Expert: Peter Messaline - 8/15/2009

Question
Hey, My name is Haley, I'm 13 and have always dreamed to be an actress, I was wondering If you would know, or like to suggest any agents or Acting classes on Vancouver Island. I have no experience, but I do sing and dance, which my mother says will help :). Please Help Me Try To Achieve My Dream! thank you,
Haley

Answer
Singing and dancing never hurt!
BUT
Acting professionally has not a lot to do with loving to act.
Being a professional means
constantly hunting for work (because jobs rarely last more than a few weeks),
always being turned down (the producer sees at least a dozen actors for a part,
and eleven of them will be turned down),
and never making enough money to relax.

But people fight to get into the business. Go figure.
The competition means that no reputable agent will take you on until he can see you are ready to work. There aren't a lot of parts for young teens, because hiring them means following all sorts of rules about chaperones and teachers and hours of work. If a young character is really necessary, it's very often played by an older actor. There are a few actor kids, but they very often started, young as the children of well-known actors.
You should look for classes and read all you can about acting and being an actor. Any librarian will steer you towards Dewey Decimal 790.
Here is a good discussion board:
canadianactor.com
and here is a Victoria school that teaches young actors. Their classes aren't cheap, because they are about film and TV: one term of twelve classes costs $350
screenactors.ca

You should start with an ordinary acting for fun course, which you may find is run by a local college, or in a community centre.

Screenactors.ca has a useful contacts page:
screenactors.ca/links.htm

Push on towards being the actress you dream about, but realise that it's a career choice, like teaching or banking, and you won't get there all at once.