How can I improve my acting without acting lessons?

Question

Well, firstly I want to become an actress when I'm older but I know that right now I am NOT a good actress and my parents can't afford professional acting lessons because I'm already taking professional training in other stuff. Is it true that acting lessons aren't worth the money? All I can do right now is join my drama club in school in September. Do you think I could do anything else to improve my acting? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The only thing that really counts is experience and a lot of it. Professional training is all well and good but in the end, it's experience that counts!  In other words, try out for community theater in your area and get into school plays, which apparently you plan to do.  Drama Club is OK, but audition for school plays. Learn your craft by practicing it on stage as a character in a play. Remember, the professional acting world is almost impossible for the average person to get into and you generally need vital connections in the business. (Many who are in it today have parents that were or are actors.  Look at Angelina Jolie, for instance, her father is Jon Voight.  And Gwenneth Paltrow's mother is Blythe Danner.  The list of connection in the business is quite a long one.) It's a business full of disappointment and heartache, and most actress (and actor) wannabes are waiting tables (forever). In addition, this question is asked and answered here hundreds of times a week.  Check the archives.  I often wonder if anyone wants to be just a regular person when they grow up?  It seems EVERYONE here wants to be an actor, an actress, famous, rich, a model, a famous writer, or all of the above.  The world needs many other professions too, and as I stated, the acting profession is filled with a lot of disappointment and dashed dreams.  For everyone that makes it, thousands upon thousands do not. Remember to get your education.  That is the most important thing you can do at this point.

Answer 2

im an acress too, you just need to feel the part. put yourself into your part as if it were you. everything that comes out of your mouth and actions comes from your state of mind. you need to pour yourself into the role.....that's basically it: your only a good actress if you make others believe that you are the person you're pretending to be. no, acting lessons are pretty pointless, i've never used them but i kno ppl who have and they still aren't up to par when it comes to acting. hope that helps

Answer 3

Ok, try amazon there are some excellent books on there about acting so you can read up on acting techniques like method or meiser, the best book I own and is my bible is Uta Hagen respect for acting and Stella Adler's book on acting they are both very simple to use and very imformative. There are also monologues books there which you can use to put what is in the books to use, stella adler suggest the spoon river anthology by edgar lee masters.

Acting lessons, it depends where you go and what you get out of if you feel that you are getting something out of it and you commit to it 110% and be open minded and take on board what your teachers say then you will get something out of it. Also it depends on the style of class some people are just not capable of improvising and do better with script work. But I am sure if you commit to your drama club then you will get something out of that even if it is how to stand on stage or how to use your diaphragm properly or some confidence as you need to be confidence otherwise it shows you need to believe that you can do this and you can act at this present moment in time but your talent just needs to developed more.

If you do not have confidence in yourself then you will not get very far as you need to be confident to deliver lines, to believe you are juliet in romeo and juliet and that if you do s***w up the performance will not fall flat on its face.

Good luck! L xox

Answer 4

Take notes from people on tv. try to see how they get into character. when your acting just forget about everything else and just get into your character. become your character.

Answer 5

1) Start auditioning! For school shows, community theatre, one acts, whatever you can. A very wise man once said to me to treat every audition as a free acting class. I personally don't find much in acting classes that I can use, I become better by being in shows. Even if you're just in the ensemble of a show, listen to what the director has to say to others while giving them direction and notes. Use your strenghts- what are you training in? If it's dance or voice, you can play to your strengths in auditions for musicals. Enter acting competitions and just put your best foot forward.

2) Read 'The Actor Prepares'. No, honestly, it's a fantastic book and a classic in the field of instructional acting literature. You can also check out other books from the library and do research on different types of acting online just to gain a better feel for the acting world if you want to- things like script scoring, method vs. natural acting, what to expect at an audition, improv methods (reading up on these absolutely saved me at a recent audition) etc.

3) Figure out why you aren't a good actress and improve on it- this is tough advice to follow, but pick out a simple monologue and tape yourself performing it or ask your drama teacher for help. Many times, beginning actors try to take on more than they can handle, so start out small. If you're having trouble being believable, start with a role in a monologue that you can really relate to and work up from there.

4) Realize that becoming a good actor takes a lot of time and patience and that it isn't something that you do for the money. I have a sign on my wall that says 'theatre: don't want the fame, want the feeling'.

5) Break a leg!

Answer 6

yes, pretend you are acting... be another person for an hour or two everyday...