[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s acting blog from Fran Montano of Actors Workout Studio discusses “Finding an Acting Class – Part Three.”
In my first finding an acting class blog, I talked about where to look in finding an acting class, school or teacher. What to look for and what questions to ask. In part two I talked about reviews.
In part three of Finding an Acting Class, I’m going to hash out the most key part, finding a teacher or coach that can really work on your instrument.
There are a lot of academics and techniques that actors need to learn and use. How to break down a script, how to make choices, finding the arc, what is the objective, etc. All that is important but there is something that matters most after you have all that.
Here’s an audition situation. You are going in to read for a part. It might be three pages long. There might be 50 actors in front of you and 50 actors behind you. You’re all reading the same words, and you all basically look the same. You’re all trained, (actors come to L.A. from all over the world and the best schools) and know all the academics of how to prepare.
What do you have over the other actors that is going to get you the part? It is who you are. So, the biggest part of getting good training (after you know the academics and technique) is finding someone who can help you with who are you and what you are personally bringing to the role that makes you unique.
Are you bringing your soul, spirit, and personality to the performance? I like to say not “who do I have to be to play this part, but who is the character because I’m playing him or her?”
This is where the real coaching begins. It’s not academic or technique. In many ways, it is therapeutic, psychological, spiritual, and using deep personal insight. That is not linear, it’s complicated and where the work is truly realized. That work happens not in your head but in your body.
Here is an email I sent to my class one morning after a powerful night’s class.
It’s 6 AM and I woke up stimulated about the work I saw in class last night. I can’t sleep. Thought I’d share a story that happened in class years ago, a while ago before any of you were studying here. It’s a conversation between an actor and teacher.
“I think you’re a good teacher but I think I need to take a cold reading class. I am starting to go out on auditions and need that”
“I am teaching you cold readings”
“No, I mean an audition class where you get material and learn how to read it for auditions”
“That’s what I’m teaching you”
“ No, we’re doing repetitions, and improvs, and exercises and only doing readings once in a while”
“That’s a big part of learning how to do it”
“ I mean I want a class where we do that every week, so I can get comfortable with a script in my hand and break down the material”
“That’s what we’re doing”
“Yes, but not often enough, I’m tired of reps and improvs, I want to do material”
“That’s how you learn how to do material”
“Sorry, I think you don’t get what I mean. I go out on auditions and don’t feel strong enough with my material, I’m not spending enough time on them. I want to be in an audition technique class, where I can put it on my resume, Audition Technique class”
“You’re doing that here”
“You don’t get me”
“Improv, repetition, and the exercises are how you learn to prepare a character, make emotional choices, work moment to moment, and use yourself more in the material”
“I know all that, but I want learn how to audition, I need to learn how to break down a script”
“You are doing that here”
“But it doesn’t seem like it. And it’s not enough. Not fast enough. This is a technique class, not an audition class”
“Yes it is”
“ You just don’t get me”
“ No, you just don’t get me or the work”
“Now you’re insulting me”
“No, I’m just telling you this is how you become great at auditioning”
Last night the work in readings were pretty much spot on, perfect, nailed. Moment to moment, good characters, with solid emotional preparations. It was like watching short plays with a beginning, middle, and end, and full complete expression of the characters. Even the rhythm of the writing was spot on. Body language and movement was perfect. There was one adjustment thrown out to Jenny and Chris and it was executed perfectly with the adjustment. A great sign that the actor can take direction. As I mentioned last night, it is exciting to see the breakthroughs with all of you when it comes to material. You all made it look so easy and effortless. Yes, it’s a journey, but you used the writing to bring yourself to the roles. I think everyone would agree that the readings last night were excellent. And it almost looked like the material was made for you. You watched them, agree?
By the way, the dialogue that I shared above was with a young, arrogant acting student and his teacher. The student was me. The teacher was my teacher, Ed Kaye Martin. Shortly after that conversation, I started booking work regularly as did everyone else in that class.
Find a coach that sees you and gets you, and who can break you of bad habits and places where you hide.
“Sometimes you have to go a long distance way out of the way in order to go a short distance correctly.” – Edward Albee
Break a leg.
Fran Montano
Actors Workout Studio