Some people enrol for acting courses with a view to conquering Hollywood. Or your aim might be to tread the boards or appear on TV in millions of living rooms. Depending on the acting schools and drama teachers in your area, you may have the option of specialising in a subfield, and taking some acting courses and not others, from the very beginning of your training.

Is that smart? Will a narrower focus give you the edge in your preferred field or will it turn you into a one trick pony?

You probably realise that stagecraft and screen acting demand very different ways of working. If you’re dead set on being a soap star and nothing else will do, then spending time mastering theatre acting may seem to be a waste of everyone’s time. Or is it?

There is one compelling practical reason for seeking out acting courses that will give you a broad spectrum of skills. If you have a suite of abilities you have a better chance of finding work. Quite simply, if you want to act, being able to demonstrate versatility gives you more options.

A CV with a spread of job experience, no matter how puny the roles, has some substance. If you’ve specialised in something and have only a couple of acting outings to boast of, and perhaps long gaps between jobs, your CV can look unimpressive. It might even look as if you lack commitment.

It’s a gamble and it’s down to you. There are no rules for sure-fire success. But there is another reason to aim for a spread of acting experience. By working in different media you will draw on and develop a range of dramatic resources. You will be tested more rigorously, which is the best way to grow as an actor.

If you still want to specialise, you’ll have a keener feel for the specific requirements of your preferred medium. But what’s the hurry? Is time a real issue or are you just impatient? If the latter, note now that success in acting can be a slow burner.

Let’s say you’ve opted to get an acting training that gives you a broad foundation. Beware! You can still become a one trick pony.

Especially in the early days of your career, then why not mix it up a bit if you have the chance? If you are in more or less regular work, do you really want to do another costume drama or play another social misfit? It can be easier to tread well-worn paths but remember that typecasting is a pitfall to be actively avoided.

Some great actors aren’t versatile. Some turn typecasting into a career virtue. But, at the outset of your career, being open to all possible options is probably a smart move.

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Without the phenomenon of corpsing, TV out-take shows would be a lot shorter. There’s something infectiously funny about actors, TV presenters and other public speakers getting the giggles. And the more they try to control themselves, the more helpless they become.

Corpsing is an occupational hazard for actors, but it has its unfunny side. It wastes time, money and VT. It contaminates the other actors and inconveniences everybody involved in the production.

On stage it is particularly disastrous. The mood and atmosphere that has been carefully built up simply vanishes. The illusion shatters. The audience is jolted out of the world of drama, reminded only too forcefully that these are actors behaving badly – even if they truly can’t help themselves.

What makes an actor corpse? Psychologically, it seems to be related to anxiety. Freud argued that laughter provides a release of psychic tension. Support for this comes from the fact that the altar is a popular place for brides and grooms to start giggling uncontrollably. Or consider the much-viewed YouTube clip of MP Keith Hill in the House of Commons: every time he encounters the challenging tongue twister ’short sea shipping’ in his speech he cracks up.

The fact is: you can’t make a living from out-take royalties and anything more than the occasional collapse into hysterical laughter starts to look unprofessional. Though the actual outbreak of mirth may be short-lived, its effects are longer lasting. Getting serious and back ‘in the zone’ is a huge challenge for corpsers, especially since the slightest trigger is likely to set them off all over again.

You can do dozens of acting courses but, however many you take, you won’t be able to insulate yourself from the possibility of corpsing. The best you can do is to hone your recovery skills so that you can get back on track as fast as possible. The skills of method acting can come in useful here.

There are two strategies you can use to deal with the giggles. One is relaxation, to release that psychic tension. The only way to stop cracking up again – and again – is to regain your focus and concentration. This is a staple of method acting. Your teachers will tell you that concentration, vital to good acting, is something you can learn if you know the techniques.

Controlling corpsing may not be the main reason that actors choose method acting classes over other kinds of acting courses but it can come in really useful in your acting career.

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Give the same script to a dozen actors and every single one of them will play the same role differently. That’s partly a matter of individual acting style, but there’s more to it.

The words on the page don’t dictate how a role is played. Rather you, as an actor, make a bunch of decisions about how to create the character in question. In your acting courses, you will learn how to interpret those words on the page and translate the skeleton in the script into a three-dimensional being.

So – what exactly do you have to do? What do the critics mean when they rave about an actor’s interpretation of a role (or if they pan it as a misinterpretation)?

