First Day of Acting Class – Some Housekeeping for Acting Students
This blog is for the students starting acting class with me this evening, it’s also for anyone going to an acting class for the first time, or going back to taking classes after a break.
Here are some general pointers on taking acting class. I call it housekeeping.
Arrive Early – There is no reward other than gaining a good habit. This good habit however will be appreciated by all teachers, directors, producers, choreographers, and musical directors that you ever meet. Learn it early in your career.
Always Be Prepared - Come prepared, bring your script, bring pen/pencil and note pad. The excuses you make always sound like poor excuses, even if they are genuine reasons.
It’s Not a Dream – It’s not a dream you have to become a performer, you’re beyond dreams now. Dreams are intangible and cannot be touched, therefore they cannot be achieved. So, stop thinking of it as a dream, and see it as your target, your goal in the near future. Then work out the steps to get there.
It’s Easier to give up than get Better - This is highly challenging subject, environment and profession and at times. You may be challenged to the point of wanting to give up. Those who give up can never succeed. Those who refuse to give up can defeat the odds. Those who give up, will harp on in life about how they could have been an actor. Whereas you will actually be one.
Learn to take criticism well - No one and I mean NO ONE wants to hear criticism. We just want to hear how good it was. HOWEVER, the only way to progress is to listen very carefully to the feedback and criticism and respond to it positively by putting it into action. If someone says that you need to organize yourself better, that’s what you need to do. Tutors only have one goal, to maximize your chance of being a working professional. Don’t you want that too?
Remember to bring some water! (No juice or food in the studios)
MOST ESSENTIAL! BRING A NOTE PAD AND PEN! Information retention rates peak around TWENTY PERCENT, but QUADRUPLE if you take notes and review the notes before the next class. Get the most out of the classes you’ve paid for, take notes!
Break a leg tonight guys, don’t hold back if you have questions!