any professional actors about? Do you think you can be taught

[PintersPint]

how to act? I mean obviously you can be taught to a degree as otherwise drama schools wouldn't exist.

What I mean is 'if you have someone with no natural talent at all, can you teach a person like that to be a good actor'?

To get into a drama school in the first place, you need to audition. So I'm assuming that their starting crop have a degree of natural talent to start with.

Do you think it's possible to teach someone with no natural talent to act? and if you do think that, what kind of things would form the basis of the teaching?

Where would you recommend someone go/what kind of things to do/ to learn the basic building blocks? Private tutor (how do you find a good one?) or group classes (where?)

Most children who go to Drama School Sylvia Young's etc will have already had years of Am Dram, dance and singing lessons from a young age, already done pantos etc.
Those that go on to Degree courses and / or RADA later will be similar.

It's fairly unusual to go from absolutely nothing but beginner drama lessons exist so it's possible.

Those that are successful on stage or screen will have other skills, having the stubbornness,/ willpower to learn scripts. The ability to take notes on their performance. The resilience to be rejected. The use of voice to convey thoughts and feelings, being able to use your voice as an instrument rather than ending up with laryngitis regularly.

In America it's harder to get the paperwork for the SAG etc as an adult which is why so many start out as very young child actors and learn as they go as their membership carries with them.

In the UK it's more common to go the structured School, College, Uni, RADA route and not to go professional until a bit older.

What would be the end goal for the person above? To perform in a local Am Dram group? To be on TV? To be in films?

What would be the end goal for the person above? To perform in a local Am Dram group? To be on TV? To be in films?

None of these things. It is a question about literally just learning how to act - the teaching of the skills - how to read scripts and display emotions in a convincing way and to a high standard. To become 'a good actor' technically. Obviously that would involve performing I suppose to repeat the skill but that's not my question.

My question is 'can someone with no natural talent (ie. certain not to succeed in a drama school audition) be taught how to act to a good standard and if so how?' What sort of things are they taught? Where would they go to get taught to a good standard - private tutors? how do you find out who is any good? where do you get beginner group classes for adults with no natural talent and absolute beginners.

But what is the reason for your question??

Beginner group for adults with no natural talent = local Am Dram society. Most people who join those have no previous experience.

This is purely anecdotal.

Back in the dark ages, a friend of my parents worked at a fairly well-respected drama school. One of the hot shot tutors there (the kind of name that draws students - but also a bit of a fat-headed bellend by all accounts) once made a bet that he could teach anyone to act. So he offered a place to the person everyone agreed was not only the worst in that year’s auditions but actually, hopelessly, unredeemably untalented.

Not only did this student finish the course but they managed to have a relatively decent acting career in the end. No award-winning roles or big-screen fame or anything like that, but a stable enough stream of work for many years - which is a lot more than many fully trained, professional actors can say.

They did want it an awful lot though, put in a tremendous amount of work, and got a lot of one-to-one help from said hot shot tutor who had a point to prove.

I've done quite a bit of directing (I'm mainly a producer now), but in the course of my work I have for various reasons worked with people who are not actors, and had to teach them exactly what you've described: how to interpret a script / play and convey emotion.

What I would say is that, with guidance, anyone can be taught to act up to a point, but to be really good there needs to be an innate talent or charisma that cannot be taught, only nurtured and developed.

The boring, deep answer is because acting is the art of pretending to be another the skills you need are the ability to build up a mask and slip it on. Some people's personality, character or brain just will not allow them to imagine another life in this way.

However, the basic skills of text comprehension, how to approach building a character, vocal techniques can be taught.

GhastlyGoodTaste · Today 15:07

But what is the reason for your question??

Because someone with no natural talent is interested in learning HOW to act and I was asking whether it would be possible to learn. Why does it matter?

It's a straightforward question. It's a totally different discipline from saying 'can you learn to play the piano with no natural talent' because there are basics to learn - like here are the treble clef notes, they mean these keys, here are the bass clef notes, they mean these keys and so on. So someone with no natural talent , although they will never be a concert pianist, could be taught to play the piano to a good standard with lessons and practice and discipline.

Acting doesn't seem on the face of it to be amenable to the same degree of teaching if you have no natural affinity for it because it doesn't have such objectively 'teachable' building blocks like say learning a language (vocabulary, grammar).

@WineseCuisine is this hot shot tutor still working? he sounds ideal person to speak to!

Acting absolutely does have certain building blocks and techniques—vocal, physical, ways of approaching character development and interpretation of text. These can all be learned, for sure. They are useful skills which would build confidence and be fun to do, even if someone with no natural talent isn't going to be a "star", or a professional.

Because someone with no natural talent is interested in learning HOW to act and I was asking whether it would be possible to learn. Why does it matter?

It matters because it very much depends on the motivation of the person. It's going to be much easier to teach someone that wants to be an actor compared to someone with an overbearing parent that is trying to force them to be one. For example.

So someone with no natural talent , although they will never be a concert pianist, could be taught to play the piano to a good standard with lessons and practice and discipline.

It’s very similar in some ways. Music is more than playing the right notes in the right order. A bit like acting is more than saying the right words in the right order.

@TheOtherAgentJohnson

had to teach them exactly what you've described: how to interpret a script / play and convey emotion.

