Being a parent of a 17-year-old drama queen proves to be too
much at times. Not only do I have to deal with the typical teenage drama, but
as a stage mom I have to deal with it times 10. My daughter Nia is in her
senior year at a very prestigious theatre magnet school in Orlando, Fla. Even
though she has been in theatre for more than eight years, the past three years
in this program has at times been the most stressful of our lives. Now, almost
at the end of it all, I look back on how I used five survival tips to make it
through.
1. Post a calendar in your home
1. Post a calendar in your home
At the beginning of the program,
I counted on my daughter to remind me of important dates. Whether those dates
were performances, theatre dues, district fees, I figured she would tell me
when things were coming up or when they were due. Needless to say, that did not
happen. At 10 p.m. that evening she would tell me
that $300 was due in the morning for Districts and that was the very last day
and she wasn’t even told the deadline was coming up. I would have a slight panic attack then toss
and turn all night. I learned fairly quickly to post the whole year in my
phone, a calendar on the wall and computer calendar.
2. Open a savings account
Not only would my theatrical
daughter tell me late at night about a payment that was due, but call me the
next day from school. She would tell me that she needed her theatre dues and not only
that she and she alone was responsible for bringing drinks for the last
dress rehearsal of about 100 kids. Breathe, breathe. At a time when gum was a
luxury, I chose to put money away just for these occasions. Make sure this fund
is separate from their college fund.
3. Email the teacher/director of the program
Have you ever played the
telephone game? As a high school drama teacher, this game is always a great icebreaker. It opens the kids up and makes them relaxed. It’s not so fun when it
comes from your teenager. Sometimes kids may not hear the entire conversation.
Constant communication between you and the teacher/director may prove to be a
gift from the heavens. You may want to exchange emails early in the year or program.
4. Make a list of other theatre parents
Before we purchased a car for my
daughter, it was very stressful trying to get to her on time after rehearsals -
especially having three young boys at home. My husband worked over an hour
away, so I was always responsible for the boys and dinner. Our tight budget
meant no eating out, but Tupperware in the minivan was not sexy. Waiting and waiting for Nia to get out of rehearsal in the car truly made
my days long and hard. Eventually I met other parents who lived near us. If I
was running late or just couldn’t move, there were parent lists to the
rescue. Knowing that you can call other parents or being that called parent was
a valuable resource that got us through many long rehearsal processes.
5. Tell family members of performances early
Everyone in our family wants to
be there for all the kids. We pride ourselves on supporting every endeavor that
our kids want to try. With that being said, we also have busy schedules.
Telling family members of performances - or ways that they can contribute early
on means they can always be that face in the crowd cheering you on. It really
means a lot when this life can test your commitment.
So there you have it. I could go
on about so many other things that I and my daughter have learned. Things like,
don’t leave your makeup in the sun; make sure you check, re-check and re-check
your bag; don’t have theatre romances, the list goes on. I don’t think we have
that much time.
It may be difficult at the
moment, but when I saw my daughter on stage playing Mille in "Through Modern Mille" I was just blown
away. I saw the faces of the crowd and how they seemed in awe. It filled me
with such pride and an overwhelming desire to leap from my seat and yell,
“That’s my girl”. After that, I forget about the day to day.
I love my baby girl, even if she
is a drama queen.
Are you interested in being a
child actor? Visit, these local arts schools to start your classes today,
www.symphonyseven.org and opening soon in Tallahassee, Florida is http://www.barbizonmodeling.com.
All Things Creative,
Enrika M. Sissle
