Drama Mamas

Posted by Sean Pratt Jul 1, 2009

I get many inquiries from parents, usually the mothers, about how they should go about getting their son or daughter into the BIZ. It seems that their Courtney or Jason has displayed not only a flair for acting but is hell-bent on becoming the next Hanna Montana or, at the very least, acting in whatever projects are being produced locally. Of course, the parents have no idea how to go about helping their child reach this elusive dream, but they have heard about all the scams that knuckleheads out there play on unsuspecting parents. So they contact me with a boatload of open-ended questions concerning agents and classes and unions and such. But my first response to them has nothing to do with those things. In fact, I tell them something that usually brings them up short, “What you’re really asking me is, ‘Sean do you think I should go get a second job that, most likely, won’t pay me anything?’” Here’s what I mean…

All those parents out there who have given their lives to their children’s activities know a bit of what I’m talking about. Getting your kid to soccer practice, traveling to this out of town chess match, the science fair, the choir concerts…the list is never ending. Fortunately for my wife Shannon and I, our oldest, Noah, is now away at school and our youngest, Olivia, doesn’t do any of those things. We’ve managed to steer her into doing theatre with her mom…big surprise, huh? Our eight year old went on tour with Shannon last summer playing Falstaff’s page Robin, with Shannon playing Mistress Ford, in The Maryland Shakespeare Festival’s production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Even though she was in the play, we’ve made a deliberate choice NOT to get her into the BIZ. Why? Two reasons; we don’t want to unless she shows a real drive for it and we didn’t want to take on a second job…which leads me back to my original statement.

I try my best to explain to these parents what they’re really getting into; that this is just like what adult actors have to deal with. There are so many investments they have to make upfront just to allow their child to have a shot at success. There’s the obvious monetary expense of new photographs, acting classes, agency website fees and office materials not to mention the less obvious costs of gas, child care for the other siblings while you’re gone, food while traveling, etc. Also, there’s the time spent hunting down an agent or finding auditions for your child, the hours spent helping them prepare for the audition, going to the audition and, if they get the job, going to rehearsals and performances.

I tell them that part of THEIR job is to learn as much about the BIZ as possible so they don’t get taken for a ride or make a bad decision out of ignorance. There’s also the emotional toll that will come when their child auditions for ten projects in a row and isn’t cast in any of them. Finally, they have to live with the possibility that after all that time and effort their child may lose interest in acting and want to join the school swim team.

In the end, I steer them to websites that have loads of information about acting work in their area as well as some talent agencies, conservatories, teachers and casting offices that they could contact. But my main piece of advice is to allow their child to drive the process. If Courtney or Jason really has a burning desire to do this, they will stay involved with their school drama productions and keep nagging their parents about doing more. I also tell them what my mom and dad told us when we wanted to do some outside activity, which for me was theatre. They said, “As long as your grades remain high, you can do it.” It was a good motivator then and it still works today.

If you liked this article, post a comment and then check out the previous articles posted to this Blog. I cover a wide variety of BIZ related topics. Thanks for spending some time with me. Now, go out and BANG YOUR OWN DRUM! - Sean