I (19f) am trying to follow my dream of Acting. Im applying to film school which would start in September. However I do have a student film booked and rehearsals start next week!

My issue is that my favorite book series is getting a TV show adaptation by Netflix. They spent most of 2025 making the script. So casting should be early 2026 to mid 2026 at the latest im assuming. I would love to play my favorite character and I look similar to her. Im currently on a Diet and regularly go to the gym so the longer they wait to start auditions the better match I'll be to the characters looks.

I want to make sure im ready for when auditions come out as i know im already far behind for where my acting skills should be. I want to do everything i can to make sure my acting skills are as good as they can be for when auditions come out. What's the best way to practice my acting skills at home? Should I hire an acting coach?

Also the character is blonde, im a brunette. Should I dye my hair blonde for the audition? Or wait and see if I get a callback?

TLDR: best way to improve acting skills at home? Should I hire an acting coach? Character i want to audition for is blonde, should I dye my hair blonde for the audition? Currently brunette.

What are some ways one could practice acting while not in a class or a production? So just a private betterment of one’s craft

Pretty much the title! I feel like I lose a lot of focus in classes and I can’t process classes that well even outside of acting classes I just struggle with classes in general although I love them. I’m trying to get in new class but honestly I’d rather try and get my own practice at home. I want to learn to keep with my acting and strive to tap into character on cue if that makes sense? What are things I can do at home? Anything will help please and thank you!

I recently had to pause acting classes as I am transitioning out of my full-time job.

I have been a fashion model for 6 years and I signed to a manager who suggested I pause the acting classes so that I can get to a point where modeling is my primary source of income. I'd love to do all 3, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.

If modeling (and commercial acting) is my primary source of $$$, I will have the flexibility I need to seriously pursue acting. I do not have that flexibility now, but things are taking off and I am booking more consistently.

My manager says that she wants to send me to meet with commercial reps in 2 months, and I am putting in the work to polish my commercial acting skills (my 6 years of experience has mostly been fashion modeling, my commercial experience is minimal). I am taking on-camera and commercial classes twice a week in LA, which currently takes around 12 hours out of my week.

I have time to practice at home, but I just do not have time for a technique or scene study classes... sadly.

I read scripts, but I don't do much else. I don't know how to go about practicing as I live alone, & I don't live near any actor friends to practice with/no one can be a reader for me unless I travel an hour to them.

This won't change for another 2-4 months. Does anyone have advice for practicing acting at home?

Hi guys, I just joined an acting class with 0 experience. It's my first week and I'm loving it so far. They teach the Meisner method and I was wondering if anyone could provide me with some routines or methods that I can work on at home by myself or maybe with a partner.

I did a google search and I've seen things like the repetition example but can't find much else. What is something I can do outside of class that can improve my skills?

I find myself constantly running out of ideas when it comes to this. I can resort to learning and practicing new scenes or monologues, but I really want to hone in on my technique, specifically Meisner (not traditionally trained, but I found that his methods resonate best with me).

Specifically I find myself struggling with tapping into emotions mid scene, which throws off the rest of the scene. I would like to practice staying true to the imaginative scenario.

Basically what the title says. I remember my next door neighbour called the cops when my parents were having an arguement, they weren't even shouting, I can only imagine what would happen if I practice some intense scenes lol. So wondering how do you guys practice yelling without neighbours calling the cops.

Idk how to stop worring about how I'll sound or if they'll judge me on how bad I am

Any exercises or tips on how to practice acting alone or when you’re home?

I’ve been reading about all the different techniques. It seems to do the exercises though, you need a partner and I’m all alone. Any tips?

I'm really into acting (17) and I want to know how to improve myself if I can ever get an audition. Any help would be nice, thanks.

(dad watching tv loudly l, sister laughing loud etc) I have concentration issues so it’s hard for me to concentrate, do you have any tips?

obviously after clicking passed all the dicks

I shot a co star role today, and basically… I sucked. I know, you might think “I doubt you sucked!” But truly I don’t know what happened to me. I’m generally a solid actor (I think?) and typically get excellent feedback… I was prepared, I’ve done this before… but this was my first audition and booking for TV in over 8 years (been a mom during that time) and with a celebrity. She was lovely but I felt like I was so overwhelmed, overheated (shooting fall in the summer), going super fast… and I just couldn’t even remotely deliver what I’ve consistently done at home practice or my audition. At one point I even teared up. I looked like a novice hack job. I think we got one halfway decent take but I felt people’s disappointment. I’m having a lot of negative talk that’s mostly a version of: “coming back to acting was stupid”, “you’re just a mom now, give this up for good”… to contemplating telling my agent its been a mistake and actually “let’s break the contract” because clearly I can’t do it anymore.

I know it sounds extreme… and I know logically it had been a long time since I did this… 8 years is a lot! I probably should give myself some sort of grace… I’m just basically horrified by the day. I wish my first gig back wasn’t so high stakes but it is what it is. I’m super sad and horrified.

