AboutKenneth D. Plonkey Expertise Questions about acting and directing. Questions about getting started in a careeer. Questions about training and schooling for actors.
Experience I am a retired film actor. I am a retired university theatre program director and professor. I am the author of "The Tao of Acting, Mentoring for the Aspiring Actor" to be published this summer.
Organizations SAG
Education/Credentials BA, MA, PhD in Theatre
Post graduate study with certificate in Media Acting
Awards and Honors John Golden Traveling Fellowship
Question QUESTION: Hi ! I want to be a Disney channel star But I have a HUGE problem; I live in
Puerto Rico. I have a good voice, I'm a fast learner , and have great memory
but I'm afraid of telling my dream to my mother because I fear she will not
take me seriously . So I guess I'll need an agent and acting classes even
though I'm a good at acting. Any tips ? Will I need headshots or make an
audition tape ? Know about any Disney filming in PR like Princess Protection
Protection Program or the Wizards of waverly place movie ? Because here in
Puerto Rico if have no chance of success ! ): just so u know I'm very classy
unlike the puertorican stereotype and I speak the language (engloish) very
fluidly . I feel empty inside because my only dream seems so far away I can't
find the strength to believe in my self and I'm afraid that I don't look American
! And my name ...should I change it to something that pops like mipey demi
and selena's ?? Any suggestions... Ps sorry for any misspelling but I'm typing
from my phone !
ANSWER: Hi Barbara, You may have a huger problem and that is the only way someone under 18 can become an actress is that their parents make it happen. If they are not tirelessly working hard to make your career happen, it will not happen. It really won't do you any good to try to get an audition for a Disney show on your own. Your parents have to sign for everything you might do. In most cases one of them will have to go with you to auditions and filming. There is no "American" look. You don't need to change you name. You just need to be where the action is and have parental support. God bless, Doc
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QUESTION: So how do you suggest I tell my mother ? Because it's a big step for her moving away from her family, friends, and Job. I really think that I wouldn't miss anything too much because right now I feel like I can relate to Demi Lovato when she said that she wasn't happy with her life at all, not in school, not at home, and if it wasn't for her dream she would've been suicidal. But except for the suicidal part ! I asked my mom yesterday if she really meant it when, since I was a baby, she told that she would always support me and my dreams. But I bet she never imagined that I wanted to become an actress/singer. I'm 14 so I can't do it on my own but do I need an agent to audition ?
ANSWER: Well, you had better start with telling her about your wanting to be an actress and see what she says. I strongly suspect she is going to reject the idea of moving. That she supports you and your dreams is different that her moving and working hard to make them happen. You cannot do anything on your own. Agents are very hard to get. And you would need an agent and need to live where the auditions are to get work. And your mother has to take you to auditions and to work if you get any. How is she going to earn a living if you move? I am sorry to say, I think you have a fantasy rather than a dream and you will not be a teen actress. But you will not know until you talk to mom a lot more. God bless, Doc
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QUESTION: There are actresses in the family but the work in the PR theater. OH WOW THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT ! "I am sorry to say, I think you have a fantasy rather than a dream and you will not be a teen actress." Well my father brings to the family a LOT of income and he could send us money and he works from home but also he work in the Biochemicals Industry and he retires in a year. BTW ...why are Agent hard to get ?
Answer well if daddy will support you and mom for a few years in LA, and mom worked very hard for your career there would be a tiny tiny chance for it to happen. But you are starting late, and you would have to be a talent phenomenon like Miley Cyrus to succeed. It is hard to get an agent because there is no work for teen actresses compared to the hundreds of thousands of wannabes like yourself. Agents only make money when their "talent" (the people they represent) make money and to make it all worse, we are in a recession that is going to get worse. Acting is a business and business is not too good. Especially in California where it is getting worse every day.
