Raising a Star: The Parent's Guide to Helping Kids Break Into Theater, Film, Television, or Music

By Jacqueline Shannon and Nancy Carson

Book Overview

So your child wants to be a star? But what does it really take? Money? Looks? Tons of time? Not necessarily. Nancy Carson, a children's agent who has worked in the industry for more than twenty-five years and has guided the careers of such celebrities as Britney Spears, Mischa Barton, and even a young Cynthia Nixon, dishes the facts on what it takes to break your child into the entertainment industry. The first parents' guide to getting kids into the business written by one of the industry's top children's agents, Raising a Star is a complete step-by-step guide that will help parents navigate the murky waters of show business. From how to find the right representative to what producers and directors are really looking for in children today, Nancy Carson offers practical advice and anecdotes culled from her years of experience. Raising a Star is the most candid and informative guide for parents who want to help make their child a star.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312329865
• ISBN13: 9780312329860
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 225 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

It's Not All About "Sing Out, Louise!"

I was trying to help some neighborhood children break into the world of stardom, for they are the most talented kids I've spotted in a lifetime. A friend who knows of my interest in these youngsters' careers recommended I take a look at RAISING A STAR by Nancy Carson, as told to Jacqueline Shannon. For, she said, it is one thing to think, that baby is so adorable they should have him in TV commercials, and another to be a stage mother (or father, like the man who pushed little Macaulay Culkin into a career he didn't really want). If you're serious, and want to take the time, RAISING A STAR is the book for you. Learn valuable tips on how to find out about auditions, how to groom your children so they don't look overly "perfect," how to avoid the crushing disappointments that come along with a showbiz career, and most of all, how to let natural, if somewhat untrained, talent speak for itself like a microphone turned on and left on a podium unattended. Carson knows whereof she speaks, and her record speaks for itself. She's been discovering, promoting, pampering and revivifying child stars from the 1970s right through the modern period of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS. It seems like, no matter what the era, some things are basic. What happens, she asks, when your child (or, say, the neighbor child) is asked to "perform songs or make statements that don't reflect her own values?" Say your child was cast in a production of OLIVER, and yet you had raised him not to steal things from others, and yet there he was, playing a child thief in Fagin's ring while singing, "Consider Yourself (One of Us)." It's a dilemma not every handbook tells you, but Carson gives good sound advice, Or, "how do you make children understand their legal responsibilities in show business?" It's a tale that's been told a million times before, but as we all know, those of us who work with kids, sometimes they don't understand business, and they just want to have a milkshake and play with their X box, instead of fulfilling contractual obligations. Nancy Carson's known Britney Spears so long that she remembers when the extroverted subdeb used to perform big Broadway classics like "Tomorrow" and "Tonight." It took hard coaching from pop Svengalis to give her the "breathy" voice she developed during the Mickey Mouse Club years. She gives advice about how (and whether) to find a publicist for your child. Or the children across the alley in whom you've developed an avuncular interest in their careers. And she gives definitions of showbiz terms that seem basic, in a way, but kids don't know them. Like "ratings," which she defines as "A complex survey system that measures the popularity of TV shows." Good reading.

Does your daughter want to be the next Britney Spears?

While most of us who are moms had childhood fantasies of growing up to be a movie star or supermodel, it seems that most young girls today (and many boys, as well) yearn to become a pop star. If your kid (like mine) is bound and determined to get into any form of show biz, you need this book. Not only is it packed with good, step-by-step advice, there is a light cautionary tone throughout. The author doesn't sugarcoat anything. You'll love the anecdotes about Nancy Carson's interactions with now famous people early in their careers, but Carson also offers up a few horror stories. You and your child will know exactly what you're getting into. I heard about this book because the co-author, Jacqueline Shannon, is an acquaintance. She told me that Carson, a top child/teen talent agent, won't take on anyone whose parents are pulling them through her office door. The child/teen needs to be doing the pulling. That is a very admirable business philosophy. We've all heard the tales about wicked "stage mothers"!