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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What Is SAG? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

SAG in LA, Wikipedia

You’ve probably heard the showbiz term “SAG” with regards to actors, awards, and projects.  You probably not only wonder what SAG is but probably also wonder “What Does SAG Stand For?”

I know “SAG” was one of many terms/acronyms I often heard and wondered about when my daughter and I first came to Los Angeles.

So, “What Is SAG?”

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How Much Do Talent Agents Make?

How Much Do Talent Agents Make? Image by DavidDMuir via Flickr

It seems that a lot of people have asked me lately, “How much do talent agents make?”

When we first began our journey into acting, it was hard to get a handle on how the entertainment business operates. We wondered who does what and who gets paid and by whom.

There are so many different people involved — talent agents, talent managers, casting directors, directors, producers.

Be sure to read  “What Do Talent Agents Do?” for more information about what talent agents do.

So, “How much do talent agents make?”

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Has the SAG Strike Threat Finally Been Put to Rest?

We were all holding our breath as we waited to hear whether the SAG Strike has been averted.

The commercial contract was passed not too long ago. Though some were not entirely thrilled with the outcome, including Alan Rosenberg, the SAG President, most SAG members were happy about it or at least relieved by it.  That made it look much less likely that a SAG Strike would occur.

So, you may be wondering what the outcome is from the vote on whether to accept the new theatrical contract. Did SAG members vote to accept the theatrical contract and finally put the threat of a SAG Strike to rest?

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Is the Threat of a SAG Strike Over?

Is the Threat of a SAG Strike Over? L.A. Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been concerned about the possibility of a SAG Strike for a long time now, along with many of the 120,000 Screen Actors Guild members (and parents) and many of the people who live in the Los Angeles area.

A SAG Strike would be disastrous for the Los Angeles area and the entertainment industry. It would further affect the US economy, already in a terrible state.

I was happy when SAG members voted in favor of the new SAG Commercial Contract a few weeks ago.  And ballots to vote on the new SAG Theatrical Contract are due back from SAG members by June 9th.

Provided SAG members vote to accept that contract (and I hope they will), maybe life will start to get a little bit back to normal.

But many people are struggling financially because of the recession, and I think it is particularly bad here in Los Angeles. SAG is even having to cut employees due to the lack of funds due to the decline in tv and film production.

Small companies are folding or just hanging on by a thread, many people have lost their jobs, and many contractors don’t have enough work to make their mortgage payments. And many of these companies in L.A. depend in part or entirely  on the entertainment industry for their business, and the threat of a SAG Strike has just been making matters worse.

So, is the threat of a SAG Strike really over?

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How Do You Qualify to Join Screen Actors Guild?

Shortly after we arrived in L.A., some parents told me how important it was to join Screen Actors Guild. They used a lot of terms like ‘Taft-Hartley‘ and ‘must-join‘ that made absolutely no sense to me.

We were told that it would be hard for my daughter to get auditions if she did not join Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

We were also told that it was getting harder to get into SAG. Someone even told me that if we were new in Hollywood, we might as well go home because no one new was going to get into SAG. Well, maybe it was not in those exact words, but that was the gist of it.

Well, the fact is, you can’t believe everything you hear “on the street” here in Los Angeles.

There is a little bit of truth in what I heard, but for the most part it was a lot of hogwash. Perhaps it was a lack of understanding or perhaps it was just parents of other young actors wanting some of us newbies to go back home where we belonged. And I ‘get’ it.

There are about 120,000 Screen Actors Guild members worldwide. The competition is pretty fierce for SAG jobs.

I soon learned more about the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and realized it was not quite as grim as it seemed. So, how do you qualify to join Screen Actors Guild?

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What Does SAG Stand For?

I remember how much I hated all the acronyms when we were first getting started in show business.  I didn’t want to ask what they meant for fear of looking stupid and being embarrassed. For one thing, I wondered “What Does SAG Stand For?”

Of course, now with the internet, you can get online and find out exactly what something is. Isn’t the internet wonderful?

At that time, I was just starting to use the internet and used it mostly for email. I used aol on my very inexpensive laptop that was almost unusable because it had so little memory. I don’t know how I survived.

Since the SAG strike issue has been on my mind a lot lately (see So What Is the Status of the SAG Strike?, Is the SAG Strike Still Really Up in the Air?, and What Will a SAG Strike Mean to the Entertainment Industry?), it seems like a good time to answer the question, “What does SAG Stand For?”

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So What Is the Status on the SAG Strike?

What is the Status on the SAG Strike?

The SAG strike has been looming on the horizon for many months now.  There has mostly been a stream of bad news and failed negotiations concerning coming to an agreement.

There has also been a lot of disagreement within the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) on whether to call for a SAG vote on whether to allow a strike or not (See Is The SAG Strike Still Really Up in the Air? and What Will a SAG Strike Mean to the Entertainment Industry? for additional details.)

Things have not looked good for the entertainment industry on this front. But spring is in the air, and I, for one, am feeling happy that things are really beginning to look up.

So, “What is the status on the SAG Strike?”

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