Can You Teach Yourself To Become An Actor?

You may have noticed here at StageMilk that many of our articles are titled with questions: “Is acting easy?” “How to act drunk?” “Should I stay in character?” That’s because we like to try and think about what actors might be asking themselves as they ponder their artistic journey (or at least what they might be asking Google.) Of all of these questions, however, there is no more fascinating and audacious a query than “Can you teach yourself to become an actor?” Can you? It certainly begs some thought.

There is little to stop you teaching yourself to become an actor. Information on technique, material and the workings of the industry can be sourced and learned from a variety of places; all an aspiring actor would need is the will and means to put these ideas into practice. However, while a person could teach themselves to act, their journey would at some point require the help of others—if not teachers in a formal educational setting, then peers and support within the industry itself.

Ultimately, this question warrants some clarification around what it means to “teach yourself”. If you define this as not going to drama school, then you’re in luck. There are plenty of successful actors who never had this opportunity and flourished all the same. However, if you wish to shut yourself off from any kind of teaching/practice/support, you’re going to have a near-impossible time. No actor is an island. And sooner or later, your path is going to bring you alongside another actor, if not lead you right smack into them.

Self-Teaching

When I was in my early teens, I taught myself to play the guitar. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I decided to do this, but looking back many many years later, it amazes me to think that there was a day when I woke up unable to do something at all and went to bed with the kernel of that ability at my fingertips. I still play to this day; I’m definitely better than I was when I started, but I’m no Jeff Beck.

However, I can compare my self-taught abilities as a guitarist to something I have formally trained in and notice a vast difference. I also trained for fourteen years as a classical violinist, and although my ability today is nowhere near what it used to be with hours of practice every night, the bedrock that strong teachers and formalised learning solidified in me is still very much there.

Self-teaching isn’t something to be scoffed at. You may find you possess a natural affinity for the thing you’re trying to learn, and you might be backed by your existing, related knowledge in the way that music theory helped me with the guitar. But it’s seldom the easy, or simple way forward. It takes time and effort, and your passion is no guarantee that you’ll have any degree of success.

If you are truly committed to becoming an actor, and the life/career/art means a lot to you, you’re probably best seeking some actual training. And that’s not to say you can’t do anything else we’re about to talk about in this article and give yourself every opportunity to succeed.

Where to Begin?

If your goal is to teach yourself to become an actor, the first thing you’ll want to do is set very clear goals in both craft and career.

Craft refers to your skills and abilities as an actor. It’s the kind of thing you can easily develop and maintain on your own as an actor. In actual fact, it’s something all actors can afford to spend more time practicing in their lives. If your goal is to git gud, then absorb all the knowledge you can from short courses, online materials (such as our StageMilk Scene Club), books, plays. Honestly: anything art-related that will expand your horizons as an artist. At some point, you’ll want to involve other actors in this process, so that you can put your training into practice and get some real-life experience.

Career refers to your professional path and opportunities as an actor. You’ll need craft to convince people you can actually do the acting thing. But you’ll also need to be across all the things a working actor requires to sell themselves in the industry. Headshots, a CV and a showreel are the ‘holy trinity’ of materials needed to pursue independent jobs, professional auditions and, eventually, an agent. But there are also casting networks to consider, industry contacts and the development of your reputation as a reliable acting professional.

So why are clear craft and career goals important? Because they’ll tell you where to focus your autodidactic efforts. If your goal is to tread the boards at your local amateur company, there’s no need to do a three-day seminar on shooting the perfect showreel. Hone your sights. You’ll overwhelm yourself if you try to know it all.

Develop your Toolkit

Your efforts to teach yourself to become an actor can start right here on StageMilk. Click through to acting career information for an overview of the profession, or perhaps our article on finding your character’s objective to learn the most important, fundamental tool when performing. From these links you’ll find other links, and other links, and so on until you’ve absorbed everything we have on offer.

Then you can hit the local library. Read “An Actor Prepares” by Stanislavski, or “The Actor and the Target” by Declan Donnellan for a different perspective. When your eyes get tired you can switch to videos of masterclasses online by acting greats. When your eyes get really tired you can switch to an acting podcast. And we haven’t even directed you to the “plays” section of the library, where you can immerse yourself in literal thousands of years of dramatic stories.

