Adults & young people alike participating in acting, or singing classes can build the confidence needed to verbally communicate in any setting, from solo talks in classrooms to presentations in major corporations. There are various advantages for students to take singing & acting classes in Glasgow. This article looks into how students learn confidence and become better public speakers through acting classes.
Additionally, we look at how performing in singing classes can translate into a better singing range and build confidence across different subjects in life. As well as the benefits to kids and children taking Glasgow acting classes.
Read on to see what benefits singing & acting classes can bring for you:
Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is essential to successfully taking risks and expanding one’s comfort zone in the performing arts world. Many classes focus on building it for students so they feel more at ease when trying out something new, like singing in front of an audience or giving presentations at school.
Self-confidence can be defined as the belief that one is competent and able despite one’s fears, with a positive self-image that does not involve comparison and competition with others (Psychology Dictionary Online). A person with true confidence understands their strengths, weaknesses, successes, and areas for improvement, as well as that it’s okay to fail occasionally; they learn from failure!
Act out your way to more confidence! One effective way of building up your self-assurance is to act the opposite of what makes you nervous. For instance, if singing in public makes you anxious, put on your favourite song that demonstrates your singing talent; this will help soothe nerves while reminding yourself that you possess those skills.
Musical theatre can also help build self-confidence; its multi-dimensional elements, such as singing, dancing, and acting, offer a great opportunity to demonstrate to both yourself and others that you possess all of the skills required for success.
Public Speaking
Glossophobia, or fear of public speaking, is one of the most widespread anxieties people experience. While some students might try to avoid raising their hands during class discussions to avoid this kind of interaction, all employees must practice glossophobia in the workplace because it affects everyone, including nurses who give presentations on new procedures to co-workers, accountants who give presentations about software research to clients, and marketing experts who give speeches at events.
Speaking publicly is also key for professional advancement; often, companies value team members who can communicate their thoughts and expertise effectively to others through public speech.
Public speaking classes provide the foundations of speech delivery in various contexts and audiences. A great speech must emotionally connect with its listeners so that they buy in to what the speaker has to say; their ideas, principles, and reasoning all need to be fully adopted by those listening.
Public speaking courses equip learners with skills they can apply when speaking in front of any audience, from live crowds to virtual conference calls on Zoom video conference calls. Many of the same techniques learned for singing can also be applied to speech; this can help overcome fears. However, speech requires much different larynx control than singing does.
Cooperative Group Dynamics
Cooperative group dynamics refer to the interaction and relationship of individuals within a team or group. The success of a group often relies on how well they can work together to achieve common goals.
Singing classes provide highly social experiences that give rise to research into how people can feel close to one another while in groups. By administering questionnaires that measure feelings of belonging and connectivity, researchers have discovered that people report feeling closer to other participants after participating in group singing experiences, particularly ones featuring synchronised singing.
Studies conducted with students belonging to different fraternities or cliques found that when given the task of singing with teams from another fraternity, their members felt much closer together after participating than before the task had started, regardless of whether members from one fraternity sang alongside members from another fraternity or clique.
Communication Skills
Communication skills are an integral component of acting and singing classes. Growing in them through these classes allows you to connect with others, whether that be in a classroom setting, on stage, or even before an audience. Aside from technical aspects like tone and volume of speaking, body language and facial expressions also play a significant role.
Building charisma can mean growing in an essential trait that distinguishes an attractive, influential, and inspiring individual from those without. It’s especially useful for singer/songwriters (who rely on their voices to convey emotion and tell stories), session musicians (who need to maximise each note they play), wedding/party/bar band singers (who regularly make people laugh), wedding/party/bar band singers who specialise in entertaining crowds), musical theatre performers (you must sing, dance, and act to succeed!) or musical theatre production company members.
How Acting Classes in Glasgow Help Children & Young People Develop Empathy
Glasgow acting classes can also teach children to be more adaptable in challenging situations, which will come in handy throughout their lives, from the classroom to the workplace.
When performing in front of an audience, actors also learn to be more animated, which audiences appreciate and can make any presentation more memorable.
