# Acting classes for non-actors **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2007, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091 "2007-08-02T06:10:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/1 "2007-08-02T06:10:16Z")
I’m a recent university grad who studied business and technology in a four-year program. Instead of looking for a job, I am spending the next few months seeing and doing new things, particularly in the area of arts (since I’ve kind of been deprived of enjoying such things as a business/tech student). My university offers acting classes. I have no acting experience and I don’t have any plans to go into acting, but I’m really interested in enrolling and the introductory level. I’m sure it’d be fun and I expect it could help a business student like me learn to keep her cool in stressful situations, but that’s just what _I_ expect to come out of it. Have any of you had experiences taking acting classes as a non-actor, and if so, how has it affected you in your every day life? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/2 "2007-08-02T07:33:33Z")
I once took a playwriting class, in which all the other members were actors. So I took a short introductory acting class, because I thought it would be good for me. It wasn’t, much. I kept thinking that what I really needed was a class to teach me how to act like a normal person, so I could fool everybody. What I got was, “Okay, you’re a carrot. Now exude malevolence.” ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/3 "2007-08-02T08:42:49Z")
Turns out I’m ineligible for the course. Seems my eyes ignored an important detail in the course description. I’ve changed my mind. 😛 What about **Second City improv classes**? It looks like loads of fun and it looks like people enroll in it not just to get into acting but also to improve creativity and presentation skills. [If a mod sees this, could they add something about “Second City improv” in the title?] ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/4 "2007-08-02T09:06:08Z")
Improv is great; really helps with creativity and thinking fast. I enjoyed it when I did it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/5 "2007-08-02T10:59:04Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] What I got was, “Okay, you’re a carrot. Now exude malevolence.” [/QUOTE] Too funny. ETA: Paging **Improv Geek** – or you could PM him. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/6 "2007-08-02T11:25:47Z")
Actor here. Please please PLEASE make sure to take an introductory-level class. It’s very frustrating when I sign up and pay for a class to further refine my craft, and it turns out that my scene partner is a non-actor. I can’t learn as much preparing and refining a scene with a non-actor, and I can’t learn nearly as much watching a non-actor work. [/rant] Improv class is always a good bet. It exercises virtually all of the skills that an actor needs, and it’s usually a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-classes-for-non-actors/414091/7 "2007-08-02T11:31:36Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] What I got was, “Okay, you’re a carrot. Now exude malevolence.” [/QUOTE] There’s an important lesson in that exercise. If you can say “Alright, I’m a carrot.” and run with it, playing a cop or a street kid or a superhero is that much easier. It trains you to not be tentative, in anything you do.