Choosing Acting Teachers:
Some Things To Think About

I have had good acting teachers and not so good ones. I have had teachers who seem to really care about me and my learning and those who seemed to be more interested in my money than anything else. I learned from my experiences studying acting and I want to share them with you.

Before you go off looking for a school or a teacher, that it is important to have some idea of what you are really looking for in a teacher and what exactly you would like to get out of an acting class. Now you might say: “How should I know that if this is the first class I have never taken classes before?” My answer to that question would be: “That’s the reason you come to websites like this one. So read on.”

Let me share with you my criteria for the choice of acting teachers or acting schools or places just to take acting classes(these are not in order):

· Teachers have experience acting

· Provides ongoing training (ongoing classes) and not just one course, one day at a time

· Has a base acting technique and they can tell you what it is

· Has a technique that is conducive to my style of learning (Everyone has his/her own style of learning. That means that you need to find first how you best learn.

· Has a technique that gets me results as quickly as possible and that is easy to use (If you don’t know if the teacher you are interviewing can do that for you, you might have to go trial and error. But I would ask the question anyway: “What makes this acting technique able to give me faster results than some of the others?”

· Faculty that is serious and professional

· Acting teachers who care about my learning, who push me and challenge me, and who will kick me in the butt if necessary

· Teachers who don’t treat me like a number

· Teachers who take pride in the development of their students and who really care

· They offer acting classes that are within my budget.

· Class times suitable for my schedule

· Offers a variety of classes that are complementary to each other so that I can stay at the same school and practice the technique in all the classes I take there. (It helps to stay focused instead of taking a technique class at one school, audition technique at another, scene study at another, and so on. However, it might not be possible to do everything at one school. This is what I preferred a few years ago, when I was just starting out. Most schools usually specialize in one thing or do one thing really well. If you can find a school that does more than one thing well, that’s a plus. Just a thought.) Having different

· Doesn’t play favorites

. Everyone is treated equally and fairly

These are my criteria for choosing acting teachers. When you are the one choosing, I would suggest for you to have some criteria of your own. If you don’t know what you are looking for and why, then any school and any teacher (and maybe even at any price) will do. Know what it is you are looking for instead of just going to a school because one of your friends or someone you know is going there. Know what it is that will make you stay there. Have clear objectives for what it is you want to accomplish. I know it’s not always easy, especially now that you are maybe just beginning this new way of thinking, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you will feel and the easier it will become. In the beginning when you don’t know anything, it is difficult, but as you continue in your profession, things will become clearer to you. Good luck.

Here are two DVDs by two of the great acting teachers of all time; Uta Hagen & Sanford Meisner. You can see how they actually conduct their classes and the things they taught their students.

Also have a look at these books on acting teachers:

The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods (Career Development Book)

A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method

The Vocal Vision: Views on Voice by 24 Leading Teachers, Coaches and Directors

Lee Strasberg, the Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio

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What you’re doing is great Anthony. Whenever I read the things on your site, the interviews and even your book, I feel like if only everybody got to read this before they got started, they would be so much better off and everybody else (casting directors, agents, directors, etc.) would be so much better off too.
Personal Manager, Ingrid French

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Tony,
I want to say you changed my life. I want to be an actress so bad, but i began losing motivation when I couldn't figure out what to do. And then I found you! Thanks to you, I'm taking my first acting classes next month! Yippee!
Sara, Pasadena, CA

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Hi Tony
I would like to thank you for helping me with the monologue question I asked you. I went to the auditions for a Drama course and I am happy to say that I have been accepted as a first-year student at the Tshwane University of Technology. Please keep on sending me those newsletters and let me know where I can find books that will help me in my acting career. Thank you once more. Have a blessed day.
Sincerely
Edward Thaba -South Africa

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Dear Anthony,
Just wanted to thank you for bringing me in to [audition for the video], meet you and chat this Saturday. I was really excited to hear about your working on actingcareerstartup.com and even took a look at it today - it's awesome! You are very well-spoken, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and it shows through the work that you do! I hope our paths in the industry will cross again and really enjoyed meeting you. Thanks, again and best wishes with your very important work!
Warmly,
Gretchen, NY, NY

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Hey Tony, thanks for the info, yours by far is the most useful, I am 30 years old, and I myself always (secretly) wanted to be an actress, but I never knew where to begin, so thank you. You have given me hope!
Ana C., Tampa, FL