What Happens in an Acting Class?
What happens in an acting class? If you’re new to acting, you might be curious as to what happens in
an acting class... and unsure as to whether acting is for you. At Perform Australia, the following
ingredients may play a part in any class you attend.
The Warm-Up
An actor uses voice, body, mind and emotions to create characters for stage and screen. So, it makes
sense we need to warm ourselves up, just as an athlete might. So it might involve some stretches,
some meditation or relaxation exercises, as well as making vocal sounds which help you access
greater range in your voice, or drama games to get your sense of fun and imagination going.
Improvisation
Actors often learn the skill of improvisation. Improvisation (sometimes called “improv” or “impro") is
spontaneously creating scenes, characters, stories in the moment. Sound scary? It does get the heart
pumping - but it’s a skill you can learn through a range of games and activities. Your teacher will lead
you through a range of exercises to improve your improv skills, and before long, you’ll be tapping into
creative energy you didn’t know you had. Improvisation is not our sole focus at Perform Australia,
but it is regularly incorporated into classes to help actors develop self-confidence, stage presence,
and technique.
Script or Scene Work
While improvisation is a great skill to have, traditionally, professional actors work from scripts. So,
more than likely, you’ll work with scripts in an acting class with Perform Australia. Scripts are a
blueprint for a performance, giving you a character in a story, plus their words and actions. Often
scripts are fairly open, allowing you to come up with your own gestures, expressions and
movements. Actors also interpret the text, playing their lines with their own choices in terms of tone
of voice and emotion. In a professional setting, a director will give the actor instructions on how they
would like the actor to interpret the text. Some directors are very prescriptive, while others like to
include any and all the ideas an actor comes up with. In an acting class, you might workshop a short
scene, or a longer play or screenplay. Your tutor will act as the director, and help shape how the
scene turns out. Often classmates will then present their scenes to the rest of the class. Some classes
might work towards a performance at the end of the term, to which family and friends are invited.
Technique
Every athlete, dancer, and painter needs technique. So do actors. Acting technique is frequently
taught in our classes through exercises that focus the actor and help them create a believable
performance. We draw on the thinking of some great acting teachers of the past, including
Konstantin Stanislavski, Sanford Meisner, Viola Spolin, Anne Bogart, Jacque Le Coq, Rudolf Laban and
many, many others.
Monologues
Monologues are a script for one person (while duologues or dialogues are performances for two or
more). Monologues appear in plays, screenplays and also as stand-alone performance works. They
can be anything from a minute or two through to a full-length play. Sometimes you’ll work on a
monologue – either an extract from a larger work, or a stand-alone piece - at Perform Australia.
Monologues are also commonly used in auditions and self-tapes (also called “piece to camera”).
Performances
Many classes at Perform Australia have what we call “performance outcomes” – in other words,
they’re not just about learning how to act, but you put it all into practice! So your performance may
be a stage performance (in a theatre, or even more informally in a classroom), or a screen
performance (in a clip, a short film or a longer production). You may spend some of your lessons in
rehearsals – where you go over and over your script, making incremental improvements each time.
Repetition is key here; every actor must be able to replicate in performance what they’ve practised in
rehearsal. Your tutor will guide you towards your performance, offering you encouragement and
direction along the way.
Whichever aspect of performing arts training you’re involved in, you will be guided by your tutor. At
Perform Australia, our tutors are industry professionals, so you can be sure you are in good hands. So
where do you start? Check out our suite of courses and find the perfect learning experience for you.
Begin your actor's journey today!