Studying Acting - article by MOREinfo-About.com

Studying Acting

Major colleges and universities throughout the US and other industrialized countries offer courses in acting, and the opportunity to explore acting through college and community productions.

Studying acting may sound to the uninitiated like a cinch...an easy, non-academic way to earn a degree. Studying acting, however, is rigorous and demanding, both intellectually and emotionally, and in many cases physically as well. Basic courses involved in studying acting include theatre history, study of plays from ancient Greek to miodern productions, voice and diction, body language, stage techniques involved in acting, stage production, costuming and makeup, improvisational acting and performing in productions from classic plays to modern drama, requiring a wide range of acting skills.

Studying acting in a university or acting studio environment also involves preparation for auditioning, a prelude to acting in any production, amateur or professional. Auditioning can be a nerve-wracking process, but is a vital part of any acting career.

When studying acting, hopeful actors have an opportunity to test themselves in a variety of roles, thus preparing them for acting challenges which may confront them. By acting in a variety of plays, or even scenes, the hopeful actor can develop a sense of his or her specific acting abilities, thus giving direction to a search for an acting career.

Various universities, acting studios and professional instructors have different approaches to both acting and teaching acting. Not every approach is suited to every hopeful actor, and some searching may be required to determine the best source for acting instruction.

There are also different acting techniques which are suited to live theatre and to motion pictures and televisio and studying acting must include underanding of the diffeences.. Acting must be broader and generally more forceful to project dialogue and physical expression in a live theatre than in motion pictures, which are closeup and intimate in many cases. The camera picks up subtle facial expressions which are not as visible to a theatre audience... demanding more restrained acting.

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