From the Midwest to Hollywood

I am nearly finished with my first semester of acting class at Los Angeles Valley College. For several reasons, I consider the class to be an excellent choice for many actors.

It is perhaps peculiarly important to me that a teacher not be pretentious. For a person to speak into my life in a way I can hear it, I have to really respect him or her. Perhaps paradoxically, it is anathema to me when a person spends time convincing the class (and it seems to me, convincing herself) that she is a good acting teacher. When  Bob and Betty Ballew (http://www.lavc.edu/mediaarts/faculty/BallewRobert.html , http://www.lavc.edu/mediaarts/faculty/BallewBetty.html) introduced themselves, without any airs, they each told us briefly of their forty-year careers in the entertainment industry. Bob is primarily an actor (last month he showed us a Tony Curtis film in which he acted.). He is also an experienced cameraman (early in the semester, he was busy shooting the Oscars), so he has plenty of valuable advice about how to act on camera. Betty is also an experienced actress and teaches broadcasting.

Of the many workshop instructors I have met in LA, perhaps 25% of them are honest without being hurtful. In contrast, half of acting teachers seem to think the majority of their job consists of speaking loudly about their students’ faults. I am sure that making a student aware of his faults has its place. However, I question the need to have a teacher whose general posture is to speak negative things to his students. My experience is that there are plenty of negative voices in the entertainment industry without hiring a teacher to join the chorus.

Bob’s general posture with us is to let us know the things we can do better–this seems patently more helpful than just saying what we did poorly. Much of his advice is technical, such as “I need you to back farther away from your scene partner so we can get a better close up,” and “rather than look way off to the right, look a bit to the right of straight ahead–it will have the same effect without being too extreme.” I am always eager to receive such immediately applicable advice.

The price tag provides another stark contrast between other acting classes and LAVC. Classes in LA frequently cost between $40 and $60 per night. Because California subsidized its community college classes, the cost for the full semester at LAVC is $60.

My LAVC acting class is not for everyone. Actors wishing to focus on specific acting methods, such as Meisner Technique or Stanislavski, will need to choose a different class. Additionally, some actors might be irritated that a fair part of the class have very little experience acting. However, students get to choose their scenes and acting partners. I have had only positive experiences so far.

My semester goal was to become more comfortable acting on camera; I think the supportive environment in this class will help any actor progress in that direction. To read the course description, go to http://lavc.edu/catalog/courses.pdf and scroll down to Broadcasting 5: Radio and Television Acting.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions about LAVC. It’s great!