ARE YOU GETTING THE TRAINING YOU ACTUALLY NEED?

Here's a question actors ask me all the time.

“Do you know a good acting teacher?”

And I understand the question.

But there's a problem with it.

Good for what?

Good for whom?

Because the best acting teacher in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta—or wherever you happen to live—might be completely wrong for you.

Not because they're a bad teacher.

Because they're teaching something you don't need.

Or teaching it in a way that doesn't communicate to you.

Actors spend thousands of dollars on training.

Classes.

Workshops.

Intensives.

Private coaching.

Scene study.

On-camera.

Voice.

Movement.

Improv.

And sometimes they finish all that training and still can't answer a very simple question:

“What exactly am I trying to get better at?”

Maybe that's where we should start.

Not with the teacher.

Not with the class.

Not with the recommendation.

With you.

Because good training isn't necessarily about finding the best class.

It's about finding the training you actually need.

LEAN INTO THEME / COMMERCIAL

[THEME MUSIC / COMMERCIAL]

RETURN — APPROX. :30

So today I don't want to give you a list of acting teachers.

And I'm certainly not going to tell you there's one acting technique everybody should study.

There isn't.

What I want to give you instead is a way to think about training.

How to choose it.

How to evaluate it.

When to stay.

When perhaps to move on.

And most importantly—

how to know what you need before you start spending money trying to find it.

WELCOME / SHOW INFORMATION

Welcome to Casting Actors Cast.

I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach.

Casting director, teacher, author, former actor—and somebody who has spent a very large part of his professional life on both sides of the classroom.

If you're new here, welcome.

And if you've been listening for a while, I'm very glad you're back.

You can find everything we're doing at CastingActorsCast.com.

You'll find the podcast, information about my book, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting Cast, and my online course, Next-Level Auditions — Prepare Smarter. Perform Better. Book More.

And while you're there, fill out the form and Jump Into the Talent Pool.

That gives you access to some free materials I've created for actors, including the VO book and video, along with Casting Directors: What They Don't Tell You.

Okay.

Let's get into this.

Because training matters.

But only if the training is actually helping you grow.

START WITH THE NEED

Here's where I think actors sometimes get this backward.

They start by looking for a class.

I want you to start by looking for a problem.

That sounds rather unpleasant, doesn't it?

“Congratulations. We've identified your problem.”

But that's really what training is supposed to address.

Ask yourself:

What am I trying to improve?

Maybe you freeze during auditions.

Maybe your camera work feels too theatrical.

Maybe you struggle with comedy.

Maybe you're uncomfortable improvising.

Maybe you can't seem to make strong choices.

Maybe you have trouble accessing emotional material.

Maybe your voice isn't supporting you.

Maybe you're terrific when you've had three weeks to rehearse but fall apart when somebody hands you four pages and says:

“We'll see you tomorrow.”

That's useful information.

Because now you're not simply looking for an acting class.

You're looking for training that addresses a specific need.

And that changes everything.

One of the most important questions you can ask yourself is:

What can't I do yet that I want to be able to do?

There's your starting point.

THE WORD-OF-MOUTH PROBLEM

Actors love recommendations.

“Who do you study with?”

“Oh, you have to take this person's class.”

And word of mouth can be useful.

Absolutely.

But here's the problem.

Your friend isn't you.

Your friend may need discipline.

You may need freedom.

Your friend may need technique.

You may need confidence.

Your friend may thrive with an instructor who is confrontational.

You may completely shut down.

Someone can truthfully say:

“This teacher changed my life.”

Wonderful.

That still doesn't mean they're going to change yours.

Recommendations are leads.

They're not conclusions.

Treat them as research.

THE UNREGULATED PROBLEM

Here's another uncomfortable reality.

Acting training is not a particularly regulated business.

There isn't one universally accepted credential that suddenly makes somebody qualified to teach acting.

And the ability to act doesn't automatically create the ability to teach acting.

Those are different skills.

A wonderful actor may be unable to explain what they do.

A wonderful teacher may never have been famous.

Celebrity isn't pedagogy.

And neither is a long résumé.

Teaching requires communication.

Observation.

Diagnosis.

Adaptability.

A teacher has to be able to look at one actor and recognize:

“You're pushing.”

And then look at another actor doing almost exactly the same thing and realize:

“You're protecting yourself.”

Same result.

Different problem.

Therefore—

different teaching.

That's where good instruction becomes enormously valuable.

TECHNIQUE VERSUS DOGMA

I'm always a little cautious when any acting teacher suggests that their particular technique is the only way to act.

There are wonderful approaches to acting.

