Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 6/25/2008

Question
Hi , I'm 18 and I'm a musician but now I'm starting to want to act. Is it too late for me to start now? I have never done any sort of training or even gone to a drama class. I once hinted to my parents that I wanted to start and they actually laughed at me! There is only the players theatre for volunteers in the area that I live in, but would this be enough to start out with? Should I then move on to somewhere else? Thanks for your advice.

Answer
Hi Liz,

It's definitely not too late to start!
It amazes me how younger people get that idea. I guess many people buy into the whole thing that youth is all that matters...to the point that being the young age of 16 or 18 is over the hill!

I think it is an excellent idea for you to start at the volunteer theater. Do that, take classes and ignore the laughs from mom and dad. It's sad that they would do that, but parents aren't perfect and just like anyone else who has known you since birth or childhood, they may have a hard time seeing you differently. People grow and change and sometimes we have to get away from them literally or emotionally to grow. I don't mean cutting off contact, just getting yourself to a place where you can prove to yourself what you are made of without the negative feedback. That's hard. Many times parents do damage without intending it. There are even extreme cases where parents are really inappropriate, but the kid still has that bond of trust that because they are his or her parents, they aren't supposed to do harm because they love them. Those are the ties that bind. Sometimes there is lots of growth that only happens when you move away around people who haven't known you, therefore, allowing you to be free to be a new you.

I don't know your situation, so it may just be that they were judging you an old behaviors ("Oh Lizzy wanted to be a ballerina at 10 and she lasted a week before losing interest!") and can't see you are not that way now. This would be a good way to prove you are serious, especially if you stuck it out and showed total commitment.

Best,

Taylor