<p>Do any of your kids have a Plan B if acting doesn't pan out? If not, (mine doesn't) how do you plan to encourage when times get tough?</p>
<p>Mine doesn’t. They only aspect of a plan B would be talk of what she would do when she is much older or a someday I might like to do that. She does think in terms of giving herself at least a minumium of 5 years after college before she would think of a plan B. I am guessing her range is at least a 5-10 year plan to try and make a go of it whether that be regionally or in NYC. She knows going in she will be working all different types of jobs to support her dream and that the time to try it is now before life could get in the way</p>
<p>Some people say that if you have a fallback plan, you will end up falling back. Many people who succeed as actors are people who did not have fallback plans, so they were strongly motivated to make acting work. I am afraid I am someone who had a fallback plan, fell back, and now wish I hadn’t.</p>
<p>Most struggling actors take some sort of simple job to pay the bills while they are waiting to “break in”. Waiting tables is the most traditional. Another good option these days is temping. These still give you the flexibility to go to auditions, and even take a break when you get cast in projects.</p>
<p>Remember that college isn’t going anywhere. If the college that you were most interested in doesn’t admit you, it may mean that they didn’t think you were ready at that time, or that that year there was a great deal of really good competition. It doesn’t mean you can’t apply again later. So take a year off, get a simple job to pay the bills, get some more acting training and experience, make yourself more competitive, and apply again.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Hi bisouu, my niece went to Marymount Manhattan, she switched from a BFA to a BA, took writing courses and now has a job in P.R. in Soho. She is having a ball and her company is always sending her on promotional trips, just recently, comic-con, since she has great acting and public speaking skills. She wanted to be an actress but when up against other talent at the school she found out on her own, that maybe she should have a back up plan. She conveyed this to my son, which was enlightening to him. He wants to act! but, he enjoys being part of the school newspaper as well. His plan is a B.A. so he can take writing classes and see what happens. Her mom was always worried, what if things don’t work out…just like you said, but she seemed to figure it out on her own at school. I guess we can encourage them to, just like at some schools, have a jury at the end of freshman year. Review the year, and evaluate their classes, themselves and go from there.</p>
<p>I have a plan B for my D, and she agrees with it, although she won’t really talk about it. lol. She is very bright, and an outstanding writer; she even won a national essay competition. So I think she can get work freelancing writing, editing, etc, which should be easy to work in with auditions. During the college years, we will try to get her into some editing classes at the community college over summers or even at school if there is that option. That should help her land work freelancing. We will also encourage her to get her masters, so that eventually she can teach acting. I can see her in an academic environment. Kids sometimes have trouble with a plan B, but I think we parents can see what their other strengths are and realistically how these strengths might match up with the acting lifestyle. It is good to think about a plan B. Even actors who are getting steady work need supplemental income now and then.</p>
<p>I find it is more tactful to talk about a “survival job” rather than a Plan B. Most performers are well aware that they will have to have a survival job for awhile at least.</p>
<p>We STRONGLY encouraged our daughter to consider a double major to give her a broader skill base/ additional marketability. Because she already had an interest in public relations, she considers her chosen 2nd major of Public Communications to be a bonus to her skill set as an actor. Part of our search when she was auditioning and investigating theater programs was the viability of doing a 2nd major. That was also why she chose a BA program instead of the BFA. </p>
<p>Now my 2nd daughter, a rising senior, is considering a major in theater performance as well. She also has interests in writing and directing, so we are starting to investigate programs that might allow her some flexibility to explore a broader curriculum. Ultimately, their dad and I feel that a degree in theater will prepare them for lots of different paths in life, so we are focusing on the fact that this is their passion for now and are celebrating their decision to pursue their passions in college. The details will ultimately work themselves out.</p>
<p>My D ended up being so worried about all of the possible plans - and her perceived responsibility to cover all of the bases - that she had a horribly difficult time choosing among her acceptances. Finally we told her that she should go where her “Plan A” was, at the moment, and to let things happen. She was very, very drawn to a BFA - broad-based, which includes opportunities to write, direct and design - and knew this was her chance to see how she fit in an auditioned program. If she found out after a year or two that she needed to transfer - so be it.</p>
<p>Two years into that BFA, she is very glad she chose it. She has had enough academics to satisfy her intellectual needs, and she’s matured to the point where she understands you just can’t do everything. As for her work plans, the BFA and the people she has come to know have given her lots of information about the wide variety of careers she could pursue after graduating. She’s interested in stage, TV, film, and also voiceover acting, as well as writing, directing and tech work. She is crafting her curriculum to gain training and experience for all of these options. This summer she’s done an internship in grantwriting and fund development, and learned a lot about arts administration.</p>
<p>If she ends up going back to school, either for more theatre training or in another field, she’ll simply be like so many other people in this life who do so. There is no way to plan for everything.</p>
