If you have a passion for the performing arts and have enrolled in one of the acting schools near you, expect a career that is people-centred. First you’ll need people skills to engage with casting panels. Then it’s agents, directors and fellow actors. But it’s when you get down to the work of acting that the interpersonal skills needed for teamwork come to the fore. Films and plays are, above all, team efforts and may fly or fall on the strength of the team itself.

The long and the short of it is that you’d better be a team player, at least when you’re on the job. You don’t actually have to be a ‘people person’; that’s something else. After-hours you can proclaim that you want to be alone and go batten down the hatches. But if you’re no good at teamwork, expect a rough ride, whether that’s in an actual production or in your acting courses.

Most of us think of ourselves as team players, even when we’re not. Team players are able to put their own interests second to those of the group in order to achieve a common goal. Being late for rehearsals is the sign of a poor team player. So is not learning your lines properly, because that affects the whole cast.

In fact, if any of your actions have a negative impact on the team effort, then you’re falling short as a team player. Sloppiness and inefficiency are just one way to do that.

‘Actor’ and ‘ego’ are two words that often go together, and not necessarily in a good way. Though there may be temperamental actors and divas in the industry, successful actors know that ego control is important to the quality of their performances. This applies to students taking acting courses just as much as it applies to established stars.

You may have heard people say that X is a ‘generous actor’. That usually doesn’t mean he or she is free with money. It means that X does not allow his or her personality to swamp others on stage and, literally, doesn’t hog the limelight.

Put yourself in the shoes of a casting director. He’s narrowed down a crop of promising graduates from acting schools and is down to choosing between two equally talented young actors auditioning for a role. One is a team player. Which one has got the edge?

A generous actor understands that a play or film is like a well-cooked dish. The constituents complement each other and work together to create something bigger than the sum of the parts. Too much (or too little) of the main ingredient, no matter how good it is, and the dish is ruined.

We often read media reviews that focus on actors’ individual performances. In reality, actors don’t just act. They interact. On stage or screen, actors take cues from each other and work in tandem. That’s teamwork and it’s the oil on the wheels of a good dramatic production.

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.

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.

The simple answer is yes, they do.

Every one of us has what psychologists call conditioning. Conditioning is the effect that our culture, environment, the people in our lives and our life experiences have on us.

No two people are alike and the way we perceive the world is different. For example, if two people see a car crash, each will experience it in a different way. Why? Well, one may seen the accident from a slightly different angle, one may be physically fitter than the other, which affects their sensorial perception of the incident, one may have experienced a car crash themselves, one may have lost a friend in a car crash and so on. All these different elements mean that each individual will perceive things differently.

So, how does all this tie into your acting training, and what is your parents’ role in shaping your acting ability?

Well, our parents pass on their fundamental beliefs, many of which you will have consciously or unconsciously adopted.

This affects your acting ability.

Let me give you an example. Say someone has to play a scene in an acting class where they cry. If the actor has grown up in an environment where parents have said that he or she shouldn’t cry, or no one in the family ever cried, it will be harder for that actor to suddenly cry on cue for acting purposes.

Now, this is not to say that actors cannot change this, because they can. They just need to be aware of their conditioning and how it is affecting their acting. Actors can then use particular exercises developed when they attend acting courses to address the issue.

Here is another example of conditioning. When Sharon Stone walks into a room do you think casting directors have any trouble seeing her in the sexy diva-type role? No, of course not. Why? Her natural conditioning supports this type of character. However, if she were to play Mother Theresa then she would need to address her natural conditioning and change it for the audition.

You just have to be aware of your conditioning and any limitations it has placed on your acting ability. Then you can start to address them. In some cases your conditioning will be extremely helpful and will help you play a role better…something you can thank your parents for.

Coming from Scotland I have had my fair share of discussions over this subject and my view, which is shared by many a casting director, is that accents are cool. Your accent is very much a part of you. It’s part of your identity and so it should be embraced.

The days are gone when every actor had to speak in RP (Received Pronunciation – similar to how a newsreader talks) to get a job. Casting people need regional accents because many dramas require them.

I remember constantly being told to lose my Scottish accent when I was at drama school in london. Which I learned to do.

However, I got the shock of my life when I started working in the profession. My main selling point became my Scottish accent. Admittedly ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘Braveheart’ had just been released, which caused a big change in how Scottish actors were perceived.

It also marked a change for people with regional accents all over the UK.

Now, I am not saying that you should only use your own accent. I think you should be able to adopt another accent if the part demands it and when you are practising scenes during your acting courses, this is a good way to test yourself.

The main thing to remember is that when you change accents it’s for a creative purpose, not just because you think the industry wants you speaking the Queen’s English.

I like accents because they are also part of our history in the UK. RP is a social accent and therefore has no real history behind it.

The thing that really tickles me is how Shakespeare is spoken in RP by much of the acting establishment. But in Shakespeare’s day RP didn’t exist and you were much more likely to hear his words spoken in a London accent or another regional tone.

It seems that we have come full circle since those days.

Remain flexible is my advice during your drama school and acting training. Keep the individuality of your own accent but have the ability to change should it be necessary.

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.

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.