Parents of a young aspiring actress. How can Parents help their actor kids?

My 10 yr old daughter is wanting to be an actress. We are starting out at the beginning right now--she is doing a 4wk course of theatre which teaches the basics. After that, we are somewhat lost as to what to do to keep her going to help her resume. Leads are very scarce in our area (Kansas),so that makes it a bit more difficult.
> We are hoping to be moving out to California or Arizona in 3 yrs, so that will help, but until then, what can we do as parents to help her? Thanks

ANSWER:

The first and most important thing that I see you are already doing is to
get her into some really good acting classes and keep her there. She
can never get too much experience. Ever! Keep her in classes...continuously.

Another thing is for you to stay close to her when engaging in contacts in the
industry. Now it's pretty much a no-brainer, but even as she gets older, don't
let her out of your site. There are a lot of people who will prey on kids like her
and tell her everything and anything to make a buck. Don't buy it!
For example, some will tell you that they will represent her, but that you have to
pay for that service. That's Bull! Agents get 10% of the take generally (in a few
cases maybe 15%) but AFTER she has actually done the job. First the audition,
then she would be hired, then she does the job, then the agent gets paid by the
customer and THEN she will be sent 90% of whatever the pay was for that particular
job and the agent will keep 10% for him-/herself. That's the way it works.

There are three other things I would suggest you do:

1. Have a look at my latest video:
The Top 10 Reasons Why Most Aspiring Actors Never Make It!


2. Have a look at this page on my site. It's dedicated to teens, but you will certainly find some helpful hints and practical things to do that have to do with different aspects of starting an acting career such as:
How to get an agent
23 benefits of taking acting classes
17 Things you can do to start getting acting work
29 ways to promote yourself as an actor
How to choose a school
Audition tips
All about head shots
Industry resources
Also, you could read the pages about convincing your parents and tell me what you think! :-)
The cost of an acting career
Thoughts on becoming famous (that you might want to have her read)
and more.
www.actingcareerstartup.com/teen_acting.html

3. Invest $19.95 in a copy of my book: Acting Career Start-Up: Four Key Factors For Success. You can buy it on Amazon or Barnes&Noble.com or order it in your local book store. To see what it's all about, have a look at this page.
www.actingcareerstartup.com/acting_career_start.html

Just remember that it is a business you are getting your daughter into.
A store owner must make sure that her store is attractive and inviting, but first
and foremost it must have really good quality products. But then, the owner
must make sure that people come into the store and that people even know about it.
Otherwise it is all in vain.

Many aspiring actors don't make it, because they don't have the concept of business
in their minds. One of the things you must do in my opinion if you really want to help your daughter is "make sure her product (of being an actress) is top quality, because the competition is fierce. And then you must make sure that the right people see her work.

I did an interview with a Hollywood Acting Coach named Bernard Hiller who said,
"It's not about who you know in the acting industry and it's not about who knows you.
It's really about who WANTS to know you!"
www.actingcareerstartup.com/acting-career.html
Make sure that the right people want to know your daughter. You do that by starting from scratch of build a good, solid base of acting talent and skill, while you Mommy, bone up on your business skills. That will be a winning combination down the road!

Good luck to you and stay in touch with ActingCareerStartUp.com!

Tony