PUSHY MUM?...Not me! Well, maybe just a little...

Now that I am in my mid 40's, I have realised that there is in fact a Pussycat Doll inside of me waiting to come out! I now know the entire soundtrack of Hairspray (and all the moves to High School Musical...) and if I say so myself, I am a pretty good in-car entertainer - no need for DVD players in our car! My son Jake (aged 12), however, will have a different opinion on this.

He is musical theatre, singing and acting mad and goes to performing arts school on a Saturday, which he absolutely lives for - all seven hours of it! I therefore spend an awful lot of time with many starstruck parents at auditions who are so competitive that they make the London Marathon look like a walk in the park (bad turn of phrase, I know).

From Monday to Friday all I hear from Jake is: "How long until Saturday, mum?" "Why do I have to do homework when I am going to spend my life on the stage?" "What on earth has algebra and the Norman Conquest got to do with learning a script...MUM?"

When Jake first got into this ‘hobby', I thought how sweet it was for him to have aspirations of growing up to become Goofy in Disneyworld. His dream was to be in the 3 o'clock Main Street Parade.

Five years later, goodness knows how many hours sitting in car parks or in Starbucks waiting hours for auditions to end, rehearsals to start, finish and start again, performances and lots of stroppy tiredness (that's just me!), I wonder whether we, err...rather Jake will ever get into THE BIG ONE! That's the West End for all you sensible people who watch footie on a Saturday and just chill out at the weekend.

I have now realised that I am in fact a pushy mum in denial! When you turn up at an audition, the mums start sizing you and your talented offspring up, asking who you are, what you have been in and which agency you are with? Errr...why, you ask? Well because you have now become a threat and major competition to their ‘rising star'.

All you can hear are echoes around the room of: "Oh yes, of course when we were in Chitty it was fabulous..."

"Mary Poppins was such fun to be in, we all cried when it went on tour, of course it won't be the same!"

"The Sound Of Music has been a wonderful experience for her and Summer is soo nice to them."

There are lots of ‘we's' which makes me think that these mums seriously believe that they too are part of the cast! There is one lady administrator for many of the London shows and she is a revered godlike figure to a lot of the mums! "Such a lovely lady." "So helpful and kind." "Fabulous with the children." Are we back to Mary Poppins again?

Everybody makes out they are personal friends of this important lady and whenever I have seen her at various auditions she never seems to speak to any of them as she is so busy doing her job ie. administrating!

There must be so much paperwork involved in all the licensing for these kids, liaising with agents (yes, we do have one, but I am not telling who...ha ha!), organising chaperones and answering the millions of emails that she must get. No wonder the poor woman can't chat!

What they don't tell you, however, is that the West End pays very little to these kids, that's £30 to £40 a night and £20 a week towards travel if you are lucky! Some don't pay anything at all...it's all about the love of the Arts, dahling!! So this is not going to be a money making journey for you both, although I am sure that the likes of Lee Meads and Connie Fisher earn a bit more!

The plus side, however, is that it is a wonderful environment to be in and Jake loves his theatre schools, his classes, his mates, the music, the fun and the sweat (lots of it - sweat!) and the thrill of being in a production with thirty other people just as thrilled as you!

The Tunbridge Wells area has an abundance of talented children and adults and we are lucky to have the choice of many dance, drama and performing arts schools. They all produce great shows enabling the students to showcase the very hard work they put in over the year and of course they all have terrific fun.

Last summer I watched a local production of Oliver! being put together at the Assembly Hall Theatre (performed by the Kentertainers) - it was truly fantastic! Who needs the West End when family entertainment is so affordable and local?

The adult cast was amazing, the kids incredible and the orchestra fabulous. The crew was to be congratulated upon producing the most amazing set and props. Choreographers, directors, cast, crew, musicians and dog (yes, there was a real Bullseye) all came together from many schools, companies and a wide area enabling many new friendships to be built. I too (pushy mum moment here) have made lots of great mates and now spend my hours on a Saturday having a laugh with the other mums over tea and biscuits and the odd shop.

The hours are long and the disappointments are many but when you see the hard work and dedication of these kids and their happy faces, you know it's worth it - it's what they want to do. Jake said that when he was waiting for the curtain to go up (yep, he was in Oliver!) and the orchestra was firing up, it was the best feeling in the world - a bit like scoring a goal, I guess!

So, if you have a child who thinks they too could be the next Goofy, then have a look at all the options in your area, don some jazz shoes and get to it. Maybe I will see you in Starbucks...

Words by Mandi Morton-Miles for Spring 2009 issue