Parents wonder how to encourage actress daughter
For further wisdom, especially for your daughter, I have shared your question with Quinn Cummings, former actress and current author of the wonderful memoir: "Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life," (2009, Hyperion).
She responds: "The life of the artist is hard. The life of the actor is harder still. You love to paint, you can always paint, whether anyone wants your work. Acting requires an audience.
"The only way to prevail over this kind of life -- which can easily exhaust and destroy shining, sensitive souls -- is to find ways to create that kind of joy on your own.
"Create a character, write minute-long scenes, and put them on Instagram. Get a group of like-minded people together, decide to act out old episodes of your favorite sitcom in the back room of a bar.
"Think up something demented and joyful, and bring it to the world for no other reason than it makes you happy. That way, if the casting director is hateful, or no one even looks up during your audition, you can walk out thinking not about the pain, but about the hilarious character you are going to create from this. Bad events can make for great comedy. And, for what it's worth, if you're creating material for yourself, you are more likely to give yourself great material and look really appealing while creating it. It's working out pretty well for Rachel Bloom and Lin-Manuel Miranda."
Dear Amy: Our son and his wife are separating and soon to divorce after 10 years of marriage.
Our daughter-in-law has a child by a previous marriage, and they had another child together. We have a good relationship with his wife, but we are only fairly close to our step-grandchild, because we've lived far apart and rarely saw that child.
Christmas is coming and my husband and I are not sure how to handle presents now and in the future regarding the mother and her child.
What do you think?
-- Unsure Grandparents
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