How do you tell a child-actor they have no talent?
Easy.
You don’t.
Because you would be WRONG.
I know, I know…. not everyone can be an actor. This is true. Acting is a very real, developed, and life-long trained skill. Some of the most celebrated actors continue to train because they know they should always be learning. And not everyone really has the ability to be an actor, just like not everyone has the ability to be a doctor, lawyer, mechanical engineer – you get my point.
I was recently asked how I tell young performers that they aren’t good enough to be a professional actor. First, while I have been a professional actor, and director, and started a successful theater company, and continue to train and learn in my field, I am not qualified to tell someone what they can and cannot do.
I am, however, capable of helping young people discover for themselves their unique talents. Theater provides an incredible opportunity to dig deep into the practical and emotional skills of being human. Kids are not dumb. They figure out really quickly what are their strengths.
And do you know what? I see more visionaries, directors, managers, leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, architects, and humanitarians in my theater classrooms than I see actors.
And.
I.
LOVE IT!!!
Theater provides a multi-disciplinary experience within which young people can try on all sorts of roles, and test their skills.
Our job, as theater arts educators and directors, is not to tell a kid what they can’t do.
We inspire them to discover what they are meant to do.
