I love musical theatre.
Very much.
But honestly, is a career in it even feasible any more?

The reason I ask is because most of the people who are pursuing a career seemed to have started singing and dancing lessons at three, and were in their first musical at six or seven. When I read bios of the cast of a musical, it pretty much sounded like:
'had lessons before she could walk'
'made their broadway debut at age four'
'studied ballet, tap and flamenco in utero'.

I'm almost fourteen, and I've been in a grand total of ONE production. I'm going to start auditioning for community theatre productions, but of course, I'll be competing for roles with kids who've been performing for as long as they can remember.

So, is theatre like ballet, in which there's an age where you HAVE to have started training by? Am I going to tell my parents after every audition, 'No, I didn't get the role! Because you didn't put me in lessons! Before I could crawl!'

We have a professional theater just up the road from me...about a mile away. My wife and I have been subscribers for many years. I read the biographies of the actors rather closely. It is true that there are many who started as child actors and seemed to have made a career of "Annie" or "Oliver" among others, but the vast majority in this entirely professional theater (which has an affiliation with Catholic University in Washington, DC, a major drama school) are college trained, with degrees in either drama or vocal music. About the only exceptions are when the roles are age appropriate for younger people.

You are wise to consider looking at local productions. It's not too late for musical drama as your voice will just be at the threshold of developing into an adult voice.

Look into school productions as well. I'm nearly 70 but I was in musicals in high school (only minor roles, I was more involved in back stage stuff and later in the pit - I'm a violinist.) We had two girls who were enormously talented in our production of "Annie Get Your Gun" and both went on to do regional theater at a professional level. Neither one started in drama or musicals until high school. BTW, one eventually became a children's author and the other became a television personality on midwestern stations.

If you live near a major metropolitan area some of these areas have "magnet" schools which emphasize the lively arts (theater, music, dance.) Most of the kids who perform at our pro theater (this is outside Washington, DC BTW, go to these magnet schools in our suburban county, the western suburbs of Washington.

In my experience as a instrumental performer, about the only discipline which really requires a childhood start are certain musical instruments, particularly piano and strings. [I started violin at 10, which was normal for the time I started, but would now be considered pretty old.] Some instruments including almost all of the wind and brass instruments require an older start because breath power, arm length, and finger spans are insufficient much before the later grade school years. One of my high school era friends became a world famous tuba player (he's now the tuba player in the Canadian Brass) couldn't even lift or hold his instrument until he was 13 or 14.
Some musical comedy performers, while actors earlier, never did musicals until they were middle age. (Rex Harrison who originated the part of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, while an established actor, never had done musicals until he was nearly 50.)

Jon

Do not give up if that is what you want. You never know what is going to happen.

I acted with a guy once in a local theatre production. 4 or 5 years later he was in grade 12 and had the lead in the school musical. A school from New York (I can not remember which one) was for some reason watching and they offered him a place in their program. After he graduated there, he got a role on broadway and did a tour across the USA with a couple Canadian stops.

I myself like to do film. I did not start doing film until I was 16. When I was 18 I auditioned for a feature film and went up against 40 other girls. Most of them were either in the college acting program, or had already graduated the program. I have only ever taken a weekend course. I beat them all out and got the role.

With theatre I find it is not so much how long you have been doing it for, it is how good you are. I would cast someone who had never been in anything over someone who had gotten 10 leads if they were the best person for the role.

I am going to suggest you start doing local theatre, taking dance classes, and taking voice lessons. Practice every day and always push yourself.

Your best bet is to get into a top quality musical theatre college program. Research where all your favourite MT performers have trained, and then aim to get into the school they went to. Most of the time, it's not the talent and training, but the networks you've made through study that get your foot in the door.

Helen

Get out there, be in as many productions as you can and also go for auditions. They will teach you a lot. I have seen many, who never thought that it would happen, make a career. You can't make a goal if you don't throw the ball!

Thank you, everyone. I was in a bad mood after being told, 'if you want to become a performer, you should have started seriously training at ten or younger', and wondering if all my hard work would be a waste of time.

I'm a little more confident now

Are you kidding? I can give you a HUGE list of "late-bloomers", some who were even senior citizens when they started their career.