Should I take an acting class this semester in college if I'm nervous about it?

Question

My major is Communication - film and video concentration. People have told me that I have a talent for writing, and I am taking a couple of writing classes to test just how good I am. But I've also had an urge to take an acting class. Typically, I don't like to be the center of attention or be on stage. Whenever I do theatrical work, I've always worked backstage or behind the scenes. When I was a kid, I was less shy about being in front of people. Now, though, I find it hard to open up. I don't want to take the class only to learn acting. I feel like it would help me open up to people more, learn more about myself, relate to people better, and it would give me a sense of community - being a part of a small group. My personality is very introverted, and people have a hard time relating to me and I to them. I find myself "acting" things out in private all the time to help me write and get a feel for the characters, but I'm not sure if I can do that in front of people. What's your advise?

Answer 1

I kind of felt the same way before I took theatre in middle school last year.  

When I was younger, I used to be in musicals, and after I went into sixth grade, I kinda shrank back and stopped acting in front of people.  

Then last year, I was supposed to take Spanish during the first quarter of the year since they randomly assigned us extracurricular classes unless we had a performing arts class, and after the first few classes, I found out that it was all stuff I already knew.  

So, I got switched to Theatre Arts.  

I thought it was only like a quarter long class, but it ended up being a year-long class that did performances and competitions.  

So, I was like, "Hey, maybe I'll just do something behind-the-scenes" since I hadn't done anything in theatre in like 2 years.  

Then, I ended up getting an acting part in a play that they did since we all worked together and did some Improv to write our own show.  

After that, I got back into acting and performing on stage, and now I love it!  

So if you want to take an acting class, I'd go for it.  It definitely brought me out of my shell, and it could very well do the same for you.  :-)

Answer 2

I think you should go for it. Knowing about acting will make you a much better writer anyways! And you'll make friends and they could even help with your writing - sometimes you need an opposite (extrovert) to see the situation from a different view and your writing could be great.

I've heard of shy kids taking acting classes to break out of their shell, so I think it'd be a great idea for you to do :D

Good Luck!

Answer 3

i think you should definately try it! when i was younger, i was always really shy when it came to people, but when i was acting as a different character, on stage or in drama class, i was so much more confident. maybe you'll find some people that feel the same way that you do, despite your personality being introverted.

if you don't try it, you'll never know. :D

good luck, and all the best. :]