<p>Hi all. These forums are excellent. I'm finding plenty to obssess about here! ;o)</p>
<p>My son is a hs freshman who is absolutely in love with acting and has firmly decided that this is what he wants to do with his life. Neither my husband or I know the first thing about theatre or acting training. Moreover, we live in Kansas City and I am not getting the impression from the boards that we have the access to training that several other locales do.</p>
<p>I am also a researcher and can't help myself from diving in and finding out as much as possible to get him started on the right track and maximize his opportunities given he may be handicapped by living in the midwest.</p>
<p>So, I have assembled quite a portfolio of books as recommended in various threads. But, I have several questions on his behalf:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We hope he is getting an early enough start to be competitive when he applies to college. We have looked into some of the summer institutes - how important are they? How competitive are they? How much will it count against him if he has to audition via DVD? How likely as a freshman (will be an upcoming sophomore next summer) will he be to get a slot?</p></li>
<li><p>What can he do around our area to maximmize his competitive edge and learning? There is an excellent theatre program at his hs and he is taking full advantage of it. But should he be looking toward the community playhouses instead?</p></li>
<li><p>He is also involved in modeling. Should we mention some of his work in his resume? Right now it's only been print ads.</p></li>
<li><p>He is very interested in eventually acting in action movies. Does anyone have any experience with this line? He has been engaged in mixed martial arts since he was 5 and is quite good, but we're not sure how to play this up, or if it is really relevant to anyone.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for you help!</p>