The Acting Blog

7 Signs Your Acting Teacher Sucks

ONE: Mainly Clueless
Wise and sage-like, most of them know that their technique is practically useless, but carry on peddling their nonsense for years.

TWO: Charge Too Much
I’ve seen middle of the road acting teachers charging up to £100 an hour for a session in which they rob you blind for little more than a life-coaching session. If you’re teaching or coaching high earning actors, then perhaps your fee should be higher than normal. However, if you’re coaching jobbing actors, then something low like £25 per hour is more than enough.

What’s more there are so many people out there willing to pay hundreds or thousands of pounds/dollars to these marketing/acting guru charlatans, as if being ripped off was a badge of honour.

THREE: Some are Just Out of Work Actors
I’ve seen many out of work actors claiming that they have what it takes to teach acting. Clearly, they just need the money, and you gotta admire their pluck, they want to make some money, so they turn to the thing they’re apparently good at, well trust me, most actors can’t explain to you how they do it, so they’re going to struggle to explain it to someone else.

FOUR: Actually Teachers
Unlike out of work actors, some acting teachers are actually trained teachers. They’re certified Drama teachers, or perhaps worse ‘speech and drama’ teachers. People with certificates and medals, no actual theatre, television or film experience, just time spent ticking syllabus boxes, or stuck in a High School teaching English.

FIVE: Just NOT a Teacher
Teaching is a profession that requires craft. You can’t just call yourself a teacher, that’s why there are qualifications for the position. But acting teachers can set up in a village hall and call themselves ‘acting teacher’ or ‘professional acting coach’. It really helps if your acting teacher has actually got a professional teaching certificate, actually knows something about education and training.

SIX: Bullying
There’s a lot of bullying or hazing in the name of teaching acting. An acting teacher should never bully you, does not need to shout at you, demean you or insult you. That’s unprofessional and they don’t deserve your custom. On the other hand, you MUST be willing to learn, you must accept that the acting teacher will try to challenge you. There is no part of actor training and coaching that requires the acting teacher to be rude to you in any way.

SEVEN: Stomping around in your Mind
Acting teachers should not want to stomp around in your head. What’s going in your head is none of their business. I’ve seen acting teachers trying to make people cry, digging around in their past, pushing buttons that shouldn’t be pushed. If you want to ‘open an actor up’, might I suggest you become a surgeon instead.

There are some incredible people out there, great teachers, great mentors, great inspirations – seek them out, wherever you might find them. But steer clear of those that suck. You know who you are…

To You, The Best!

Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2009

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