Intended consequences

On the weekend I went to a barbecue where almost all the guests were other Australian expats*.

I spent much of the afternoon chatting to a successful actor with a good drama school background who supplemented her income by running Saturday classes. The angle being that there are plenty of actors who didn't go to RADA or Guildhall who need help with 'difficult' playwrights like Shakespeare and Pinter for audition purposes.

I have no doubt that the classes are first rate and that they really do help students get to grips with the likes of The Caretaker or Coriolanus. My quarrel is with the underlying premise: -

That by attending these classes you will be more successful in auditions and so further your dream of becoming a professional actor

The classes were pretty much open to anyone who wanted to attend. No requirement that you carry an Equity card and certainly no formal audition process. The only attempt at quality control over applicants was a coffee meeting with a teacher before signing up but I got little sense that many were told they weren't suitable. She was honest enough to admit that most of the students had no genuine chance of 'making it'. A cynic might call the whole thing an exercise in taking people's money so they can pretend to be an actor on weekends.

With tact like that it's no surprise she became defensive.

There were plenty of corollary benefits to studying Shakespearean text. The old canard about confidence in public speaking being an absolute good. I'd say that if you're citing the role of the agora in Athenian democracy then you're not arguing from a position of strength.

I pay my bills by providing consulting services to a small number of pretty large companies. I also direct and produce comedy. In both situations I charge what I think I'm worth for the intended consequence of the experience. If clients or audience members take away something additional then that's a bonus.

* Given that there are about 350,000 Australians in London at any time, it probably wasn't the only one on in London that day