There are many types of acting schools in Canada with various and different approaches to the craft.
The best acting lessons will simplify the actors process and teach you the essential basics.
I’ve listed 10 of the essentials basics every actor should learn here, for you to get you started on your acting journey.
1. You learn “active” listening skills
Listening is a skill that any good acting coach in acting classes will teach you. It sounds like a simple thing. We listen every day. Listening as an actor goes deeper though. Actors are trained to listen not only to what is being said by another actor, but also to listen to the sound of the other actor’s voice, the body language, the facial expressions and the energy being sent by the other actor. Essentially, listening on a multitude of levels.
Acting school, is where you learn to listen to your environment in great detail. You’ll learn to listen on a sensorial level-with your eyes to what you can see, seeing fine details like colours, shapes, light and shadow. You listen with acute attention to what specific sounds are in your environment. With your sense of smell you take the time to inhale all the different smells surrounding you. Listening is deeply receptive and you learn to receive and take in what you are experiencing with your five senses so that it impacts you and feeds your acting.
2. You learn how to live in the moment
In online acting classes or in person acting classes you learn to be fully present in the here and now. You learn to live each and every moment – moment to moment. This is how you capture a moment and bring it to life in a physical and emotional way. When you are in the moment in acting classes, you can notice an impulse and act on it spontaneously without having to be one step ahead of yourself thinking about it.
3. You learn how to get out of your head and into your body.
Not all acting schools teach this. There are specialized voice and movement teachers who focus on helping you learn this. I teach this in my acting classes in Toronto. I use a holistic approach where the physical, energetic, body-mind integrate. I incorporate modalities like bioenergetics to help facilitate this: You learn how to allow the flow of energy through your body, so you are energetically alive, and you have presence as an actor. This makes you compelling to watch. See my article series on Grounding for the Actor – Part 1 for more on this.
An actor in our International acting school surrenders to “authentic flow” in preparation for scene work.
4. You learn how to be truthful
In order for you to reach your audience in any kind of meaningful way – you will want to work with an acting coach who can help you learn to be truthful in your acting. What does being truthful mean? It means not playing a concept or idea of a character but courageously accessing your connection to the universal element that connects you and your character as one. This can be done through your observations and life experiences, through archetypes, a personalized acting approach and by using that ultimate skill of empathy.
5. You learn how to be empathetic
Acting lessons teach you empathy so you can access your characters by looking out at life through their eyes and walking in their shoes. You learn a great deal about yourself when you play characters because the character takes you to internal places you may have never acknowledged before – for the first time maybe. This unknown territory is referred to as the shadow within. See my article What does the Shadow have to do with Acting for more on this.
Sometimes we have to move further away from ourselves in order to see ourselves more clearly. In my acting school you learn that you are both the character and not the character at the same time.
6. You learn how to take risks
A good acting coach teaches you how to act on your instincts and impulses. You learn how to drop into your body and out of your head to access the animal and primal parts of you – get out of their way – and let them take you places. Therefore, you learn how to let go of control and be spontaneous. This is very freeing.
7. You learn how to be emotionally vulnerable
Of course, learning this skill requires a safe acting environment where you feel you are free to be open and emotionally honest in front of everyone watching. It takes a skilled acting teacher who knows how to help you connect to your feelings without pushing you into territory that might overwhelm you. Or to the other extreme, allowing you to play safe and superficial. As an acting teacher I’ve been technically trained trained to deal with the deep issues that can surface for an actor when accessing vulnerabilities and deep emotional connection.
In our International acting school an actor organically surrenders to her emotion while being held in a safe and nurturing environment.
8. You learn how to go after your goals and get them met no matter what!
Actors learn that they must move the story forward. There must be a sense of urgency and a strong desire to achieve your goal. Acting lessons teach you how to make active choices and let go of passivity. This skillset can translate into your life outside of acting. Helping you to set goals for your life while pursuing them with active intent.
9. You learn how to heighten the reality of life.
Many people have fantasies of living an exciting life full of adventure. We take one-week vacations and jam in as much activity as we can to make it enjoyable. We dream about living a life of heightened reality. As an actor you must tell a story in a two-hour period – that in real life may take years to tell. Therefore, you learn to make the life of the story more heightened than actual life. You learn how to make life and death choices that raise the stakes and bring a sense of “this is all happening so intensely right now!”
10. You learn to be creative
Good acting classes will teach to make creative choices. This comes from living a full and cultured life – from traveling and meeting people who may be different from you and trying out new things – from learning how to play an instrument to spending time in art galleries – from reading fiction and using your imagination. Acting lessons will teach you to allow your imagination to be free to follow your fantasies and play them out. You’ll learn to make unique choices that have your unique stamp on them. This comes from you and your life experience and who you are as a person. See my article Acting and Life- what do they have to do with each other, for more on this.
Finally, all of this learning comes mostly from you and your willingness to explore for a process that works for you. You must be willing to do the hard work and not simply outsource your learning. An acting teacher can guide you and suggest tools to help you get there, however it is you who ultimately must find your own way to learn how to be an actor. Learn the basics from as many gifted acting coaches and teachers as you can and then fly free with all of it!
Cindy Tanas Actors Studio teaches acting classes for Theatre and Film in Toronto and the GTA, Collingwood and Southern Georgian Bay.
Connect with Cindy for a free consultation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Acting Teacher / Mentor / Life Coach Cindy Tanas, has run a highly reputable and successful Toronto acting school for over 25 years. She teaches Acting Classes for beginners and experienced actors. Cindy is a member of ACTRA, former Chair and member of TAAS (Toronto Association of Acting Studios) and member of Theatre Ontario.
Cindy Tanas Actors Studio offers a holistic approach to acting in Toronto since 1995. Both in person and online acting classes are available.
www.torontoactingstudios.com
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www.theatreontario.org