How do I pursue an acting career?

I want to pursue an acting career, but I don't know how to break it to my parents. How should I go about it?

• I have been wanting to try out an acting audition for quite awhile, but my parents have no idea. It's not exactly that they have anything against acting, in fact they say they will support me in anything i want to do in life. It's just that they've never thought i wanted to do something like this. They've always thought i wanted to be a teacher or lawyer. I have no acting experience what so ever, except for musical theater/ drama classes that i took from the time I was 9-12. But i researched jobs available in Toronto, and they require no acting experience at all. They are looking for fresh faces. I live about 4 hours outside of Toronto, but my dad drives in and stays in a hotel for work 2 days a week. So it wouldn't be a problem for auditions. I have thought pretty much everything through, and I am a naturally outgoing, fun girl. I'm just afraid of telling my parents and them being disapointed in me for not doing something "logical" as a career. Any suggestions?

• Answer:

  The first two answers are rather arrogant and naive. Of course your parents have a say in your life - at least until you're an adult. And it's always far better to talk rationally to them rather than demanding this and that - behave like an adult and they'll treat you like one, instead of a petulant brat! Don't make a big deal of it - just say that you'd like to try taking the acting thing a bit further. You'll need a second career anyway, so reassure them that you'll make school your priority so you can get a good, well-paid job to support yourself financially, and you'll need it, because few actors ever get more than 2 or 3 weeks' paid acting work a year - that's the average! Forget about auditions for now, though. Any jobs or auditions which say you need no experience are scams. Get into a good class, and start learning. Join a community theatre, and start gaining experience. Then you might stand a chance. My daughter's an actor, and sure, I was worried when she told me what she wanted - but I've supported her through all her training and now she's a professional actor - (with two ordinary part-time jobs to pay the bills!). Talk to your parents. Ask for classes. Work hard at school. Aim for a place at drama school or university after high school - that's what most successful actors have done. Good luck!