In the film "Towelhead," Summer Bishil plays 13-year-old Jasira, a Lebanese-American girl navigating through her adolescence, including challenges with identity, sexual awakening and self-esteem.

Summer Bishil stars in “Towelhead,” about a Lebanese American girl’s coming of age in Texas during the first Iraq war. "To Bishil it was a relief to find a part that not only suited her ethnically but actually resonated with her. Still, she found one particularly violent scene was upsetting. Afterward, she remembers going back to her dressing room and “having a little emotional tantrum and crying. And being very sad. I was really tired too... I didn’t realize the toll it took on me, until now.”

Austin Highsmith's big break was hurt by the writers strike. Now the possibility of an actors strike is creating a difficult scene. And even in the event of a strike, she could still act at the theater and take classes at the Ruskin School of Acting, all of which feeds her creative soul. "I'm not one to say, 'Hey, let's not stand up for our rights,' " she said. "I just want to act more than anything."

I've learned there is a gray area between truly collaborating with a director and following his every edict. I'm happy to say I have learned a few lessons from the young performers with whom I've worked during the course of my 43 years in the entertainment business. One of my best teachers was Abigail Breslin..

As filmmaker and author Kaila Kukla has noted, "Drama is a positive, joyful, and fulfilling way of learning... it gives children the opportunity to create learning situations that are meaningful to them. They find ways to tap their inner resources because they want to do so".

In a recent interview, Philip Seymour Hoffman [Best Actor Oscar nominee for “Capote”] admitted he used drugs and alcohol earlier in his life. A lot. - An exceptionally talented actor, Hoffman is far from alone: many of us use and abuse.

Whether it's feedback we've asked for, an unsolicited remark called out from the audience or a simple "no" result of an audition or submission process, criticism and rejection are a huge part of our lives as creative artists.