The script gives you guidelines to sculpt your character, as well as limits. You’ll have a tough time if you try to play Hamlet the ditherer as Hamlet the bold decision-maker – and your director probably won’t be happy if you try. Most directors have their own visions that you have to take into account – or ignore at your peril.

Even if your director is a dictator, you still have choices when realising (literally ‘making real’) your character. Your first step is to have a thorough understanding of the play or film. Then you can figure out how best to use your voice and body to give your character a physical presence, personality and inner life.

The best actors find ways to bring out new dimensions of a character or to breathe new life into a familiar one. You may have a gut feeling about how to proceed but it takes effort too. It’s an exercise in imagination and lateral thinking – plus good judgement and taking feedback on board.

Acting courses in london can help you to develop the skills you need to interpret roles intelligently. Method acting is a technique that will help you visualise those possibilities and enter into the character. Amongst the acting courses on offer, method acting classes will be especially helpful in giving you many of the tools you need to take your interpretation of the character and give it form, texture and soul.

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I often get asked, ‘Is it important to have a degree in acting?’.

My answer is ‘definitely not’. In fact, it can be a hindrance.

Acting is not an academic subject. Sure, you need to analyse a script logically, but you don’t need a Ph.D. in acting to be able to do that. More importantly, you have to be able to take impulses and actions.

In my experience, too much thinking is a killer in creating good acting.

Over-analysing and academic approaches don’t sit well in the professional acting environment. Acting is a practical activity. Acting training requires constant ‘doing’. It requires you to take action…to act.

Often students take the degree route so that at the end of it they can say they have a degree. Why? Well, it’s really an ego thing. It sounds good to say you have a degree but, trust me, it won’t count for anything in the audition room.

Casting directors and agents couldn’t care less if you have a first in acting. What they want is to see is the goods in the audition room. If you have spent years with your head in a book instead of in practical acting courses then it will show.

The current situation in the UK is that many drama schools and acting schools are aligning themselves with universities to ensure student intake and funding from the universities. If it’s an academic course then the government will throw grants at people.

Because of this, I predict that the quality of actors emerging over the coming years will reduce. With more focus being put on academic study, the craft will suffer.

The other reason I hear people give for doing a degree in acting is that it is a safety net. If the acting doesn’t work out then you have a degree to fall back on.

This can be a counter-productive thought process. Having the ‘net’ in place can subconsciously give people a reason to fail. In fact, the ‘net’ unconsciously becomes the plan, because the belief that you can actually make it was never deep enough in the first place. Hence the reason for having a plan B from the outset.

At this point I would like to tell you about the Mongolian army in the 14th century. They were a force to be reckoned with and never lost a battle. The reason? They created conditions which, if they lost, would have devastating effects. When they went to battle they took their wives and children to the battlefield. If they lost the battle, they lost everything. The result was they never lost. They didn’t have a net. It was all or nothing.

Now, I cannot say what is right for you, but what I can tell you is that having a plan B can work against you.

My preference is to build your acting ability to an exceptional level and teach you the business of acting so that you succeed first time round.

When you are looking at this choice – between a degree or practical acting – you have to ask yourself what you really want. If you want to be an actor, then nothing beats acting courses that focus on the practical application.

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As an aspiring actor you may wish to specialise in the medium you feel most passionate about. The reality is that most people who have completed acting courses won’t have the luxury of choice, and of turning down stage roles for screen roles or vice versa. It’s a tough world and, as a new graduate from acting school, you will need to embrace all opportunities. That means cultivating the versatility to perform both on stage and in front of the camera. To do this, all actors need a thorough grasp of how different stage and screen acting are.

Successful actors choose their acting training carefully, plan their careers and capitalise on their strengths. It has been traditional in the UK for actors to learn their craft with acting training geared to stage performance. That’s no longer always essential. For example, a new trend is standup comedians crossing over into stage and screen acting (think of Ricky Gervais, Eddie Izzard and Matt Lucas). What is vital is for you to appreciate where your talents lie, and to assess which medium ultimately offers you the best opportunity to shine.

Physicality

The key difference between stage and screen acting is the way in which meaning is expressed and conveyed. The stage play relies strongly on language and verbal delivery. First, that means that the stage actor needs a voice that can be heard in a large auditorium. Second, in stage work the voice is central to expressiveness and communicating emotion. Third, timing of delivery, and using the voice to create and sustain dramatic tension, are crucial, since they can’t be tweaked in the editing suite.

