The entertainment community has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the group that is often overlooked is professional young performers in the entertainment industry. Being a professional young performer poses unique challenges, including having to balance work, school, family and friends while just being a kid. The challenges start to feel monumental given the global pandemic, with the addition of isolation from peers and fewer auditions and jobs to book. That’s why The Actors Fund’s Looking Ahead program exists: to help young performers and their families navigate not only the entertainment industry, but also develop a support system and community for when life gets hard.
Since 2003, the Looking Ahead program of The Actors’ Fund has been operating in California to offer support and services for professional young performers ages 9–18 and their families. It does this through five service areas: supportive counseling, educational support, community service opportunities, leadership development and social events. The program offers over 100 free activities and events annually for members and their families.
When the pandemic hit back in March 2020, The Actors Fund knew it had to adapt all in-person activities and quickly transitioned programs to a digital space within a week. In 2020, Looking Ahead offered more programming than any other year — nearly 200 events — and was able to reach members from all across the country with the new virtual platform.
Supportive Counseling
As the weeks turned into months, Looking Ahead started to hear about the challenges the youth in the program were facing. Anxiety, depression and loneliness started to set in, which compelled the program to offer more support groups and individual counseling. Each month, it offers the weekly Come As You Are teen support group, which serves as a place where teens can talk through their challenges and gain support from their peers. Young performers also felt the weight of social justice issues escalating throughout the country, so they started the Young Black Teen support group where Black teens can talk through their feelings. To support LGBTQ youth expressing a need for community, Looking Ahead offers the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) Come As You Are teen support group as well.
“For all the stress and worries I had surrounding COVID, through Looking Ahead, I developed an entire new group of incredible friends and had an instant, truly meaningful support system. I will never forget my very first day [online]. Everyone said to me, ‘Hi, you now have 12 new friends‘ and they meant it. I could lean on them and they could lean on me.’” — 15-year-old member who joined Looking Ahead in February 2020
Looking Ahead recognizes the importance of supporting the whole family, which is why it also offers free supportive counseling, support groups and educational workshops for parents.
Educational Support
In addition to the emotional toll our young members are experiencing, school has become a recurring source of stress. Transitioning to online school, missing out on graduation and being isolated from friends has been a lot for youth to endure. To help alleviate some of this stress, Looking Ahead offers tutoring resources, educational counseling, college prep support and specialized workshops that encourage self-care and teach organizational tips to help keep up with the demands of school.
The month of July was the dedicated Wellness Month, where they offered virtual classes like yoga, journaling, guided breathing sessions and more. The New Year-themed workshop, Organize & Realign, helped members recognize small changes in their everyday lives and helped them gain a fresh perspective for 2021. We encouraged members to meditate, find enjoyable ways to be active and practice gratitude.
In partnership with City National Bank, they continue to offer free online courses for teens through EverFi.com.
> Financial Literacy – Budgeting, credit vs. debit, insurance, taxes and credit scores.
> Ignition - Modern digital health concepts such as digital emotional intelligence, digital dependency, online privacy, and evaluating content for accuracy and perspective.
> Pathways - Financing higher education, how to evaluate the return on investment of your higher education options, make good choices when evaluating your path and make a plan to successfully pay your education costs.
Social Events
Socialization is a big part of developmental growth for teens, and being quarantined at home for nearly a year has increased their need for social connection. Offering casual online meetups has helped members to stay connected and develop new friendships while at home. For Looking Ahead’s youngest members, ages 9-11, events include interactive games, Crafternoons, home fort building, talent shows and even pet playdates! Our tweens and teens have participated in GRWM (Get Ready With Me), virtual game shows, 24-hour film fests, book clubs, bicoastal social hours and more. Looking Ahead also continues to connect with Looking Ahead alumni members, ages 18+, by offering monthly online meetups.
Leadership Council
Each year from September through May, Looking Ahead offers a monthly leadership development program that teaches youth leadership and life skills. It covers topics such as public speaking, teamwork, community building, managing stress, maintaining healthy relationships and boundaries, conflict resolution, empathy and more. Youth continue to meet monthly online to connect and develop new skills and build friendships.
The health and safety of members is of utmost importance, which is why The Actors Fund will continue to offer online programming in 2021. Looking Ahead certainly looks forward to the day when it can, once again, take members to amusement parks, plays, movies and connect in-person, but it is grateful to still be able to keep the community connected online and continue to offer support for professional young performers during this time.
For more information about The Actors Fund’s Looking Ahead program, visit lookingaheadprogram.org.
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