The next time you’re shopping for a potential acting class for your talented youngster, be wary of teachers who would clumsily stifle the child’s imagination. Incompetent teachers could suffocate young performers by forcing them to overthink their most natural instincts. Children are equipped with innate raw talent and subconscious instincts. Look for teachers who will engage young minds and let them explore for answers on their own. The best coaches give young performers the tools to be the creators of their own acting techniques. Make sure your child’s teacher will do these things.
The teacher makes use of their natural physicality.
Teachers should not stifle the natural instincts of young performers by giving them instructions on what physical gestures to do, line by line.
The teacher encourages them to use their imagination.
Many adult actors are trying to recapture the purer, more concentrated level of imagination that kids and teens have naturally. The best teachers use the young actor’s intact and unfettered imagination as a tool for advancement.
The teacher doesn’t spoon-feed kids the answers all the time.
A good teacher will encourage kids to discover answers for themselves. Children grow and learn the most when they struggle for a breakthrough on their own. Good teachers let them struggle within reason and don’t hand them the answers on a silver platter.
The teacher makes use of the natural abilities of young actors.
Kids who enjoy acting generally bring a high level of intuition to the character they are portraying and to the craft of acting as a whole. The teacher should observe these gifts and help young actors hone them.
The teacher makes the class fun.
An acting coach who can’t make a class fun for kids and teens should start looking for another career. Young minds respond to teachers who instruct in enjoyable ways and who know how to engage them while teaching the useful basics of technique.