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Stafford County fourth-grader has made several commercials and is waiting for a big break in the acting world Date published: 9/29/2009
Nine-year-old Sydney Jenkins is a fourth-grader at Conway Elementary School in Stafford County, but for several days last week she did all her schoolwork on the set of a commercial being shot in Brooklyn, N.Y.
A tutor oversaw Sydney's lessons during her breaks from shooting for a series of Chuck E. Cheese commercials to be aired nationally over the next year. Sydney is already an experienced professional actress, having shot seven commercials in the past two years. And now she seems poised for even more inroads into the performing life. One day about two weeks ago, Sydney was on the train back from some New York casting calls when her mom's phone rang. Pam Jenkins answered, and the next thing Sydney knew, they were getting off the train in New Jersey and booking another ride back into the city. There, she auditioned for a regular role in a popular Showtime TV series. Whether she gets the part or not, it's a promising sign to be asked to audition for recurring television roles, said Pam Jenkins, 49. It's not surprising, though, that Sydney would catch a casting director's eye. Blond, blue-eyed and freckled, Sydney has a winning giggle and an easygoing yet polite way of interacting with adults. She's also a natural actress, says dad Don Jenkins, 54. Jenkins is a power-plant supervisor these days, but when Sydney was younger he took several years off work to be a Mr. Mom. Even as a toddler, Sydney would script dramatic scenes and insist that her dad say his lines perfectly, Don Jenkins recalled. Sydney's vivid imagination caused a little embarrassment on the playground. The Jenkinses--who also have a blended family of adult children ages 20 to 35--were living at the time in an apartment in Alexandria. It was a new building, and it had developed a few settlement cracks. Sydney blurted out in public, "Daddy! I don't want to live in a crack house anymore!" Years later--after Sydney had said, "Mom, Dad, I want to be in commercials, and I want to be on TV shows"-- that memory came in handy. She competed in a local talent contest and advanced to a weeklong competition in Orlando, Fla., in January 2008.
Read more stories about Stafford Date published: 9/29/2009
I wish Sydney and her family the best of luck! It usually makes me nervous to think of child actors and models being pushed too hard but I think it's great that her parents said if she wants to stop just let them know. Awesome!
I wish her well!
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