catalinakel Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 So my boy has decided he is bored with Civil Air Patrol and he wants to pursue acting. I don't mind him not doing CAP. They don't really do much during the meetings, and it is six hours total, two nights per week. I also think he has some talent as a performer, so am glad to see where this might take us. We are starting with him taking a hip hop dance class and tumbling. Any advice, tips, cautions? I feel like this is the time for him to try different things, and he doesn't need to lock in to any one thing definitively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 My 12 year old son is highly enjoying theatre classes right now. He's been doing this since summer. It's a children's theatre, so it's mostly for fun with lots of instruction on creativity, projection, and courage. If he stays with this to next summer, I'll let/encourage him to get involved with the local big theatre. He loves it and I'm so happy to see him involved with something he enjoys. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 There are never enough boys in performing arts. So, the ones that are there, if they have any talent at all, can stay very busy. My 12-year-old son has been dancing since he was 5 and involved in community and children's theatre since just a couple of years after that. It has more or less eaten our lives. Here is his current weekly schedule: Monday - Choir practice 4:30 - 7:00 Tuesday - Private voice lesson 4:15 - 5:00 - Tap dance class 5:30 - 6:30 Wednesday - Tap class at a different studio 6:00 - 7:00 Thursday - Jazz dance class 6:30 - 7:30 Friday - Off unless he is in a show, which he is at the moment. So, for now, busy at the theatre from 6:30 - 10:00-ish. Saturday - Children's theatre class rehearsal 1:00 - 4:00 - Performance group rehearsal (Think Glee wannabees) 4:00 - 6:00 - Current show keeps him busy at the theatre from 6:30 - 10:00. Sunday - Off unless he is in a show. So, for the moment, busy at the theatre from 1:00 - 4:30. Each week from mid-December until the second week of this month, he also had rehearsals from 7:00 - 10:00 three or four nights a week for a community theatre production. They are now two thirds of the way through the run and don't have nightly rehearsals, which is good since it means he can actually attend all the dance classes and such I listed above. He's often double booked and has to juggle the schedule. And the kicker is that, although I love my son and think he's just wonderful, of course, the truth is he is not going to win any Tony awards anytime soon. He's not a brilliant performer; he's just male and there. He's having a great time and loves being in demand and performing for an audience. Just beware, because family dinners and spontaneous outings can easily become memories if a kid gets very involved. Best of luck to your son! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 My son's been doing musical theater for about 5 years. When his non- theater friends tease him, he reminds them that he's one of a handful of teenage boys surrounded by 100 girls, and that he can sing, dance, and act. It's a pretty sweet deal for him! He wants to go into the army as an officer and work with armor- and yet theater is teaching him such valuable skills and lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 There are never enough boys in performing arts. So, the ones that are there, if they have any talent at all, can stay very busy. My 12-year-old son has been dancing since he was 5 and involved in community and children's theatre since just a couple of years after that. It has more or less eaten our lives. Here is his current weekly schedule: Monday - Choir practice 4:30 - 7:00 Tuesday - Private voice lesson 4:15 - 5:00 - Tap dance class 5:30 - 6:30 Wednesday - Tap class at a different studio 6:00 - 7:00 Thursday - Jazz dance class 6:30 - 7:30 Friday - Off unless he is in a show, which he is at the moment. So, for now, busy at the theatre from 6:30 - 10:00-ish. Saturday - Children's theatre class rehearsal 1:00 - 4:00 - Performance group rehearsal (Think Glee wannabees) 4:00 - 6:00 - Current show keeps him busy at the theatre from 6:30 - 10:00. Sunday - Off unless he is in a show. So, for the moment, busy at the theatre from 1:00 - 4:30. Each week from mid-December until the second week of this month, he also had rehearsals from 7:00 - 10:00 three or four nights a week for a community theatre production. They are now two thirds of the way through the run and don't have nightly rehearsals, which is good since it means he can actually attend all the dance classes and such I listed above. He's often double booked and has to juggle the schedule. And the kicker is that, although I love my son and think he's just wonderful, of course, the truth is he is not going to win any Tony awards anytime soon. He's not a brilliant performer; he's just male and there. He's having a great time and loves being in demand and performing for an audience. Just beware, because family dinners and spontaneous outings can easily become memories if a kid gets very involved. Best of luck to your son! Uh, wow. There is absolutely no way this would become our schedule. I have a very small budget for this! And already have nixed the idea of the "glee" type group because they practice on Sundays and it would mean rushing out of church each week to get there. We are starting slow and will see how it goes. Good for you letting your boy be so involved. This may be us in a few years, but not yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 As a studio owner and mama of 3 male dancers: Make sure choreography is done to compliment males. Make sure they use masculine costuming. Make sure dh is FULLY supportive. This impacts male dancers more than anything I believe. Prepare him for ignorant comments and practice how to handle them. Make sure he knows ladies LOVE men who can dance. