The Actor Teachers: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

My honest thoughts on what makes a good teacher and what does not.

Hi Actor,

Over the last decade I make no exaggeration by saying I have done hundreds of classes. I've learnt from many teachers, some really inspiring and others damn horrible. I’ve been ignited by many and even crushed by a few.

Through these highs and lows of studying this thing I love, I know I have grown from both the good teachers AND the bad teachers. It's all life experience and it is part of what made me who I am today. I like who I am. So I'm grateful for all of it, even for the ugly (by nature) teachers - because we don't get through this life without some battle scars. That being said, my hope is that this article can (without scaring you off 😂) save you some of that heartache, money and time.

I won't be telling you to go to any particular teachers, nor will I be telling you who to avoid, because what works for me will not necessarily work for you, and vice versa. You need to decide that for yourself. What I will be doing is providing my honest thoughts to assist you with your own considerations.

I'll talk firstly about 'Your responsibilities as a student'; secondly 'The responsibilities of the teacher'; next 'The questions you should keep asking yourself through your entire education' and finally 'What characteristics I think you should avoid in a teacher'. It is my hope too that this post might raise your standards a little and may call out some unhelpful behaviour from teachers that I've noticed in previous classes.

Lets start with your responsibility as an acting student first:

• Stay curious, unrelentingly so. Even when it's challenging to.

• Put a genuine trust in your teachers with what they have to say and don't lead with scepticism, particularly when entering into a new way of working. Give them some room to ease you into their teachings. You're here to learn from them. So let that happen.

• Be encouraging of all your classmates and be an advocate for them.

• Know why you are attending that specific class and know what you want to get out of it.

• The challenge for the student in class is to not misread the resistance you feel when a teacher gives her honest feedback or challenges you. The inner voice might pipe up and say "who are they to tell me how to act?". Quite often the first thing we feel is resistance when someone is challenging us in just the right way. Sometimes the feeling is potent, like we have an almost allergic reaction to the feedback given. Be patient though, again be curious and see where they are leading you.

• Once you've learnt the basics of acting - develop a week to week practice that you can commit to in your own time. Not having a weekly practice outside of class, quite frankly wastes your time and money. Lots of it.

Now for the teacher's responsibilities:

• Teachers are to be kind, and patient. Students are giving their time and money. So teachers should be grateful.

• Good teachers understand that every individual attending their class learns differently and potentially are at different skill levels. They are to tailor their work to the individual, not the masses.

• Good teachers are here to challenge you. This will often feel uncomfortable. They are wanting to keep you out of your comfort zones. We've spoken about "Zones of Difficulty/ Practice" in a previous blog, go give this a read if you haven't already. See here.

  
  

• Depending on what services they are offering - they may also provide material for the actor to work on and may assist in growing their scene library. I will speak about the importance of a scene library soon too. See here (Available to read from 23/04/25).

  
  

• Good teachers are there to empower the actor & not diminish. The great teachers know that it is the student's (inner) voice that must be cultivated/ realised day by day and not a projection of their own. They are to assist with bringing the student's individual voice to life.

  
  

• In a class setting, the teacher is there to give equal attention to every student (and not pick favourites). I am of course talking about participating students, not auditing positions.

  
  

• Good teachers must have the ability to give precise, actionable/ practical feedback and also have access to these three words:"I", "Don't" & "Know".

• The best quality a teacher can have is curiosity.

• The Student/ Teacher dynamic should feel collaborative.

• The good teacher, much like your other classmates is an advocate for the student.

• It is the responsibility of the teacher to develop a space where people are encouraged to be brave and to fail gloriously. Understanding that there is no such thing as an 100% "safe" space, the teacher should do all they can to ensure as much safety as practical.

• The goal of any great teacher is to create independent learners.

Questions to ask yourself before, during and after class:

• What am I wanting to achieve by seeing this teacher?

• Do I feel challenged by this teacher in the right way.

• Are they at least matching my level of experience, in the specific way I am wanting to grow?

  • When I say experience I don't mean "work" . Experience is evident in the way they talk, think and direct, not necessarily because they've booked a job or held more power in the industry.

What to avoid in a teacher:

• Avoid the Dictators of Suffering - The Preachers of 'The Suffering Artist'.

  • The outdated belief that artists need to suffer to be of any value is a damaging and dangerous idea. Rid it from existence. Humans by nature experience suffering naturally. We want to be in touch with it, but seeking it out breeds self-indulgence and gets the artist nowhere.

• Avoid the bitter.