Stanislavski.

Meisner.

Adler.

Strasberg.

Practical Aesthetics.

Michael Chekhov.

And combinations and variations of all of them.

You can learn something valuable from many approaches.

But eventually, the technique has to serve the actor.

The actor doesn't serve the technique.

That's important.

Technique should give you tools.

It shouldn't give you commandments.

If you're spending more time worrying about whether you're “doing the technique correctly” than whether you're actually communicating with another human being...

something may have gotten lost.

I sometimes see actors in auditions who are clearly doing something.

They're working very hard.

You can almost see the machinery.

And I'm thinking:

I don't need to see the technique.

I need to see the person.

Good training eventually becomes invisible.

That's the goal.

THE INTERMEDIATE PLATEAU

Now here's something I don't think we discuss enough.

I call it the intermediate plateau.

Beginning actors often know exactly why they're training.

They don't know how to act yet.

Fair enough.

Everything is new.

Listening.

Objectives.

Behavior.

Camera technique.

Script analysis.

Professional vocabulary.

There's tremendous growth because there's tremendous territory to cover.

Then something happens.

They get better.

And that's where things can get surprisingly difficult.

Because now they're competent.

They're not beginners anymore.

But they're not necessarily advancing either.

They can do the scene.

They can make choices.

They can audition.

They understand the vocabulary.

And suddenly...

they plateau.

So what do they do?

They take another acting class.

Then another.

And another.

But they're repeating rather than developing.

This is where training has to become more specific.

Maybe you don't need another general scene-study class.

Maybe you need comedy.

Maybe Shakespeare.

Maybe voice.

Maybe movement.

Maybe improv.

Maybe on-camera technique.

Maybe you need to work on audition preparation.

Maybe you need to stop training for three months and actually apply what you've learned.

That's allowed too.

Training shouldn't become a hiding place from doing.

ARE YOU LEARNING OR PERFORMING?

Here's another trap.

Sometimes actors stay in a class because they've become good at the class.

They know the teacher.

They know the exercises.

They know the other students.

They know what gets a positive response.

They're comfortable.

And comfort feels wonderful.

But ask yourself:

Am I learning?

Or have I become good at being a student in this particular classroom?

Those aren't necessarily the same thing.

On the other hand—

constant discomfort isn't automatically evidence of growth either.

This is important.

A teacher who makes you feel good isn't necessarily a good teacher.

But a teacher who makes you feel terrible isn't necessarily challenging you.

Pain is not proof of artistic development.

Neither is praise.

The question is:

Am I becoming more capable?

Can I do something today that I couldn't do six months ago?

That's measurable growth.

VISIT BEFORE YOU COMMIT

Whenever possible, investigate before you commit.

Can you audit the class?

Can you observe?

Can you speak with the instructor?

Can you talk to current or former students?

What does the room feel like?

Not whether everybody is happy.

Learning isn't always happy.

But is the environment respectful?

Is the criticism specific?

Does the teacher explain why something isn't working?

Do they offer a path toward improvement?

Listen carefully to the language.

There's a tremendous difference between:

“That wasn't good.”

And:

“I don't believe you're listening to what the other character is telling you.”

One is judgment.

The other is information.

Information helps you work.

And pay attention to personality.

Teaching is communication.

If the teacher's communication style doesn't reach you, it doesn't necessarily mean either of you is wrong.

It may simply be a poor fit.

TRAINING IS AN INVESTMENT

Now we have to talk about money.

Because acting training can become enormously expensive.

And actors sometimes feel guilty about considering cost.

Don't.

You're running a business.

Training is an investment.

And investments need to make sense.

Before committing, ask:

What does this cost?

How long is the commitment?

What other expenses are involved?

Can I realistically afford this?

Will paying for this class create financial stress that outweighs its benefit?

Because the most expensive class is not automatically the best class.

And cheaper isn't automatically smarter either.

Think about value.

If you have $600 available for professional development, maybe the answer isn't another twelve-week acting class.

Maybe it's four private voice sessions.

Or an improv intensive.

Or three months of on-camera work.

Or maybe you save the money because right now your headshots need replacing.

That's career strategy.

Your training budget is part of your business budget.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE OF TRAINING

But there's another side of training that I think has become increasingly important.

The room.

The actual room.

With people in it.

Actors need other actors.

We spend so much time now communicating through screens.

Self-tapes.

Zoom.

Email.

Social media.

Artificial intelligence.

Even auditions increasingly happen without another actor physically present.

And technology isn't going away.

Nor should it.

But something interesting happens when twelve actors get into a room together.

They watch.

They listen.