Social Skills
Playing out different emotions as different characters helps children understand people who may seem very different to themselves and foster empathy for those different from themselves. Furthermore, this form of play therapy allows kids to access feelings they might find uncomfortable expressing directly, such as sadness or fear, that are otherwise difficult to express in everyday life.
Acting classes also help children develop flexibility and be better adaptable in changing situations. From working on short scenes with classmates or performing monologues for the class to critique, students learn to work with whatever resources are presented to them and adapt accordingly—something that will serve them in life beyond acting classes.
Acting classes help develop creativity. Many acting teachers employ games and exercises that require creative thinking in order to help participants step outside their comfort zones and craft convincing characters—something children will use later in their education, relationships, or careers.
Acting classes in Glasgow vary considerably, and how much preparation time you dedicate outside of class is often critical to its success (if you arrive unprepared, instructors might not offer much in terms of performance or feedback). Furthermore, acting classes typically feature extensive discussion and lectures from their instructor, so auditing one before signing up may help determine if it fits with your learning style.
Empathy
Empathy is key when entering the skin of a character. Actors must understand both their characters’ emotions and motivations in order to portray them effectively, as well as experience what life would be like if they walked in their shoes. A study concluded that students enrolled in theatre classes have greater capacity for empathy.
Thalia Goldstein and Ellen Winner conducted a study that demonstrated how acting class participants experienced more growth in terms of theory of mind acuity, adaptive emotion regulation, and empathy than non-actors who did not take an acting class. This is one reason why taking acting classes can be such an invaluable experience for all kinds of individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Acting teachers use different techniques to help their students hone their acting skills. Examples include Lee Strasberg’s “method acting,” which encourages actors to deepen their connection to material; Uta Hagen’s substitution method, which allows actors to draw upon personal experiences or emotions for any given scene; as well as Dorothy Heathcote’s improvisation technique, which emphasises openness and flexibility.
Finding an outstanding acting teacher requires some homework: do your research and hear what other students are saying about potential instructors. Before signing on for any multi-week courses that cost thousands, check the studio’s policy regarding auditing classes before making your decision.
Confidence
Some people possess natural charisma and ease when speaking in front of crowds, while others find social situations intimidating or need extra confidence boosts from time to time. Acting classes provide the perfect way for these latter individuals to learn how to express themselves more freely while building their self-esteem through games, exercises, performances, or simply acting lessons themselves. Teachers experienced in acting lessons are skilled at getting even the shyest child out of his or her shell through games, exercises, or performances, while adults may discover they once avoided answering questions but now do so effortlessly after several months of classes have taken place.
One of the greatest advantages of taking acting classes is being able to look at life from a new angle. By empathising with others who differ from you and feeling what they feel, acting classes offer you an invaluable way to expand your worldview and gain new perspectives that can translate into relationships between family, friends, and coworkers.
Acting lessons can benefit anyone looking to expand their interactions with the world. Even non-actor professionals could take advantage of attending acting classes as they learn how to work more closely with the actors they are working with and empathise more deeply with the characters they are playing.
Mental Stamina
Acting classes typically consist of performing alone or with others on stage and receiving feedback from your teacher. Most acting class structures consist of 12–20 students who spend 20 minutes performing and receiving feedback in every four-hour class session, leaving time for watching other classmates perform! Acting classes require great mental stamina, as they require you to focus on yourself while blocking out distractions from around you.
Most acting classes begin with warmup exercises designed to get your body moving and prepare it for performance. Warmups typically consist of leg stretches, shoulder rolls, and even jumping jacks designed to loosen muscles and get blood pumping, making you more responsive when engaging with scene partners in class.
Warmup exercises provide another benefit, too: they teach you to focus on the present moment, an invaluable skill that can be applied across numerous aspects of life. Warmups also allow you to block out distractions, which is particularly useful when writing scripts for plays or films or remembering lines during presentations at work.
Even the best movie actors face unique challenges. From long days of rehearsals and public shows to memorising lines until they become perfect—both require great mental stamina as well as patience—becoming one can be an extremely demanding profession. But acting can provide invaluable lessons to help manage this anxiety as well as the everyday stress in life.
