Expert: Peter Messaline - 6/5/2011

Question
hi, my name is Ava and i am 13. i live in Toronto, Ontario with my parents and i was wondering where is my start to becoming an actress. i have already took classes for acting, I've performed in front of hundreds of people and now i want to know what is my next step. IF it is getting a agent, do you know someone that is good in their business? if yes can you tell me who they are?
thanks!

Answer
Hi Ava:
Every time your age comes up, it's a problem, I know,
but
your age is a problem.
If you look at film and TV, you'll see there is almost never an actor in their early teens.
Writers don't write those parts because when a producer hires a young performer, he has to follow all sorts of annoying rules about guardians and restricted time on set and and
If a story really needs a young character, it's generally played by an older actor. People who look young have an easier time in the business, because the rules are easier, and it's likely they have more experience than an actor of the right age.

There is a huge break between being a good actress (which your experience suggests you may be), and being a profitable one. An agent would be running a huge risk taking you on.

Your best plan now is to get all the acting experience you can in clubs and school and camp, read all about plays and films and dance, and find out all you can about the job of being an actor in Canada (Google my name for a book you'll find useful, I think). Ask your parents about arts high schools in Toronto, like Claude Watson.
Most Canadian actors go to college, and theatre courses are very hard to get into. You'll have a better chance of getting in if you can show that you know a lot and have been working for years on becoming an actor.

See you in ten years in the green room!