im hoping for a carrer in acting, but my parents want me to go to college, what should i do??

Answer 1

The chances of you being able to support yourself acting are very, very slim indeed. Most would-be actors and actresses are waiting tables and that is what they will be doing years from now. Get your education. While you are getting it, you can always act in community theater productions, take acting workshops, and even join the college drama department and try out for their plays. If, after you get your degree in whatever, you still want to try your hand at acting, then you can proceed from there. In this case your parents are right because they know the odds of you making it big (or even making a living) at acting, are almost nil. It may seem like they are trying to wreck your dreams, but honestly, they just want to know that you will be able to go out into the world and get a decent job and support yourself. Please don't listen to other teens on this one, the ones who tell you not to let your parents dictate to you. Your parents are paying your bills at the moment and they are well aware of how the real world works. The guy (Link) below is not, trust me!

Answer 2

You should go for your dreams, but not without a safety net. Going to college first will give you something to fall back on if your acting career doesn't pan-out. You also have to be realistic: the odds of you earning a good living by acting are not very good, but then again, how will you know if you don't try. So the best answer to whether you should act or go to college would be 'do both'. You might look for a college with a good arts program that focuses on acting. While taking acting classes, you can take academic classes as well, which should satisfy your parents and give you some acting experience at the same time.

Answer 3

This is kinda the same dilemma i'm in. the reality is, there are thousands of other guys out there who wanna make it big in hollywood or broadway, jusst like u and i. But of course, we can't all become celebrities and A list actors. Nevertheless, u might still be the next Julia roberts or Halle Berry. So I'll say go to college and study acting to the Highest u can get. This will give u an oportunity to see the nature of the industry after u graduate. With ur degree in Theater or acting, u can become a teacher, an acting coach or get involved somehow in productions while trying to make it big in Hollywood. That's what i intend to do. Just to remind u, never let anyone or any thing push u away from ur dream. All careers have their pros and cons, do not let the cons of what u wanna do set u far from ur dreams. Let this instead be ur driving force and motivation. Good luck.

Answer 4

Gingerpea is exactly right. There is nothing that should stop you from attending college and pursing your acting at the same time. Many fine schools offer a theater department where you can take some acting & drama classes at the same time you are working on general education. Most young people do not discover what their true talents & career aspirations are until they've been out there, trying things out. Performing in college or community theater can give you the opportunity to realistically evaluate your talents and your chances for success in the performing arts. having a basic college education, however, will give you a firm basis if your life ends up going in a different direction (a very real possibility).

Answer 5

Go to college! Take all the theater classes you can get! You'll learn the craft of both on-stage and technical theater. Acting is a learned discipline, and it takes a lot of work.. Not many actors are just "discovered" become instantly famous. Most actors have to really work at it, and there's a ton of competition. Many, many, talented actors never make it big on Broadway or in Hollywood, but they can still earn a living in the many of the fields related to acting. Even if you never earn a living in acting(and who know, you might)you'll have a real appreciation of it. I've been involved in community theater for years, both on stage and as a techie, and it's great fun!
But, the best actors I've known have all gone to college, most majoring in drama/theater.

Answer 6

Go to College.

The biggest problem in the acting community is that there aren't enough good roles to go around, and working as an extra just doesn't pay the bills. It's also a cold, hard fact that people with even a small amount of college education are still seen as being "more employable" than people who settled for a high-school diploma and nothing else.

If you're going to make it in the acting world you need to be able to focus on improving your craft, the added stress of barely scraping by financially isn't recommended.

Here's an added bonus, in college you'll have the opportunity to further your education in acting and maybe gets some more hands-on experience like plays or student-written short-films that you'll be able to add to your resume. Also, if your college happens to be near a small-time film studio ( Like the ones in Las Colinas, Texas -- outside of Dallas ) they often recruit college students for small roles in commercials, etc.

My advice to you is to take on a well-rounded general studies program with a little bit of acting thrown in -- learn everything else that you can. If you happen to find another field you're interested, awesome. If not, an actor who's skilled in miscellaneous things ( say you have dance, speaking Japanese, and Equestrian on your skills list ) is easier to cast in a wide variety of things that a more narrowly trained actor might not be able to do.

There are plenty of ways to continue your pursuit while still in school that don't involve school, either. Community theater is available in most areas. One way to get more experience that a lot of people never think about is to audition for jobs at your local haunted house, amusement park, or themed restaurants.

I'm from Dallas so I have to give my examples from around here -- but see what you have similar to it in your area. There are restaraunts like Medieval times, where the staff plays roles from medieval england, or Six Flags Theme Parks that are always looking for actors to play the Southern ladies, the Looney Tunes Characters, etc.

Answer 7

College! For one thing College offers many acting opportunities. Minor in acting if you like but get a degree that makes more money on your 'other job' than waiting tables while you pursue the acting. I work in film and NOBODY makes it without taking other kinds of work.

Answer 8

I suggest you go to college first. Then if your acting career falls through you still have something else to turn to. One thing I also suggest is doing some acting at the college. Then, you're even more experienced, & you also get your degree in whatever you're working towards.

Have fun!
Good luck!

Answer 9

Take performing, dancing and making a music training for some years. Then get your self to a pair open casting calls and notice in case you have what it takes. evaluate majoring in theatre or dance/music in college. pass to Hollywood and get your self an afternoon activity and locate an agent. that's not as straight forward as purely testing dude...you gotta artwork tricky.

Answer 10

go to college and do acting on the side (auditions, take acting classes in spare time, etc.) That way both bases are covered. Good luck!