They fail.

They laugh.

They experiment.

They encourage one another.

They discover they're not the only person struggling with something.

That matters.

There's psychological value in artistic community.

Particularly in a profession where so much time is spent alone waiting for somebody else to say yes.

A good class reminds you that acting isn't only about getting hired.

It's something you actually enjoy doing.

Remember that?

That's important.

MORE TO COME — APPROX. 15:00

We're going to take a quick break.

But when we come back, I want to give you a simple way to evaluate any class, workshop or teacher you're considering—and one question that might save you a lot of money.

More on getting the training you actually need...

right after this.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

THE TRAINING CHECK-IN

Okay.

Let's make this practical.

Before you sign up for your next class, workshop or intensive, I want you to consider five things.

NEED

What specifically am I trying to improve?

Not:

“I should be training.”

Why?

What skill needs attention?

If you can't answer that question, don't spend the money yet.

Figure out the need first.

FIT

Does this teacher communicate in a way that works for me?

Can I understand the feedback?

Do I feel challenged without feeling diminished?

Does the environment encourage experimentation?

Remember:

You're not looking for somebody to tell you you're wonderful.

You're looking for somebody who can help you become better.

APPLICATION

Can I use what I'm learning outside the classroom?

That's huge.

Does the technique survive contact with an actual audition?

Can you apply it when you have six hours to prepare?

Can you use it on a film set?

Can you use it when a director says:

“Great. Do it again. Completely different.”

Training should eventually function under pressure.

INVESTMENT

Does the financial and time commitment make sense for where I am right now?

Not someday.

Right now.

Training is part of your career investment.

Treat it with the same seriousness you would treat headshots, equipment, travel or professional materials.

GROWTH

Am I actually getting better?

Not:

“Do I love the teacher?”

Not:

“Have I made friends?”

Not:

“Have I been here for three years?”

Am I growing?

That's the question.

SOMETIMES THE RIGHT TRAINING CHANGES

And here's something actors occasionally feel guilty about.

Outgrowing a teacher.

You don't need to.

A teacher can be exactly right for one period of your development and wrong for the next.

That doesn't invalidate what they gave you.

In fact, it may mean the training worked.

You grew.

Your needs changed.

Perhaps now you need somebody else.

Good training should create independence.

Eventually, you shouldn't need the teacher standing beside you in order to work.

The teacher's voice becomes part of your own process.

And then your process becomes yours.

That's development.

THE TEACHER ISN'T THE ORACLE

Actors can give teachers enormous authority.

Sometimes too much.

The teacher says:

“You're a character actor.”

“You shouldn't do comedy.”

“You're not ready for television.”

“You need another year before you audition.”

Be careful.

A teacher has a perspective.

Hopefully an informed one.

But it's still a perspective.

No teacher gets to define the limits of your career.

Including me.

Take the information.

Consider the source.

Evaluate whether it helps.

Then make your own professional decision.

A teacher should expand your possibilities.

Not shrink them.

HERE'S YOUR RESET

So here's your Reset.

Stop asking:

“What's the best acting class?”

There isn't one.

Instead ask:

“What do I need to become better at next?”

That's a much more useful question.

Identify the need.

Research the options.

Observe when you can.

Evaluate the teacher.

Consider the commitment.

Consider the money.

And then ask whether the training is actually producing growth.

Because training isn't something you collect.

It's something you use.

And remember this:

Good training should eventually make you less dependent on training.

It should give you tools.

Confidence.

Curiosity.

Discipline.

Community.

And ultimately...

independence.

Your teacher isn't creating your talent.

They're helping you learn how to access it.

And perhaps that's the best definition of good training I can give you.

I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach.

Thank you for spending this time with me.

This is Casting Actors Cast.

And I'll see you next time.

YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION

How do you know whether an acting class, workshop or teacher is actually right for you?

In Episode #443 of Casting Actors Cast, casting director, teacher, author and former actor Jeffrey Dreisbach looks beyond recommendations and famous techniques to explore what good actor training should actually accomplish.

Jeff discusses how actors can identify what they genuinely need before choosing a class, the “intermediate plateau” that can keep actors training without progressing, evaluating teachers and techniques, budgeting for professional development, knowing when you've outgrown a class, and the difference between feeling challenged and actually learning.

The episode also explores something increasingly important in a screen-centered and AI-driven world: the psychological and artistic value of actors working together in a room.

The goal isn't simply to keep training.

It's to keep growing.

Visit CastingActorsCast.com for more episodes, free actor resources, Booked It! The Actors Playbook for Getting Cast, and the Next-Level Auditions course.