Any parents of would-be thespians here?

[cory]

I've noticed lots of threads about music and plenty about dancing, but what about acting? Anyone else whose dc lives for the stage? Anyone else who gets to spend their evenings taking "all the other parts" for a rehearsing dc? (I do a mean Romeo, I do ).

Dd has just got to the point where she is prepared to admit to other people that she is hoping to make her career in something theatre-related. She is starting A-levels next term. And dreams of the National Youth theatre, stage school etc...

[showtunesgirl]

I'd just tell them the truth really. It's hard, really hard and you often have to do things you don't like but if you are prepared to grin and bear the bad stuff, it's very much worth it.

[InViennaWeWerePoetry]

That's probably the key, how much you're prepared to put into it. At the moment DD wants to be an Olympic gymnast- either rhythmic or artistic, she hasn't decided yet. I'm just conscious that I set my heart on acting when I realised I was too short to be a ballerina and the other type of dance I wanted I was never going to get work in, she could change her mind yet I don't know if having a parent who acts would be an offputting factor or not.

[saintlyjimjams]

He has done festivals Vienna & although they're a bit eyes & teeth for him I can see they're good practice. Again LAMDA exams - which I know many people see as not good practice but I think they help with getting used to having to walk into a room and do your stuff.

I think he is going to audition for NYMT next year though (and YMT if he's old enough - I can't remember their age limits)

[saintlyjimjams]

Good practice for standing up in front of strangers & having one shot at something I mean. And preparation. I'm not sure festivals are much use in other ways.

[saintlyjimjams]

Something that I have found useful though is that through doing the west end touring productions is that he has got a glimpse of how hard work a show is. The roles he's got have only had one or two kids in the show so he's seen the adult cast more than he would have in a show with lots of kids. And it hasn't beeb a case of having a bunch of kids to mess around with.

The production companies have also been very professional & very clear about their expectations so it means he has realised a certain standard is required. I do think that's quite useful to learn at an early age. And he has bed quite awestruck by some of the actors (who have been lovely to him) but also seen how they put work into their role. They have been good role models.

[InViennaWeWerePoetry]

That sort of thing is brilliant saintly, like you say it's the best way to experience what you're actually getting yourself into at that age and still enjoy the experience.

Another thing that's really invaluable is being able to do a range of different accents, especially if your natural accent isn't too in demand. I've hardly done any work using my own accent, but out of the jobs that have involved working in accents I don't think I've used the same one more than three times. I did a lot of practice in my teens building up a repertoire of different ones I could do because I knew I was going to need them for 90% of my auditions. My dad has a lot of my early attempts on home video and they're just cringe worthy Much better to get that over with at home age 14 and go out to auditions as an adult with a range of different ones you've got the hang of up your sleeve.

[saintlyjimjams]

He's already had to do an accent for one of his jobs. I was quite proud of him tbh because he did really work at it - and managed a decent job with good feedback from the lead :)

Initially he was very 'wah I can't do this' & the attempts were dire but luckily one of his teachers is excellent at accents (she used to be an actress) & went through line by line, over & over. It was very helpful - and again taught him about having to work for a role. He now just takes the Michael out of my attempts at the accent :)

[InViennaWeWerePoetry]

Good for him, so many people shy away from accents. I have about 9 or 10 I can 'slip into' now, but I certainly couldn't have done that a few years ago. Once you've mastered a small variety it's much easier to pick new ones up quickly.

My dad has a particularly bad video clip of me running lines aged about 18 in what was supposed to be a mid western American accent, I sound like a bad Miley Cyrus impersonator

[saintlyjimjams]

Ha - I did find his initial attempts kept slipping into American. And if he goes wrong he always stops and says 'wah American'

[DowntonTrout]

I am slightly worried about academics but only because DD is distinctly average in that department. She will struggle more with only 3 days of academic schooling so although we are looking at 9GCSEs or whatever they are in 5 years time, they will not be A* grades. However, they never would have been.

