Child and Teen Acting
Coaching young performers without making them into little adults.
Acting classes for kids and teens are age-appropriate coaching sessions for performers aged 7 to 17. Tingley's approach is built around play for younger children and honest craft work for teens, with clear guardrails for wellbeing, stamina, and age-appropriate material. All sessions for minors include a parent or guardian present or in an adjacent room, and all coaches hold a current Working with Children Check or the international equivalent.
Safeguarding for young actors in Australia
Every coach at Tingley's working with minors in Australia holds a current Working with Children Check, issued by the state or territory authority (Service NSW, Victorian Department of Justice, Queensland Blue Card Services, and the equivalent bodies in WA, SA, TAS, ACT, and NT). The specific check varies by state: WWCC in NSW, Victoria, WA, and SA; Blue Card in Queensland; Working with Vulnerable People Check in the ACT; Registration to Work with Vulnerable People in Tasmania; and the Ochre Card in the Northern Territory. Documentation is sighted before the first session with a minor. See our Child Safe Policy for the full detail.
How a child and teen acting session runs
A session opens with the work you are bringing. If you have a scene, sides, or a specific audition in front of you, that is the material we work. If you are between projects and want to sharpen a particular skill, we pick material together.
The first twenty minutes are diagnostic. We read through what you brought. Freya listens for what is working, what is habitual, and what is under-rehearsed. You are not being judged in this window. You are being mapped.
The middle of the session is the work itself. We isolate a problem, try a specific choice, put the camera on you, play it back, adjust. Iteration is tight and honest. You do not leave with theory. You leave with a take you can repeat under pressure.
The last ten minutes are notes. Freya gives you a short written summary of what landed and what to take into your own practice. You know exactly what to rehearse before the next session.
Four areas we cover
Specificity of choice
Specific choices read. General choices disappear. We work until every beat has a choice you can defend and a tactic you can deliver.
Repeatability under pressure
A take you can deliver once in a relaxed session is not the same as a take you can deliver in a casting room with three producers watching. We pressure-test the performance so it holds when the stakes rise.
Technique that disappears
The best craft work is invisible. We do the technical work until it stops looking technical. What is left is behaviour the camera wants to keep watching.
Honest, usable notes
You leave with a short, written summary of what worked, what did not, and what to rehearse before the next session. No vague feedback. No false encouragement.
Disciplines that pair well
Frequently asked questions
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Is child and teen acting for me at my stage?
Most students start with a 15-minute introductory call. We listen to where you are, what you have coming up, and whether child and teen acting is the right starting point or whether another discipline would serve you first.
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Can we do this remotely from Australia?
Yes. Most coaching is remote over video, scheduled on AEDT / AEST / ACST / AWST. The craft work is the same either way. For on-camera work, you will need a phone or webcam and a quiet room.
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How many sessions do most students need?
It depends on the goal. A specific audition is usually one session, sometimes two. Ongoing craft work is an eight or ten session block. We discuss the right arc on the intro call.
Book a call about child and teen acting
Free, 15 minutes. AEDT / AEST / ACST / AWST time.