, musician or whatever. A talented child is a gift to be nurtured. Failing to recognize or miss-managing a gifted child can become a millstone about the parent's neck. My experience is with artistically talented children, their siblings and parents.

The business of acting is cruel, heartless, painful and cold. It is a business. You are sailing into uncharted waters, because the path traveled by each family is as different as each family is unique. One parent becomes the captain of this flailing adventure and wears two hats; that of parent and that of manager.

The parent hat is one that is most familiar. You take care of, provide for, nurture and love your children. It is important to spread this care around equally among all your children. I grew up in a family where this was not the case; the results were troublesome. In a family where one child excels in sports, music or acting; it is easy to forget to spend time with the child that does not excel in anything but going to school. The parent hat shrinks down to one child, the child that excels. This is a mistake. The children are not the only ones to suffer. The neglect usually involves the spouse as well. My son accomplished this; my daughter did this (oops, what happened to the word "our"?). It is easy for the excelling child to become the center of all household attention. Depending on the age of the other children, each will react to being neglected in a different way. The reaction to neglect will not always be the same, one reaction may be recognized and reacted to by the parent(s), another reaction may be missed and go untreated. Talented children create a major balancing act for the parents'; they can divide a home, lead to divorce and many other problems along the way.

We all think that we know what is best for our children and ourselves. We thought these same thoughts when we were children. But now, as adults, we must learn from others or travel down a bumpy road. Each month I will explore a different aspect of the business of acting.

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