Recently one of my students indicated to me that in numbers of their previous classes and courses they had felt the pressure within themselves of trying to live up to the expectation of either the tutor,  the course, or both;  and that they had felt themselves – or had been made to feel – that the expections and theories of those courses were ultimately beyond their capabilities. The student felt that they had become lost in the labyrinth of ideas, disciplines and theories of what might or might not constitute a good performance, or an admirable actor, and so was left to conclude at the end of a course that they had little or no talent, and ultimately felt bruised by the experience.

The student recognised that the desire to do well in their studies had in some way been hijacked by their desire to be thought well of, or to be thought of as worthy of being in the class. The student found themselves blindly accepting every theory thrust at them and became too afraid to question if the theory was in fact sound, or indeed helpful.  The rising sense of urgency to get the scene ‘right’ was a direct result of the tutor’s urgency to have the scene done ‘correctly’.  This might say more about the tutor than it does about the acting student’s capabilities.

Being told that acting was difficult did not, I suspect, help the student’s cause.

When I asked what it was about acting that they enjoyed the student quite understandably responded that the opportunity to use their imagination, learn an artistic discipline and tell stories as somebody else, was very appealing.

When I pressed the student on how they might reconcile the idea of exploration against the need to ‘get it right’ they found that they could not.

When I offered that perhaps the ‘getting of something right’ might in fact be the final objective, brought about as a result of freely exploring ideas regarding a story without fear of judgement, and instead with confidence enough in their own ability and basic intelligence to allow themselves to take the time to gradually understand the requirements of the particular piece and put them together, the student seemed stunned that it might be that simple.

Of course it is never quite as simple as one might hope, creating a character that both tells and serves a story well; but neither is it so difficult as some might have one believe.

The primary accomplishment for an actor in training is to have little or no fear of failure when they embark on the creation of a character.

Experience ultimately allows for a genuine belief in the achieving of an outcome that is satisfying to all, but if you do not have that experience and must put your faith in the tutor, or course, the pupil needs to trust that the tutor will not make it any more difficult than it need be.

If the tutor is  determined to have the piece done ‘correctly’ or as a ‘finished product’ from the outset, then might one ask if the tutor themselves is fearful of not having the capacity to be able to draw out from the student those qualities of imagination and originality, or having drawn them out not know how to guide the student actor towards a more ‘polished’ performance? A tutor’s raison d’être is to assist a pupil to explore and develop their sense of  ’possibility’ and aid in the artistic and technical refinement of those possibilities.

Is it possible that too often we find ourselves hiding behind theory in an attempt to  disguise ones own doubts about what acting really might be for each individual and be able to adjust to each individual accordingly?

In my experience, every student brings with them great possibilities of new and original thought processes and, while they are new and understandably anxious about doing well, it is my job to continue to encourage a student’s individuality and help them develop themselves into the most unique actor that they are capable of becoming. Technique, form and the necessary requirements that are a given in acting training should develop alongside the students imagination, not lead from the front.

Acting is like many other pursuits in that the more freely encouraged one is to try, fail, succeed and then try again simply because you can now imagine something new, the better actor you will be, and failure – that unwelcome companion – will have no place in your thoughts.