Should You Take Music or Dance Lessons If You Want to Become a Child Actor?

Music Lessons for Child Actors? (S Lee/Flickr)

If you have a child who wants to become a child actor, chances are that the child is also interested in music and perhaps dance. It is common for child actors to be gifted in the arts, so many children who become child actors also sing, dance, and play instruments.

I know in my daughter’s case, she was singing before she could really even talk. She started creating small plays and musicals and loved performing for family and friends before she turned two.  I knew she was destined to be involved in the arts.

My daughter may not choose acting or music or dance for her career as an adult, but I am sure she will always find ways to be involved with the arts for the rest of her life in one way or another.

Neglecting Other Skills to Concentrate on Acting

For a while, my daughter primarily concentrated on acting. She took scene study (acting) classes twice each week and had numerous acting auditions. Before auditions she typically had to get coaching. She also took an improv and comedy class and performed as part of Giggle Gaggle each week.

There was not much time for other activities besides acting. And we did not have much extra money to pay for her to do other things.

So my daughter did not take any music or dance lessons or participate in sports for a couple of years. In fact, she did not even learn to ride a bike until she was 8.  I think she missed out on a lot of other things that she liked to do or should have been doing while we concentrated, perhaps a little too much, on her acting. (See “What Skills Are Helpful When You Become a Child Actor?” for additional discussion on this topic).

She really missed doing all these other things that she loved and enjoyed.  And if I had it to do over, I would have made sure she did not give up her music activities or dancing and sports. I think continuing with those things would have been good for her.

She has just started taking some music lessons recently, but at the age of 13 she is getting a pretty late start. In this day and time, when kids often learn sports and seriously study dance and music at a very early age, it can be a little hard to catch up with those who have been studying for years!

So, “Should You Take Music or Dance Lessons If You Want to Become a Child Actor?”

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If Your Child Auditions for Professional Acting Jobs, Should You Participate in Community Theatre?

Image via Wikipedia, Acting Jobs or Community Theatre?

If your child auditions for professional acting jobs, being involved in community theatre can sometimes result in unexpected dilemmas. Certainly, your child is auditioning hoping to get acting jobs. But you never know when a booking will occur.

You don’t want your child to just sit around doing nothing while waiting to hear that an audition resulted in a booking. So it makes sense to allow your child to participate in free and even pay-to-play projects, such as community theatre (see What Can Musical Theatre Do for Your Child? for more on this topic), to get experience and build his/her resume.

Your child probably loves to act (and sing and dance), and that is why (hopefully) they are auditioning for acting jobs in the first place. So he or she is probably happiest when working, whether for free or for pay, and whether on stage or for film and tv.

My daughter just finished performing in a community theatre production of “Alice in Wonderland Junior.”  Many of the kids who participated in this production are also pursuing careers in the entertainment industry just as my daughter has been. This is very common in the LA area.

An Unexpected Booking Conflict

Just a few days before the show opened, one of the children participating in this musical theatre production booked an acting job — a national commercial.  This acting job required her to work on one of the days when there were two performances of the show.

This booking, one that normally would have been extremely exciting, caused the girl’s mother a great deal of stress. She never really thought about this conflict occurring nor how she would feel if it did nor how difficult it would be to handle if it did occur.

Needless to say, it also caused a lot of stress for the director, the child, and others involved in the play.  The director had to find another child who was willing and able to learn the part in four days and able to fill in on the day that the other child was working.

The mother spoke with me about how incredibly awful this experience was for her.  She is not a person who takes her commitments lightly, and when she was faced with this unexpected situation, dealing with it was very traumatic.

Expectations of Talent Representatives

Her child’s talent representative was not happy about it and explained that not taking the acting job could have negative consequences for her child. The casting director and others involved in that booking and job would be likely to avoid contact with her in the future. And Hollywood is a “small town” because word travels fast when actors do things that are viewed in a negative way.

