It is not always easy to combine the responsibilities of an on-screen contract and the obligations related to studies. However, there are many talented young people from here who find themselves in this situation. Fortunately, many have a great ally on set: a tutor.
For more than 20 years, Joël Dumoulin has passionately supported teenage actors so that they can pursue their academic success in high school and flourish as actors.
“My main mission is to ensure that the participation of a young actor or a young actress in a production has the least possible negative impact on his educational career,” he says.
The one who helped the young cast members of Télé-Québec shows such as Tactik, Subito texto, Conseils de famille, Les mutants, Le pacte and Comme des têtes pas de poule (currently filming) – to name a few. ‘elles – is fascinated by the teenagers he receives in his office or with whom he converses by videoconference.
“These are people in major transformation and I have the opportunity to be a privileged witness of this metamorphosis. This is when they start to define their values, to have dreams, to project themselves into the future…”
Un prof personnel
In order to be able to help young people continue their academic learning, Joël Dumoulin is ready to constantly adapt, to “stay up to date”. To do this, this former graduate of the University of Montreal consults textbooks and teaching guides, goes to the website of the Ministry of Education and gleans certain information on the web.
If he describes himself as a generalist, he is also a specialist in mathematics and science, subjects that are very important to him.
“Often, I emphasize these disciplines because they are the ones that children have the most difficulty with. If there is a significant delay, it can have a major impact on the course of the students. »
What is also essential is to maximize the time he has with each of the young people and to shape the content of each of his meetings.
“The whole point of this work is that I do personalized teaching, that is to say, adapted to the needs and profile of each student […] Many teachers could not and would not not do this work because we touch on everything, we adapt the teaching to each student. »
Enthusiasts Wanted
Even if the culture is firmly anchored in Quebec, it takes a strong passion to practice this profession.
“It is difficult for a tutor to be able to live on it; we are called upon to work on a limited number of productions with young people and in the summer, we do not work because there are no needs, explains Joël Dumoulin. There are a lot of killers who drop out after a few years. »
Finally, although some producers may question the relevance of hiring a tutor for the entire duration of a shoot, as the principal concerned points out, “if the young person has problems at school and does not feels better about himself because every time he goes back to school it’s not going well, obviously it’s going to have an impact on his game.”
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