want to be an actress when I'm older but parent's won't support me at all

Lollipop95

Hey all
I'm 16 and want to be an actess when I'm older. I'm planning on enrolling on a drama summer course like The Gaiety School Of Acting and also auditioning for the lead in TY play next year. But anytime I tell my parents that I'd like to be an actress,they tell me(paricularly my mam) to "get my heads of the clouds and get a normal job" I come from a small villiage and they say "People round here don't do that type of thing. They don't appear on television." And she says "I bet not one person in your year will say to their guidance councelle they want to be an actress. They'll want to do sensible jobs,like being an doctor or teacher"(Admittedly,I don't know anyone that wants to puruse the career I wsih to). Why are they being like this? My Dad kinda does support me,but my mum just totally doesn't. It's all get a normal job,etc.. and you have to be born into acting. I know it sounds like I'm complaining,but don't you think my mum should support me just a little? And I'm not being unrealistic either. I do have other career options lined up,it's not like I'm pinning my hopes all on acting,even though it'd be a dream career for me. I am being realistic about the whole thing. Why do you think my parents are being like this?

Jellybaby1

Well Lollipop95, I suppose there are two sides to every story. Our daughter's story is the same as yours except ten years later. I let her have her dreams thinking they would fizzle out, but they didn't, so we told her we would support her through her training but not after that. So here we are, she has finished her training, we, her parents are now broke, and our daughter can only get no-pay jobs. Your parents know that you are choosing one of the hardest careers in the world because a lot of talented actors miss out on good acting jobs just due to lack of luck most of the time - too tall, too short, wrong hair colour, the wrong 'look', just not right for the role, or just not hearing about the right auditions. So our daughter is now working in a 'real' job just to keep ends meet, but she is still auditioning whenever she can. It's a very hard life and you will need talent, a lot of support and a lot of luck. One thing I can tell you, if after a few years training you still want to act - then you know you definitely got the bug. It takes a lot of guts! Maybe you and your parents could just sit down and have a long talk. I wish you well.

(P.S. If you do get going then I suggest you try to get weekend jobs or summer jobs and save every penny for your training years, you'll need it)

The_Morrigan

OP your parents are probably worried that you'll end up in a bad place financially if you don't have qualifications to get a real or normal job. Jellybaby1 has the same experience to voice. Maybe you could incorporate a career in this field, try doing a degree that will allow you to teach music/drama if you can't get paid acting jobs. I've found that if you have a serious interest in the area you are studying you will do better, you may also get some contacts in the industry if you are working in the same field as opposed to getting a job in an office.

Good Luck with it all, but don't forget to be realistic and talk to your parents they know more about life than you so they are vital for you to understand how hard it is to support yourself, more so harder if you have little to no income.

Jellybaby1

The_Morrigan wrote: »

OP your parents are probably worried that you'll end up in a bad place financially if you don't have qualifications to get a real or normal job. Jellybaby1 has the same experience to voice. Maybe you could incorporate a career in this field, try doing a degree that will allow you to teach music/drama if you can't get paid acting jobs. I've found that if you have a serious interest in the area you are studying you will do better, you may also get some contacts in the industry if you are working in the same field as opposed to getting a job in an office.

Good Luck with it all, but don't forget to be realistic and talk to your parents they know more about life than you so they are vital for you to understand how hard it is to support yourself, more so harder if you have little to no income.

Absolutely! All the working and out of work actors we know, all have 'real' jobs on the side - they have to eat of course and pay rent! Lots for you to take in Lollipop.

Iompair

I'd agree with all of the above and offer a little more advice too.

If you want to make a go of acting then you should be looking out for every opportunity to perform, auditioning for the lead in a play next year isn't enough, find out if you have a Youth Theatre group near by, failing that find out who the local amateur drama companys are. Join up and do everything, don't get disappointed if you don't get the lead roles right away and (just as importantly) don't get too full of yourself if you do.

Acting is about constantly learning and watching, letting yourself, your physical and mental quirks and hang ups disappear into the background and the character take over takes a lot of self knowledge and awareness. Sometimes who you are as a person will be just what the director wants, other times you might have to do/say things that you as a person would never do and make it seem natural.

