Is Your Child a Potential Movie Star? How to Tell

We asked Hollywood insider Dr. Kathy Joyce Abbott, besides talent, what does a child need to succeed in Hollywood? Dr. Kathy is a studio teacher who works only with show business kids, and she gave us the straight scoop. She said, “The kids – that’s what producers and directors call them – need some very special skills.” If you want your child to make it in Hollywood, she said, they need to be able to

• Listen to and follow directions immediately
• Stand still on set
• Focus on their job only
• Not be disturbed easily
• Be friendly and outgoing
• Be able to “switch it on and off” easily
• Be prepared to repeat the scene 30 or 40 times
• Be agreeable and cooperative (no whining or complaining)

“These skills separate the kids with a future from the other kids who do it once or twice and fade away,” Dr. Kathy emphasized.

It is a family endeavor

“That’s not all,” she said. “It requires complete family cooperation. Everyone, mom, dad, brothers and sisters, all need to put their energy into making the kid succeed.” Dr. Kathy says she has seen divorces when one parent or a child bucks the community effort and decides to leave.

How does the family prepare?

In order to make the show business sortie work, the family needs to make financial and social arrangements like these:

• Have enough money to get an apartment (which can run $2000 a month for short term rental)
• Have money for food, gas, headshots, acting classes, new clothing
• Have one parent who is available full time to go to auditions, call backs, wardrobe fittings, four or five days a week in rush hour traffic
• Agree to try it for a specific amount of time
• Have the whole family behind it in agreement
• View it as a vacation (stress and anxiety will produce bad results)

What do you need to start? 1. an agent or manager, 2. a California Work Permit, 3. a Coogan trust account in a bank.

How do you get these? Dr. Kathy recommends interested parents get all the details from these web sites: www.childreninfilm.com, and www.studioteachers.com. These web sites will tell you about the labor laws affecting children in the entertainment business, as well as give you information about managers, agents, and Coogan bank accounts.

If you decide not to go to Hollywood

Dr. Kathy recommends that children interested in TV and movies should get involved in local theatrical productions and learn how to make their own shows in order to galvanize their dramatic talents. “There are wonderfully talented kids all over this country, let’s support them all,” Dr. Kathy says. “Be positive and encourage their talents,” she says.

Summing it up

If your child has talent --- and the ability to conduct himself responsibly, and if the family is prepared to make it fun to try for success in Hollywood show business, then give it a try. But remember, there are other very fulfilling ways to enjoy children’s talents locally, and still exercise their abilities that may fit in better with the whole family.