Thinking of making the trip out to LA to give acting a shot? Look no further than Oakwood Toluca Hills for temporary, furnished housing. Oakwood is a community for child actors and their families, located right smack in the middle of all the studios and casting offices. Backstagemom sat down with Oakwood’s very own “mother hen,” Rosie Forti. She has been at Oakwood for over 30 years. To me and… to many kids and their moms… she is the Oakwood.
BSM: Is Oakwood a place where kids, from out of town who are interested in acting, come to stay or do they come for a specific program?
Rosie Forti: Kids come to stay at Oakwood because we offer fully- furnished short term housing and it’s a convenient comfortable place for their families to be when they are away from home. There is the camaraderie of the other parents, the educational program we provide, and the meeting and greeting of industry professionals that can answer their questions.
BSM: Tell us a little bit more about the educational program you just mentioned and how it came about.
RF: About 1991, we realized we had a lot child actors coming here to Oakwood. They were being sent by agents and managers from all over the country, who wanted them to come to LA to get into the business. Because we are short term temporary housing, we are the most likely place for them to come to. So we realized we had a lot of families here who had questions about the industry and because we are in the apartment business, I did not want to be the one giving out the info. I wanted to bring in industry professionals to give the right answers. So over the years, the people with whom I’ve have a working relationships with, started coming and giving introductory workshops. Agents talked about what parents needed to know regarding agents, managers spoke about management and acting teachers gave introductory classes. We found that the families really enjoyed this since they couldn’t always go behind closed doors to these places. Here they could actually see how the kids handled themselves in these situations and in front of these people.
BSM: When I went to your website, I didn’t see anything about this actor program. How do you find out what Oakwood offers?
RF: We have a site www.childactors.net. The pricing, links, and benefits about our property and its location are found there. This is specifically for Oakwood, Toluca Hills. This program is not for adult actors, just for child actors.
BSM: What is your title, Rosie?
RF: I’ve been called mother earth, cheerleader, and den mother. I’m here to make the families feel comfortable through their journey in this business called “show business”. But my official title is Activities Coordinator and I organize all activities at the Toluca Hills property, not just the child actor events.
BSM: This place really feels like a community and a family. I believe it has a lot to do with your presence here. To be honest, when Olivia and I have come here in the past as acting coaches giving a class, we always know everything will run smoothly since you are here.
RF: There is nowhere in the country that you can get what you get here. These families make long life friendships. They go home, comeback, room together and even go on vacations together. It gives me goose bumps to see families help each other. I can always introduce a new family to an experienced family and know they will embrace them. Everyone who walks in the door feels comfortable that they chose Oakwood. It gives me great pleasure that I can make their experience in LA pleasant. The camaraderie is so important cuz these kids are different from anyone else in their schools. There are very few schools who have acting, theatre and dance programs, especially in their towns. These kids don’t always fit in to sports or gymnastics for example. They may do other activities but it’s hard for them to find a whole group of kids in their school who share their same interests and experiences. Here when a kid is on a Television show, we all get together in our TV screening room with popcorn and ice cream, watch the performance and cheer them on. It becomes a family party. Where else do you get to do that?
BSM: We know you’ve seen thousands of kids come through here. Who comes to mind that’s been here and gone on to become successful actors?
RF: Hillary Duff was here for 7 years with her sister Haley Duff. They came from Texas for the sister. They were both actors but it was Hillary who took the next step, first. Her sister does very well too. Jennifer Love Hewitt was here. A new one is Jolie Vanier, who is in “Shorts” that just premiered a couple of weeks ago. Shawn Pyfrom from “Desperate Housewives” was here. Josh Hutcherson from “Bridge to Terabithida” and “Polar express” has been here. Another is Josh Flitter who’ s been in movies with Robin Williams like “License to wed”. Sterling Knight who was in ”17 Again” and “Sunny with a chance” was here. Raven Simone from “That’s so Raven” lived here when she was little as did Jessica Biel. There are so many!
BSM: We see a picture of you with Zac Efron but you didn’t mention him. How did you meet him?
RF: Zac Efron came here with Paramount Pictures to do a pilot called “If you’d live here, you’d be home now”. They were here for a week. His mother gave me a headshot and said that I could reproduce them and he signed them for all the kids who were here. That was the most exciting thing for these kids, to say that they were on the same property as Zac Efron. Hahaha. Sandra Bullock also filmed a movie here. She shot “Miss Congeniality 2″ right here in the clubhouse and she also singed autographs for the kids. There have been some fun projects filmed here on the property plus we have some nice stars who just stay here. The kids will come running in telling me who they see. One time these kids came running in asking for paper and pencil and they wanted to get an autograph from Leann Rimes. The gentleman from “Twilight” was also staying here. We do tell the kids to be respectful. Lou Gossett Jr. and Holly Hunter are others who have been here. Over the years so many people have stayed here.
BSM: You also meet tons of parents… stage parents. We imagine you have had many positive and negative experiences. Could you share with us some of your encounters?
The moms no matter what people say about them have given up a lot for their kids to have their dreams. Some don’t know how to go about it but they’re here. They’ve separated from their families for a short period of time . They may have left their household with other kids so they are nervous and anxious. I would say a stage mom who is over anxious is not too helpful to their child but the stage mom who can step back and say, this is an opportunity and if it works for my child great and if it doesn’t then we’ll go back home and get them involved in everything available in our city, does well. Everyone has different personalities and some are more aggressive in helping. But… as we all know in casting offices and agent’s offices, when they pick a child… they are also picking the family and sometimes they are not happy with what they see. This is all on the parents, not me or the Oakwood.
BSM: Thanks so much for sharing with us Rosie!
RF: Anytime. I’m always here.
Below is information I received from an Oakwood representative. It shares more info. on the program. Lorena
Oakwood’s Child Actor Program is a specialized program at Oakwood Toluca Hills created to assist child actors and their families who have made the decision to come to Los Angeles, California (CA) to pursue acting and entertainment careers. We provide apartment homes as a hotel alternative when traveling to the Los Angeles area. Oakwood provides special activities geared towards young people, professional studio tutoring services, acting coaching and classes, parent round table discussions, and a show biz kid expo. For rates and availability call Christopher Imes at 323-878-2100 and let him know you are interested in Oakwood’s Child Actor Program. We look forward to you calling Oakwood your home while in Los Angeles.
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