The On Location Education Blog
Every Picture Tells A Story
Aside from your child’s talent and tenacity, a headshot is one of the most important components in any actor’s career. Agents and casting directors see them by the hundreds on a daily basis, so you naturally want one that stands out. Competition is fierce, and you only have a few seconds to make an impression. The trick is getting a photo that captures your personality (or type) and presents you in a natural and professional manner. This is all easier said than done, but there are strategies for getting the headshot that tells your story perfectly.
Are You Social Media Savvy?
For child actors working to launch their careers (and the parents who support them), building awareness outside of auditions can be one of the greatest challenges in their fledgling professional lives. Luckily, there’s an inexpensive yet potentially powerful marketing tool at your disposal that can help you connect with entertainment industry professionals and keep your young performer in their spotlights whether they’re auditioning for them or not: social media.
Are Acting Classes Right For Your Young Performer?
With the burden of academics eased during the summer, some young performers and their parents may consider education of another sort: acting classes. But before you run off and book sessions in the Meisner Technique for your budding star, there are several important factors to consider.
Minimizing the Summer Slide
Summer is winding down, and while child actors enjoy “no more pencils, no more books” as much as the next child, they’re just as vulnerable to what educators call the dreaded “summer slide.” Education, like acting, is a work in progress that is best improved by practice, practice, practice! We may be too far into the season to stop the slide, but there are things that young performers, parents, and family members can do to brush up on their education chops and get ready for the new year.
Nothing Wrong with the Right or Left
It’s been long accepted as fact that left-brained people are better equipped for more logical and analytical pursuits, like science and math, while their right-brained counterparts are more intuitive and creative, perfect for work in the arts. Regardless of where your perceived brain strengths lie, the truth of the matter is that successful actors should work to be mentally ambidextrous. Which of the following approaches to performing best describes you?
Studio Teachers: Unsung Heroes of Stage and Screen
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” ~Albert Einstein
Conventional wisdom tells us that all teachers have the potential to change the lives of students for the better, not only by dispensing information, but perhaps more importantly by being positive role models and helping to shape the adult that the student will one day become. And in spite of non-traditional settings, hectic schedules, and often high-profile students, studio teachers and on-set tutors possess that same potential to have a lasting influence on their charges.
Parents of Child Actors Embrace "Best Supporting Role"
For parents of young performers, there’s often so much focus on the child landing or perfecting the big part that they find themselves struggling to find their own place in the process. A strong family support system is an important part of every young actor’s path to success, so you need to begin with an honest assessment of what is behind the pursuit of a career in show business. Assuming you’re in it for your child’s sake and not driven by a misguided personal need, there are two basic schools of thought concerning a parent’s role in show business.
Industry Voices
In the first part of our interview with Steven, he discussed the personal challenges he faced when becoming a stage parent, the importance of understanding child labor laws, and why child actors should be the ones who define their success. In part two, Steven debunks the stereotype of the overbearing stage parent and highlights the essential role parents should play as partners in their young performer’s career.
Industry Voices
Attorney Steven C. Beer has spent more than 20 years in the entertainment industry representing top writers, directors, producers, and film production companies and guiding popular acts in music, including artists such as Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga. When his own son expressed interest in pursuing a career in acting, Steven drew on his extensive professional experience for very personal reasons, helping set his young actor on the right path to success and learning a lot along the way.
Industry Voices
Sally Gaglini has spent more than twenty-five years as a legal advisor for young performers and the companies for whom they work. Her commitment to child actors runs deep, as founder of the Gaglini Law Group, as an entertainment law teacher at Suffolk University, and in her work with lawmakers in creating the inaugural child performer law in Massachusetts.
Industry Voices
In the first part one of our interview with Angela J. Williams, she recounted her sons’ early successes and the journey that led her to write My Child is Going to Be Rich and Famous. In part two, Angela looks at how show business stacks up to more traditional pursuits and offers suggestions for personal and professional support systems for young actors and their families.
Industry Voices
singer/songwriter, producer, and author, but she’s most proud of her role as devoted mother to three talented sons (Tyler James, Tyrel Jackson, and Tylen Jacob), each of whom have successful careers in show business. They’d be the first to agree that much of their success is due to their mother’s hard work behind the scenes, efforts that inspired her to write My Child is Going to Be Rich and Famous as a guide to budding young actors and the families that support them.