Are Online Acting Classes Worth It?

Are online acting classes worth it? In this video, you will learn the answer to that question. What a question. How are we meeting each other right now? Are we not online? Sure we are. Okay, so, in the actor's life the beauty of this... I mean I've got a couple of colleagues whose work I really like. I observed a day of one of this person's classes not so long ago because I could do it from my home online. Now, would it have felt any different in person? No. You know what I find when I teach in person now folks, which I don't do a lot. That when I do it and I'm teaching you how to act on camera, everybody's looking at the Monitor and I'm in the room and they're not even looking at me. So, I'm going, "Why am I here? I don't really need to be here", and I'm waving at them and they're like watching the monitor. So, our online acting class is worth it. Well, of course it's going to vary from teacher to teacher.  But folks, this is the way of the present. It's going to be the way of the future. The commutes really easy, part of what I love about training people this way. Our classes are less money than they were 15 years ago. Why? I'm not running a theater. That savings get passed on to you. If it's a regional Workshop I'm not flying there. That savings gets passed on to you. As does the hotel. As does ground transportation so and in terms of your time, in terms of time management and effective use of time. Don't be that serial acting student which means you can't commit. I've seen people that have 20 teachers on their resume but I don't see any craft in the work, right. They didn't stay anywhere long enough to do it. I have had people that I've met and the night I meet them they're saying, "May I show you my picture and resume?", and I go, "Absolutely", and I go, "Let me see. Well, that looks like you. Yeah, that's a good likeness", and then I flip over the resume and under training I see my name. I haven't even met them. I go, "You have my name on your resume", they said, "Well, I knew I was meeting you tonight", and what wow, okay. So, that's maybe the extreme but you need to find your principal coach. In the life of the actor you need to find the person whose opinion you respect and that really cares about your growth. I don't believe that can be taught. You can tell when you're with someone who's really dedicated to what they're doing. Yeah, that one and then you need to find a representative that loves you as much or maybe more than your grandma, right. So, they will kick down a door to get you into an audition but that part doesn't come first. First comes the training part. Online, guys, the control you have now that we never had before that you get to control the background. You get to control your lighting. You look at something and you go, you know what, I'm not so crazy about these clothes. You can go change your clothes right and then you can submit it when you feel great about it. You will learn why would you not train online when that's the way you're going to be submitting your work. I can teach you this more effectively this way than if I were in the same room there would be a lot of theoretical discussion. You would do this. You would do that, in that situation. Here we can demonstrate it. So, that's a really big deal and guys, you can get into an office this way. I mean, before to get an appointment, to meet a casting person, to meet an agent or manager. Well, a they're not going to come and see your work because that has been the way for the longest time. People would come to see you in a showcase because that was the only way they could see you and then the video cassette happened and then it was well let me see your real oh you don't have one you're not going to be seen. It went to DVD, "Oh, your work isn't on DVD, it's on you know VHS. Well, I'm not going to see that. You've got to get me a DVD", and then it became email me a link because they don't want to get up from the desk to take the DVD put it in the player on the other side of the office and look at it. Now, you have access for people to see your work from their phone, from their desk. This is a great blessing guys and this is the way it all goes. So, don't be that actor.

Thankfully, our studio in New York we have a lot of forward-thinking folks. But every now and then I meet someone that's like, "I miss this. I miss that". I go, "Well, I don't miss outdoor plumbing I don't remember that. I don't miss the ice box when there wasn't a refrigerator or kerosene lamps, right. Nor do I miss the carrier pigeon or the telegraph".  This is the way it is. Write this down, mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs. Do not waste your energy wishing for days gone by, days of your. These are the days of your opportunity right and be sure you're taking notes because there is power and possibility in that pen and pencil. So, if you've been enjoying this video, please click below and subscribe. Folks, in our Saturday class we have students in Paris, in Amsterdam, in Peru, all over Mexico, all over Canada, all over North America. People are visiting each other and you got a free place to stay. That wasn't happening before and our voice and speech folks because we talk a lot about voice. Because your connection to your voice is your connection to your emotional body. We have a rotation of 10 coaches who teach at very expensive schools but for a fraction of the dough they come to your house. Okay, they make house calls. Their stuff is recorded so now you have a workout. So, are online class is worth it? Need you ask? Hello...One of the things that Zoom has taught us all is the importance of a home studio. I mentioned in past videos that I got the handyman super in my new my first New York apartment building to give me the key to the storage room nightly where I would just do vocal warm-up where I can make a lot of noise. Now, what I encourage all of you to do is experiment with backgrounds. Not too busy, casting will tell you they want a neutral background but then a few months in I'm looking at beige walls. They go, well, you can give us a little detail. Because you can create place and when you learn our 15 guide posts you'll know that plays is guidepost number 10 and you remember it's number 10 because isn't your forever home a ten don't you want it to be a 10, that's the place. So, the importance of the home studio, have a couple of different light setups tonally. Maybe it's a half-hour sitcom thing you're auditioning for or it's a show that's considered to be more dramatic. But we know that comedy lives in both places all the time. So, when that audition comes up you have go-to default position. You have a half a dozen backgrounds you like. You have a couple of lighting setups you like. You don't have to think about those. So, you can put all of your focus into the text and be a text detective. But the beauty this way guys when you're auditioning like this um oftentimes, the first one is recorded it's not on zoom. But even if it is on zoom on my chair here I have notes and things down here, right. See them? Yeah you can do the same thing and if the audition is live you can glance down get your thought and bring it up. If it's pre-recorded send in what you feel great about and you can do as many takes as you want. When you go in the audition room one and done that's it and here you want to use the odd prop you can use it because your home. I don't recommend bringing props into physical auditions. Props are brought to you by satan, they will mess you up. You've got pages to deal with right. You bring something else, the whole thing's going to fall apart. I've seen it happen too many times and the other thing about online class in our online community casting pals, agent pals, they come and observe class. They can do it while they're having a bagel and a coffee and they're in a bathrobe and we don't even know that because the camera's off. This is the golden age. Our online class is worth it come see for yourself and as in any class do you see the work transform, from this place to this place? Not just theoretical chat you see the work change before your very eyes. Come see for yourself. We'd love to have you. Click on the link below. So, zoom...