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 My son's been doing musical theater for about 5 years. When his non- theater friends tease him, he reminds them that he's one of a handful of teenage boys surrounded by 100 girls, and that he can sing, dance, and act. It's a pretty sweet deal for him! He wants to go into the army as an officer and work with armor- and yet theater is teaching him such valuable skills and lessons. Good to know. I am not sure how I like the idea of him being surrounded by girls so much. In fact, after his first class the other night, a girl a foot taller than him said, with arms open wide, "HUG?" He shrugged it off and did not give her a hug. It was hilarious. I asked him about it, and he said that girls at school do that all the time and he just ignores them. The owner of the studio has said that being one of few guys is nice for them because they gets lots of opportunities to perform. We shall see. And I might have him borrow your boy's line to the teasers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I told my 9 y/o that ladies LOVE a man who can dance! In our community at least, girls also admire boys who are strong enough to challenge stereotypes. I hope to put my youngest in classes once he's ready. He is such a creative little dancer that my hesitation right now is that he won't do well being told to move THIS way, not his own way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 As a studio owner and mama of 3 male dancers: Make sure choreography is done to compliment males. Make sure they use masculine costuming. Make sure dh is FULLY supportive. This impacts male dancers more than anything I believe. Prepare him for ignorant comments and practice how to handle them. Make sure he knows ladies LOVE men who can dance. ;) Thank you. I will keep these things in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Uh, wow. There is absolutely no way this would become our schedule. I have a very small budget for this! And already have nixed the idea of the "glee" type group because they practice on Sundays and it would mean rushing out of church each week to get there. We are starting slow and will see how it goes. Good for you letting your boy be so involved. This may be us in a few years, but not yet. It's been a gradual process to get here. He started with one dance class a week, which was free (because he is a boy and the studio was trying to recruit). Then he did his first show, community theatre, which was also free. We resisted anything tuition based for a long time, since that whole free community theatre thing made us so spoiled. But then there was this one show that I just KNEW our son HAD to do. So, we gave it to him as a Christmas gift. It's like anything else that's not good for you, probably. The first one is always free. I do want to mention that it hasn't all been out of pocket. He's done a few paying gigs, which have been good experiences. All pretty small time, but one that did get him (and me) plane tickets to and accomodations in New York so he could perform. That was awfully nice. And yes, I know we're crazy. But it's what he really loves. And he is a kid who is happy only when he's busy. And, since the kids I know who grew up happiest and sanest were the ones who had a passion and were allowed to pursue it, we do our best to be supportive. Like I said, though. It always starts small . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 It's been a gradual process to get here. He started with one dance class a week, which was free (because he is a boy and the studio was trying to recruit). Then he did his first show, community theatre, which was also free. We resisted anything tuition based for a long time, since that whole free community theatre thing made us so spoiled. But then there was this one show that I just KNEW our son HAD to do. So, we gave it to him as a Christmas gift. It's like anything else that's not good for you, probably. The first one is always free. I do want to mention that it hasn't all been out of pocket. He's done a few paying gigs, which have been good experiences. All pretty small time, but one that did get him (and me) plane tickets to and accomodations in New York so he could perform. That was awfully nice. And yes, I know we're crazy. But it's what he really loves. And he is a kid who is happy only when he's busy. And, since the kids I know who grew up happiest and sanest were the ones who had a passion and were allowed to pursue it, we do our best to be supportive. Like I said, though. It always starts small . . . Good for you, and good to know. This pretty much started for us as a result of a paid gig he did a few weeks back where he got to work with some amazing male talent on stage. Plane tickets and accomodations to NY would have me running him around seven days a week if needed! My boy also needs to stay busy, so I am trying to figure out the best way to keep him learning in an affordable way. If this becomes his passion, and he is talented, he could become much, much busier, esp. since we have friends in the business(we live near Vegas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Theater is wonderful. My Son has been with a children/youth musical theater group for about 4 years now. I love our group, but every one is different. Ours does 2 productions a year. They meet once a week for regular ensemble rehearsals. If you child has a lead, there will extra, depending on what lead role it is. I would say that it is a lot of work, especially if your kid wants/gets leads, and especially during production week....for us that's the week leading up to show (we run the show 6x in 3 days, on a weekend). During production week there are mandatory rehearsals every night. Just do your homework. Make sure you know up front what the time committment will be. If my kids were just in the ensemble, it would be pretty minor...once a week for 4 months, then a week of chaos. doable. Of course, mine are hard core, and love trying out for leads. sigh. But the rewards have been totally worth it for us. It's definitely a major niche in my son's life. He's totally a drama king, and never met a stage he didn't like. Self control.....not so good. So it has been a wonderful learning experience for him in etiquette, working in a group, controlling yourself, and all sorts of great side lessons, at the same time as getting to do something he is naturally good at and loves. JMO. Kayleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 And the kicker is that, although I love my son and think he's just wonderful, of