How to Tell the Good Acting Schools from the Bad?

Answer 1

There are acting schools on every corner - especially in New York and Los Angeles - and inexperienced actors who are just starting out often find it extremely difficult to select the right acting school as they do not have the showbiz-smarts necessary to tell the good schools from the bad.

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an acting school is who the classes are going to be taught by. The more reputable schools feature classes headed either by actors who have had years of experience in stage, film, television and/or commercial acting or by acting coaches who have taught actors who have had years of experience, and who have booked many lucrative jobs, in the aforementioned areas. What a teacher has accomplished in his or her acting career - or which high-profile actors he or she has coached - is therefore an important first criterion whereby acting schools should be judged.

Many of the better acting schools also offer prospective students the opportunity to audit their classes so that a student can determine whether or not what is being taught - and how it is being taught - is right for them. It is recommended that a new student audit at least 10 to 15 such classes at different acting schools before deciding which school suites their acting style the best. It should, furthermore, also be remembered that the better acting schools will allow prospective students to audit their classes for free.

An actor looking to take one or more classes at an acting school should also decide exactly which areas he or she would like to learn more about before signing up for any specific courses. On-screen camera audition technique classes are, for instance, very different from long form improvisation classes, which are again not the same as stage combat classes, and students should have a good idea of the areas in which they need to hone their craft before paying hundreds of dollars for a class or classes that wouldn’t benefit them.

The acting schools that promise a student overnight success and instant fame and fortune are the acting schools to avoid. Nothing comes easily in the world of entertainment - not selecting the correct acting school nor getting auditions nor booking jobs - and new students would do well to follow the examples of established working actors when it comes to schools.