A key component of our job as actors has always been overcoming obstacles. In the 1600s, Shakespearean actors overcame so many obstacles: the bubonic plague, rehearsing without the entire script, and trying to connect with each other while groundlings heckled in the audience.
Now, more than 400 years later, 2020 actors are still facing similar obstacles: Covid-19, rehearsing with barking dogs and screaming kids in our home workspace and trying to connect with each other through our computer screens.
While this year has certainly brought an immense amount of change to the world, the job of the actor has remained the same – overcome obstacles in order to affect change, tell stories, and encourage connection.
Here are 3 ways online acting classes can help actors connect
- Connect with the text…
Online acting classes allow for an even greater focus on the text itself.
Acting on Zoom removes some elements of conventional performance, and replaces them with thorough and detailed text analysis. Without physicality, costumes, and set pieces to help tell the story, the focus now shifts towards the writing and the actors’ understanding of the text on the page.
“My Level 3: Scene Study Online class gave me an even greater opportunity to master my application of the guideposts, and improve my text analysis and action skills. I’m now beginning to mine all my text for clues as if it were Shakespeare!”
Max G., Core Student
The actors’ text analysis and personalization skills come first on Zoom – making scene study classes and text analysis tools like the Guideposts that much more helpful.
2. Connect with other actors
Online acting classes give actors from all over the country – and even the world! – the opportunity to work together and learn from one another.
An important part of the actor’s job is being a supportive, participant, and active member of their ensemble. As actors, we must able to easily and effectively work with others. It’s a huge part of the job! Online acting classes provide a safe and productive space for actors/artists to come together, hone their skills, and practice forming an ensemble. Thanks to online acting classes, actors from Georgia, Milwaukee, Indiana, Ohio, Australia – you get it! – can easily work and share ideas with actors from Chicago and beyond. This lends itself to a cross-pollination of ideas, experiences, and knowledge within each online acting class.
Dialects Online with Kate DeVore
3. Connect with the industry
Online acting classes are something actors can do now to help them prepare for opportunities in the future.
Many industry professionals are beginning to utilize Zoom to help them facilitate meetings, auditions, and callbacks. As the industry evolves, it’s important for actors to be educated and experienced with online acting techniques to ensure they’re prepared for whatever future opportunities arise.
We are all navigating this new world of Zoom, both to stay connected to the community and now, it appears, it will be our main form of auditioning for the foreseeable future. So I think Adam (Belcuore – Theatre Audition Workshop: Online) did a wonderful job helping us use what we had at our disposal, to do our best work possible.
Sheila O. – ASC Student
Similarly, online acting classes have given more industry professionals – such as directors, playwrights, and casting directors – the flexibility to begin teaching workshops and classes. These are incredible opportunities for actors to learn from and build industry connections with working professionals regardless of their current marketplace.
Interested in classes? Take a look at what ASC has to offer. If you have questions, just shoot us an email! We’re always happy to help!