So what now?

As an acting coach, audition coach, casting director, former agent — and podcaster? — majority of my work is sitting down and working with actors and their parents. This is my niche. A lot of my previous projects have related to kids and my goal is to take all the knowledge that I have from working fifteen years in the business and passing it on to those who are new to acting, or to those who would love to know more. So without further ado, here are some ways to consider if your child is ready to become a professional actor.

1. DOES YOUR KID LIKE TO PERFORM? One of the many fundamental indicators if your kid is ready to dive in to the world of acting is to see if they like to perform. Not to themselves in their room when no one is looking, but are they the one’s who are always dancing in a group? Are they the one’s that wants to get up and sing a song in front of everyone during holiday parties? Or do they like to talk about and show off their skills to everyone that walks in the room? Not every actor would behave this way, but this is a good starting point.
2. DO THEY LOVE OR ARE OBSESSED WITH EVERYTHING ENTERTAINMENT? Does your kid love TV shows, movies, or broadway? Do they know about them? Are they following these shows and know information about them? These are signs that your is passionate about this world.
3. ARE THEY SHY OR COMFORTABLE WHEN WALKING INTO NEW SITUATIONS? This is an important one. If your kid is someone you consider as an introvert — shy when meeting new people or when they walk into a new situation, this is where we can raise a red flag. As a casting director, when kids walk into a room and they don’t want to be personable or friendly, they don’t want to make eye contact, it will be hard for us to watch the actual audition. Same with agent or manager meetings. In every room that they enter, they need to show their best self. For example, if your kid walks into a room and lights up and not suck the energy out, that is a huge indication that they love being there. They want to audition. They want to perform. Nerves can be there and is normal. But being nervous and being shy are two separate things. A lot of this business is walking into new rooms with new people that they’ve never met before.
4. CAN THEY TAKE DIRECTION? IF THEY CAN READ, ARE THEY GOOD? At reading level, there can be a lot of “cold reading.” This is when new characters are given to actors just after the initial audition. New material would be given out and your kid will then be told to go out into the hallway for fifteen minutes and prepare the new scene. A lot of our job is giving direction. Your kid gets a scene, prepare it as their own and then perform it in the audition room. As a casting director, I may say that your kid did a great job but can we try it a different way. Maybe a little meaner or more dim. So how does your child feel about taking new direction and completely changing the scene? This would be a good exercise at home. If your kid has memorized a monologue for three months, it’s a good idea to play with it and give it a new character. If the character is really sad in the scene, maybe this time, play the role more happy and see what your child does. This will be a good test to see if they are ready to take new direction.
5. IS YOUR CHILD OPEN TO WORKING HARD? Are they committed to studying? Are they willing to put time and effort into this? If they’re new to acting, it’ll be hard to see if this is something that they can do, but my advice is to pay attention to everything that they do — sports, math class, any learning activity. Do they take them seriously or do they mess around and never want to practice at home? Acting is a constant learning curve. Your child will need to be in acting class. They’ll need to have coaching sessions, and more importantly, they’ll need to practice, practice, practice! If they get an audition, that is something that they cannot just wing in the room. That’ll take hours of practice. So the bottom line is, is your child open to that?
6. DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY OTHER INTERESTS? When I asked my thirteen year old client why she loves acting and her answer is because there is literally nothing else she wants to do, that is something I really appreciate. It’s an amazing answer. It speaks as if it’s their calling. Acting makes them happy and who am I to squash their dream? However, acting is a tricky business. More people fail than the people who succeed. If acting is what your kid wants to do, it is important to instil a well-rounded life. It’s important to encourage other activities, lifestyle choices and other things that they can do so that pressure is not always on whether they book that role or sign with that agent. So, find something else that they like doing. It could still be in the creative arts but it just needs to be a little different.
7. DO THEY STRUGGLE WITH LOSING? In this business, we cannot take “no’s” too personally — especially as children. It will ruin them if they take it to heart. I love my clients who come in and say, “I didn’t get that role but it was fun!” It is important for the kid to know that they will not book everything that they audition for. And if so, are they okay with that? Can they handle the competition? Can they handle their actor friends who are booking the roles that they want?
8. DOES YOUR KID HAVE STRONG FAMILY SUPPORT? Is mom and dad completely behind their child? Do they support the dream? Are they willing to follow them around, drive them to auditions and classes? Are they able to support their kid 4 of 4 www.danabowling.com financially with initial investments (headshots, classes, coaching, etc.). If that is not currently attainable, then acting may need to take a back seat for now. This is just as hard — if not harder — for the parents than the children.
9. DO THEY HAVE A GOOD POSITIVE AND HEALTHY ATTITUDE? This is the basis of this business. Being positive as an actor is essential to success and happiness. If you are not positive going into an audition, an agent meeting, a network event, acting class, or a coaching session, this will hinder you. People always want to see a positive person walking in the room, especially kids. You can be auditioning for a very dramatic scene but if you come in negatively, angry or upset at something that happened to you before you came into the room, it is going to affect everyone in that room. You need to be positive and be okay with getting no’s.
10. ARE THEY OK WITH THE WORD “NO”? Your child will hear this word more than the word “yes.” No matter how talented, how beautiful, how special you are. No matter how much work you’ve put in the night before. No matter how much you wanted it. No matter how much you spent on your headshots, coaching, and classes. No matter if you were in the final two candidates for the role. You will hear “no.” Most people do. Are you okay with that?