Put all this into practice now, get acting, get learning, miss nights out with your friends because of rehearsals, keep up your school work, rehearse till 10pm then spend another few hours painting sets or making costumes and then be up in time for school, go and see professional plays whenever you can and keep an eye out for productions that have talks after the show with the director or actors, you can learn a lot. The Drama League of Ireland do summer courses that are quite good, save up your money and find a course that sounds interesting. DLI Summer School I can personally say Emma Colohan is a great teacher, but the standard is usually good with them all.

Show your parents that this is a serious desire for you and not a shallow "I want to be famous" X-Factor type thing, then they might begin to offer the support you want.

Best of luck with it, you've picked one of the hardest professions to support yourself with but the other rewards are astounding and (IMO) make all the struggles worthwhile.

shadowqueen

Personally, having auditioned actors/actresses, the way they could make me feel/react when they auditioned was what counted as far as acting was concerned, I didn't really care all that much about their acting training. But that was just me.

I'd recommend keeping an eye on the Crooked House forum as that's where a lot of interesting things get posted, the Gaiety have a blog that's good for keeping yourself up to date as well.

I'd be cautious about casting agencies that charge you a lot of money and promise work.

If you're going for theatre - and, to be honest, you should go for as many styles as you can - try and get involved with a local group, and even if they have no acting roles available, get in there and help out backstage, learn how to do make-up, costumes, set-design etc - especially for a lot of new groups where you'll get your experience, budgets can be tight and directors favour small teams, so the more useful you can make yourself, the better your chances will be . I imagine that probably goes for film too.

Spore

Lollipop95 wrote: »

Hey all
I'm 16 and want to be an actess when I'm older. I'm planning on enrolling on a drama summer course like The Gaiety School Of Acting and also auditioning for the lead in TY play next year.[...] I do have other career options lined up,it's not like I'm pinning my hopes all on acting,even though it'd be a dream career for me. I am being realistic about the whole thing. Why do you think my parents are being like this?

Your parents are being realistic.

To make it in the acting world takes a few things. Talent helps but it is not always a decider viz Ardal O'Hanlon stinking up The Gate recently in God of Carnage. You need to know people. Unfortunately it's a who-you-know business not what you know. I'd be cautious about the Am-dram route - it's easy to get stuck in a rut and you'll learn some really bad habits that will take years to put right. If you're serious about acting I'd stay well the hell away unless there's a semi-pro group out there (crooked house are good AFAIK)

To get taken seriously get your voice trained and get the best head shots you can afford. Get the best training you can afford also. Unfortunately there is no good training in Ireland (that includes the Gaiety School, Abbey, TCD etc.) None of them are up to international standard. Go for RADA / Central School in England if you're serious.

Get a lot of diversity in your training including physical theatre, Commedia dell'Arte, Shakespeare, dance, post-dramatic theatre, Stanislavski etc. Most directors don't want an actor schooled in one approach. The worst actors are the one's who swear by 'The Method' - that's fine if you're acting in the latest HBO blockbuster. Here, we want an actor that can take direction.

To get any kind of a career in this cut-throat world takes dedication, a thick-skin and personality. A good five to seven years of hard work might land you a non-speaking part in The Gate, maybe a few ads. Unless you get a phenomenally lucky break or you're the next Gielgud. It's the toughest business and it's gotten a whole lot tougher. Some seriously talented actors I know of are working for free or a pittance. Sign of the times. There's no money any more.

In other words, even if you land that leading role in your TY play, expect to start on the bottom rung once you leave school. If you're the starring talent in The Gaiety school expect to start at the bottom rung once you finish your training. Get a lucky break and get cast in an Abbey production - expect to start on the bottom rung once the show wraps. IT TAKES YEARS TO GET ESTABLISHED AS AN ACTOR.

Pessimistic? Yes. Realistic? Hell yes. Your parents are right to be concerned, but if you're passionate then do it.

Jellybaby1

Just wanted to give you an update - my daughter has begun rehearsals for the lead in a show. She is fitting this around her part time job and she loves it. The acting job is profitshare so she won't be paid very much. But it means an opportunity to be seen at work by people who may offer more work. That's the way it works.

Spore

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Just wanted to give you an update - my daughter has begun rehearsals for the lead in a show. She is fitting this around her part time job and she loves it. The acting job is jobshare so she won't be paid very much. But it means an opportunity to be seen at work by people who may offer more work. That's the way it works.

