reporting in as an acting class graduate

(almost)

howdy!

As the title implies, tonight I “graduated” from the beginner’s acting class I’ve been taking! I have a make-up class in August still to come, but it’s a good time to check in.

Why acting?? ( or rather… wherefore acting?)

Honestly, I can’t totally remember. I think the largest, most overarching theme is this whole vulnerability/ being seen journey that I’ve really turned the throttle on this year, and all the activities that come with that.

I also watched the Oscars for the first time this award season, and cried off and on the whole way through. Somehow in my being raised outside of cable TV and not being super into (read: able to sit through) movies, I didn’t realize that actors are ARTISTS and there are so many other ARTISTS behind the scenes and behind the camera doing beautiful, meaningful work?? Wild!

I think another part of it could also be the handful of pals doing Improv classes right now! I went to watch a few recitals/ performances and have so much respect for the art form. Improv definitely has a whole set of techniques and ways of doing things that I would love to learn and surely will help my acting journey.

I was in some plays and musicals in high school but don’t ever recall being given much coaching on how to act?? So for now, I felt like the greatest challenge would be to try and deliver lines in a non-stilted way, or to try and convey emotions that weren’t necessarily mine. ‘Cause god knows I can yap about a whole variety of things and improvise or switch directions in conversation at a moment’s notice.

What did it entail?

This was an 8-week, constantly rotating series of classes. Every few weeks, the class would start out with a brief rundown of what classes you can take at the school, events going on, and what your future could look like if you kept up with acting.

Every single class had a warm-up period at the beginning. I loved this so much! I’ve heard from improv friends that they don’t warm up as intensely as I described, and I do think I would really miss that from the classes if it didn’t happen.

The warm-ups are part of what made me realize what a somatic thing acting is. It feels like a big societal trend as of late to finally try and listen to our bodies more or get back in connection with them, and I was happy to be able to take part in that (very positive!) trend and dip a toe into somatics through this.

It was always such a thorough, lovely, grounding warmup. Scanning from toes to head, stretching limbs and internally naming different sensations we felt, doing vocal warmups and working to relax the things we don’t give enough love to- such as our jaw, face, and neck. It differed every week, but it always included a full body, eyes closed, stretch and scan. We’d play a name game and movement was always incorporated. Whether it was moving in ways that matched our emotions that day, copying other’s movements and sounds, purposely making non-word sounds, or playing games that focused on speed and memorization, it was all a delight.

It was truly a sight to behold every week to see such a mixed-bag, all-ages group of people gathering to be silly, to be vulnerable, to do goofy things, and to celebrate each other for it. And what a luxury to be able to take the time to stretch out our whole body, to act out feelings of tiredness or crankiness or joy, and to get a little loud if we wanted!

After the warmup, we’d do a handful of different things. Sometimes we’d get a small lecture on a technique or idea then break off into groups to practice and then perform it. Sometimes it would be a stage exercise where you cycle through multiple partners. Some nights we took longer to get one particular scene dialed with a partner. Sometimes it was a table read. Sometimes it was pacing and monologuing in front of people and getting feedback from them on where you may show stress in your body. Talk about being perceived, phew! I’m forgetting all the different nights, but it was a really nice balance of witnessing and learning vs. doing.

There was also always an email sent out the next day summarizing the main idea of the night and assigning a play or other work to read for the upcoming week. As part of signing up for the class, you get access to a sprawling library of scripts of different types to learn from. Rad!

What’s the nitty gritty?

I got myself into an 8-week course with rotating enrollment. I like this format! It’s great for people who want to dip a toe in or are spontaneous (impulsive?) and don’t want to wait for a “semester” to start in order to get into a class. I paid $25 to audit a class first. The audit truly wasn’t very different from being an active member in the class. You do all the same warm ups and exercises, the only difference is if there’s any opportunities for solo work or jumping up on stage, the actually-enrolled people get preference over the auditors.

After my audit, I decided I liked it enough to give it a go. The cost was $225 for a month’s worth of classes, and the price of the audit came off of that. The next month was billed separately. Not the cheapest in terms of hobbies, but not super expensive in terms of an educational course. It works out to ~$56.25 each week for a 2.5 hour class. I’m used to fitness classes costing $20+ for a 1 hour class so that kind of made sense to my brain. This is also a class where the teacher is mentally ON the.entire.time. We’re talking a brain that just has all cylinders firing, constantly leading the crew through exercises and experiments while lending feedback and teaching lessons. So much knowledge!

What’s next?

As part of the beginner level course, they also have you audit the next level of techniques class for free. You are tasked with sitting in on classes run by two different teachers on two different days of the week and then deciding which feels like more of your vibe, or just which one would work best with your schedule.

For the next level, it becomes a 4 hour course once a week and there’s a lot more focus on individual monologues, scenes, building up to audition tapes, and even more getting in tune with the body. Or “the instrument” as they call it.

What’s my take?

I’ve been really enjoying all of this and plan to start the next level in September after a little summer break!

I love how surprisingly somatic this has been. I think the foundational level is worth trying for anyone, even if you don’t have goals in the acting realm. It’s a big deal to be seen and vulnerable and mess up in front of people! It’s also really healing to do it in an amazingly lighthearted and casual environment. I loved having a teacher who truly nailed the sandwich technique of compliments and constructive feedback. This was also an activity that requires you to be present and away from phones and other distractions for 2.5 hours and to interact intimately with others. That’s rare in a lot of ways!

This was also super different for me in terms of hobbies overall. I usually lean toward physical activities like sports or making, where this one is so intangible and cerebral. It was wild and awesome to leave the first class with a mushy brain and feeling like I had been transported to a different world for those last few hours.

In one of the classes, we had a vulnerable exercise where we all said our names paired with a dream that we have for acting. It was so cool to hear such a wide variety of desires- people wishing to be in Shakespeare plays, others hoping to be in a gory horror film, people who wanted to play witches or be a version of Bond, and me: realizing how cool it could be to simply just use my skills in something.

Whether that’s welding in an industrial training video, being a background dancer or singer of some sort, or even just riding a bike in a film- who knows what the Netflix series of the future will demand. But for this present moment, it felt sweet to realize a quiet little hope, and to voice it to an encouraging crowd.

What say you? Are you itching to act like a child in front of a room of strangers? Does your healing journey involve making mouth-fart noises and throwing yourself to the ground? Did you cry at the Oscars or nah?

shan :)