Acting for screen or stage?

From time to time I am approached by directors or casting directors looking for children for various projects. Just last week four of my students got to work on a fabulous short film, one scoring a lead role. The thing that always comes up is whether the child can act for the camera, or whether they are only suited to live/stage work? There is a big difference.

The camera is very intimate and picks up every tiny movement and sound, therefore a much more subtle approach to acting is required for film and television. Instead of writing it all down, I thought it might be easier to vlog my thoughts, so check out my little video for all the details.

The best thing to do is set up a camera, your phone or ipad, and film yourself so you can see what you look like on the screen. Always tailor your acting style to suit the environment. Stage acting is for the stage not for film and television.

Eisteddfods - love them or hate them?

Eisteddfod time is here again and every year I ask myself the same question - do I love them or hate them? I've decided to make a list of the fors and againsts...
Love them because :
1. Great opportunity for kids to perform
2. Kids get to watch each other
3. Wonderful bonding takes place at events like festivals and eisteddfods
4. Kids love getting trophies and being recognised for their hard work
Hate them because:
1. They breed competitiveness
2. Kids who don't place often feel miserable
3. It brings out the very worst in stage mothers and bad losers
4. It rewards unnatural '"eisteddfod style" acting
5. I have a problem with judging creativity

Being a creative, sensitive soul without a competitive bone in my body, eisteddfods are not really for me, but many of my students love them. If you or your child wants to take part, my advice is to perform for the love of performing, NOT to win. I have taught students in the past whose parents have pulled them out of sections in eisteddfods if they thought they weren't going to win. What message is that sending to the child? Just last week I heard of a 12 year old being stripped of her 1st place when another mother complained that her performance piece was 11 seconds too long!

Keep in mind that the adjudicators are human beings with their own personal tastes. Unfortunately (in my opinion), many of them love the classics and a certain forced style of acting. I for one, cannot stand another drama about cats, princesses, mice or witches. I don't want to see another performance of Little Women, Charlotte's Web or Anne of Green Gables. I like to see kids performing contemporary scripts that they can relate to. I like natural acting. Acting is creative and as such is very hard to judge, as it often boils down to personal opinion.

If you take part in eisteddfods, do so with a fun attitude. Share the spirit of performance, love your time on stage and above all else, have fun!

 

Some of my students who took part in a recent festival for the sheer joy of performing. I love this festival as the organisers make sure everyone gets a ribbon and if 3 people deserve first place and 2 deserve second, then they award 3 firsts, 2 seconds and so on. We need more festivals like this, that celebrate performance instead of judging it.

Cool Stuff For Kids To Perform

 

The easiest way for me to introduce you to my book is to VLOG it.

Over 60 scripts, including monologues, duologues, trios and fouros, plus more than 20 improvisation starters.

I wrote this book, because I found it so hard to find scripts that were appropriate for my students. The length of each script has been kept to 2-4 minutes so they are perfect for eisteddfods, festivals, showreels, auditions or short films. Most scripts can be adapted easily to male or female actors and I have aimed them at age 7-18 years.

 

School Stuff For Kids To Perform

 

There is a section called School Stuff For Kids To Perform, which is aimed at secondary students and has recurring characters including the geeky, Prudence Thistlewhite and Cecil Muggeridge, the 'popular' Tiffany Golden, the sports jock, Brad Warren and the school bully, Bruce Jones.

 

 

You'll find Cool Stuff For Kids To Perform on Amazon BUY NOW

 

 

Welcome to WAM

My name, Anna Waters-Massey, is a bit of a mouthful so WAM it is!

 

I'll be aiming this at kids who love to act and perform, and their parents who may not know how to get them started or where to go next in their journey.

 

So who am I?

 

I trained as a teacher in Speech and Drama but preferred private teaching, which is what I have now been doing for more than 15 years. During that time I also brought up two successful little performers in my children, Cleo and Joey Massey.

I act on stage, film, TV, do voice overs and made a living as a professional singer for many years. Performing and nurturing talent in others is what I love.

I've written a book of scripts for kids aged 6-18 years and will introduce you to it along the way.

 

 

I'd love to hear your performance stories or queries so please feel free to share them on here. Also share the love by telling your friends about my blog :)