Online Coaching for Actors: Does it Work?

When I first heard of acting coaching over the internet, I thought it was ludicrous.  I thought the coach and the student needed to be in the same room.  Then for 8 weeks, I taught an entire class of 8 students in Sydney, Australia via Skype and it worked, it worked really well. Now I’m directing an entire play with a company in Australia by Skype, and it works very very well indeed! 

Yes, there are occasional teething problems with the quality of connection, but it rarely interferes with the actual coaching. Now students from Vancouver, Los Angeles, Melbourne, The Netherlands, San Francisco, Winnipeg and Sydney can receive 1-2-1 coaching with a professional acting coach, without the cost of coming to Scotland – I’ve even just signed up someone in the Cape Verde Islands! 

Of course, just because an acting coach offers online coaching for actors doesn’t mean that it will be very good…

Here’s a few of the pros or cons of trying out online acting coaching:

PROS

• Online coaching allows you to get access to renowned acting coaches without having to travel to them.

• Online acting coaching works for individuals on a 1-2-1 basis, or for a group of actors.

• Get a class at a time that suits you.

• You can shop around trying different coaches with little risk.

• Receive professional actor coaching from anywhere in the world.

• Skype/Zoom/FaceTime/WhatsApp is free, so there’s no additional calling cost.

• Get your coaching from home, work, on vacation, from a relative’s house.

 CONS

• Occasional connectivity issues.

• Time differences can be a bummer at either end.

• It’s not as personal.

• Your computer may not be located in the best place for a session.

Nothing can replace the actual experience of training personally with a professional acting coach, but a video call the next best thing.

If you’re an actor and you’re interested in Acting coaching from anywhere in the world, ACS offer 1-2-1 sessions for just £50 per hour.