china bound...
china bound...
Hollywood child actor Mickey Rooney was on a vaudeville stage at age 5 and appeared in his first movie by the time he celebrated his sixth birthday. He was able to maintain his adolescent status way beyond his actual teen years because his physical stature never exceeded five feet, two inches tall.
Louisville, Kentucky child actor, Drew Ashley was on stage at the age of six. That was six years ago. Since that time, Drew has appeared in many productions and recently auditioned for a national tour of A Christmas Story. In addition, he may have an opportunity to go to China for six months in a touring production of South Pacific.
However, there is now a drawback. Drew is auditioning for parts and not getting them!
HUH? What's up with that?
Drew is outgoing, extremely well-spoken, respectful and a polite 12 year old. He appears to be everything any parent could ask for in a son or daughter. He is an A student and is in 8th Grade this year. When we met, he wasn't self-absorbed at all and seemed to be very much aware of his potential as a person. In fact, he presented himself as very humble about his accomplishments. I met with him and his mother at a local (Louisville, Kentucky) coffee shop on a Saturday morning last July
So, Drew, you've got a problem you can't do anything about.
I guess so, he laughed. I go for an audition and the directors tell me I'm perfect in everything, dancing, acting, and singing, but I'm too tall.
So, it's getting tougher to get child roles because you're growing and starting to look like a teenager now.
For sure, he replied. I'm going into 8th Grade at St. Francis of Assisi.
Let's go back to the beginning. How did your acting career get its start.
Well, a friend of my sister was in the audience during the rehearsal of a play and they needed a young boy, he recalled. They called my mom and she told them I wasn't into acting and being on stage.
But, they were persistent.
Yes. They called back and my mom said, okay, he can be in the show if he wants to do so, he said.
What was the show?
The Who's Tommy, he smiled.
Apparently, being on stage agreed with you.
It did. I actually loved it, he said.
Tell me some of the shows you've been a part of.
I've been in a lot of shows at Derby Dinner Playhouse (southern Indiana). Christmas Carol, Little Mermaid, Elf the Musical, and most recently, Camelot. Locally, The Adams Family, Mary Poppins, and Shrek, he answered.
What's your favorite role you've played so far?
Oh, Michael, Buddy the Elf's stepbrother, Drew laughed. I had to act a little jaded and I liked how modern it was.
Besides the upcoming tour of China, you had a huge opportunity for a role in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Yes, I auditioned and got a part and was all set to begin a national tour, but when we were in New York, the first Covid cases came up, he lamented. That was the end of that.
Drew's mother, Alyssa explained how an audition works.
Drew's agent contacts us about open roles, she explained. He submits dancing, singing, and acting clips of kids he thinks could get a part. Then, casting decides which kids they want, so by the time Drew hears he has an audition, he has already survived one cut.
How does he know what he's trying out for?
The tour will send a package of scripts and songs and sometimes dance numbers of what Drew is to perform, she told me. Then we go to the agency, tape his part, send it off and wait for a callback. It's usually a Zoom call with casting and producers. If he makes it past that, he's on his way to New York. Drew did this whole process twice and never got to tour.
Explain what happened, Drew. You said you got a part in Willie Wonka. Was the second tour a trip to China?
It was. I was supposed to go to China this summer for an international tour of The Sound of Music, he relayed. It was for six months and my mom was going for three months and my dad, Rick was coming for three months. I even had a private tutor.
Safe to say Covid got in the way for the second time?
Yes, that combined with political tensions has postponed the trip until January of 2022, he said.
If you do make the trip to China next January, what is something you hope to bring home with you?
He smiled as he said, A friend asked me to bring home a leaf from a tree.
What do you expect to take away from a trip like that?
It would be cool to have met other people to know what's out there other than what I see in the U.S. and stuff, he responded.
You've got some other good news to share too.
I do, he said excitedly. I auditioned this summer for a national tour of A Christmas Story and I should hear back sometime in August.
What part did you audition for?
Scut Farcus, and he's a bully, he said. I love it because it's the opposite of who I am.
He is getting so tall, Alyssa added. That would be the only thing that prevents him from getting one of two parts that call for major male tap-dancing kids. In his video, he was a tap-dancing fiend. I will keep you posted if and when he moves on to the next step.
One more question, Drew. What do you see yourself doing once you are out of school? What do you want to be?
A goal right now is to get into a Broadway show, he answered. Later, I can see myself as a dermatologist or even creating my own music. I'm really open to what the future holds.
Drew, good luck and I hope you get both of these tours as a child actor.
Thanks. Me too.
Coming up: meet a 75 year old man whose idea paid off; celebrate a landmark; meet some more POS, and; meet a woman who was 1st runner up in a reality show!
Drew was no doubt disappointed that his China trip was postponed. Of course, his loss pales by comparison to others who have suffered greater loss during this pandemic.
Here's a frightening thought. Someone said the other day, Covid-19 is the new flu and it will never leave us because not everyone is willing to get vaccinated.
Can that be possible?
HUH? What's up with that?
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