Movies create meaning very differently. Montage – essentially the juxtapositioning of shots – is central. A character has received terrible news. Film can convey his or her reaction in several ways, suitably tuned to the narrative: by cutting to a stormy sky; a flashback to a car crash; a close-up of a dropped phone dangling. In a play, it is voice and physical movement that you must rely on for conveying emotion.

Gesture, movement and physicality are also vital on stage. Whereas tiny gestures can be magnified in close-up film shots, as a stage actor you will use your body very differently. You will need to communicate a physical energy and develop a ’stage presence’. The film close-up permits subtleties of facial expression and movement that don’t work on the stage.

Camera work and editing achieve effects that the stage actor must create largely by using the body. In film, props and settings are also used extensively to convey meaning and atmosphere. As a stage actor, the onus is on you to do that work.

The Experience of Stage and Screen

As a theatre actor you may find yourself, quite literally, centre stage: significantly in control and in receipt of constant feedback from audiences. In moviemaking, the director’s whim is paramount and editing powerfully shapes the product that (eventually) appears.

Temperamentally, you may discover that you are best suited to performing in one medium or another. You may realise that you are one of the many actors who struggle with the lack of continuity associated with shooting isolated scenes, the process of endless retakes and the absence of audience reaction. Three months on location in Borneo might not be your cup of tea either.

Whatever your preference, the ability to cross over and perform on stage as well as film and TV has clear career benefits. Variety can be the spice of life and mastering the different skills needed can help add texture and depth to your performances.

Method Acting: Bridging Media

Acting for stage and screen demands different acting styles and appreciating that fact should be a consideration for you when you are starting out in acting training and deciding which acting courses to take. Method acting gives actors a firm foundation for work in any medium. Creative expressiveness underlies good performances both on stage and before the camera, even though you will use different devices and strategies to convey it. For stage work, method acting will help you to create the emotional depth and intensity that stage performance demands. In film acting, it will help you to get into character on cue – no mean feat.

Because the stage demands a particular style of acting, some theatre-trained actors find making the transition to the screen difficult. Method acting will help you to bring a naturalism and authenticity to every one of your performances, regardless of whether it is for stage or screen.

As well as honing your ability, a spread of acting courses will illuminate the avenues that you can pursue as an actor and the skills you need to get work in different media. This insight you gain into the world of acting, along with self-knowledge, may lead you in directions other than those you initially planned to follow. Appreciating the different media, and the demands of each, will help you extend your range, depth and versatility as an actor.

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Perhaps you were attracted to acting because it’s a practical, hands-on kind of thing. Acting is active (from the Greek meaning ‘to do’). It’s the opposite of sitting at a desk. Studying Hamlet (let alone Aeschylus or obscure avant garde theatrical works) might not be what you had in mind when you embarked on your acting training.

The good news is that a Masters degree in literature might give you valuable insight into appreciating writing, genres and the history of expressive forms but it isn’t necessarily going to boost you all that much as an actor. That said, a good understanding of the rudiments of dramatic works can be vital. That’s why it is taught as an integral part of many acting courses. A grasp of the language of drama is crucial. A tragedy, for example, is a whole lot more than a sad story.

The role of an actor is to interpret dramatic works, roles and characters. Interpreting texts and understanding how they function is what literary scholars also do. Cultivating some of those skills will help you understand characters and bring them to life. You will appreciate how dramatic tension is created and the importance of structure. Unless you’re a mime, an appreciation of language and dialogue is crucial to effective acting.

Some understanding of the development of dramatic forms will help you appreciate the possibilities of drama and the range of choices and ‘treatments’ available to actors and directors. Understanding the innovations of the giants – the playwright Chekhov, the dramatist Brecht, the films of Bergman or Tarantino – enrich the actor’s dramatic imagination.

It’s about appreciating content as well as form. You can’t understand Ibsen without also understanding how his plays challenged Victorian morality. You can’t even get a grip on Eastenders without appreciating how it is a product of our times. If you land a role, some knowledge of dramatic traditions may also help you get your head around your director’s approach.

