A child who is passionate about acting is lucky to have two supportive parents who are willing to embark on the journey with them. As an actor and actress, they can develop creativity and growth; but as a parent, you probably know that chasing after a dream is never that easy. More often than not, a child actor’s career can feel stagnant despite the many auditions they go to. Nonetheless, your role as a parent is to continue to help them become a confident actor even when the job pool is dry.
Here are a few suggestions.
5 Ways You Can Help Your Child Become a Confident Actor
1. Remind your child of their talent
Positive reinforcement is important early in a child’s career. It allows them to grow more confident, self-reliant, and independent. If your child constantly attends acting classes and goes on auditions, they’re showing you that they are doing their best. Remind them that getting the role is not based on talent alone. Other criteria like body type, hair color, vocal qualities, etc. may affect the casting director’s decision to book your child. What is important is that you back them up by giving verbal affirmation and encouraging personal success, no matter how big or small it is.
2. Enroll the child in an acting class
Regardless of where they are in their career, a child actor must constantly attend acting classes. Workshops or classes allow young talents to grow and meet fellow performers. For example, an on-camera audition class will help them become more at ease during the audition process. Do remember to constantly check if the child is enjoying his class as the entire experience should be uplifting in order for them to grow.
3. Focus on non-acting activities as well
The journey to become a confident actor should not focus on acting activities alone. Oftentimes, people learn to build a sense of confidence and independence by joining sports teams or by developing a new hobby. So if your child wants to join the school baseball team, then be their number one cheerleader. It should be noted that many non-acting skills are beneficial for performers as well, they can always list down their hobbies in the special skills section of their résumé! Who knows, a casting director just might be looking for someone who can play baseball for an upcoming role.
Other than sports, creative activities like arts and crafts, sculpting, writing, dancing, to name a few are great outlets for children to become more confident with themselves. It can also serve as a form of relaxation in the midst of their busy schedules. So ask your child what they would like to do in their down time and be ready to encourage and guide them every step of the way.
4. Encourage them to work on independent projects
Look, not everyone can become a Disney star overnight. Casting directors look for children with acting experience since they tend to be more mature onset. However, this shouldn’t mean that your child should accept any role. If you are interested in letting your child pursue indie or student films, at least let them go for speaking parts so you can provide footage for their acting reel. Remember, a lot of the biggest actors in show business got their start doing indie films.
5. Have them do improve training
Improve training is both fun and engaging. It teaches actors to live and act in the moment. Most roles for child actors require a little improvisation since they involve comedic timing. Improv is also useful when it comes to auditioning for commercials. You don’t need to prepare for an improv class, once your child is accepted, he dives right into whatever exercises the instructor has prepared that day.