Be hungry for knowledge and seek it out wherever you can. Read up on a particular acting methodology, and then read the work of a teacher who disagrees with the method completely. We mentioned above that this kind of practice is something all actors should do more of. That’s because a lot of traditionally trained actors graduate from drama school and stop learning.

You have to be constant in your efforts to expand you ideas and methodologies in acting. Always be trying something new—because you never know which obscure technique might revolutionise your entire process.

Gaining Experience

Of course, academic study and research is only going to get you so far. Eventually, you’ll need to put what you’ve learned into practice. This is what will evolve you from somebody interested in acting into a practising actor.

Our advice is to start small and keep things manageable. Work on some short monologues, or perhaps a Shakespearean sonnet (Sonnet 18 is a great place to begin this journey.) The freedom to work on any piece of text you like can be intoxicating—and a little overwhelming. And while you can launch into Hamlet or Hedda with nobody stopping you, you should probably hold off until your skills can sustain the character and carry the performance. These bigger, iconic roles will come in time.

Set yourself clear goals with each piece you work on. You might focus on memorising lines, nailing an accent or developing a sense of characterisation. While we mention it, don’t think of memorisation as the endgame either. A lot of first-time actors race to memorise a piece before they’ve even plumbed its depths for meaning. So take your time, and know that lines are far easier to keep in your head when you know why your character is speaking them.

No matter your process, no matter your choice of material, the most important thing is to stand up and act it out. If you’re feeling brave, film yourself or perform for people whose opinions you trust and feedback you’ll listen to. Because this is how you’ll start getting practice, and eventually getting better.

No Actor is an Island

At some point, you’ll need to enlist the help of others in becoming an actor. At the very least, you’ll need actors you can start working with in scene study sessions. Scene study refers to the process of exploring material for stage or screen without an end goal of live performance in mind. It’s the kind of work that makes up the majority of acting classes, although it can be done independently with a little prep and a few actor friends in tow.

The advantage of scene study is that it’s focused primarily on craft, not career. It takes the pressure off having to present your work in front of an audience, meaning that you can drill techniques you’re less confident about, or experiment with choices that might fail entirely. Experimentation—play—is paramount to an actor’s development. Create a possibility space that allows you to dive in and have fun.

Now depending on your background, or your current circle of family or friends, you may not know any actors you can readily work with. If that is the case, you’ll need to go out and find some. We’ve mentioned acting classes already, as they are the most direct way of finding potential scene partners. But you can also look online at social media groups, at local institutions such as colleges, theatres or community centres. When you find yourself in the industry for the first time, these people will be right there along with you for the journey.

For actors, living a life of uncertainty and poverty and rejection, a strong and supportive community is everything. Give as good as you hope to receive, and you’ll never want for a cheer squad or somebody to drown sorrows with. There’s comfort to be found in both.

Can Self-Taught Actors Make It in the Industry?

For some people reading this article, this will be the only question that matters. Can you teach yourself to be an actor and end up working professionally? Of course! If anything, this path suggests that you’re twice as committed as somebody who might have opportunities like drama school at their fingertips!

Just remember that no part of acting, craft or career, is ever easy. And, honestly, you’re likely to have to work twice as hard as people who have the formalised structure of acting training—not to mention all of the industry contacts and leg-ups they’ll get by being closer to the biz than somebody on the outside looking in.

If you are serious about making it, and formal training is simply not an option, never lose sight of what can set you apart. Work hard. Keep studying, keep evolving. Take all the opportunities that come to you, and at all times be gracious. Be a joy to work with, a delight to audition and somebody who doesn’t let the uncertainty/poverty/rejection get you down. None of the things we’ve described in this paragraph can be taught at any drama school. And if students pick them up, they’re often the first things forgotten a year from graduation.

Conclusion

So in conclusion: yes, you can teach yourself to become an actor! Is it as simple as that? Hell no: it never is! But if this pathway is what offers you something new, and it’s the only way you can move forward, then you have our wholehearted encouragement to go for it.

Work hard, keep moving, stay gracious. The industry will be lucky to have you, regardless of how you get here.

Good luck!