Practical Issues

Let’s say you’ve struck it lucky. You have a good chance of a role (maybe just a small one) in production A or B. Which should you choose? There may be all sorts of considerations (pay! hours! commuting!) but you’ll certainly want to go for the one that will bring you to attention and best showcase your talents. A general appreciation of drama will help you evaluate the script. You need to be a good critic to be able to evaluate whether one might be a hit and the other a bomb.

To assess a script you also need to appreciate the differences in dramatic media. Scripts for film, TV and the theatre have very different requirements and demand different ways of working from actors. If you have a feel for your medium then, as an actor, you’ll gain a sense of what rules can be bent or broken and which to leave alone.

All actors learn from watching other actors and assessing their performances. A good actor is one who interprets the script and character well (in one of several possible ways). To emulate good acting, you’ll need to recognise it when you see it. So what was it that was great about performance X? One dimension of that will be the actor’s dramatic intelligence.

Some actors may have that intelligence without knowing their Shakespeare from their Schiller. But as a general principle, the wider your knowledge of your subject, the better-equipped you will be to act and to carve a path in the acting world. Obviously, your exploration of your materials may vary, depending on whether you’re aiming for the RSC or voiceover work.

If you love acting and the world of drama, learning about dramatic works will hopefully be enjoyable, not a chore.. It may be more interesting if you recognise what a knowledge of text and performance can do for you as an actor. If you’re taking an acting courses or drama lessons here and there, it’s something you might profitably consider learning more about it.

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But are actors born to act? If you read or watch interviews with leading members of our profession, you’ll have heard some say that from early childhood they had a need to show off and be the centre of attention. Does that mean you need to be some kind of exhibitionist to succeed in the acting world? Is acting ability dependent on personality attributes or innate ability?

Think of the acting greats of our times and it immediately becomes apparent that, personality-wise, the luminaries of stage and screen are a diverse bunch with equally diverse motivations and backgrounds. It’s hard to find any obvious common denominator, except dedication to their art.

Some natural ability to perform (perhaps a gift for mimicry and voices) has no doubt led many actors to enrol in drama school. How ‘natural’ these abilities really are is debatable. They may be picked up from others and actively cultivated because they bring a child attention and approval. Also, an extroverted personality isn’t necessarily the mark of a good actor. The flamboyant, gregarious ‘luvvie’ is one of those enduring clichés. In reality an introverted personality isn’t a barrier to acting achievement and you don’t have to be a party animal. Robert de Niro allegedly began acting to overcome shyness.

Raw talent surely exists, to some degree. But raw talent doesn’t cook on its own (and even today’s PR machines can only take people so far). Actors must learn their craft, from diverse teachers: in acting classes and from directors, fellow actors and the responses of the all-important audience.

It would be foolish to think that anyone can reach the pinnacle of the acting profession with raw talent alone, purely through will power or without additional training. Genius is famously 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Acting ability may similarly rest on the foundation of some mysterious and indefinable quality, but the rest is learned through hard slog – and good teaching.

For that reason, attending professional acting courses is the route taken by the vast majority of successful professional actors today. Lack of professional acting training is a prime cause of career crash. Complacency about one’s supposed innate ability is also a sure-fire career killer. Acting classes are only partly about ‘how to’ lessons from a drama coach. Interactions with fellow students, and their feedback, can teach you vital lessons about your strengths and weaknesses as an actor. (See my article on ‘Common mistakes’ for more tips on what not to do. . . ).

If there is a personal attribute that the best actors share, it is surely their insight into human behaviour (including awareness of self) and the ability to translate that into their performances (if not necessarily their personal lives!). The introvert, with a rich inner world, may have some advantage here. This ‘people-consciousness’ and inner reach may be partly innate, or subliminal, as well as a product of our upbringing and personality. But, as with so many skills, it can be honed. Method acting, for example, provides actors with techniques for accessing inner realms, evoking sensory experiences and expressing emotion authentically and powerfully.

When the news of actor Natasha Richardson’s tragically premature death broke, a New York newspaper ran a story with the headline ‘A woman who was born to act’. How so? The answer is surely this: whatever innate ability Natasha Richardson possessed, it was nurtured in an environment which gave her detailed knowledge and a deep understanding of her art. Those of us who weren’t born into an acting dynasty can take advantage of acting training and actors’ studios instead.

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I am a very positive and optimistic person. In fact, when I choose students who study with me, I also look for these traits. That being said, what I am about to say may seem slightly negative, but I tell you in order to let you know the truth.

