Blackburn Mentoring offers one-on-one mentoring for the young people around the entertainment industry: working child and teen performers, the sons and daughters of industry parents, and young adults starting their own careers in film, television, music and media. Each person gets one consistent mentor who helps with school, routines, goals and follow-through, by video anywhere in the United States and in person in Los Angeles, with complete discretion. This page is the starting point; pick the situation closest to yours below.
Find the right page
- Mentoring for young performers: for child actors and teen performers keeping school, rest and goals on track around auditions and set schedules.
- School on set in California: a parent guide: the three hours of set schooling, studio teachers, work permits tied to school records, independent study and a checklist.
- Teens and young adults in entertainment industry families: a steady, private adult when a parent is on location, schedules change and the family name is known.
- When a parent works on location: a practical guide for keeping a teen on track during long shoots and tours.
- Young adults starting a career in entertainment: assistants, production assistants and young creatives building structure, money habits and follow-through.
- For business managers, talent managers and agents: how professionals can suggest mentoring for a client’s family, with consent and discretion.
What these families have in common
Entertainment work is project based and irregular. Federal labor data describes performing assignments that usually last from one day to a few months, with schedules that can include early mornings, evenings, weekends and holidays (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Actors). For working minors in California, state rules also shape the day, including limits on work hours by age and required schooling on set (Title 8, Section 11760). Young people in these families often have more opportunity and less routine than their peers. A mentor adds the routine: the same person, the same time, every week, wherever the work takes the family.
What a mentor does and does not do
- Does: weekly planning, school follow-through, sleep and health routines, goals that belong to the young person, money habits, and steady perspective through rejection, travel and change.
- Does not: act as a therapist, tutor, studio teacher, acting coach, agent, manager, security or financial adviser. Mentors coordinate with those professionals only with permission. When therapy or psychiatry is the right step, Blackburn Clinical Services, our sister practice, offers care for people who work in entertainment.
Parents of working children can also use our free young performer work hours calculator to check California’s on set limits by age.
Privacy, consent and updates
- Sessions are private between the young person and the mentor.
- Mentors do not post about clients or talk to media.
- With written consent, parents or others who help arrange mentoring can receive updates on engagement level. Session content stays private.
- Sessions can be entirely by video. In Los Angeles, in person sessions are also available.
- In a crisis, call or text 988.
Who we work with
High school students, college students, young adults and young professionals. Mentors offer early morning, evening and weekend times, and new clients are usually matched with a mentor within two business days of deciding to start. Founders Robby Patrick and Nathan James started mentoring together in 2014.
Two more pages for this community: mentoring for teen content creators, for students who film, post or work with brands, and mentoring for former child performers building what comes next.
Related
- Mentoring and coaching for actors and creatives
- Performing arts teens balancing school
- When your child wants a creative career
- How to get into the film industry
- Mentoring and coaching in Los Angeles
- For professionals
Common questions
Do you only work with families in Los Angeles?
No. Sessions are by video anywhere in the United States. Families in Los Angeles can also meet in person.
Do you work with child actors?
Yes. Mentors help working young performers keep school, rest and goals on track around auditions and set schedules. Mentors do not replace the studio teacher or the school.
How do you protect a family’s privacy?
Sessions are private, mentors do not post about clients or talk to media, and updates go to parents or others only with written consent and only on engagement level.
Can a manager or business manager arrange mentoring for a client’s child?
They can suggest it or make an introduction. The family decides whether to go ahead and what, if anything, is shared.
How do we start?
Call (888) 305-5422 or complete the short assessment. A member of our team reviews it personally and sets up a free 20 minute intro call.
Get started
Talk through your situation with us. Call (888) 305-5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free 20 minute intro call.
Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.