Would you totally support DC(23) to set up in an arts career if you could afford it?

[CornflakeMum]

Interested to know views, as DH and I differ slightly. This may be as we have different family experiences!

DC(23) is pursuing a performing arts career. Has done training and is now getting established. Living at home, with us currently supporting by paying food etc, not charging rent, but not paying them any allowance any more. They are currently running down savings from previous work for their gym/ going out etc.

It's an industry where you have to invest a lot of time and effort in the early years, often for no (unpaid) or little return. The more time and effort you can put in, the more you are likely to be successful/ make useful contacts etc. Also you're expected to 'make your own work' i.e. your own shows and films etc.

Most actors need to have day/ 'survival' jobs in bars/ shops/call centres, but of course any time spent doing that is time NOT spent investing in their chosen career, makes auditioning hard etc, so the likelihood of success reduces. This is basically why it's so hard for working class actors to break through.

So, if as a parent, you were in the extremely fortunate position to 'fund' your DC for e.g. three years, to get the best possible start to their career, would you?

Or would you insist that they get a 'day job' for at least some of the time? Why?

My dd is doing a drama degree and lives at home with no halls. She has a clear plan at the end of the course which was all I asked and she’s very happy but she does also have a weekend job so I don’t pay for her as such

Miserable and shitty thing to post.

Won't be claiming any benefits.

I think it's the 'at least he's working' mentality that isn't understood for those in the arts. The 'art' IS the work, it's just that in the early days it mostly isn't paid.
But if the artist never has time to do the art then they will never be successful, and it goes without saying that the MORE time they can spend doing the art then the more output they have, the more relevant people they meet, the greater their chance of success.

It's the assumption that 'paid work' is superior that is debatable. I can honestly say that writing a play, fundraising and taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe for two weeks (including marketing, standing on the street selling tickets etc) develops just as many transferable life skills as pulling pints in the pub.

So if DC doesn't need a paid job to survive (yes, lucky them!) surely it makes sense to focus on their arts career in the early days to give it the best shot possible?

I would not be funding this completely. I have experience of jobbing actors and it's all about whether your face fits. Working for free/doing student films etc very very rarely results in anything. All the actors I know start doing this thinking they will get a return, but give up in the end as it earns them no money and does not lead to paid work. It leads to more offers of unpaid work.

Having an agent is great and it's the best chance of success. Most auditions are self tapes now so you can fit them in around paid work.

Been performing for over a decade.
Graduated from top drama school last year.
Lots of lead roles in amateur/ regional theatre.
Shows at Ed Fringe
Has been called for auditions in the past for TV/film (nothing significant yet though)

I'm not saying any of this guarantees any success, but it is a typical pathway of many of the successful actors you see on stage/ screen, most of whom have been grafting for many years before getting that one lucky break. Of course many, many more never do...

It's a bit more nuanced than that, but yes, we understand the agent commission structure! 🙄

We did, we’re happy to support our children’s dreams. My son was talking to a famous actor who told him that even though he was a talented actor he would spend a lot of time as a waiter and to consider that. If you look at the RADA website alumni page it’s about seven or eight years from graduating that you begin to recognise the odd name. My feeling is that I didn’t want my children to feel that any road in life is closed to them if I can help with that - I feel very grateful to be in a position to help! Worth every penny in my experience!

Based on your recent post, if I could afford to I would. Hope all goes well for him!

But by saying 'do it in your spare time' you are making it a self-fulfilling prophecy - guaranteeing they will never make it.

If you were in a position to give them the best possible chance of success in a highly competitive world would you not do that for your own child?

Yes, AI is changing the nature of the creative arts, but it is also opening up all sorts of new opportunities to create your own work... (but that's another thread entirely!)

Absolutely!!

This was my little sister, funded for years by my parents and now by her DH. My advice is yes, but limit it to 2-3 years otherwise it really can go on for decades and I’m not sure how good it is for the individual to live with constant rejection and low wages which is the reality for many.

even based on your updates there is a balance between doing it in your spare time and 8 hours per week of paid employment.

I think the problem is that employers are often only interested in previous paid work and might not take the unpaid stuff seriously, even though you know that what he has done unpaid might have been far more demanding and helped him develop excellent transferable skills. It’s not an employment history as such.
My worry would be that they are putting all their eggs in one basket by not doing at least some conventional work.

Honestly, an agent isn’t going to waste their own time taking on a client who they think has no talent!
An agent will have a realistic view that of course the odds are against him, but nonetheless they will have chosen him while rejecting others because they think he is worth a shot.

I would OP, and I think you’d be better asking other performing arts parents who would understand. What about in addition to TV and film auditions looking into voice work?

Yes, you're probably right - it's an industry that's only really understood by those in it/ or close to those in it.

Yes, DC has already done some voiceover work, although of course that IS one of the areas most at risk in the future from AI!

Yes, and I did with my child. Ballet. Now a professional ballet dancer with a national company. But it was tough. And dance is a young person’s game, so you need to have an eye on what comes afterwards.

Gosh this is so hard. I worked in this field for fifteen years and even the most talented actors with the top top agents are still vanishingly unlikely to not only ‘make it’ but even to make a living from it. From my drama school (top two) there is one working actor from my year (I wasn’t an actor) left ‘working’.

my own child wants to go into it and I’m hoping against hope he changes his mind while at high school as it’s not a field I would wish for anyone I loved.

i understand what you say about giving him the time and space to make his own work but even with that it’s still so so so unlikely to work out that I’d worry all his eggs were in one basket and he missed out on years of earning a wage elsewhere.

It's hard to know where the balance is between giving it your all and making sure you have a solid plan B. A close family member - very talented - has been trying to make it in an arts field for nearly 18 years. Still living in a flat share, bounces between short term badly paid contracts and unemployment. Gets by on benefits and top ups from parents. It's no life and I think even they recognise that now but they're pushing 40 and they've got nothing to fall back on.

I would yes, providing they worked hard at their chosen career, making contacts etc. There would be a cut off point.

I mean you’ve clearly made up your mind so why ask? Or is the idea to convince DH?

What do they actually do during the day though? I don't mean, on the presumably rare occasion they get a call up for an audiobook or whatever, but a big standard, day in day out type thing? Presumably they're not out 'hustling' all day every day?

Sounds like it! To find the evidence to say “everyone else would support their child!!”

We have a couple of supply teachers in my school who are actors. I think that as well as being work that is readily available at short notice, it uses a lot of the same skills.

Working exposes you to situations, personalities, accents, dialogue - definitely worth it.

I would if I could afford it, yes, but I'd be concerned about when to stop.