Acting Kids Tips – 9 Key Tasks for Kids Who Act

1. “Listen”
A lot of people are going to tell you what to do, where to go, how to act, where to stand, where not to stand. Many people will be used to working with kids, and some may not, but none of them wants to tell you the same thing over and over and over again. If you are on a set, find out which Production Assistant or Assistant Director handles the kids. If you are in an audition, listen to the Casting Assistant in the waiting room and the Casting Director or Producer in the audition. If you are in class, listen to the teacher.

2. “Learn”
Take classes to learn what is expected of you in an audition, on-set, how to prepare for an audition, how to act out different characters or situations, how to hit your mark and say lines while looking “natural” and just as important, how NOT to act. Also, learn about all of the other people and things that go into making films, TV and Stage Productions.

3. “Be Teachable”
You can take all of the classes you want, but if you act like you already know everything, you won’t learn. You may have done a lot of acting or very little, either way, people are expecting certain things of you which may not match the way you saw the character or practiced the scene. Listen to your teachers, coaches, directors and be teachable so you can learn and ultimately so you can get the job.

4. “Be Directable”
A huge part of getting an acting job is whether the Director thinks they can work with you. If they ask you to do a line a certain way, or stand a certain way or jump or sit or say the line with a marble in your mouth, as long as it isn’t dangerous – DO IT. DON’T ARGUE, don’t try to convince them of your view, do the scene the way you are asked.

5. “Be Flexible”
Like being directable, being flexible is a key. Some scenes are very carefully planned out and rehearsed, then don’t look right in front of the camera. Some directors have a grand plan, but haven’t shared it with you. Some like to see what comes to them on set when they see the scene for real. Time schedules change, set pieces change, actors change, costumes change – you need to be able to change direction quickly too.

6. “Prepare”
You wouldn’t want to take a school test without preparing. You won’t want to enter an audition without preparation either. Read the brief. Get a feel for the type of character, their attitude, how they dress. Prepare your mind with meditations, affirmations or music that gets you psyched. If there are sides (lines to learn) memorized them as best you can. The more time you have from the time you get the lines, until the time of the audition, the more you are expected to know the lines by heart. Dress the part as much as you can. If the character is a geek, dress geeky no matter how cool you are in real life.

7. “Adjust”
The better you know the character and the lines, the easier it is for you to adjust your performance. The better you know what’s expected of you in school, the easier it is for you to adjust your studies around your audition schedule. The better prepared you are with healthy snacks, the easier it is to adjust your meal schedule around your auditions. Be prepared, then be prepared to adjust.

8. “Organize”
Have your schoolwork ready so you can get it done in the car between auditions. If you get a job, you’ll need some work to bring with you. It’s usually best if you have work you can do even if it is noisy or if you have to start and stop then figure out where you were to start again. Help your mom with preparing snacks and drinks and other distractions. Charge your gameboy, iPOD or other electronics you can play quietly while you wait, and make sure you bring them so your Mom doesn’t have to.

9. “Have Fun”
ShowBiz is serious business, but you wanted to act because it looked like fun. So make sure to have some fun in the process.