Thinking about a career in acting? Then you have probably heard scores of myths and untruths about it over the years. We really should debunk some of this nonsense, so that you actually know what you’re getting yourself in to!
It’s an easy option. The short answer is no, it isn’t. If you have any experience in the field so far you will already know that this isn’t true - drama school is hard work, and it will ask a lot of you. It will, of course, be massively rewarding too - but don’t get sucked into the idea that it’ll be a nice easy ride.
You will instantly land a successful career. Going to acting college will help you in your acting career no end, as you will learn so much - but it is certainly not a golden ticket to success. You will have to work hard, really hard, in order to make it big. You may have to think about what you want from it - do you want to be incredibly rich and famous? Or are you happy to just make a living from your acting?
You will be guaranteed an agent. This is also a myth - not everyone who enrols on an acting course will instantly land themselves an agent because of the course - again, this is down to you and your own hard work. Don’t panic too much if you don’t get an agent however; many graduates have left college without representation and have gone on to do their own thing, then found that the agents have pursued them.
You will be asked to pretend to be a tree. This may or may not happen. It’s certainly not written in the handbook of an acting course, but you may find yourself being asked to perform as something bizarre. Trust the process, these guys know what they’re doing!
You will have fun all the time. Hopefully you already know that your chosen career is going to be hard work, so it follows that you won’t have the best time ever, all day every day. There may even be days where you want to give it all up and go work in McDonalds (though I hope for your sake it never gets that bad!) Bear in mind that you have to take the good with the bad, and even in a career that you adore, there will be down days.
Acting college is all about acting. Although it may surprise you, you won’t spend all your time at college actually acting. There will be exercises, new techniques, and a fair bit of prep before you are actually handed a script.
You always have to get it right. There is no “right or wrong” way of acting, so you won’t find that one drama school teaches the “right” way and another the “wrong” way. Never making a mistake means that you never learn, so fluffing occasionally will actually help you grow.
Any acting course can take a lot out of you - but it can also help you grow and develop as an actor, as well as a person.
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