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

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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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Homeschool Education vs Public School Education for Young Actors?

Since my daughter has always loved going to school, we never really considered the pros and cons of homeschool education vs public school education until a couple of years ago.

I have always been in awe of the moms who homeschooled their kids, but never really considered it a viable option for our family.

Right before we made the move to Burbank for acting, I discussed schooling with my daughter’s manager. He was emphatic about keeping her life as normal as possible. And in his mind, that meant keeping her in public school.

He recommended Burbank for its good schools and proximity to many studios.

While trying to find a place to live, I checked the ratings for elementary schools to try to find a good one. We rented an apartment that put her in a top-rated elementary school in Burbank Unified School District.

My daughter loved going to school there. And her second grade teacher was absolutely amazing. She thrived while in this class, and leaving early was never a problem.

While in the early grades in elementary school, the teachers did not seem to mind if I took her out early for an audition, or out of school for a job.  She was a good student and well-behaved, and it was easy enough for her to make up the work.

But as my daughter advanced in school, it became increasingly difficult to take her out of school for auditions, coaching, events, and jobs.  Some teachers complained when I picked her up even 5-15 minutes early!

And making up the missed work and projects became more difficult as she advanced from one grade to the next.

Some teachers are not flexible about homework in public school, and there is often a lot of it. This makes the whole job of acting extremely difficult for a young person.

But my daughter chooses to stay in public school. She does not want to leave her friends there. She is very involved in her school and loves the school activities. She looks forward to her 6th grade graduation  this year.

Staying in public school has resulted in some missed auditions, missed acting classes, and missed jobs, and in the last couple of years,we have had to de-emphasize her acting a little so she could focus on her studies.

But being involved in school activities and doing well in school are important to my daughter. And she wants to get into a good university.

As her parent, one of the most important things to me is my daughter’s happiness. As long as she continues to be happy and do well there, we will keep her in public school. We know she has the rest of her life to work on her acting.

So, what is the parent of a child actor to do?

Is homeschooling a good option? Read more »

Should Your Child Do Musical Theatre or Any Theatre?

It has been a crazy week for us. My daughter just finished a musical theatre production. She played the lead role of ‘Inga’ in a family-friendly spoof of the movie Young Frankenstein with music from the Broadway show by the same name.

This was a local musical theatre production, but in productions in the LA area many of the kids and adults in the shows, as well as directors and choreographers are in showbiz. The result is typically a high-quality production.

We are both sad and relieved that the play has come to an end.

My daughter had a blast, as always, but it was tiring for her to go to all the rehearsals and shows and then go to school and get her homework done each day.  As a sixth grader in public school, she often has two to three hours of homework each night.

My daughter had rehearsals for four to five hours nearly every day for the last week before the show and then six performances. I was involved, as were other parents, helping with costuming, lighting, stage crew, and other production activities. So it was a busy time for both of us.

Why do we do theatre? We do it because my daughter loves it, and it makes her happy. She loves performing in front of an audience and she loves singing.

We did not do any theatre for some time because her acting teacher and manager did not want her to. We are no longer with that manager or with that acting teacher, and so now my daughter is enjoying doing shows several times a year.

Why do some talent managers, talent agents, and acting teachers not want their talent to do theatre?

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