ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: Lorraine Barry, director of the Billie Barry Stage School
My two musical children, Robin and Ryan, join me for breakfast each morning at 7.30, after which I head for Dollymount Strand to have a long walk and a good think. My head in order, I return to the house in Clontarf and begin my research. Sourcing musical and performance material for children is a challenge - they are easily bored. I roam the Internet for new performance ideas to try out. They quickly let me know if they're not keen. If they do like a new piece of music I've brought in, the excitement is palpable in the classroom. Disney is a constant source of inspiration.
It's not long before agents, stations and companies looking for children to star in ads and TV programmes start ringing. They're always want everything yesterday. They think these kids all live with me - I haven't got a stock of smiling children in my back garden! I work until 1.30 p.m. - I'm very disciplined so working from home comes easily. I make sure I'm well prepared for every class because a group of six-year-olds will know when you're not on top of things. I collect Robin and Ryan from school, take them home for lunch, and then, when their childminder arrives, I start my teaching day.
I teach dance and performance to 600 children every week - luckily two of them are my own! This is very much a family business, passed on to me by my mother Billie, so I have a huge emotional stake in it. It's funny, "Billie Barry" has become an institution instead of a person. When my mother occasionally visits the school, the kids are enthralled. You'd think Santa Claus had just walked in the door.
Teaching children performance skills in the age of TV is a challenge - hours spent in front of the box makes them less animated. This is not about making precocious stars. I find it hurtful to hear my students referred to in that way. They are learning confidence to use in whatever career they pursue.
We're very busy now, the children are rehearsing for the Gaiety pantomime - The Sleeping Beauty. Once it starts, it will run until the end of February, so I won't be getting a break for a while. It doesn't bother me. I love the work and my own children are in the pantomime, so I will see them over Christmas. I feel like the mother to all these kids, though - they're my responsibility every night before, during and after the performance. I check all their Christmas report cards from school to make sure that they are not letting their standards slip.
If a child has very high expectations about fame and fortune and won't get down to work in my class with the rest of the students, I don't encourage them to stay. I can't have a child in the class jumping and leaping and spinning away to her own tune! I try to lose the disruptive children early on, no matter how talented they might be.
Likewise, if their parents have notions that are off the charts, I talk them down. I'm not producing a stream of Samantha Mumbas. Only a small minority will go in that direction. Many of these kids will never perform outside of our own school shows and they love it that way. I remind the ones who make it that they're not better, they're just lucky. Childhood is too short and too precious for jealousy and resentment.
In an interview with Louise Holden