• Avoid the salesmen.

  • Beware of the pervasive "make it big" marketing that exploits the dreams of creatives.

  • Being in this industry is hard enough and endless expensive classes will not make it easier for an actor who's living week to week.

  • Hold onto that big dream/ fire/ spark & don't think someone else has the answers to how you'll get to where you want to be.

  • If a teacher tells you "you aren't ready" to be in front of casting when you've been Acting for a while - leave. Some teacher try to create a dependancy of them in your first meeting. Be wary.

• If the teacher is consistently telling you that you are making the "wrong" choices without offering an explanation as to why or only gives large generalised feedback that isn’t practical - consider leaving at the end of class and maybe don't return.

• Beware of the taskmasters who set unrealistic expectations. We want to be challenged, not sent into oblivion.

• "If you love anything else outside of acting QUIT and go do that instead" - to teachers saying this, disregard anything they have to say. They are morons.

• A teacher that disrespects boundaries is no teacher at all, but a bully.

• If a teacher recklessly psychoanalyses you to show how smart they are - leave.

Some final thoughts:

Deep Emotional Work

If the teacher is taking acting students through some really deep emotional states it is the teacher's responsibility to ensure the student is safe and continues to be safe after the workshop. By this I mean, the teacher is to check in with the student during or directly after the workshop if they are worried about them. If applicable, connecting them with the appropriate supports may be necessary. Ideally we want the students to be leaving as emotionally safe as when they came in. Encourage the community of actors to support one another too. Sorry teachers, but if you're taking someone to the depths and being paid to do so, you better know how to get them out. In these situations of course the student will need to work just as hard to get back to a baseline too, but responsibility does lie with both parties. After some experience the student will learn how to come back to a base line and shake things off by themselves but teachers are not to take this for granted. I've done workshops with supposed "high quality" teachers and spiralled for about 6 months after the workshop - not one ounce of support was given or offered by the teacher. If you find yourself in this situation, be around friends and family and consider perhaps speaking with a psychologist. Whatever you do, don't do it alone.

The "Break Them Down and Build Them Back Up" Method

This method of teaching is outdated... and false... and dumb. I remember hearing it over and over again when auditioning for schools very early on - "in acting school they break you down and build you back up". Justification for verbal abuse is all it is. It aligns quite nicely with the tortured/ suffering artist trope. Just stay clear of all this stuff.

The Taskmasters

Being challenged is good. Being pushed to work very hard can also be good. Being pushed passed breaking point with endless "To dos" is not good. You may come across some teachers who demand you read 7 plays a week, work on your voice for 2 hours a day, watch the entirety of cinema history in the morning and shake their head when you haven't seen every stage show currently out. A good teacher understands how to push someone out of their comfort zone in a practical way, demanding their best work. They ALSO know their students need to work (to make a living) and live a life to fuel their creativity. Sadly, some out there don't demand hard work because they want you to be your absolute best, they push you too far, specifically to prove that you can't. The difference between these two types is easy to pick. One comes from respect and the other comes from a "lack of". There is of course acting schools and theatre companies that hold and facilitate incredibly intensive, high quality training over an allotted period of time, but this is structured and supported so the students can actually function.

How You Feel After The Class

If you're finishing a class with less love for Acting and less confidence in your own abilities the teacher has failed. This doesn't mean that you won't go through ups and downs, or be challenge and upset at times. The feeling of defeat is something we go through many times in this life. Thats all natural. Sometimes the best lessons even have a brutality to them and are hard to swallow. That may take time to process too. However it is worth considering the amount of people dropping out of the class because they are "falling out of love with it", maybe it's actually the way you're all being treated?

A Moment of Gratitude

At the end of the day, teachers, the good ones, are the modern equivalent of saints. They give endlessly, share passionately, work with specificity, are curious and empathetic and are some of the most wonderful people you'll meet. I have so much love for the teachers I keep in my life. They teach me through both study and leading with example of how to be a better human. That's all you need in a teacher. Someone that creates a space for great thinkers and compassionate artists to grow and learn. My parents are the two most influential teachers I have. They've given me nothing but space to create since I was a baby. For that, I'm endlessly grateful.

I want to hear from you. What qualities do you look for in a teacher? What wonderful acting coaches have inspired you? Leave a comment here or reach out directly - lachlanstuartactor@gmail.com.

Talk soon.

Lachy

Lachlan is an Australian Actor who has been working within the industry nearing a decade. He’s worked in Film & Theatre.

© Lachlan Stuart 2025