When You Become a Child Actor, How Do You Keep Up With Schoolwork?

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When you become a child actor, one of the hardest things to do is keep up with your schoolwork. If you (or your child) wants to become a child actor, you need to continuously train in acting and other related activities such as dancing and voice.

Often, there seems to be little time left for doing schoolwork.

When my daughter was young, missing a little school to go to auditions or coaching was seldom a big deal. Some teachers were more understanding than others. But still, making up the work was not much of a challenge, and the teachers/administrators rarely got upset about it.

But as my daughter has gotten older, it has become more difficult for her to miss class without sacrificing her grades and the respect of her teachers.  The teachers and administrators are less tolerant. They even make it more difficult to get work permit applications signed, even for children who are good students.

Also, the amount of homework assigned has increased significantly, making it more difficult to go to auditions.

My daughter is a good student, and she chooses schoolwork over acting on a regular basis. She is still involved in acting, but when she has to sacrifice one or the other, it is most often her acting career that takes a back seat to her academics. However, she does honor any commitments she makes related to her acting, music, and other activities.

As a parent, I am proud of her for this. How she does in school is likely to affect her for the rest of her life. And if she chooses not to continue acting as an adult, I want her to have other good options. I want her to be able to get into a good university. I also believe that following through with the commitments you make is important in becoming a responsible person.

We know many other young actors who have chosen to become homeschoolers or enroll in schools other than regular public schools in order to more easily pursue their show business careers.  This is a choice that parents and children will have to make together based on what works best for them and what best matches their goals and dreams in life.

This schoolwork vs. acting issue is a dilemma that every child (and the parents) face when considering what it takes to become a child actor.

So, “When You Become a Child Actor, How Do You Keep Up With Schoolwork?”

If you want (your child) to become a child actor, at some point you are going to face issues related to schoolwork. How do you keep up with schoolwork when you are actively pursuing an acting, modeling, or music career?

Take a moment to think of what it takes to become a child actor. (There are similar lists for pursuing a modeling or music career.)

Here are eleven things you are likely to need to do (and this is not even the whole list):

1. Attend scene study classes.
2. Attend improv/comedy classes.
3. Attend commercial/on-camera classes.
4. Attend voice and/or other instrument lessons.
5. Attend dance classes (or other activities from gymnastics to martial arts to sports or whatever it is that your child is interested in. All these help to make you a well-rounded individual and can increase your odds of being selected for acting jobs).
6. Learning sides/songs/dances for auditions (primarily for theatrical auditions).
7. Going to coaching for auditions (mostly theatrical auditions).
8. Going to auditions (This involves driving, finding the location, finding parking, walking to the actual casting office, checking in, waiting, auditioning, returning to your car, driving back home. Depending on how far you are from the audition location, this process can take anywhere from 1 to 5 hours or even longer if you live far away.)
9. Going to rehearsals and practicing for plays, performances, and competitions related to the activities listed above.
10. Going to performances/competitions.
11. Going to acting jobs.

OK. So now that all this is done, how much time is left for doing homework or even going to school (or sleeping)?

Yet your grades must stay up or you can’t continue being an actor (at least in states where you need a work permit, a student’s grades must be good to get the work permit). And, after all, getting a good education is really very important.

Of course, when you work on a SAG or AFTRA or AEA project, there is a set teacher to help with schoolwork. And this is great, particularly when you are young.  You get the materials from your teacher and take them to the set teacher.

But, as you get older, it is not so easy to keep up with big projects, particularly group projects.  And if you miss class when your teacher is discussing exactly how to do a particular project or discussing exactly what you need to know for your tests at school, it can easily make the work more difficult and affect your grades.

Some things that can help you if you are trying to balance an acting career and schoolwork are:

1. If you get an acting (or modeling or music) job and must miss school, be sure to get all the materials from your teacher for what you will be missing. If you have a set teacher, take these materials to the set teacher so they can work with you on what you are missing. Otherwise, you will be on your own to try to keep up.
2. Become more effective at doing schoolwork while traveling in the car and while waiting at auditions.
3. Develop good study habits to keep up with schoolwork on a daily basis.  This will help prevent you from getting behind when you have a particularly busy day. You need to learn to make good use of the little time you have.
4. Find an understanding friend in your classes who you can trust to fill you in on what you’ve missed. When you miss for an audition, often you won’t have the chance to talk to your teacher about it in advance.
5. Find and work with a tutor if you find yourself struggling with your schoolwork. Finding a good tutor can be difficult, but be sure to check out this great service where you can see reviews from other parents and background checks and other information on the tutors to help in your selection of the right tutor.
6. Explore other school alternatives such as private schools, schools of the arts, and homeschooling (independent study). Some of these options will allow you to have a shorter school day and to work around auditions and jobs. Most of these are also generally more flexible than public schools. (For more on homeschooling, see Homeschool Education vs Public Education for Young Actors.)

Just remember, it is not easy to become a child actor, particularly when you have to balance your acting and related activities with school and homework.  If you start to get behind, don’t waste any time. Get a tutor to help you catch up before you get far behind and your grades start to drop. If you do need a tutor, click here or on the “Tutors” link in my sidebar to view reviews for tutors in your area.

To your success in showbiz and school,

Debbie Sikkema

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