Working as a Casting Director for Disney, Nickelodeon, MTV, Fox and E! and a Theatrical Agent for the last 15 years has given me insight into “both sides” of the entertainment industry that few have seen and nothing makes me feel more fulfilled than working with actors to help them fulfill their desires, follow their hearts and achieve their dreams. Listen to my podcast “The Young Actor’s Guide” on itunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-young-actors-guide/id1389826796?mt=2) and find me at www.danabowling.com.

One of my childhood friends who I have known forever always inspired me with her ability to always know EXACTLY what she wanted to do when she “grew up” — be a journalist. She worked on her yearbook in high school, went to a fantastic university where she majored in English and Journalism, graduated with fantastic grades all while holding multiple internships that gave her experience towards her dream career. She then moved back to Los Angeles, and scored herself a coveted entry level position at an LA magazine. A few years went by and while I was always so envious that she seemed to have everything go her way, it was only at dinner together when she was 26 that she said through tears “I don’t want to be a journalist — I HATE this career!”

I, of course, was shocked. How could she have known something so surely since we were pre-teens only to start said career and “hate” it? Worse than that, she felt completely lost, confused and scared that she would never know what she wanted. She sunk into a mini depression and didn’t know what to do next — until someone suggested a career coach. My friend began to work with a career coach weekly for a few months and it completely changed her approach, her negative energy, and her path. She now still writes in her career, but in a different industry which suits her so much better. Still to this day, my friend suggests going to a coach when feeling lost or confused in your career.

This doesn’t only apply to a complete career change. Career coaches can help when you just feel a little stuck in your career, a little lost or confused, or need some extra motivation. In a creative career (an actor for example), this could mean a plan for marketing materials, keeping your drive and ambition in tact when you are feeling a little hopeless or envious at the time, or a new approach to your headshots, acting classes etc.

Even the best of the best need coaches. Tom Brady has many coaches. Top executives have coaches. Disney and Nickelodeon stars that have their own TV shows even have on set coaches. Just because you have or get the job you desire doesn’t mean you can’t continue to learn and grow.

Working with actors so closely for so many years, I have seen firsthand how hard it can be when you want it SO badly, are doing everything in your power to achieve your dreams and still not finding that success. Working as your career consultant, I can’t book the jobs for you, but I can absolutely help you create a plan, give you industry tips from my insider perspective and work side by side with you as your advocate in a business where that is rare.

