Where Do "Theatre Kids" Come From?

A friend recently asked "Where the hell do 'theatre kids' come from?" He went on to say that theatre kids, (the young actors who perform in local community theatre) all seem so nice and well behaved.
While it's not true that all children who perform in community theatre mind their Ps and Qs (trust me I could tell you stories), but I do know what he means. On the whole, young performers tend to be a little more mature than most kids their age. There's a reason for that. In short, they have to be.

Performing in community theatre is a huge endeavor for everyone involved. There are a lot of long hours involved. It's rewarding, but it is hard work. No one has time for bullshit from a cast member. No one gets cut any slack, and no sticks around for very long if they don't pull their weight. It's not about talent, it's about maturity, commitment, and professionalism. This is the same for the children as well as the adults in the cast. Children are treated like hardworking professionals when they are in a show, and they are expected to behave that way.

Community theatre is not like rec league soccer. It is not the case that everyone who signs up gets in the show. There is an arduous audition process where children must prepare an audition monologue. For musicals they must also prepare an audition song and be ready for a dance audition. Some kids walk off the street without having prepared and it shows in the audition. Other kids work for weeks on their audition and that also shows. At the end only the most talented and the most appropriate for the show get cast. Then once they are cast in the show, they are expected to stay on their toes. They get no special treatment (beyond chaperons) just because they are children. They still need to know their lines, sing their songs, hit their marks and reach the high notes. And trust me, if they can't, if they screw around and cause a problem for cast and crew, they are less likely to be cast the next time around. So as a result, there's a weeding out process. The kids who are not mature enough to handle the demands of community theatre, or aren't committed enough to put the hours in to improve their skills so they can succeed in community theatre, eventually drop out or are left out during the audition process. That leaves mostly the kids who are serious, committed and mature.

I know, I make the whole thing sound tough, like a boot camp. But it's a great educational experience for the child who is serious about theatre. The lessons learned about commitment, hard work, setting goals, being professional, courteous, and supportive of their theatre colleagues is invaluable. They learn from both adults and other children. In my opinion, there are very few extracurricular activities that a young child can participate in that can teach them so much about life, and about being part of a team and about winning or losing in so short a time, than theatre. They just have to have the right level of maturity and commitment to consistently pass the audition, win a role, and to be a part of it.

So the answer to the question "Where the hell do 'theatre kids' come from?" is pretty simple. Theatre kids aren't born, they are cast to play the role.