Navigating Child Acting with Sara and Emma Henderson

Geoff: 00:00:00

Welcome to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.

Geoff: 00:00:03

I'm Geoff.

Jaclyn: 00:00:03

And I'm Jaclyn.

Geoff: 00:00:05

And we're happy to be with you today and to have two guests, mother and daughter, Sarah and Emma Henderson.

Geoff: 00:00:12

Sarah

Jaclyn: 00:00:13

Sarah is an award winning writer and mother of child actress Emma Henderson.

Jaclyn: 00:00:17

She's a jack of all trades with a master's in education and experience as a teacher, novel writer, and private investigator, just to name a few.

Jaclyn: 00:00:26

She has learned lots of important things about how to maneuver, and protect her daughter in Hollywood and how to keep God first in all they do.

Jaclyn: 00:00:34

And Emma Henderson is an actress represented by Treasure Coast Talent.

Jaclyn: 00:00:39

At just 11 years old, she's already been on Sesame Street and recently starred in her first feature film, Christmas at the Amish Bakery on UPtv Faith and Family.

Jaclyn: 00:00:49

Welcome to the podcast.

Sarah: 00:00:51

Thank you.

Sarah: 00:00:51

Thanks for having us.

Jaclyn: 00:00:53

All right, Emma, I want to start with you.

Jaclyn: 00:00:55

When did you start acting?

Sarah: 00:00:57

Um, around when I was five years old.

Jaclyn: 00:01:00

Okay, and what did you start doing?

Jaclyn: 00:01:03

What was the first, project that you participated in?

Sarah: 00:01:07

so, my mom put me in this, um, like, kind of like a group for acting, and so we did improvs, we did, some games, So her first, time in front of the camera was, uh, she did a short film that is still on YouTube and it's called My Father's Day.

Sarah: 00:01:28

And she got to play kind of the mean kid in class.

Sarah: 00:01:32

And she had one little line and, um, she just.

Sarah: 00:01:36

fell in love with being in front of the camera at that point and so we were off to the races.

Jaclyn: 00:01:40

Nice, Alright, so you've been in it a little while now.

Jaclyn: 00:01:43

What is your favorite part of acting?

Sarah: 00:01:46

Um, I really like improv,

Jaclyn: 00:01:48

Okay.

Jaclyn: 00:01:49

Tell me why.

Sarah: 00:01:50

because you don't have to, like, really memorize the lines and freak out if you're like, oh my gosh, am I gonna mess up the lines?

Sarah: 00:01:58

Um, you can

Sarah: 00:01:59

just, like, Express what the character really is.

Jaclyn: 00:02:03

Okay.

Jaclyn: 00:02:04

I guess that means that you get to really think about it and decide what the character is.

Sarah: 00:02:10

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:02:11

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:02:11

what kind of characters do you like playing best?

Sarah: 00:02:14

I mean, I did kind of like being the mean girl in

Sarah: 00:02:17

that, um,

Sarah: 00:02:18

little short film.

Sarah: 00:02:20

But, I kind of like, just, in Christmas at the Amish Bakery, it's kind of my character.

Sarah: 00:02:26

So, I liked how I was the little girl and how I was curious and everything,

Jaclyn: 00:02:31

Cool.

Jaclyn: 00:02:32

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:02:32

That sounds like a lot of fun.

Jaclyn: 00:02:34

And how is it on set?

Jaclyn: 00:02:36

Like, do you feel comfortable?

Jaclyn: 00:02:37

Because I'll just say, it is a job, right?

Jaclyn: 00:02:40

And most kids don't work.

Jaclyn: 00:02:42

So how do you manage that?

Jaclyn: 00:02:44

Do you feel like you fit in or does it feel hard sometimes?

Jaclyn: 00:02:48

Or do you feel like you have to grow up fast?

Jaclyn: 00:02:50

What is it for

Jaclyn: 00:02:51

you?

Sarah: 00:02:52

I loved the set on Christmas at the Amish Bakery.

Sarah: 00:02:55

I

Sarah: 00:02:56

felt connected with everyone, um,

Sarah: 00:02:59

I just, I loved the set on Christmas at the Amish Bakery.

Jaclyn: 00:03:03

That's awesome.

Sarah: 00:03:04

Yeah, they really, on all the sets that we've been on together, um, they really have made her feel, very comfortable.

