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About Arlene Schulman
Expertise
As a professional director, dramaturg, acting coach and actor for over 25 years in the NYC/NJ area, I can help with questions on acting technique, character development, audition and rehearsal techniques, dealing with directors and stage managers, what directors are looking for, and other aspects of the acting and directing professions.
Experience
A professional director, dramaturg, acting coach and actor for over 25 years in the NYC/NJ area, I have directed in professional, university and amateur theatre and have directed and acted in dramas, comedies, musicals, Shakespeare as well as collaborating closely with playwrights in the development of original plays and musicals.
Organizations
SSDC associate member
Advisory Board - Isle of Shoals Productions
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America associate member
Shakespeare Association of America
The Shakespesare Institute -
MA "Shakespeare & Theatre" candidate, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
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You are here: Experts > Movies > Actors' Exchange > Actors` Exchange > child's play
Expert: Arlene Schulman
Date: 4/26/2008
Subject: child's play
Question
I noticed that more and more child actors and actresses are going to universities ( Harvard, Princeton etc) and putting their acting careers warm on the burners. Is it a requirement these days for child actors and actresses to do well in school?
Answer
Hi Amy,
It's not about child actors having to do well in school. In fact, it's not about grades at all. It's about knowing that to compete as adults they need to learn the craft of acting - all the skills and techniques that they never needed and never learned as child actors.
There is a big difference between acting as a child actor - where cutes, directability and being photogenic are the main abilities needed - and acting as an adult - where real acting skills and techniques are absolutely vital to being able to compete in the professional world and tackle the challenges of acting in truly professional roles, both on stage and on the screen.
By the time a "child actor" gets to college age, they are no longer child actors. The attributes that got them their child roles are no longer enough to win them jobs when competing against fully trained and experienced adult actors. And the experience that they had as child actors is not enough to teach them the techniques that they will need as fully professional adult actors. And many of them are smart enough to know that.
The best actor training you can get is those given in university actor training programs. And there are some wonderful ones all across this country. Many former child stars, no longer getting roles because they are too old to do the "cute" thing and too unskilled to be cast in the roles they would want, find that they need to learn all the real acting skills they will now need. They deliberately stop pursuing child roles, and start training for their adult acting career just like everyone else does - by going to college to study acting.
Best,
Arlene (MsDirector)
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