This week, one of my students considering attending an acting class taught by a casting director asked me if I thought it was a good idea. It’s a question that’s come up several times before so I thought it might be an interesting topic for a blog post.

I feel you should take an acting class from an acting teacher. Acting class is where you learn how to make choices, unite your body, mind and spirit to communicate effectively, to stretch your limits, fail gloriously and explore who you are in a safe environment. That’s not what most casting directors know how to do or are trained to teach.

I understand why casting directors offer classes and why actors take them. Actors want to meet casting directors. A good casting director can offer a perspective actors don’t often have. They watch hundreds of actors audition while the only auditions an actor attends are their own. It seems like a good match.

Where I think an actor can run into trouble is if they treat a casting director seminar like an acting class. Whenever you walk into a room with a casting director you already need to know how to act well, know how to work on camera, take direction and have a great picture and resume when they ask for one. You need to be ready and able to light up the room with your performance so they will remember you and call you in for a real audition. You need to be a pro ready to hire or, honestly, you’re wasting your money. They’ll see that you’re a work in progress and they won’t call you in, which is probably why you took the class in the first place. Even worse, now you will have created a negative impression you’ll need to overcome in the future.

So if you can’t be seen any other way, and the CD casting the role you’re perfect for is teaching a seminar and you’re certain you’re ready for prime time, then by all means make the investment. It’s a tax write off so why not? If, on the other hand, you’re still a diamond in the rough, get thee to an acting coach instead for the polish you’ll need to blow them away when you’re really ready. 

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If you want 6 tips to use to rock your next audition download my FREE ebook HERE! 

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Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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All my best,

Philip

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Philip Hernandez is a respected acting teacher and singing coach in NYC. He is also the only actor in Broadway history to play both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in Les Miserables. He created principal roles in Broadway’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Paul Simon’s The Capeman. You may also know him from his many television appearances: The Blacklist, Gotham, Blue Bloods, The Path, Bull, Nurse Jackie, Elementary, Person of Interest, Law and Order, Hostages and Damages to name a few. For information about acting lessons CLICK HERE or singing lessons CLICK HERE. 

Follow him on twitter @philip24601, on Instagram @philip24601 and on Facebook at @philip24601.