Sarah: 00:03:13

Everyone's been very respectful, of a kid being on set, and what that means, and how they should

Sarah: 00:03:20

speak,

Sarah: 00:03:21

things like that.

Sarah: 00:03:21

So it's been She hasn't really had difficult time on a set yet.

Sarah: 00:03:26

She biggest complaint that she had when we were on the Christmas at the Amish Bakery set was that she basically wanted to be in every single scene.

Sarah: 00:03:33

She did

Sarah: 00:03:34

not like waiting for her time.

Sarah: 00:03:37

Like, she was like, I want to be

Sarah: 00:03:38

out there.

Sarah: 00:03:38

I want to be on camera, you know?

Sarah: 00:03:39

And so the, hurry up and wait mentality on a set is,

Sarah: 00:03:44

um, a bit

Sarah: 00:03:45

more challenging for a kid, I guess, you know,

Sarah: 00:03:47

cause

Sarah: 00:03:48

gotta keep them

Sarah: 00:03:49

occupied.

Sarah: 00:03:50

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:03:51

Mm hmm.

Jaclyn: 00:03:52

Did you start with film or did you start with theater?

Jaclyn: 00:03:56

How did that work for you?

Sarah: 00:03:57

she's been in a couple musicals.

Sarah: 00:03:59

Um, just like community theater Yeah, there's this place called purple box that I go to and there's been like different themes There's, um, then, like, Beauty and the Beast, or The Lion, and so I really liked, like, they give us roles, and then we do dances to the songs.

Sarah: 00:04:20

It's really cool.

Jaclyn: 00:04:21

Nice.

Jaclyn: 00:04:22

And which do you prefer?

Jaclyn: 00:04:23

Do you like stage acting or camera?

Jaclyn: 00:04:26

Mm

Sarah: 00:04:27

camera,

Jaclyn: 00:04:29

Why?

Sarah: 00:04:30

I like being in front of the camera.

Jaclyn: 00:04:32

Okay.

Jaclyn: 00:04:34

All right.

Jaclyn: 00:04:34

Last question.

Jaclyn: 00:04:36

Have you learned anything important that you would want to pass along to other children who want to get into acting?

Sarah: 00:04:46

be yourself, and, like, Don't worry about how other people think about you around the set and, just have fun.

Sarah: 00:04:55

Like it's really fun.

Sarah: 00:04:57

And

Jaclyn: 00:04:59

Awesome.

Jaclyn: 00:05:00

Thank you.

Jaclyn: 00:05:00

Thank you so much for being part of our interview.

Jaclyn: 00:05:02

I'm going to continue with your mother now.

Jaclyn: 00:05:05

I want to get to know what it's like to be a mother and support a child on set.

Jaclyn: 00:05:10

So Thank you so much, Emma.

Jaclyn: 00:05:13

All right, so Sarah, I want to learn how was it for you when you discovered that your daughter loved acting or how did you even recognize that?

Sarah: 00:05:20

so, um, it was never on the radar.

Sarah: 00:05:24

Like, I mean, acting is not in my family.

Sarah: 00:05:27

you know, it, never been something that I would even consider, but we had a, family friend who, would do our, annual family pictures, and you know, she started out doing that when we were, when Emma was really young, and she used to just say all the time how photogenic Emma was, you know, oh, she loves the camera, she's so good, you know, and she just loved filming her, And there was always something different about Emma as a little kid.

Sarah: 00:05:53

Like I'm quite an introvert.

Sarah: 00:05:56

And when, I'm in the grocery store, like I'm not, you know, striking up conversations with everybody.

Sarah: 00:06:01

But after I had Emma, she is that kid that like, She's gonna find somebody in the grocery store, that maybe needs, I don't know, like, she has this intuition, she's always had this intuition where it's just like, the person that you probably wouldn't make eye contact with, she's reaching out to that person, even as a little child.

Sarah: 00:06:24

and saying like, I really like your hair.

Sarah: 00:06:26

she had this way and I would just watch her.

Sarah: 00:06:29

Interact with these people and bring such a light to that person.

Sarah: 00:06:35

So that in connection with our family photographer, who was like, well, I used to model for this agency in Houston.

Sarah: 00:06:43

You should really, see if they would be interested in Emma.