She learned the hard way that you have to always expect and prepare for the unexpected when it comes to the entertainment industry.  While you always want to do your best to honor any commitments you make, when your child is pursuing a professional acting career, you have to put that acting career first. Otherwise, your child’s talent representation is likely to get very upset and perhaps even let your child go.

So, “If Your Child Auditions for Professional Acting Jobs, Should You Participate in Community Theatre?”

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When Should You Join Screen Actors Guild When You Are an Actor?

When Should You Join Screen Actors Guild? sagindie via Flickr

So many actors and parents of child actors seem to be concerned about not being in Screen Actors Guild (SAG)  (See “What is SAG?” and “What Does SAG Stand for?” for more about what SAG is).  They wonder exactly how to join SAG and whether they will be seen for SAG projects if they are not in SAG.

When we first came to Los Angeles for my daughter to become a child actor, I was told that it was almost impossible to get into SAG. I thought being in SAG was essential and that my daughter would be passed over for just about everything if she were not in SAG.  Of course, I soon  learned that this was not really true, particularly for children.

I started researching how one goes about joining SAG (see “How Do You Qualify to Join Screen Actors Guild?” for more on what needs to happen before you are allowed to join SAG). I slowly began to understand more about it, and honestly, it was not until it became the time that we had to join and after that I understood the full implications of it.

I also learned that an important question to ponder is “When Should You Join Screen Actors Guild When You Are an Actor?”

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What Skills Are Helpful When You Become a Child Actor?

Learn to Play Guitar When You Become a Child Actor, Image via Wikipedia

When you become a child actor, it is important to work on your acting skills.  Being a good actor is certainly important when you pursue an acting career.

But when you become a child actor, it is also a good idea to work on other skills. Learning to do a variety of things helps you to become a better-rounded individual, with many different life experiences to draw from in your acting.

Possessing a variety of skills can also help make you more employable in the entertainment industry. Casting directors are sometimes looking for individuals with particular skills for a role in a television show, movie, play or other performance. If you have the required skills, you may be called in for auditions you might not otherwise be invited to attend.

We know a young and very talented piano player. After someone heard him accompanying a singer at a competition, he was invited to audition for a television show.  He wasn’t even trying to get into tv or film.

But this young man is great on the piano, and guess what! When he went in for that audition, he booked the job. So now he is appearing on the tv show Glee.

So when you become a child actor, what skills (besides acting, which is very important) are useful to you for a showbiz career?

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How Much Money Must Be Deposited Into a Coogan Account from a Child’s Earnings?

Image via Wikipedia, Coogan Account or Piggy Bank?

It is required by law in California and New York  that a percentage of a child’s entertainment industry earnings be deposited into a Coogan Account, a.k.a. a Coogan Blocked Trust Account. In California, only 10 days after getting an entertainment work permit, you must have also opened this special Coogan account specifically for that purpose.

The California Child Actor’s Bill (a.k.a. the Coogan Bill, the Coogan Law, and the Coogan Act) came into being after all the money of child actor, Jackie Coogan, was spent by his parents.  He was left with nothing from all his hard work as a child actor. As a young adult, he filed a lawsuit, but was only able to get back a very small amount of all the money he made.  For more details on this topic, see “What Is a Coogan Account?”

A question many parents ask is “Exactly how much of the child’s earnings must be deposited into this Coogan Account?”

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Can a Bank Deduct Fees from a Coogan Blocked Trust Account?

Don't Let Bank Fees Deplete Your Child's Coogan Account, Image via Wikipedia

Understanding exactly what a Coogan blocked trust account is and how it works is no easy feat for a parent of a child actor or model.  Many  employees at banks are just about as clueless about Coogan accounts as you probably are, and some are even more so.

In fact, finding the information you need related to Coogan blocked trust accounts can be next to impossible. Some additional information about Coogan accounts can be found in “What Is a Coogan Account?” and “What Is a Coogan Blocked Trust Account?”

Not long after we opened my daughter’s Coogan blocked trust account, the financial institution hosting it was taken over by another financial institution. They assured me that the transfer of her account would be handled seamlessly.