Profit-share I presume. Beware of 'Profit-share' shows, it's just a euphemism for 'no-pay'. Every show should have some payment, even if it is nominal or just paying expenses, but a lot of people will take advantage of desperate actors. Even Lane Productions pulled this crap with Shawshank recently, only for Equity to wade in and kick ass they would have gotten away with paying non-speaking 'extras' nothing.

Jellybaby1

Spore wrote: »

Profit-share I presume. Beware of 'Profit-share' shows, it's just a euphemism for 'no-pay'. Every show should have some payment, even if it is nominal or just paying expenses, but a lot of people will take advantage of desperate actors. Even Lane Productions pulled this crap with Shawshank recently, only for Equity to wade in and kick ass they would have gotten away with paying non-speaking 'extras' nothing.

Yes, 'profitshare' - I corrected that thanks. She does receive a small payment as she has worked with the director before so its ok but its still a pittance when you count up all the weeks of rehearsals plus the performances.

I remember the hoo-haa over Shawshank. I could be wrong but I think one of the performers got onto one of the radio stations about it - only right, everyone has to eat and pay rent/mortgage after all!

Daisi

Hi,

It is a good idea to get a diploma/degree before going into acting. It's not only for the course itself but it's the life experience that you can then bring into it. Join the drama soc when you go to college. I know UCD have a terrific drama soc which Amy Hubberman and Chris O' Dowd came out of. You can then go straight from college into full time acting training. Any fulltime training is tough and entails long hours and so much commitment. I speak from experience. Those who have previously studied seemed to cope better and get an awful lot more from the course. Also join a youth theatre and do as much amateur drama as you can. The more you get on stage, good or bad, the more confidence you will build up as a performer and the more you will learn from it.

baz2011

Obviously there are different sides to every story. I think it is brilliant at your age to know that acting is what you want to do. I honestly would not recommend you to go and get some degree etc to fall back on. You should do what you can now to get the experience to pursue acting as a career, put everything you have into it. Im 24 and wish i had have relised this earlier. If all fails you can do something else at a later date but definately the earlier you start the better. You need as much experience as possible and doing an arts degree that you are not that interested in isn't going to help much. your parents cant stop you from pursuing your dreams. i would also say to look into scholarships abroad. Ireland doesn't have a lot of variety in acting courses where as places like London and New York do. Courses in New York and London could be similar prices to Ireland but will have better recognition internationally. I would definately say look into scholarships and start working on auditioning!

Peiteal

Have a look at this course, it's a proper acting course, very selective, supported by RADA and Trinity:

http://www.thelir.ie/courses/undergraduate/ba-in-acting/

It's a BA degree and you'll get some really good training. You might as well try and audition for it! You're parents shouldn't stop you. If you're passionate about something then try and try again!

Try working on some monologues while you've got free time in fourth year and keep an eye on this...

http://gaietyschoolofacting.wordpress.com/

... for auditions.

By the way, I'm doing acting classes with the Gaiety and they're fabulous! I'm going to apply for The Lír course. Fingers crossed!

The thing is, as everyone is saying, that earning a living through acting might not happen, especially at first. What I'm doing is taking it from a different angle. I'm interested in filmmaking as well as acting so I'm going to most likely study this...

http://www.iadt.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/SchoolsCourses/SchoolofCreativeArts/BAHonoursinFilmandTelevisionProductionDL045/#d.en.1955

... Film and Television production at IADT. This means that I will be able to break into the Film Industry (Hopefully!) through screenwriting, directing, making tea, production assistanting... etc. I'm hoping that eventually when I've got a footing in the industry I can then lean more into acting.

Also, loads of universities have great acting societies. So you could study something like English at Trinity and also spend free time acting. Oxford and Cambridge have INCREDIBLE Acting societies so there's no harm trying for them if you have another interest like english or classics which you could take as a course.

Good luck with the audition for you're TY play. I'm sure you'll shine!

Lollipop95

Thanks for all the replies guys,very helpful and insightful I've decided that if I hopefully get enough points in my leaving I'm going to study English and drama at UCD. I'm also going to join the drama society programme that they have there