(Mill Park, Vic, Australia)
QUESTION:
I have a 11 year old daughter that says she wants to be an actress like Emma Watson. The problem is there are no places that are close enough where she can go to audition for a stage show or play? Can she just do little plays at home, and wait for something to come up, like at school?
ANSWER:
If there are no kids acting classes close by, the best is just to wait and let her have fun and explore plays on her own or when an opportunity arises in a small theatre or school play. Acting isn’t like some other skills (such as ballet or music) where you need to start young to make it. Actually, a lot of children actors don’t go on to be actors as adults. I think it may be because kids have a natural instinct they use in their acting that changes as they grow up. If your daughter is still interested in acting in high school and wants to try to go for an acting degree at a good university, then she should find a way to work on her skills at that time (maybe a year or two before graduating high school) so she can be ready to audition for the schools she’s interested in, but for now, she could just have fun putting plays up with friends and family. Hope this helps.