Shaping the Independent Actor

Over the course of the past year, I have had the unique opportunity of sitting down, my tape recorder in hand, and conducting a series of in-depth interviews with eight extraordinary teachers of acting. I was initially interested in simply recording each of their personal experiences with teaching, but what arose out of our time together was a topic more extensive and far-reaching: what it means to teach acting—to train American actors beyond technique.

The conversations revealed how these teachers, from vastly different backgrounds and professional experiences, have grappled with the struggles inherent in the teaching of any art form, and, most specifically, the teaching of an art form that relies on the student’s own sense of self and independence from the teacher as a necessary and significant skill. All eight speak of teaching students independence, the necessity for an emphasis on process and the importance of removing, ultimately, the authoritarian presence and power of “teacher,” thus allowing, helping, students to take control of their own work as actors.

The perspectives of these training professionals on both acting and the teaching of acting are inspirational for all of us who must face what it means to act and to teach, and who understand that acting is something that can, indeed, be learned and taught—in practical, useful and significantly substantial ways.

Ellen Orenstein is an associate professor of theatre arts (acting) at Marymount Manhattan College. Her writing has been published in TheatreForum and Theatre Journal. In Feb. '08, she will assistant-direct The Seagull (featuring Dianne Wiest) at Classic Stage Company.