A guide to running an acting class for beginners
by Hannah Renee Crawford, Guest Editorial
As the Creative Director for a performing arts center for four years and having written several comprehensive acting courses for kids aged 3-17, I can tell you that starting an acting class for beginners can be one of the most invigorating and exhausting challenges.
On the one hand, it would seem simple because it’s just a beginner’s course. On the other hand, your beginner's class will help shape their entire performance career (No pressure).
The number one thing to remember is that no matter how old the actors are that will take your course, they are babies! No matter what they do for a living, how much money they make, or how much they think they know about acting if they take your class, they start at ground zero.
And what do you do when you’re a beginner? Well, you start with the fundamentals, of course.
Create Vocal and Physical Warmups
We must prepare to warm our bodies and voices up before each rehearsal. It may sound dramatic, but it is extremely easy to damage our voices or bodies by not warming up properly. I could share one too many stories with you of actors who did not think warming up was important and ended up screwing themselves out of a performance.
According to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, “In acting, your body is your instrument. Develop skills that help you fine-tune that instrument.” If you break your instrument (aka, your body), you can’t perform now, right?
Vocal Warmups
One of the best ways to warm up vocally is by having a list of tongue twisters. I regularly use an alphabet of tongue twisters for my beginner’s classes. Here are my top three favorites.
A - Althea and Andy ate acid apples accidentally.
C - The crime completed; the coward crawled cautiously coastward.
N - Nine naughty nanny-goats nibble nine nice new knapsacks.
Physical Warmups
Physically warming up is probably something actors do the very least. It’s easy to convince an actor that warming up their voices is important, but getting them to understand the need for physical warmup is not such an easy undertaking.
While working with Theatre West End in Sanford, Florida, as a stage manager, an actress would warm up at least 15 minutes before every performance or rehearsal. She recognized the importance of keeping her body warmed up to have full range of her body. Let’s look at three physical warmups I love to use with my beginners because of their simplicity, which helps bring beginners back to the basics.
1. Straw exercise - Using an example of breathing through a straw, slowly suck the air in, hold it, and then release the air back through the straw. We will do this five times in a row in five-second intervals. (Five seconds breathing in and five seconds breathing out.)
2. Ragdoll - Stretch your hands up towards the sky and look up; stretch so hard that you are reaching an apple just out of reach. Once you feel your body completely stretched out...pause. Then, slowly allow your body to go limp until your hands touch the floor.
3. Arm stretch - Stand up straight and put one arm across your chest; then, with your other arm, pull it closer to your chest. Now, switch your arms and do the opposite.
Start Rehearsals With Stage Fundamentals
The fundamentals of looking at our bodies, characters, and basic acting skills are easily overlooked. I used to take some of my most seasoned actors and ask them why their character decided to do that. And there are times when they honestly did not even know. Returning to the fundamentals of pantomime and character work will help root your actors.
The art of pantomime is slowly losing its traction in acting classes. We are so quick to want the physical props in our hands that we forget the power behind using our imaginations. Focus on the importance of pantomiming with your actors, and allow them to feel the space between their hands and the object they should carry. Allow them to experience the weight behind the item they are using.
It helps to bring a prop, such as a sword, and allow them to feel the proper weight and know how to hold it. Then, remove the prop and allow them to perform in a scene using pantomime. The use of pantomime is valuable to performers because once they start performing in shows, they will use “fake props.” They need to know the weight of a real sword, the weight of a cup with actual liquid, or the weight used behind a real punch. Once pantomime is introduced, begin slowly introducing characters.
Build a solid three characters for your actors to draw from. So, let’s set up a scene like “going to the grocery store and getting robbed.” No, let’s build three characters to draw from for this scene.
● Susie is a 10-year-old girl whose mom works in the grocery store, and she waits for her shift to end every day after school. Susie loves art, reading, and riding her bicycle.
● Jasmine is a 34-year-old corporate power-horse. She typically never has time to do her own shopping. Jasmine’s always on the phone brokering a deal, ordering the finest wine, and booking her next work trip.
● Burt is a 71-year-old man whose wife just passed away the week before. This grocery store was the one he and his wife always came to. Burt loves grilling steak every week, watching The Price is Right, and reenacting war scenes with his buddies.
Now, we will have each actor take the same scene and perform the scene three times using the three different characters. This immediately helps put into perspective how vast a scene can be when you switch up characters.
Performing for An Audience
In some way, we must have our beginners perform in front of an audience, even if they are taking the course, to do something fun, to prep for an audition, or to take acting seriously.
The only real way to refine acting is by putting pressure on them by having them watched by an audience.
When I used to teach beginner classes for middle school ages, I would have kids who would choose my beginner’s class over a dramatic production class because they assumed they wouldn’t be performing for a crowd. They would always say, “I can’t perform in front of people. I’m too nervous.”
Well, guess what? Nerves are a good thing. Wait, did you read that correctly? Yes, nerves are a good thing! It’s okay to feel nervous and to get that feeling of “butterflies in your stomach”.
Professor Hannah La Joy Johnston, author of Butterflies in Formation: A Practical Approach to Managing Performance Anxiety, said, “Don’t try to kill the butterflies—get them to work for you. Organize them and get them to fly in formation!”
So, get a small group of people together and have some kind of final performance, whether monologues, duo scenes, or improv. Performing in front of an audience will help beginners refine the skills you’ve taught them.
You have the skills and now the organization that you need to get this class started. Keep nurturing your love for the stage as you instruct these beginners. Allow your space to be one of growth where everyone can refine their talents and learn the skills they need to be a great performer. And if you’re anything like me, I’m sure you, as the instructor, will learn as much as your students.