Expert: Peter Messaline - 2/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: I'm 12 years old, my name is Hannah, and I know how to sing and im in LOVE with acting so im wondering how do you become an actress at my age in canada all i want  is a chance to try it out or make my job that so may u plz tell me how to become an actress.I tried out for an audtion for a play but i didnt make so i want to try again but this time for a movie or a show im also going to go in to dance lessons so i can become a triple threat and i have great confidnce so plz tell me how to become an actress:)

ANSWER: Thank you for the details that help me to make a response specifically to you.
Unfortunately, film and TV producers don't like hiring young kids. The laws and the union rules cut down the time kids are allowed on set, and increase the necessary break between days. There are exceptions, but most of the young characters you see on TV are played by much older actors.

It's good that you are starting dance classes. Be patient, learn all the different styles you can, and enjoy the classes without spending too much time on where it might lead.

Not getting cast at an audition is what happens to most professional actors most of the time. Even quite small parts have twenty people auditioning for them, and that doesn't count the actors who wanted the part but couldn't even get an audition.

Carry on as you have started. Take every chance you can to act, take classes in acting and at least one physical sport, and read about other people's experiences as actors. Ask the librarian for the 790 section, which has career books about acting.  The more you read, the more you'll see that this is a career choice, and it needs the same sort of preparation that any other career does. You don't hear about people becoming a doctor because they love the work, or driving a bus because they like the uniform.

Stick to it, and enjoy the trip, without always wondering "Am I there yet?"

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey I'm hannahs friend I'm 12 years old and I'm looking for a acting carrer.i have an amazing voice and can act grate.i have been in dance class but I'm teaching it myself so I'm a triple threat and i think if i just had a chance to try out for some acting thing i could get in but i need you help so if you can,please send me a good website to find acting auditions for kitchener

Answer
First rule in the business is to have friends!

All that I said to Hannah still applies.

You are now at the foot of a hugely high mountain where you have to have natural talent, the best training, and experience to have a real shot at the upper slopes. Some people do luck in, and you hear about those because they are so unusual. 99.99 of those who climb without being properly prepared fall off.

Being a triple-threat means you are extremely good at all three. More and more actors nowadays are triple-threats, because the work is so very hard to get without all the qualifications possible.

Work at your classes, audition for every stage production you can, read all you can - about acting, but also about everything you can think of. As actors, we call on what we have inside, so you'll want to fill it with experiences and ideas and all the nonsense skills you fancy. Can you throw a rope? Can you juggle, can you waggle your ears? Play a musical instrument? Speak at least a little of a foreign language?

It's an exciting few years ahead if you're aiming at acting. You've got to be able to do anything, and look good. (Or at least look good even if you can't really do it. You think the hero really plays the guitar on horseback? Does the heroine really know how to weave cloth?).

Get out there and learn how to fake it!

Luck