Acting School Prices
If you’re looking to make a name for yourself in films, on the stage, or in television, acting schools are a great place to hone your talents. Of course, the costs for acting schools can vary greatly in price. Why is that?
The main reason for so many discrepancies in cost is that what you pay is going to depend entirely on which classes you take. As an aspiring actor, there are ten types of classes available to you in acting schools:
- Scene Study
- Auditioning Classes
- On-Camera Class
- Cold Reading Class
- Improvisation Classes
- Commercial Class
- Vocal Acting
- Body and Movement Class
- Classical Acting Class
- Voice Over Classes
Scene study is typically a 13 week class whereby you live through entire scenes, try to get at the dynamic conflicts that arise or the deepest parts of a character. These courses refine your acting craft and allow you to take all of your techniques and harness them in preparation for upcoming jobs. The lengthy classes are not for the faint of heart either. They typically require some background in acting and three hours per night of work. You focus on different genres, discover your personal strengths and weaknesses, and will work in every class. For that reason, classes are typically only ten people in size.
For Auditioning classes you generally practice one on one with specific material, so that you learn how to prepare for any upcoming auditions.
On-Camera classes are a chance for you and your teacher to identify your areas of weakness so that you can grow. After all, if you don’t work what you are not good at, you won’t get any better.
With cold reading classes are typically work in a group, and the entire group is given new material to read simultaneously. Such classes prepare you for auditions where the material is not handed to you until arrival.
Improvisation classes have a set scene with back stories for all characters set ahead of time. As soon as the story starts, you and the classmates go back and forth without lines, reacting to what everyone else on stage is doing.
Those ready to prepare for television commercial careers can enjoy commercial classes where you practice on camera with made up products and real products alike.
Vocal acting is designed for those who want to pursue work in musical cinema or on Broadway.
Body and movement classes focus heavily on dancing and movement, which can be applied to many situations and career paths.
Students who wish to pursue classical theater or just love Shakespeare, classical acting classes give you all the skills you need to start taking on Shakespearean roles on stage.
Animated movie lovers can benefit from voice over classes, preparing to portray animated characters.
So, the price you pay is going to be based on how many of these classes you take. For example: For an 8 week class (two months) encompassing all of this, as a beginner, places like the Stella Adler Academy charge $950. At The Playground, we have a 6 month acting program for kids that starts at $2,500. For a 13 week (3 months) scene study class alone, the Elizabeth Metznik School charges $590. In almost all cases, you will need products like headshots and resumes just to apply which come at an additional cost. On average, you can expect to pay around $1oo per class/session.
