As the fall approaches I am starting to see more and more young folks fresh out of college who have recently arrived in the New York market and are now trying to figure out what to do. They understand that by investing in their careers they will help separate themselves from the rest of the competition, but they are unsure of how and where to start and, being actors, have only so many resources to devote to the enterprise and are therefore hesitant to make a commitment without first being absolutely sure it will be a wise and worthwhile one.
I divide acting classes into two categories: process-oriented and product-oriented. The former are the most common. These are classes designed to develop our craft and talent and to make us better actors. Obviously these are very important because the better you are the more likely somebody will want to hire you. Probably more than 90% of college acting classes are process-oriented.
By contrast, product-oriented classes generally address an aspect of the industry related to getting a job. A common variety of product class is audition technique. If you are an actor you must audition to get work (I hope this isn’t a surprise to you). The better you are at auditioning, the more likely you will be able to compete effectively. And make no mistake about it—auditioning is a skill set entirely its own, and one which all actors must take seriously by studying and mastering.
It is best to take product-oriented classes with currently-working industry professionals. While good acting is always good acting, effective “product-oriented†techniques shift constantly, and are even different in various cities, industries (commercial vs. legit, for example) or even genre (sitcom vs. police procedural). If you must train with somebody that is no longer active in the industry, how long have they been out of the game? The longer, the less useful are their techniques. This is exactly why most colleges and universities are unable to offer meaningful training in this area. The people best qualified to teach such classes are in the market, not in academia.
Advanced actors—those who already have lots of training and at least some professional experience, and who are actively seeking out and going on auditions—should seek product-oriented classes that also offer a networking opportunity. Few things establish a connection with a casting director better than spending five or more weeks studying audition technique with them. I have opened many very big doors for myself by following this advice.
If you have just graduated from an acting program you most likely have several years of process-oriented classes under your belt. If you feel uncertain about your acting work and are nervous at the prospect of auditioning then you should pursue further process-oriented classes here in New York until you have more confidence. Otherwise, I suggest you start seeking out auditions and some product-oriented classes that will help show you the ropes and fine-tune your work so that you can be more competitive. This doesn’t mean that you no longer need process-oriented classes, it just means that for the moment you should focus your energy in a different direction. This deserves some further explanation and will be my parting thought on the topic:
Regular readers of this blog know that I am a major proponent of on-going training for all professional actors. Ideally, we need to pursue training in both process and product so that we are constantly growing as artists and improving our ability to compete professionally. Realistically, however, very few people are in a position to pursue both kinds of training simultaneously. We therefore must choose one type of training or the other, and then oscillate back and forth based on the feedback we get from the industry. For example, if after six months or more of auditions and audition classes you are still struggling to get callbacks then it’s high time you consider further process training. Alternately, if you are brilliant in the acting studio but always fall flat in the audition room, then you clearly need to fine-tune your technique with an audition class.
If you keep at this long enough you will eventually be highly competitive in both areas. Once this happens regular acting work will be close at hand.