Acting in Community Theatre:

Hi guys and welcome to the Acting Classes In Perth blog. In this session “Acting in Community Theatre”. 

Community theatre is a great platform to start on, much like student films. It gives you the opportunity to learn what goes on in a production. The people who are involved in community theatre are those that love the theatre. Some may have studied acting, maybe a few were once professional actors but mainly they are people who enjoy being in theatre. You can learn something from everyone. It could be that you need help finding a way of learning lines that suits you or you want to learn different ways to build character. Don’t be afraid to ask. Community theatre is the perfect learning place for anyone wishing to be an actor.

Every actor should experience acting in a theatre production at some point. Even if you try it once and decide it’s not for you, at least you know for the future it is not what you want to do. In film you have multiple takes so there isn’t too much pressure to get it right the first time, however in a live performance you only have the one chance with that audience. This may seem daunting at first but one of the best things about theatre acting is there is instant feedback. In films you never hear how your audience is finding the performance until much later. In theatre the audience is with you in the room. At a crucial moment in the play you may hear them collectively gasp, or perhaps you may deliver your line perfectly and get a roar of laughter from the crowd. There is also the applause at the end, something most actors are addicted to! 

Another huge advantage of acting in community theatre is you will get a lot of time to rehearse. I’m sure some of you have turned up to a student film, rehearsed the scene once or twice and then shot it. In theatre this won’t happen. You will spend hours building your character, working out the relationships to other characters, figuring out different ways to act out the scene and overall you get much more time to play with the text.

Many find themselves nervous before a show and that’s completely normal, you should be a little nervous – it’s part of the fun! Whilst audiences watching a community production do expect a good show they are not expecting something professional so just remember if you do stuff up, loose a line or something unexpected happens don’t worry it’s not the end of the world. And if you do, sell it, they’ll never know!

Participating in community theatre is a really fun way to learn about everything that goes into a production. You will learn all about backstage etiquette, what goes on in rehearsal and hopefully love the feeling of a cheering audience at the end of the show. There are a huge number of community theatre companies around and probably even one in your suburb. Community theatre will give you the opportunity to try out acting in front of an audience without the pressure of it being a professional production.

I hope that helps. Until next time, stay safe and as always – happy acting.

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