Sarah: 00:06:46

And so

Sarah: 00:06:47

we, on a whim, like we were heading out of town, decided to like give the agency a call and said, Hey, you're recommended, you know, can we come by?

Sarah: 00:06:57

And, they were like, yeah, have her come by.

Sarah: 00:06:58

We'll have her audition, you know, whatever.

Sarah: 00:07:00

So we just kind of swung in on our way out of town and Emma did like a little, you know, read this little commercial for peanut butter or something, you know, just kind of like showed him who she was and they signed her.

Sarah: 00:07:12

and It was like this whole new world that we were like, okay, so this is what we're doing.

Sarah: 00:07:19

And

Sarah: 00:07:21

it was pretty challenging.

Sarah: 00:07:22

I mean, and scary because you know, you hear all these, horror stories of child actors.

Sarah: 00:07:27

And so, it wasn't the, most popular opinion.

Sarah: 00:07:31

in my family of a route for me to allow my child to go.

Sarah: 00:07:36

but there was just something every time we did something, if we did like a fashion show or, something that she was in, I constantly had parents of other children coming up to me and saying, There is something about your daughter and it wasn't like there is something about your daughter in the, like, Oh, she's so great.

Sarah: 00:07:55

It was, literally had a lady come up to me one time and said, There is a light to her and she's, anointed.

Sarah: 00:08:02

you know, I mean, just, you don't hear those things.

Sarah: 00:08:06

so that kind of got us on the journey and I was very cautious about it.

Sarah: 00:08:13

I had strict rules as far as, you know, we are a Christian family with, strong beliefs and.

Sarah: 00:08:19

we kept getting auditions for roles that were not something I would allow Emma to even watch, nor would I want to

Sarah: 00:08:29

watch.

Jaclyn: 00:08:30

Right.

Sarah: 00:08:30

And so we kind of set this rule, And her first agency didn't necessarily, care too much for it, which is why we're with Treasure Coast now, but, I just wasn't going to allow her to be anything that she couldn't watch from start to

Sarah: 00:08:44

finish,

Sarah: 00:08:45

they always want little kids to be Crawling around in fake blood like they always want them in like horror films and it's terrifying, you know children in horror films But I mean like I couldn't in my right, mind be like, okay, Emma You know, you're gonna crawl through this red jelly, but it's not blood so yeah, I just was like, anytime something came through that was going to have mature content, you know, like, well, there's mature content, but it's not in her scene.

Sarah: 00:09:12

Well, I'm

Sarah: 00:09:13

like,

Sarah: 00:09:14

how am I going to advertise that to friends and family?

Sarah: 00:09:17

Be like, don't watch everything else.

Sarah: 00:09:18

Just watch,

Sarah: 00:09:19

you know, like

Sarah: 00:09:20

from this point to this point, and

Sarah: 00:09:21

that's it.

Sarah: 00:09:21

you know?

Jaclyn: 00:09:22

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:09:22

Yeah.

Sarah: 00:09:23

So it did cause, her agency to not be too excited because they were, you know,

Sarah: 00:09:28

just

Sarah: 00:09:29

sending us stuff that I constantly had to turn down.

Sarah: 00:09:33

But then we, you know, started getting some of the short films and, one of the biggest things was you know, as

Sarah: 00:09:40

a mother of a little child starting out, there's always the fear of am I just putting like my hopes and dreams on them?

Sarah: 00:09:47

Am I forcing them?

Sarah: 00:09:48

So I was constantly in check in mode with Emma.

Sarah: 00:09:51

Like, I'd be like, is this something you want to do?

Sarah: 00:09:53

Is this something you want to do?

Sarah: 00:09:55

We would always.

Sarah: 00:09:56

just kind of check in every time there'd be something that would come through.

Sarah: 00:10:00

I would explain the project to her, you know, is this something that you would want to do?

Sarah: 00:10:05

And sometimes it was little voiceover things for fun cartoon characters.

Sarah: 00:10:09

And she was like, yeah, I'd love to do that.

Sarah: 00:10:10

Or it would be, you know, a short film or whatever.

Sarah: 00:10:13

And if she was excited about it, then

Sarah: 00:10:16

you know, she was going to work on it as a six year old, you know,

Sarah: 00:10:21

if she wasn't excited about it, then it was going to be pulling teeth.

