3 Things to Consider Before Enrolling Your Child in an Acting Workshop
A mom asked me recently for advice about whether she should enroll her child in an acting workshop. This is a summary of the salient points of our conversation, which may be applicable to other situations, like a dance or sports workshop.
Summer Schedule At some point, of course, the family is going off on a vacation. But how long is it? And more importantly, when?
Any extended vacation (lasting 4-7 days) should be taken during the weekend as much as possible to avoid any class absences (assuming the classes are from Monday to Friday), PLUS, they must be taken in April.
The month of May is a crucial time when the children’s skills are getting honed, so if the process is interrupted, your child may have difficulty getting back into the momentum. And, the other children will find it tough as well adjusting to the absence and then sudden appearance of your child.
Level of Commitment Songs must be listened to repeatedly, choreography rehearsed and lines memorized. The children must be brought to class, notes must be taken about schedule, the teacher’s instructions must be heeded to.
As parents, you will have to commit a lot of time and effort. It’s almost the same as school time except the level of intensity and type of activities are slightly different. If both you and your child are ready to take on the challenge of a demanding workshop, then go for it.
I have experienced a couple of times when parents were so busy they totally forgot the performance date and time, thus, their kids were not able to join their classmates onstage, which was a shame because the children worked so hard for several weeks.
Child’s Level of Interpersonal Skills Theatre requires working as a group, therefore, you have to consider the comfort level of your child when asked to interact with other children. Are his interpersonal skills developed enough that he can do cooperative play, listen to the teacher and share with the other children?
For example, in some cases, if your child is the first grandchild in the family, in the absence of cousins, then his experiences are usually with adults, which is very different from interacting with children. And, understandably, everybody in the family is always doting on him, so he will find it hard to understand why the teacher pays attention to a lot of children, when, in his experience, he’s usually the focus of attention.
If such is the case, then a more gradual approach to cooperative play is recommended, rather than an acting workshop, which is going to demand such a high level of interpersonal skills that he might feel overwhelmed.
Actually, for me, the most important lesson learned from an acting workshop is how to work well with others who share a common objective, which will serve your child well in school all the way when he becomes an adult.
What to Do If you answer negatively to any of the three considerations above, like you must take that scheduled May vacation to visit relatives in the States, or both you and your partner have summer projects (unless your yaya is very mature and dependable), then your time and finances are better invested in a short term summer course (like those which last a week to a month) rather than an acting workshop.
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