I have braces. It's a simple fact of life that almost every kid is going to have some sort of oral help some time in their life. But I used to have a "pallot expander" or "appliance," which is basically a piece of plastic attatched with metal pieces to the teeth across the roof of my mouth, physically making my mouth bigger (better for belting when I'm older!). But it made me talk with a little bit of a lisp. I had auditioned for my school play of 101 Dalmatians and got the part of Cruella de Vil (the lead)! About a month into rehearsal, my braces went on, and forever I'll be known as the Cruella who said "Cooella de Vil... Cooella de Vil... Thpots for Cooella de Vil!"

Tips for actors with braces... Don't worry about it, turn it into a part of your character! If you play a geek (i.e. Euegune from Grease) be a geek with a lisp! If you play a cool kid, ask your director if you can ad lib a line (i.e. from Grease: Danny- "Hey guyth, what'th thakin? T-Bird- **snicker** Danny- Watch it, or I'll thlap you thilly!).