Sarah: 00:10:24

And I wasn't going to do that.

Sarah: 00:10:26

That was just.

Sarah: 00:10:28

But, um, we were very picky with projects in the beginning

Sarah: 00:10:33

and, it really paid off.

Sarah: 00:10:34

one of the biggest things she did that I was so proud of is in the short film that she did, My Father's

Sarah: 00:10:40

Day.

Sarah: 00:10:41

I mean, she says now that she,

Sarah: 00:10:43

she could be the mean kid, but at the time she did not want to be the mean kid and she didn't like that her character was making fun of another character.

Sarah: 00:10:52

And the script said, she was supposed to say like, so and so is stupid.

Sarah: 00:10:57

And she's like, mom, I don't want to call somebody stupid.

Sarah: 00:11:00

And I'm like, okay.

Sarah: 00:11:01

I said, What would you feel comfortable?

Sarah: 00:11:03

I'm like, we are playing a character.

Sarah: 00:11:05

You are okay with this script.

Sarah: 00:11:07

It's a faith based, you know, little short film.

Sarah: 00:11:10

So what is something?

Sarah: 00:11:11

What's a word?

Sarah: 00:11:13

That you feel comfortable saying.

Sarah: 00:11:15

And she was like, well, I'd be okay saying weird.

Sarah: 00:11:20

And I'm like, okay, we'll audition with weird.

Sarah: 00:11:23

And if the director doesn't like that, then you won't get the role and that's fine.

Sarah: 00:11:27

But if they do like that, then, one thing you have to, prepare kids for is rejection.

Sarah: 00:11:34

And, um, can go way into that and what we do with that, but.

Sarah: 00:11:39

But the director honored her choice, and even when he offered her the role, I even, like, double checked, I'm like, you know

Sarah: 00:11:45

she said, weird, not stupid, right?

Sarah: 00:11:48

And he's like, yeah, I'm rewriting the

Sarah: 00:11:49

script.

Sarah: 00:11:50

And I'm like,

Jaclyn: 00:11:51

Wow.

Sarah: 00:11:52

You know, and that was a huge encouragement to her.

Sarah: 00:11:55

she was like, okay, you know, like I don't have to do or say what

Sarah: 00:12:01

they are telling me to

Sarah: 00:12:02

say.

Sarah: 00:12:03

that

Sarah: 00:12:03

was

Sarah: 00:12:03

a big step for her

Sarah: 00:12:04

to kind of take ownership of,

Sarah: 00:12:06

the

Sarah: 00:12:06

role she wanted to take, the

Sarah: 00:12:08

things she wanted to say, what she was willing to do and not willing to do, and also that that she has that power to

Sarah: 00:12:15

make that decision.

Sarah: 00:12:16

And if the role is for her, if God has designed that role for her, like it, it's going to work out, you know, It will happen for her.

Sarah: 00:12:23

and if it's not for her, then we have instilled in her that, God has laid out our plans and he's, laid out the path that she's supposed to go.

Sarah: 00:12:33

And we continue to check in with each other and with him, like, is this what we're supposed to be doing?

Sarah: 00:12:38

And he continues to open doors.

Sarah: 00:12:40

And so we just keep walking through them.

Sarah: 00:12:42

But, we, have always been like, okay, knowing that God has a plan, God has already chosen these roles for her and her future, you know, We will audition with our most excellent ability.

Sarah: 00:12:56

We will do our very best.

Sarah: 00:12:59

And then we give it to God.

Sarah: 00:13:00

And if it's not her role and it goes to somebody else, then we applaud who it's supposed to go to

Sarah: 00:13:07

because that was destined for them.

Sarah: 00:13:09

It wasn't destined

Sarah: 00:13:10

for her,

Sarah: 00:13:11

but she got the experience.

Sarah: 00:13:13

She got the opportunity and who knows what that situation could lead to in the future,

Sarah: 00:13:19

just by being seen by that casting

Jaclyn: 00:13:21

Yeah, exactly.

Jaclyn: 00:13:22

even just going out and doing an audition and not getting it, that experience in itself is a really great thing to learn.

Jaclyn: 00:13:30

And the fact that, the beautiful part about this is that she's not paying bills, right?

Jaclyn: 00:13:35

Like, there's no pressure that you have to figure out how to pay bills this month or next month or whatever.