Dana Bowling is a audition coach and actor career consultant with 15 years of Casting and Representation background. She has taught hundreds of classes and continues to work one on one with actors, helping them take control of their acting careers and give their best auditions. Find out more at www.danabowling.com

One of my favorite parts of my many years in casting has been working on projects where I have had to seek out talented child actors. I’ve always liked working with children and even considered being a teacher before entering the entertainment industry. There is something so positive, endearing, and full of life about children. They go through the world with no heavy baggage or fears on their shoulders and have an enthusiastic approach to acting which most adult actors tend to lose over time. That being said, as much as I encourage children that love to perform to pursue acting, there are a few things, as a parent, that need to be considered when your kid says to you “I want to be on TV”. Here are some of the important things to consider:

1. Is this something THEY really want to do? I pose this as the MOST important question because I cannot describe to you how often I meet kids in casting rooms that I immediately know DO NOT want to be there. This is more than if your kid is “cute” or “pretty”. If you are considering really making the leap to pursue acting seriously, your kid needs to be interested and invested. This, like any other extracurricular activity, needs to be given time and energy and if you start out without your child really wanting it, it will never work out.

2. Do they get joy out of performing? As a mother myself, I immediately know and can see what truly gives both my kids joy. Even though they are both boys and only 2 years apart, what makes each of them happy differs. For the younger one, give him a ball, stacking toys and a snack and he will be happy for hours. The older one was never this way — he craved music, movies, performing, legos and building from a super early age. Of course their interests will constantly shift and evolve as they grow, but as a parent, we need to really look at our kids and see if they ENJOY acting classes, music/dance classes or musical theater classes. This goes for ANY hobby or extracurricular activity — for example, when my son told me every week he didn’t want to go to gymnastics, I had to listen. Some kids just don’t like certain activities and it’s up to us parents to listen to them.

3. Are YOU willing to invest the energy/time/finances as the parent of an actor? This is a big one. Many parents make the mistake of thinking that if their kid wants to pursue acting/modeling/performing, it will be easy. Yes, once in a while you will hear a story about a kid that got discovered in a mall, went on one audition and booked the lead in a Spielberg movie. It does happen, but it’s incredibly rare no matter how talented your child is. Even the most talented actors out there have to put in an incredible amount of time towards auditions until they book the role. Are you, the parent, willing to take those hours to drive across town, get headshots, and send your kids to classes and coaches (they ALL benefit from this)? This is something you need to ask yourself because it will come up. The second your child gets good representation and gets called in, YOU will be responsible for getting them there :)

4. Does your child have the emotional strength to handle rejection? DO YOU?? I’m not going to lie, as a mother myself, I feel for my kids. When one comes home from school telling me that someone was mean to them, it takes everything for me not to want to talk to that kid myself. Can I remind you that my child is FOUR and I have a lifetime ahead of me of seeing my kids disappointed over things that don’t go their way? I’ll say this right now: Acting is not for the thin-skinned. This can be tough considering most children that are actors are also very in touch with their emotions. They will hear the word NO much more than they will hear YES, and that goes for actors at every level. Can they handle the idea that they need to go into an audition as prepared as possible, do their best, and then leave it at the door? Can you handle it if you see your child constantly upset over not getting the role they wanted so badly? This is a huge aspect of why I started my career consulting business, majorly aimed towards child actors and their parents. I offer a holistic approach to this business where I not only coach on the skill set and crafts of an actor, but also the entire process and how not to let it get to you on a personal level. It’s a passion of mine to teach this aspect to those invested in this business.

5. This is NOT an overnight process. Acting takes energy, time, practice, and work. No actor starts their journey the best they can be. An actor, just like any other profession, needs to be trained and taught, needs to constantly practice their skills, and needs to connect with professionals who can teach them more. Do not go into this thinking you know it all, or else you will be limited. You can always learn more — whether it is audition technique, comedy timing, the technical side, the behind the scenes business side, and the branding and social media sides. Be patient, support your child’s dreams and be realistic about it.

Dana Bowling is a audition coach and actor career consultant with 15 years of Casting and Representation background. She has cast dozens of shows, taught hundreds of classes and continues to work one on one with actors, helping them take control of their acting careers and give their best auditions. Find out more at www.danabowling.com