Ok, here it is…

Most acting classes in London are terrible.

This is not ’sour grapes’ on my part or a ploy to get you to take my classes. I have too many students as it is, so it’s not that.

It’s just that many acting classes are badly designed and taught.

For example, there are the light runaround classes, which may be good for a laugh but no good if you are serious about acting. There is the pseudo intellectual class that pretends to be serious and deep, but is in actual fact self indulgent and pretentious.

I know this because during my own training many, many years ago I experienced these acting classes, and not very much has changed since then.

This is why I decided to give London what it really needed. Acting Classes that really teach you how to act. No hidden agendas or pretentions, just honest, high quality teaching in a safe and creative atmosphere.

Actually, I am always touched by the way students on my 3 day Introduction to Method Acting Boot Camp bond and become encouraging and supportive with each other. They become a mini-family for the weekend.

My teaching is always in depth and honest. Also, the focus is always on YOU. You wouldn’t believe the amount of acting teachers that have egos the size of small houses, and spend most of the time talking about themselves. I like to talk about you and your ability and how to move it on. That is what interests me.

When you are looking at taking acting classes in London, have a look at the technique they teach. I teach the world’s most successful acting technique – Method Acting – because I am obsessed with acting excellence. If you are too, then you may want to join me?

I can promise you an amazing experience.

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Here is the thing. It’s easy to become a mediocre or a bad actor, but to become an excellent actor takes time, commitment and perseverance.

All the top actors you may care to mention studied acting and studied it in detail. They all attended acting courses and acting classes, usually for some years.

Let me ask you a question. If you were going to become an accountant, would you try to do a set of company accounts before you learned accounting. No, of course not, and acting is no different.

It’s a skill that has to be learned.

The good news is that it is a skill, and therefore there is a process that can be followed to achieve a high level of ability.

The acting approach that I specialise in teaching is Method Acting.

Method Acting is used by all the top actors you may care to mention, and is the most successful acting technique in the world.

All the top actors have learned this technique to take their acting skills to a top professional level. Not just to achieve ‘ok’ or ‘alright’ acting, but exceptional acting.

Have a look at Senn Penn’s work. Good or brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

How about Al Pacino. Good or Brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

Daniel Day-Lewis? Good or Brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

I could go on, because there is a very, very long list of outstanding actors who went to Method Acting Schools and Method Acting Coaches.

Al Pacino still takes method acting lessons with a method acting teacher.

The message here is that if you are serious about becoming a truly outstanding actor, you need to learn the best technique. Then once you’re brilliant artistically, you need to get good at the business of acting and that’s a whole other discussion.

The first step is to start learning The Method.

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Myself and my wife Natalie went along for a good laugh, and we weren’t disappointed. But let me warn you, if you’re easily offended or of a delicate disposition, then it may not be for you!

I have always been intrigued by Mr Cohen’s work because there is something very Method about it.

Yes, it’s high comedy, but the Method is used by many a great comedy actor, including Gene Wilder.

Now, I know that Mr Cohen probably won’t say he is a Method Actor, and he probably hasn’t had a method acting training, but let me explain where the similarities are.

He creates characters that are utterly believable. They may be extreme, but he can fool everyone around him. The people that come into contact with him who don’t know he is acting are completely convinced. To the point where he can create bizarre comic moments because the people involved REALLY believe that is him. Of course, eventually he pushes too far and they walk off.

But the creation of such convincing characters is the forte of the Method Actor. They also tend to test these characters out on the public. Robert De Niro, when he created the character of Travis Bickle on Taxi Driver, spent a month driving a New York cab to understand the world of his character. Daniel Day-Lewis goes out in public and tests his characters out with those around him.

This is a great test. If people in real life are convinced by you, then you’re on the right track. With my students, as part of my acting courses, I sometimes ask them to go and do a scene in a real restaurant, art gallery or public place, and see how the people around them react. Are they convinced?

Also, there is something else about Mr Cohen’s work. I believe there is a very talented serious actor in there too. There are a few fleeting moments in the film which are touching. But it was enough for me to see that he has the ability and potential.

The big message from all this is that being believable doesn’t always mean being subtle. It means being believable. It’s a fine line, but the boundaries must be tested.

During your own acting classes, test your believability. Ask your peers if they truly believed what they saw… if they say yes you’re on the right track.

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