It is interesting what you say about accents. DD is the only one with "an accent" in her class. Of course the others all have an accent, the London accent. But they don't realise that. I keep telling DD she is lucky to be one step ahead. Her voice is naturally Yorkshire ( even though around here they think it is posh Yorkshire) but she has developed a good RP voice and has picked up a lot of London from her friends. Luckily she has a Northern teacher and she and him enjoy winding up the rest of the class with a good dose of Ee by gum, which the others cannot get their tongue around. The American one is coming along too but it's not down to a particular area yet.

[cory]

[irisgrey]

Ds2 has been to a number of auditions where he has had to do an accent (and has never got the part). Funniest one was when he had to be "northern" - it was hysterical trying to get anything that sounded vaguely legitimate. I did wonder why they were bothering seeing him when surely there are hundreds of boys who sounded right anyway. Oh, possibly that was not as funny as the south american accent ...

I think that if you are doing a decent amount of GCSEs that is absolutely fine, especially if it is obvious that your child is not suddenly going to decide to be a doctor, for example. You can always revisit it after GCSEs when it will be more apparent if they want to stick with performing or anything related. And with some children from really little you couldn't imagine them doing anything different. The problem with going down a dance or theatre school path now with ds2 would be that his interests are really diverse so I don't know where he will go in the end. Plus he is really strong in science and would definitely want to do three sciences at GCSE.

As you have all said being part of a show teaches an incredible amount of commitment, work ethic and just shows children how much they can achieve. I have had to drop ds2 off at the stage door when he has been really tired and not feeling at all well to do a show which basically depends on him and frankly I haven't known how he will pull it off. But he has and the audience would never have guessed. And then the way in which he has to learn scripts for auditions, speak confidently to a vast array of adults etc. These are really important life skills that he will take with him whatever he ends up doing.

[InViennaWeWerePoetry]

I once got a part with a put-on accent for a character much younger than I was over applicants the right age with the right accent naturally irisgrey, I'm still trying to work out how I managed that one If they like an actor it's always worth trying them in the accent they want, a lot of kids can pull of a range of different accents well, equally a lot can't. Always worth trying.

Sometimes you get actors that just don't suit certain characters, one of the few auditions I was able to do in my natural accent was for a character I just couldn't pull of to save my life. Needless to say I didn't get it.

The best way to pick them up is by observing how people around you talk, work out which part of the mouth someone with, say, a Yorkshire accent is talking from when they say certain words. Of course you drive them mad in the process

[saintlyjimjams]

I think for kids in professional adult productions a lot of it is about how they look. Ds2 looks younger than he is and quite innocent which has helped him into roles I think. I'm always amazed at how much trust the production companies put in the kids - especially for touring productions picking up new kids at each spot where there is very limited rehearsal time. It's been a good experience for ds2 to learn that he has to turn up to the rehearsal basically ready to roll. I find it terrifying - he seems unfazed.

I agree iris about the range of skills it helps develop. I think I l know already that ds2 will be okay in interviews in the future whether or not he tries to get into acting.

[saintlyjimjams]

Well ds2 has just finished his latest professional show (along with accent!) & a career in acting/MT is back on the cards. I find this with ds2 during and after a show it's all he wants to do & his confidence is high & it feels achievable. But then as the show becomes a memory he starts to lose the confidence that it's something he can do. Completely biased of course but he was fab and I think he has the talent to give it a go. Luckily he loves IT/computing/programming so has an obvious backup.

He adored his chaperone in the latest production. She was young & straight out of drama school herself & had been in the west end as a child - so a really good role model for him. Someone he could relate to. She talked to him a lot about backups so that was really helpful! And she clearly works very hard - again a great role model for him.

[morethanpotatoprints]

Showtunesgirl

I have a question for you, or anybody else who might know.

My dd does singing and dancing but has never done them together. her singing has up till now been more choral. Her dancing without song at all, so obviously she isn't wooden.
When you see singers and stage performers using their arms for expression during songs, is this something that is taught or is it left to come naturally. If it is taught, is it a singing teacher or coach. I ask as her singing teachers up till now have not suggested anything.

[saintlyjimjams]

I think it's choreographed/directed more for a specific performance. And is directed. For ds2's latest role he directed in how and when to move during his song (which was different in different theatres). That was MT so maybe slightly different but I would assume any performance will have someone responsible for stage direction & they would suggest/decide.