Trustee’s Statement

I had to have a new trustee’s letter/statement of account (see “What Is a Coogan Account?” for details on the Trustee’s Letter/Statement)  prepared to show all the new information for her Coogan account. The representative wanted to charge me $5.00 since they had previously prepared a statement for me. I asked to speak to the supervisor and got the $5.00 charge waived since it was not my fault. So at this point, I would definitely not have called it seamless, even though everything seemed to be going okay.

Fees Being Deducted From a Coogan Account

When I received my daughter’s first quarterly statement after her Coogan account had been inherited by the new bank, I noticed that fees were being deducted from her account.  I certainly was not happy about the changes to her account that was supposed to remain the same after the transfer.

I proceeded to make phone calls to investigate what was going on with her account at this point.  Why were fees being withheld from her Coogan account?   After talking to three different bank representatives and spending over an hour on the phone, one of the representatives assured me that it was just set up incorrectly and that it would be fixed immediately.

But when her next statement came, I noticed fees were still being deducted each month from her account! I thought the idea of the account being a blocked trust was that no money, fees included, would be deducted from her account. It took another hour of phone calls and finally a visit to the bank to get this problem fixed.

So, “Can a Bank Deduct Fees from a Coogan Blocked Trust Account?”

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What Is a Coogan Blocked Trust Account? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

Coogan Blocked Trust Account Image via Wikipedia

What Is a Coogan Blocked Trust Account?

For those with children interested in the entertainment industry, it is very important to understand what a Coogan Blocked Trust Account is.

As soon as you get a California entertainment work permit (see “Do You Need an Entertainment Work Permit for Your Child Actor?“) for your child, you also need to open a Coogan Account (see “What is a Coogan Account?” for more details) for that same child.

When I was trying to open a Coogan account for my daughter, I was confused and frustrated. I did not even know how to spell Coogan. All I knew was the name Coogan account. I did not really know what it was.

Many of the bank representatives I talked to had never even heard of a Coogan account.  So I went and researched the topic so I had more information to use to communicate with the bank employees.

So, “What is a Coogan Blocked Trust Account?”

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When You Become a Child Actor, How Do You Keep Up With Schoolwork?

If You Become a Child Actor, You Must Keep Up with Schoolwork, Image via Wikipedia

When you become a child actor, one of the hardest things to do is keep up with your schoolwork. If you (or your child) wants to become a child actor, you need to continuously train in acting and other related activities such as dancing and voice.

Often, there seems to be little time left for doing schoolwork.

When my daughter was young, missing a little school to go to auditions or coaching was seldom a big deal. Some teachers were more understanding than others. But still, making up the work was not much of a challenge, and the teachers/administrators rarely got upset about it.

But as my daughter has gotten older, it has become more difficult for her to miss class without sacrificing her grades and the respect of her teachers.  The teachers and administrators are less tolerant. They even make it more difficult to get work permit applications signed, even for children who are good students.

Also, the amount of homework assigned has increased significantly, making it more difficult to go to auditions.

My daughter is a good student, and she chooses schoolwork over acting on a regular basis. She is still involved in acting, but when she has to sacrifice one or the other, it is most often her acting career that takes a back seat to her academics. However, she does honor any commitments she makes related to her acting, music, and other activities.

As a parent, I am proud of her for this. How she does in school is likely to affect her for the rest of her life. And if she chooses not to continue acting as an adult, I want her to have other good options. I want her to be able to get into a good university. I also believe that following through with the commitments you make is important in becoming a responsible person.

We know many other young actors who have chosen to become homeschoolers or enroll in schools other than regular public schools in order to more easily pursue their show business careers.  This is a choice that parents and children will have to make together based on what works best for them and what best matches their goals and dreams in life.

This schoolwork vs. acting issue is a dilemma that every child (and the parents) face when considering what it takes to become a child actor.

So, “When You Become a Child Actor, How Do You Keep Up With Schoolwork?”

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