What Do You Need to Learn Acting?

You might worry that acting will be too hard to learn. This guide will help you understand the best methods for learning acting and what you should study first to make the learning process easier. This way, you’ll be successful however you choose to apply your new skills. 

What is Acting?

Acting is the art of creating a character, making them come to life, and telling it on stage, film, or television. There are four types of acting: classical, Stanislavski's (modern acting) method, method acting, and the Meisner technique. Each style of acting has vital components that make it unique and keep actors on their toes. Classical was developed before film and is tailored for more theatrics to emphasize dramatics and exaggerated movements. New actors will also notice that classical methods are taught in beginner-level classes to help them become accustomed to the exaggerated movement and using their bodies. 

Stanislavski, or modern acting, is a mixture of classical with some improv work, giving actors the freedom to be more natural with their performances. Also, the Stanislavski system works well in the theater and on film. 

Method acting is well-known in cinema. This method allows actors to bring a character to life using emotions from their experiences. Method actors live their character's life throughout filming; some never break character, while others stay in character whenever they are on set. Once you think, move, and feel like your character, it translates well on film. 

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Finally, the Meisner technique, named after Sanford Meisner, helps actors make natural choices on set, encouraging them to respond without thinking too much but simply by being in the moment. Perfect for film actors, this technique has three main principles: emotional preparation, repetition, and improvisation. 

While these methods might seem challenging and hard to grasp, many acting classes give you a glimpse of different techniques and offer options to explore each further. Even if none of these methods seems ideal for you, you can still learn acting and reap the benefits of knowing any of these techniques. 

Benefits of Learning Acting?

As a skill, acting has numerous benefits, and most can easily transfer to other areas of your life. For example, performing can help improve your public speaking skills, which are essential in almost every part of most people's lives. To be an actor, you need to speak with confidence, volume, and proper enunciation and be used to speaking in front of strangers. These same skills can be helpful in your career and personal life. Hence, as you improve your acting skills, you will notice an improvement in your public speaking on and off the stage. Improved public speaking also brings improved confidence, another fantastic benefit of acting. Improved confidence comes from spending a lot of time performing in front of strangers and handling yourself in awkward situations on stage or behind the camera. Because of this, your confidence as an actor and person improves over time.

Additionally, as you advance in acting and notice improvements in your skills, your confidence will boost because you are good at something. Finally, after you spend some time in acting courses, you might notice improvements in your ability to think on your feet. Actors need to be prepared for anything when taking lessons or even on stage. You can forget your lines, someone can miss a cue, or your stage partner might miss their mark, but the show must go on. The need to be ready for anything going wrong helps strengthen your ability to think quickly on your feet, a critical skill for daily life too. 

Practical benefits aside, there are other benefits to learning acting as well. Taking acting classes is a great hobby. Like most hobbies, taking an acting class can reduce stress and help life feel more purposeful outside your typical day-to-day activities. Acting and acting classes are also great opportunities to meet new people. Additionally, once you are a part of the acting community, it is a great time to join community organizations that connect you with other members of the acting community. Meetup has many great groups for actors to connect in cities all over. Your city likely has local options to communicate with people looking to meet new acting friends, run lines, learn new techniques, or know about new opportunities. Consider checking your local acting school or community college for more information on how to connect with other artists. Acting is a lucrative career for some. Still, other non-monetary benefits make learning this new skill worth it. 

Is Acting Easy to Learn?

Learning acting is easy, depending on how far you want to take your skills. As you advance in your career or aspire to know some of the numerous acting techniques and styles, you will notice that it can become more complicated. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to improve your acting skills. You can use self-paced work to grow your skills by finding books or free online videos to read and watch at your leisure. While taking free, self-paced online courses are easier to learn and with less pressure, professional classes are the preferred method. Taking a professional course, either online or in-person, will help you learn quicker and ensure that you have adequate skills. 

CourseHorse has many classes to choose from, depending on how advanced you would like to go. You could start with a Beginners Acting I: The Basics class offered online. The course is designed for beginners and highlights ways to make students' performance more natural and spontaneous. If you prefer an in-person class, Acting for Adults is offered in Culver City, California. Students learn philosophy, improvisation, character development, and cold reading. The course aims to develop and foster confidence, focus, self-awareness, creativity, sensory awareness, choice-making, memory and sequencing skills, and reading and comprehension skills. There are classes to help make learning acting less intimidating and easier to learn. 

What You Need to Know Before Learning Acting

You might think you need to go into acting class with all the skill, knowledge, and knowing all the history. While this might be helpful, going into acting classes with an open mind is more beneficial. You might not be good at it right away, and that’s okay. Take time to learn and explore in class, be patient with yourself, and the acting skill will come along. Also, having confidence is important, but not taking yourself too seriously. It might be hard to be overly confident when you are starting to learn a new skill, so be able not to take yourself too seriously. Finally, be prepared to practice, ideally every day. Practicing is one of the most essential parts of acting. You must be ready to learn your lines, choreography, and technique. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become on stage and in your role. 

What You Need to Learn Acting

As mentioned before, time and patience are what you need to learn most new skills; acting is no different. It is essential to be kind to yourself when learning a new skill to continue to grow in your craft. Once you have improved your patience skills, you will have a more open mind to complete some physical skills needed to learn acting. 

Ability to Work on a Team

Teamwork makes the dream work, especially as an actor. Even if you are in a solo scene, your team works together to build up to your performance and to hold the scene after. If it's not just your fellow actors, you have the director, stage help, and other creatives involved in the production; all help make the show successful, mainly when everyone works together. 

Memorization Skills

To learn your lines, you need memorization skills. Most classes can show you different tricks and techniques to help you improve your memorization. Still, you need to have the foundational knowledge of memorizing large chunks of information. 

High Energy 

Acting requires energy, a lot of it. While you only need it sometimes, it is essential to the work. If you tend to have low energy, you can still be an actor, but remember that you might need to spend more time recharging before and after rehearsals. 

Familiarize Yourself with the Techniques 

Acting has an extensive history, meaning it has changed and evolved significantly over time. There are numerous acting techniques, so it is best to be familiar with some of the most common ones. Acting techniques such as the classical, Stanislavski's (modern acting) method, method acting, and the Meisner technique are some of the more popular versions you will hear about in the acting community. You don't have to know all the ins and outs of these techniques, but being aware of some of the key concepts will be helpful once you begin acting. 

Key Takeaways

Acting is fun and an exciting new skill to learn, but to be successful; you should know some fundamental things.

• It would be best if you were willing to work on a team.
• You need to have memorization skills to learn your lines.
• Having high energy is essential, at least on stage and in rehearsal. 
• CourseHorse offers options to help you learn or improve your skills. Lessons can be online or in-person, and even private group sessions.