#aging-out

#aging-out

The first thing the child actor discovers is universal love, quickly followed by universal hatred. The whipsaw between the two leaves a mark, even after the stage or set is abandoned. The universal love is the applause, either heard in person or received from afar, a love reinforced by the sense of an instant, intimate family-a life backstage or in the trailer, far more interesting than the often unhappy family left behind. The grown actors who share dressing rooms have war stories to tell and, whether they mean to or not, project an intoxicating air of adult possibility. The universal hatred comes from the child star's coevals, whose curiosity about the occupation is mingled with resentment.