Talent agencies, dance studios and drama classes are springing up all over Sydney at an unprecedented rate, with the highly regarded NIDA and long-established Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) about to substantially increase the number of their short courses and school holiday workshops such is the demand for acting classes.

Even in this celebrity era, the influx reveals an extraordinary desire for fame.

But does it also reveal an amazing level of naivety on behalf of not only these aspiring youngsters, but parents too?

How many of last year's 5000 HSC drama students will go on to be household names or, at best, have a career in the arts world successful enough to pay the bills? After all, for every Nicole Kidman or Russell Crowe there are many, many more "actors" waiting tables.

Even among those who reach the apparent pinnacle of stardom there can also be a high toll, with Britney Spears and Heath Ledger recent examples.

Yet youngsters continue to strive to be the next big thing, perhaps in a belief fostered by the likes of TV programs such as Australian Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

Add to this the number of private schools seemingly outbuilding one another with state-of-the-art facilities such as cinemas, performing arts centres and video-editing suites plus government high schools dedicated to performing arts.

While I applaud teenagers choosing to spend holidays and weekends pursuing something other than loitering in shopping centres or spraying graffiti on trains, I also can't help but wonder if they all have real talent and appeal or are simply delusional in their aspirations?

How often have you been bored by parents espousing how their child is destined for the stage or screen when in fact they can't hold a tune, they dance as though they have two left feet and realistically has more chance of becoming a lesbian than a thespian?

But apparently, to point this out is rude. Instead, I believe you and I would be far better off cashing in on it like a host of others are currently doing. Take Nikki Webster, who rose to fame as the star of the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony, and will shortly open a dance studio. Not even the delay in its opening (due to legal issues) has deterred wannabe pop-dancing princesses who ring daily wanting to know when classes start.

Meanwhile, well-known actor Peter Phelps has been blown away by the numbers of youngsters requesting he run more of his evening classes on the Northern Beaches, saying even he has been surprised by the huge market for it.

Of course, with all this demand has come profitability.

For instance, Elle Macpherson's brother Ben is fast expanding his child talent company to meet the need.

In recent months his ASX-listed talent agency Artists & Entertainment Group (AEG,) which comprises the talent agency Brightstars, has acquired Sydney's Brent Street theatre and dance school and is looking to expand nationally.

Brent Street generates more than $3000 per year on average in revenue per member student. It currently has about 1000 member students.

On a much grander scale is the ATYP, which has more than 6000 youngsters participating in its programs across Australia each year and has increased itsworkshops.

Artistic director Timothy Jones attributes the increase to the rise in popularity of drama as a subject at school and television talent quests.

Likewise Mark Gaal, NIDA's open program artistic associate, says: "We've noticed a considerable increase in demand. In the past 12 months 15,000 people enrolled across Australia in our short-course programs, that is easily several thousand more than just five years ago."

Mind you, NIDA'S full-time acting course intake remains -- for several reasons not least funding -- at just 24 actors from across Australia each year.

It makes you wonder how many of the 5000-plus HSC Drama students will apply next year, only to be disappointed?