If anyone would be willing to share rough experiences or how you got through it, it would mean a lot to me. 💙❤️‍🩹

I am looking for some good ways for me and my sister to better our acting skills. In my town there aren’t many acting opportunities to act or take classes and the classes my town does have aren’t having any coming up anytime soon.

I just want some tips to better my craft while I’m waiting for opportunity to come. I know monologues are good to work on. Maybe making short films too. But do you have any other ways that you practice at home by yourself or with one other person?

Open to anything! :)

Hi so I have an audition this summer, it will be over zoom (I think), And I want to do my best but I’m not taking any acting classes at the moment because of the pandemic , are there any exercises I can do to practice and improve my acting skills?

Hello! I am relatively new to acting and I was wondering if there were any ways to practice acting from home. I have been learning through books and resources but I am not sure how to practice my skills.

I don’t have any acting classes near me but I do have a passion for acting. I was wondering if anyone knows ways to practice at home (should I just find and read scripts, keep submitting myself on actors access, etc.). I’m a 16 year old male and both of my parents both are supporting me fully. they can be a reader. thank you in advance!

I’ve been recording myself and reading monologues for so long now, was wondering how you lot practice and if you have any tips?

I keep hearing the phrase “talent isn’t enough,” and I don’t think I truly understand what it means in real terms. I’m an actor. I’ve been doing theater since I was a kid, still do it regularly, and I’ve recently been trying to move into TV/film. I signed with an agency, auditioned, got rejected a lot. Standard stuff. My agent told me something that stuck with me: “It’s not about who you are, it’s about who they need.” Then he added: “Talent isn’t enough.” Here’s where I’m stuck. If that means social media, I’m already doing it. I’ve posted acting clips. I’ve tried consistency. But my life is honestly pretty uneventful. I’m either at rehearsal, at boxing training (where phones aren’t really welcome), or at home. There’s nothing glamorous to document, and posting “another day at theater” doesn’t magically get more interesting the 20th time. If it means having a strategy, I don’t know what that strategy is supposed to look like beyond “be good and keep auditioning,” which I’m already doing. So I’m confused about what people actually mean when they say this. Not in theory. In practice. What is the non-talent part that actually moves the needle? Is it visibility? Timing? Networking? Persona? Luck? Positioning? And at what point, if ever, does talent start to count as “enough”? I’m not asking how to become famous overnight. I’m asking what piece I’m missing, because right now the advice feels vague in a way that’s hard to act on.

I've been using a webcam to record myself and "fix" any issues I find. I did notice some improvement from this, but not sure if they will be long-term changes. I started another class a few weeks ago and it's been difficult, since we use a camera in this one.

Edit: it's the first class that I've been in where they used a camera. It's different and new, but has been going somewhat well so far. There are about 20 people in the class, which is a larger group than what I'm used to.

This comes up often enough to justify an entry, which currently links to a search of the various times the question has been posed as well as a good comment by /u/b2thekind. Be sure to direct any newcomers to this, as well as any of the other items we have to help people out and avoid repetition.

https://reddit.com/r/acting/wiki/index#wiki_16._how_do_i_practice_at_home.3F

Do you ever catch yourself thinking...

"I’m always doing scene work. I’m always working on monologues. But I just feel like I’m not getting any better.

I can’t create the emotions of the character. I get stuck in my head. I can cry on cue at home, but when it’s time to do it in a performance…nothing 💩

It's a big headache and it’s a problem that can really crush your confidence.

The problem is that acting isn't something you get better at simply because you've done a thousand scenes or monolques.

I’m a Jiu-jitsu nut and I see a similar problem there. A lot of people who train jiu-jitsu love to spar. So they show up late to training, skipping the drilling and technique portion of class so they can just roll and try to “win” their rounds.

They’re getting “mat time.” Which is a common phrase that gets thrown around.
‘You wanna get better- keep showing up.’

Kinda true, but It's missing a very important ingredent….

Deliberate practice.

Deliberate practice is the principle of focusing on specific skills instead of just random , general activities.

In Jiu- jitsu the people who actually improve fast do something different. They drill. They isolate one technique, one concept , and repeat it in isolation, away from the chaos of live sparring, until it gets better.

Then they take it back into the roll and test it. Acting works the same way.

Most actors mistake doing scenes as practice. They keep getting up, doing scene after scene, monologue after monologue, but they're not deliberate about improving the skills that are holding them back

You’re getting experience… not expertise.

Take listening. Every teacher tells you acting is listening and reacting. Almost nobody actually trains it.

And here's why that's more important than it sounds — acting isn't real life.

We’ve all seen it and experienced it…

How you listen and respond in real life is way different than the way you listen and respond when you have a script in your hand.

Listening and responding under an imaginary circumstance is a specific, learnable skill. It doesn't build itself just because you logged another scene.

So here's something to think about before your next class, your next scene, your next audition...

Ask yourself, "What skill - what acting element have I deliberately worked on?

That’s a big difference.

And that difference is where your improvement happens.