Expert: Peter Messaline - 9/9/2009

Question
Hi Peter,
I've read a lot of the answers and advice you've provided to others, so I apologize if this question will sound very familiar to you as every one seems to be mostly asking the same questions.
I'm 24 years old but have always wanted to act. Unfortunately I was very shy as a teenager and never pursued it. However, I now believe I am at a point in my life where I could start taking acting classes and really learning about the craft. I recently graduated university (in a completely different field), and I was wondering if you know of any good acting classes in Ottawa (for beginners with NO experience). I'm not really interested (nor can I afford!) another university degree, such as in theatre. I've been looking into ACTottawa as well as the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama and would like to know if you could recommend any schools to begin classes.
Thank you, and can't wait to hear from you!

P.S. I've already read The Actor's Survival Guide (which I found very useful and learned a lot from), but it didn't discourage me just yet!

Thanks again

Answer
You are very flattering in your knowledge of our work. Don't be worried about asking the same questions -- I hope the answers are always different for each questioner.

I will ask you to spend a moment to wonder if you are drawn toward acting, or pushed away from the target of your university course. Something completely unknown is always attractive, whereas the 'logical' career track is looking as mixed as reality always is.

Another sobering thought -- there are many excellent actors who drop out of the business within a few years because they find that acting is great, but infrequent, and the self-promotion and regular failure to get work are too wearing. Being an actor is not the same as being a professional actor.

I can't advise about Ottawa classes -- I shouldn't advise about Toronto classes, either, since the right class for you depends on your needs, real and perceived. I will advise you to favour those that allow you to audit economically before committing, and those not requiring a long-term commitment. It's unlikely that what you learn at the classes will get you work, but
classes will do two things for you: you'll find out if you have the basic skills and intestinal fortitude to take direction and make a fool of yourself, and you'll be able to network with a bunch of other people who are in the same career position as yourself.

You should begin to prepare to write to local companies: here is a list
http://www.ottawatheatre.ca/companies.html
Find out what they do, who runs them and what he/she has done, and what they are quoted as saying about things. Once you have started and decided that this is a long, long trail you want to go along, you should be writing to them, and everyone else you can think of, to get the best chance of being up front when someone has a spot to fill.

It is a long long trail, but enjoy the trip, so that if you decide you really need to to go back to being a marine biologist, you'll have a package of new experience to add to your toolbox.