3 Ways To Learn Acting | Without Money | With Money | Privately

A confused aspiring actor

Acting is a specialized type of performing arts, and it generally requires a great amount of skill. Although some actors are naturally talented, a formal training to get the most out of these talents is a MUST. Because of this, many aspiring actors choose to attend performing arts or acting schools or hire an acting coach or a mentor.

Which one, especially a beginner should choose? A school or an acting coach?

There are 3 options

A. Without Money

Then you can learn acting FREE at Home and become a good actor

How?

1. Read all 280+ posts of this blog and practice either 
2. With friends
3. In front of a full-size mirror
4. By this method, it may take few months to become a good actor (I give guidance by email to visitors of my blog)
5. Once your are moderately confident, visit film institutes like Digital Academy Andheri East or at Zee Institute at Lokhandwala. Andheri west. There are direction courses for aspiring directors and to get a diploma, they must make a short film. They need actors free or to whom they may have to pay a small amount. Meet such aspirant directors after a training session with your photographs and introduce self. Advantage: You learn acting for the camera, making a film and develop your network. 

B. With Money-How To Select An Acting School

Selection criteria

• Which suits you after a thorough research
• Rather than the name, enrolling a large group (20 or more), the man behind the school ( a Bollywood celebrity), fame etc.
• Many a time the above credentials of a school are carefully created to attract students by clever marketing and promotional tactics

So be careful!

Before deciding on a school

• Visit personally and check syllabus, faculty (important) eg actor-teacher or senior retired actors, ex-directors or casting directors, teachers from production or cinematography. Verify credentials of faculty online and also from co-actors or artist coordinators/ friend casting director/ production houses.
• Number of classes on a designed day and the time allotted for each session
• Do teachers spend extra time to individual students if they can't learn for example a particular and sensitive emotion, attitude of a human life or learning improvisation, remembering lines, monologs etc
• Meet students from the school after the class and seek their opinion
• How many ex- students got a break in films, theater, TV serials or in commercial ads. Check online the validity of such information
• What's the fee structure? Schools which have big names like Berry John or whistling woods (Subhash Ghai) may charge fees in Lakhs
• Then decide after this thorough research 
• C.  Private 'One On One' acting coach
• For beginners, I strongly suggest starting with an acting coach to have an undivided and focused personal attention to master acting craft.
• Acting is not like studying a subject like physics, history or maths with a large group of students. Acting is observing, feeling and transformation- into a new life thus making it a fine delicate form of art and for beginners, it should be learned individually. 

C.  Top Private Acting Coach

Key Advantages

• Best For Beginners
• Economical
• Personal attention

For beginners, I strongly suggest starting with an acting coach to have an undivided and focused personal attention to master acting craft.
Acting is not like studying a subject like physics, history or maths with a large group of students. Acting is observing, feeling and transformation- into a new life thus making it a fine delicate form of art and for beginners should be learned individually.

Pros and Cons an acting coach

Pros

1. Sympathetic to the actor 
2. Understand the objectives for the individual being coached
3. Creates a syllabus which suits to a particular student
4. Adapts course of study and training methods to meet student's need and ability.
5. Writes, produces and directs monologs and show-reels for students for auditions.
6. Audition practice.
7. Acting for camera techniques
8. Ideal portfolio, making
9. How to market and promote (social media, online and personal)
10. Life and acting goal setting, how to achieve success and action plan
11. Many other tasks needed by a student to excel in an acting career 
12. Long term follow up and help  

Cons

1. The coaching sessions may not enable you to see the other actors work, which in itself is invaluable!
2. You can not see how other actors overcome some of their own issues while acting and interpreting their roles.
3. Learning acting by a coach may not give you a sense of colleagues, and may feel alone in your quest to become an actor.
4. In private coaching session, you may not find a group of people with whom you can exchange ideas and to whom you can ask questions and share. The absence of this group of your co-learners may deprive  you  to develop networks and information about the film industry like auditions, directors, and casting directors 
5. Note: However, as a coach is your long time guide, on request he/she can organize such group for interaction and scene practice

The fees


It would depend on courses you chose. It could be the short and fast track for a month or more or a supreme course ( which may include all top international acting techniques+ creating a Monolog Film + Video introduction+ Website etc. Thd fees may range from Rs 20,000 to 1.5 Lacks (with additional 1 year free workshops, support, and guidance)

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