<p>I’m with you guys on so many of these comments! Having ideas for “survival jobs” is important. My son is very interested in fight choreography/stage combat and plans to get certified in those skills; he also is interested in teaching, eventually. His BFA program won’t give him many non-studio classes, but he’s playing to his strengths, and I’m not worried. My oldest, also a theater major (BA, set design emphasis), took a broader range of courses, realized her senior year of college that this wasn’t a profession she wanted, and six years post-graduation is a newly minted clinical counselor. She credits her theater major with a lot of her understanding of how people think and how their words reflect their inner feelings. So go figure! :)</p>
<p>Relatives and other folks ask my son about his “Plan B” and it drives him absolutely nuts. He is a theatre major in a highly respected B.A. program and his plans involve acting in film and, perhaps, television. He came up with an interesting job “to pay the bills.” He became a certified personal trainer and thinks he may even be able to develop a niche market training actors. :)</p>
<p>Certified personal trainer is an excellent survival job choice.</p>
<p>My son wants to get credentials in as many aspects of theatre as he can, to increase his employability. This summer he’s obsessed with theatrical makeup, and he has also worked with sound, lights, and props, and plans to continue studying in these areas in college. He also wants to get certified for stage combat.</p>
<p>DD loves kids and works with them teaching gymnastics. I encouraged her to apply for Theatre for Youth degrees at some of the schools, thinking that she could teach younger kids at an arts/dance/music school. When I have researched the local studios, most of the teachers only have undergrad degrees, and most aren’t even in the arts. They just have years of experience in their field.</p>
<p>My daughter will be a Freshman BFA acting major this Fall. There was never a ‘safety’ school on her list (aka a non-auditioned program) nor a back up plan. If she wasn’t able to get into any of her chosen schools to start this Fall, her plan was to take a ‘gap year’, get a job, get involved in as much theater as possible, hire an acting coach try again. The audition process was a huge learning process in and of itself. She learned so much more about what she wanted and didn’t want in a program. We both also learned that she was very underprepared compared so some of the applicants. She had been torn about MT vs straight Acting before she started and mid-way realized that her heart was more in Acting, although she is a talented singer, dancer and musician. She just “fit” better in the acting programs. Fortunately it did all work out and the toughest part ended up being choosing from the schools that accepted her. (good problem to have!). She is very excited about starting school in August.</p>
<p>Feeling a bit slow on the uptake…it seriously only JUST dawned on me why I’ve never been too terribly concerned about my hopeful-actor son having a plan B. I think it’s because my older two kids, both of whom applied to college as prospective majors in “undecided,” never even had a Plan A! I know, I know, this is different, but it’s still college. Their paths will unfold. </p>
<p>Hope you will take this in the spirit in which it’s intended–i.e., with humor and optimism. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks Times3 ! I know she will find her way…Parents always worry when we should just sit back and enjoy the ride.</p>
<p>Well, you will face a lot of questions from well-meaning friends and family (and total strangers!) about why you’re “allowing” your kid to pursue this path. So it’s important to have something to say that lets you feel confident when you answer (even if you don’t feel that way inside!). </p>
<p>On the other hand, I’ve had SO many somewhat annoying conversations with people who want to know what my older son “is going to do with” his religious studies major. Some folks just don’t get it that college is where you learn to read, write, think analytically, grow up, understand other people’s points of view, defend your own in an articulate and informed way…SO MUCH MORE than just train for a job. My son says that acting is the way he learns what it feels like to see the world through another person’s eyes. As a college major, acting requires incredible depth of critical thinking, focus, responsiveness to critique, flexibility, collaboration, close reading of text…well, you could go on and on (and I already have). So you are right to think about this, and it’ll help you down the road when you, your son, your friends, etc., question whether this was the right path for him. As Emmybet said earlier, encouraging our kids to do the right next thing is sometimes all it takes. (She said it a lot better than that, by the way.)</p>
<p>My older D is a senior in a BA/MT program. Over the years, her interests have moved from “pure” MT to physical theater/performance art to dramaturgy to history to African American studies. She is currently interning with the National Park Service doing historical research, writing tour scripts and giving tours. She is able to combine her acting/presentation skills with her love of history. She is going to end up with a BA in MT and history and a minor in African American studies. And she still sings at weddings and such on the side. Currently studying for the GRE - not sure what she’s going to do in grad school, but I’m sure it will be interesting. Oh and she makes crazy good money waiting tables during the school year at an upscale DC restaurant.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure my D has plans A - Z. And they all involve working in the world of the theatre. I’m perfectly happy with that, because I have no doubt she will come up with a combination of those plans that works for her!</p>
<p>Plan B has not occurred to either of my kids, but variations on Plan A abound. They are open and willing to explore all facets of the theatre/film world, from writing to make up to working at theatre camps, it is all part of the process. And the plan.</p>
<p>Plan B is not even allowed to be mentioned in our household. S is singularly focused on becoming an actor and believes that having a backup plan or even thinking about having one will distract him from his goal. He has discussed a few survival jobs including physical trainer and more recently bartender (the latter one is a bit amusing to my H and me since we are non-drinkers). He realizes that he will not have steady income and so to us, the teetotalers, his earning tips as a bartender at catered functions between acting jobs sounds like a reasonable idea - although we are wondering how he has managed to learn how to make mixed drinks (guess you learn all kinds of skills in college)!</p>