What parent doesn’t have even a fleeting thought about fame for their child? Would it be nice to have the bank account Miley Cyrus has? Would you be proud to say your child has been nominated for a prestigious film award?
Is acting all glamour and fun? The answer, according to actor Natasha Sattler is yes and no. From her years of experience, she tells Family First what it takes to understand the world of acting for children.
Twenty-one year-old Sattler, who recently moved to Los Angeles after graduating early from The University of Central Florida, started acting as a child. She knew as early as 4th grade that she wanted to act.
In elementary school, she did school plays and theater camp. When she decided she wanted to do film and television, her parents encouraged her to wait until after her bat mitzvah.
Not long after she turned 12, she sat her parents down and did an entire presentation about why she wanted to pursue acting as her extracurricular activity. They said yes, and found her an agent in the local Washington, DC, area where she grew up.
Sattler says it’s like an extracurricular activity in terms of it’s something done outside school, but the similarities end there. She was learning business skills because acting is a job. She had to learn her social security number and her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) number. She had to pay taxes because she was making money. She had to sit for headshots and meet with agents. “You grow up fast,” says Sattler.
Sattler says when you are child actor, your parents are also very involved in your activity too. Parents must have a lot of flexibility to take off work, especially if you are taking jobs that are not in the local area. Until a child is 16, a parent must be present on the set at all times.
And that can be a long time. Sattler tells the story of being on film set waiting to shoot scenes outside but it was raining. “I took a 4-hour nap on stage and then they told us to go home because it wouldn’t stop raining,” says Sattler. She was there for 7 hours! Of course, she did get paid, but sitting and waiting like that is not for everyone.
She also notes she has to be willing to drop any plans at a moment’s notice. You never know when the call will come. She says one time, she got the call at 9:00pm to be on set at 7:00am the next day. Another time, she had to drop everything and drive to Philadelphia to film a Blue Cross Blue Shield commercial, which helped pay a large chunk of her college.
When she got the call to audition for Disney’s Cory in the House during her senior year of high school, she had to forego a beach trip with her friends to fly to LA. While her friends frolicked on the beach, she and her mom sat on the set. So prom, homecoming, the big game, whatever ,are all up for grabs when you have a child who acts.
She didn’t tell many people at school what she did in her free time because it was awkward. They would go to the movies and see her in films like Rocket Science or Step Up! and come to school and say “I saw you” and that’s all there is to say, she says. She says many times, people either didn’t believe her or they were jealous.
Another challenge many kids face is being coached by their parents. Sattler says children interested in acting really should consider a neutral coach or acting classes. This way, they can learn flexibility and versatility. Many times, parents aren’t willing to tell their children how to act scenes differently and kids think they did it right because they’ve heard nothing else. Sattler says casting directors rarely give negative feedback, so it can give a kid a false sense of getting the part when they haven’t shown any range during the audition.
But the business is not all tough stuff. Sattler was one of the youngest speakers at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 after appearing in Rocket Science. She says spending time in Park City, Utah is “magical.” The town is filled with industry people as well as others from all over the world. Plus, there’s art galleries, live music and corporate-sponsored swag!
Another good part of the business is voiceover work because many times you get to do your work from home. You need a quiet corner of your house for undisturbed recording, some recording equipment, some voice classes and 3-5 strong character voices or accents. It is also one of the highest-paying types of acting out there and is in high demand.
Personally, Sattler would prefer to land a television show over a film since casts from tv shows may stay together for years, instead of a few months, like on a movie set. While she doesn’t prefer the theatre, she admits it is better than nothing when you’re trying to make it in Hollywood. A little experience is much better than showing up with nothing on your resume. She said a wise teacher once said acting without experience – either in classes or on stage – is like practicing football for 6 years but never playing one game. What if you don’t like it?
She is currently taking acting classes to hone her skills. She says she purposefully seeks classes that get her out of her comfort zone so now she’s working on improv comedy and scene study. “If you’re too comfortable, you aren’t learning a lot,” she says.
So there are many good things that can come from acting – business skills, self-confidence, learning to speak in front of crowds, patience, perseverance, flexibility as well as the obvious – fame, fortune and lots of awards! Is all this the right fit for your child?
To learn more about Sattler, including which 3 languages she is fluent in, check out her website at www.natashasattler.com.