course, the truth is he is not going to win any Tony awards anytime soon. He's not a brilliant performer; he's just male and there. It is so nice to see that while you're encouraging your ds, you're realistic about his talents. I have known several moms whose kids were always "the best" at everything they tried... except that it was painfully obvious that they weren't. Those poor kids spent so much time trying to live up to their moms' bragging, and I could tell that they knew they weren't "the best," and it was very difficult for them. I remember one girl -- a really cute, bright kid -- whose mom raved to anyone and everyone about how she was the star of her soccer team, and about how her teammates and the other parents would cheer and chant her name whenever she came on to the field. So I went to one of the games, and this poor girl tripped over the ball every single time it came near her. It was clear that she had no interest in soccer, and if there was ever a non-athlete, it was this kid. And the chanting? There was another girl on the team with the same name, and she really was the star of the team. But that mom was either completely blind or the single stupidest person on the planet, because she kept telling everyone the "cheering and chanting" story. It was actually kind of sad, in a way, because her dd was good at a lot of things, just not sports. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 My older son was always involved in drama. He did do some tumbling for a while, too, when he was younger, before he discovered that he loved swimming. He also did one hip hop class, then decided it was not for him. It's not a bad thing to let him explore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Ds has been doing community theater for about five years. He had fiddled around with dance classes, but this year he decided he really wanted to buckle down so he joined his sister at her ballet school. I would encourage any kid who's really interested in dance to take some ballet. It's the foundation for all dance, and a choreographer or experienced director can spot a kid who's taken ballet a mile away. I agree with pp's that boys are always in demand. Ds loves that he's surrounded by girls, and they love him. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 As a studio owner and mama of 3 male dancers: Make sure choreography is done to compliment males. Make sure they use masculine costuming. Make sure dh is FULLY supportive. This impacts male dancers more than anything I believe. Prepare him for ignorant comments and practice how to handle them. Make sure he knows ladies LOVE men who can dance. ;) Go see some youth theater performances and notes the names of the directors. My dd has been involved in many productions and dh and I have a few names of directors we would prefer our sons to work with. These directors have proven that they mantain appropriately masculine roles for the young men participating. It is important to our family. There is also a list of directors we will avoid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 But he hated it, and decided if he had to do something (they said he did, because it was excellent teaching and free for him) he'd choose dance. Fast forward 12 years-he quit school as a senior to move to NYC, train, and in a year audition for the American Ballet Theater. Genetics helped him-he's over 6 feet tall, and it suited him more than music or straight academics. It's kind of a big risk to take, not sure I would be OK with my child choosing this, but his parents are artists and very supportive. I think to be blunt your son will need a thick skin-because some people will consider his interests un-masculine and won't hesitate to say so. If it's what he likes and is good at, he'll have to learn to live with this kind of harassment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Go see some youth theater performances and notes the names of the directors. My dd has been involved in many productions and dh and I have a few names of directors we would prefer our sons to work with. These directors have proven that they mantain appropriately masculine roles for the young men participating. It is important to our family. There is also a list of directors we will avoid... Good advice. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unity Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 My 12 yo ds's are both involved in dance, and one of them loves tumbling, too. They just have a ton of fun with it, and look forward to the recital and enjoy the practices, too. Right now they dance 3x / week (ballroom, ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and musical theater classes), and one does a tumbling class. Tumbling is great, because any teasing just stops dead when he just pulls out a trick right in front of someone. I have mostly had to use the line about being surrounded by girls (especially cheerleaders at tumbling) with family members who were less supportive of all that dance. I totally agree about the masculine attire comment. Our studio owner is a stickler about that and I am glad. Funny about how you all say doors open b/c they are boys. I'm almost experiencing the opposite problem. There is a dance team at our studio but I think her standards for getting on the team are a little higher for the boys b/c she knows they will draw a lot of attention and so need to be good. Still, at least one of my boys is hoping he'll get invited this summer... :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 We know a homeschooling family with a son who, since middle school, has been involved in ballet and dance. He is in his mid 20's now and last I heard he was an instructor in a dance school. He had a walk-on (or dance on?) part in Step Up.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 My middle son has been involved with CYT (Christian Youth Theater) for a year and a half now. He LOVES it! He will be an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in February. We are in the Chicagoland area but they have CYT chapters throughout the US. I don't know where you are but check out.... http://www.cyt.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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