Jaclyn: 00:13:40

Like, there's none of that.

Jaclyn: 00:13:42

So for her, it really is about, being able to do what she loves.

Jaclyn: 00:13:46

You know, and so she can, forge a path in the direction she wants to go.

Jaclyn: 00:13:51

Like, there's no pressure for her to take on roles that she's not comfortable with.

Jaclyn: 00:13:55

So that's a, a really great opportunity.

Jaclyn: 00:13:57

I'm sure that as an adult starting a career, it can feel more daunting in the sense that as an adult, you have to pay all of your bills.

Jaclyn: 00:14:05

So, if you're trying to become an actor, it's like, well, you do need to work.

Jaclyn: 00:14:09

So sometimes you might feel like, okay, uh, I may have to compromise or there's the temptation at least to compromise.

Jaclyn: 00:14:17

So yeah, it's great she's doing this as a child.

Sarah: 00:14:20

Yeah.

Sarah: 00:14:20

even as adults, we don't handle rejection very well.

Sarah: 00:14:23

so it's a strategy to continually learn.

Sarah: 00:14:28

but I really think the way we have walked this journey is it being all in the hands of God and so whether it is a promotion at work or a, acting role, I mean, yes, it is a little bit more daunting for adult actors, you know, that might need these roles to, pay bills or, further their career.

Sarah: 00:14:50

I feel like when you compromise who you are for something else.

Sarah: 00:14:54

You're trying to take the plan back from God's hands.

Sarah: 00:14:58

and you're not trusting that he's going to handle those bills ability to.

Sarah: 00:15:04

Receive, you know, like, it just makes things sweeter when you stay the path and are willing to be like, Okay, that role wasn't for me for whatever reason, I don't know.

Sarah: 00:15:16

So, we've always just kind of taught Emma, like, Yes, we may love some of these projects.

Sarah: 00:15:21

And she has been sad to not get things before.

Sarah: 00:15:23

And it's okay.

Sarah: 00:15:24

We are all allowed to grieve the loss of something.

Sarah: 00:15:28

But In the end, that doesn't define who we are.

Sarah: 00:15:32

Like, you know, not getting that role, or that casting director saying no, or somebody else getting something that you really wanted.

Sarah: 00:15:41

Like, we just went through, a loss, Emma, you know, she's been a dancer also since she was four years old.

Sarah: 00:15:48

So, um, she's been working, you know, every single year.

Sarah: 00:15:51

And she was, in her mind set to be on point, this summer.

Sarah: 00:15:57

At the end of last year, we found out, that she didn't advance to the point shoe group.

Sarah: 00:16:04

and she's like, no, that's been the trajectory.

Sarah: 00:16:06

Like that's where we're going.

Sarah: 00:16:07

Why am I not on point?

Sarah: 00:16:08

Like you start dance as a child to get on point.

Sarah: 00:16:12

And she had a moment of being sad and unhappy about that, but then.

Sarah: 00:16:19

You know, I'm always so surprised by her, maturity, because she came out after she was sat in her room for a while, she came out and she said, Maybe I didn't get on point because God has a plan for me this year that I wouldn't be able to go to dance as much as I needed to, you know, because he's got something else ready for me.

Sarah: 00:16:38

and I'm just like, how old are you?

Sarah: 00:16:40

We ran into some technical difficulties during this interview and realized later that recording stopped Jacqueline and me at this point, and we lost our side of the conversation, including a final question and our goodbyes.

Sarah: 00:16:52

The news is we did record an awesome second episode with Sarah, where she goes deeper into the challenges of managing the career of a child actor, the importance of maintaining open communication with her daughter and the role of faith in their journey.

Sarah: 00:17:05

Check back tomorrow to hear part two in the meantime, here's where you can follow Emma's career

Sarah: 00:17:10

her website is emma-henderson.

Sarah: 00:17:14

com and, that's got all her links.

Sarah: 00:17:17

she's on Instagram that I control.

Sarah: 00:17:20

And so that's, I am Emma Henderson.

Sarah: 00:17:22

yeah, other than that, UpFaithAndFamily is where, her movie is,

Sarah: 00:17:26

thank you, Sarah and Emma for sharing with us today, We'll look forward to hearing more from Sarah in the next episode