How do you do this though? Interpreting a script I understand. it's more the 'acting' bit I'm interested in - the conveying of emotion.

what kind of things get 'taught' to teach this?

Take for example Ophelia after Polonius dies - so I get you could start off by saying to the actor 'imagine some great loss in your life whether a person or a pet or the time you didn't get picked for the football team, try to access that emotion'. I think some people (the natural talent bit) can do this easily but some people can't.

So what is the next step of teaching? Is it more physical practical like
sad people tend to talk more slowly. talk more slowly.
sad people tend to talk more softly. talk more softly.
sad people tend to physically self comfort. hug yourself.

what is that 'teachable' stuff that makes the conveying of emotion work for someone who can't do it?

KrisAkabusi · Today 16:14

Because someone with no natural talent is interested in learning HOW to act and I was asking whether it would be possible to learn. Why does it matter?
It matters because it very much depends on the motivation of the person. It's going to be much easier to teach someone that wants to be an actor compared to someone with an overbearing parent that is trying to force them to be one. For example.

No this is completely re-interpreting the question about the efficacy of the teaching not whether it can be taught at all to one with no talent.

Obviously a motivated student will potentional perform better than an unmotivated one but that wasn't the question.

Assume an averagely motivated student for these purposes. Can such a person with no natural talent be taught to act to a good standard?

"Because someone with no natural talent is interested in learning HOW to act and I was asking whether it would be possible to learn. Why does it matter?"

How do you/they know they have no natural talent?

It matters because it depends on whether this person has 'no natural talent' and knows that because they've tried and been crap at it, or whether they have simply never done any acting at all, so don't know whether they might be any good or not.

For instance you could teach someone how to dance, but it would be a darn sight more difficult to teach someone to a passable standard if they have two left feet, and no sense of rhythm or co-ordination. I mention dance because I know more about that than I do about acting.

There are multiple schools of thought on this. Things like Stanislavski, Meisner, method, etc. are all systems by which these basics are taught.

The similarity is that each of these systems convey the basics of acting in terms of preparation and rehearsal technique, in the same way as music.

Many of the subsidised / Arts Council supported theatres run excellent youth theatres.

It’s harder once you are older. But I see some of the drama schools are running summer schools and short courses for adults.

Or you can gain experience with an amateur theatre group.

Google Acting workshops for adults , Drama workshops for adults, and short acting courses for adults.

Sylvia Young school runs adult classes, Theatre Royal Stratford East has an adult drama group. For example.

There are all kinds of techniques. For amateurs, I like to do exercises involving "actioning" the text, and physical demonstration of feeling and emotion.

I recommend reading An Actor Prepares by Stanislavski, and Notes on Directing by Frank Hauser for ideas.

Hauser's Mary Had A Little Lamb exercise is a really good one.

Vocal technique is vital, and is all about practice and building blocks—as Hauser says, the first job of an actor is to be heard (I wish some of the mumblecore practitioners would heed this...).

I would say that the basic answer is yes, you can teach someone with no natural talent to play a part, to pretend to be someone else. There is a big but though. If that person doesn't have much imagination it's hard for them to be convincing. Acting is about connecting the thought to the action. There is a technical part of that- voice, movement both of which can be taught. But the thought part can't be taught- the empathy.

I speak as a 'failed' actor who went to drama school. I've also taught acting at a drama school and to young adults who want to go to drama school. In my experience there has to be some natural ability, but it has to be emotional ability.

@TheOtherAgentJohnson

There are all kinds of techniques. For amateurs, I like to do exercises involving "actioning" the text, and physical demonstration of feeling and emotion.
I recommend reading An Actor Prepares by Stanislavski, and Notes on Directing by Frank Hauser for ideas.
Hauser's Mary Had A Little Lamb exercise is a really good one.
Vocal technique is vital, and is all about practice and building blocks—as Hauser says, the first job of an actor is to be heard (I wish some of the mumblecore practitioners would heed this...).

Thank you this is very helpful.
where would you suggest someone start then? with what kind of courses? vocal technique? what would that be called as a course title (what to google)?

There is a theory that anyone can be taught anything if they put in enough effort, I went to some (very boring leadership) training and it was said there. The example used was concert pianist, if everyone put in X amount of hours (I assume those hours would change depending on the person, but it was a specific, and very high, number) but essentially if you put the time and effort it, you'd learn. The reality is not many people want to spend thousands of hours perfecting a skill.

@PintersPint no, I don't think he works any more. That story happened close to 40 years ago - like I said, back in the dark ages.

No idea about courses, I would look to see if there are evening classes or something at a local arts college maybe? Learning to act isn't really a solo, DIY project, because you need at least one other person—actor, director, dramaturg, whatever—to work with to do it right.

Also depends if you're talking about stage or film acting, as they're quite different techniques. I've assumed stage, as TV and film is not something amateurs can readily do.

The reality is that unless you have a natural talent for something, you could practice all day every day for decades and still never reach that point where proficiency becomes artistry.

I really don't know why so many on this thread are being so snooty about OP's query—acting is a good, fun thing for anyone to do, they don't have to be aiming to be Meryl bloody Streep.

I'm a huge advocate of am dram and community theatre—just like school plays, they can be absolutely life-changing and life-affirming projects to get involved in.

I live in a city and the main theatre we have (it's on the national circuit so not amateur) does classes for adults. Maybe you have an option for this near you?