Keep Training, No Matter What Stage You’re At
Your craft only grows when you do. Staying ready is a skill, not luck.
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As an actor, whether you’re in full-tilt mode on set or quiet between jobs, your craft demands the same devotion you’d give any championship sport, instrument or math discipline. If you stop practising for too long, you get rusty. You lose intuitiveness. You start making choices you’d never make when your muscle was fresh. That’s why working or not, booked or not, you keep sharpening.
Here’s the truth: even the biggest stars never stop sharpening their craft. Even A-list actors — they go to class and they still work with coaches. For example, Kerry Washington loves being in class or working with an acting coach. She’s proof: working or not, you keep sharpening. The same goes for Oscar winner Nicole Kidman — she works with an acting coach.
And if Marilyn Monroe — the icon — chose to go back to class at the Actors Studio when she was filming major studio pictures, it’s not because she hadn’t “made it.” It’s because she understood the skill is alive.
Your training is not a backup plan. It’s the front line.
When you’re not on set: train.
When you’re not working: train.
When you’re auditioning: train.
When you are working: train.
Why this is important:
Skill degradation: Just like not practising mathematics for months means the formulas slip, the emotional stays get stale, the motor-responses of your face, body and voice lose immediacy.
Industry evolution: The acting world shifts — formats, platforms, audience tastes, even delivery styles. If you stop training you risk being left behind.
Inner-edge readiness: Casting rooms, auditions, roles that come out of nowhere — you’ll be mentally and physically prepared. You’ll walk in like “I haven’t stopped.”
Credibility & dignity: You’re not waiting for someone to “give you permission” or “assign you the job.” You are showing up, still hungry, still learning. That says something.
Creative growth: Training invites you to explore techniques, voice, movement, new methods. You expand your palette. For example you might dive into the Ivana Chubbuck Technique. You stay curious.
This industry evolves fast. New formats, new delivery styles, new text structures. If you’re not consistently in the craft, you fall behind without noticing.
Stop Being Picky About Work. Smart Actors Train Everywhere.
There’s been a lot of heat on vertical dramas lately, but vertical dramas are the new soap operas. And people forget this: soap operas used to get mocked too. Yet the actors who came out of soaps were some of the sharpest technicians in the business. They worked fast. They memorized overnight. They learned how to make heightened writing grounded and believable.
Vertical dramas offer the same training ground:
You get pages last-minute. Ten, twenty, sometimes more.
You’re forced to memorize fast.
You learn to build truth inside text that might look cheesy on the page.
You act on camera constantly.
You practice under pressure.
You meet crews and actors you’d never meet otherwise.
You build stamina.
This isn’t theory. It’s real conditioning. And remember, the more you work, the more momentum you build — and that momentum attracts more work.
Michael Caine said in an interview that early in his career he took every job. He explained that while his friend was selective, by the time the friend finally booked something substantial he wasn’t ready. He hadn’t been exercising the muscle. Meanwhile Caine stayed sharp because he kept working.
Actors stay ready by doing. Not by waiting.
And yes, do student films and short films — strategically.
If you’re starting out, these are essential. You learn the set environment. You practice performance. You get footage.
If you’re seasoned, you may not need student films for your reel, but sometimes it’s worth doing one to support a strong student director. Some of these filmmakers come from places like the New York Film Academy in LA. Some of those students become working directors. You never know who remembers you later. Robert De Niro once told a group of film students: “Maybe one day you’ll direct me.”
Giving in this industry is strategic. Relationships matter. Collaboration matters. Visibility matters. And staying sharp matters most.
Training Isn’t Just for Actors. It’s What High-Level Professionals Do.
This mindset isn’t unique to our field. Continuous training is what high-performance people do across every profession. Even outside entertainment you’ll find top doctors, specialists and board-certified surgeons attending conferences, workshops and skill-advancement courses worldwide.
This is standard in medicine because techniques evolve, procedures change and the expectations of patients shift.
That isn’t speculation — ongoing education is part of medical licensing requirements in many regions, and elite professionals often go far beyond the minimum because excellence demands it.
So when actors tell themselves “I’m past the training stage” or “I don’t need class anymore,” they’re limiting themselves in a way that other world-class industries simply don’t.
It’s a small-mind trap.
Training isn’t humbling.
Training is powerful.
It expands you. It opens your instincts. It keeps you sharp when opportunity hits.
So don’t block yourself with beliefs like “I’m at another level now” or “Class is for beginners.”
If surgeons, graphic designers, dancers, athletes and top-tier creatives keep evolving their skillset, why would actors be the one group that stops?
There’s no seniority level that replaces training.
There’s only the next level of your work.
Personal Note from Me
When I’m not on set I am either diving into an accent, practising a new Shakespeare monologue, working with a private coach or at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio, or teaching actors and absorbing the new shifts. When I’m in that cycle of growth, my instincts stay sharp and my choices stay alive. When I step out of it for too long, that’s when I feel my instincts tighten and my choices begin to shrink.
Treat your craft like a living system. It’s not “on” only when you’re booked. It’s always on.
Pro Tips to Stay Trained and Ready
1. Anchor two standing training sessions every week.
Treat them like call-times. Non-negotiable.
2. Rotate disciplines.
Scene study, voice, Shakespeare, movement, improv, on-camera labs. Variety builds skill.
3. Keep your craft materials ready.
Read plays, scripts, classical texts, monologues. If you can handle Shakespeare, you can handle any modern script.
4. Read constantly.
Technique books, actor memoirs (you learn real process, on-set choices and survival strategies from people who’ve lived it), texts on Shakespeare’s folio and verse structure. Reading fuels your emotional and creative problem-solving.
5. Watch theatre, Films & TV Series.
Plays expose you to timing, breath, stakes, rhythm and choices. Films and TV show you how actors shape performance for the camera and make technical moments feel alive. Observe new formats (streaming, interactive, VR). Know what’s happening.
6. Work with private coaches when you can.
Coaches see blind spots you can’t see yourself.
7. Teach if you can.
Teaching clarifies your own craft and keeps you up-to-date.
8. Team up with a friend or a small group.
Working with another actor sharpens your instincts and keeps you accountable. You get fresh eyes on your choices, you practice listening in real time and you stay connected to the craft even on slow weeks.
9. Use downtime productively.
Lunch break? Read a play. Waiting for call-time? Use your voice, posture, micro-expressions.
10. Document your training.
Log what you did, what you learned, what you want to work on next. Then next session you pick up where you left off. Use your AOS to log everything or a notebook if you prefer.
11. Stay humble.
Training is not remedial. It’s professional upkeep.
Homework
1. Choose one area to strengthen this week
Voice, movement, Shakespeare, improv, accents or on-camera technique.
2. Block 90 minutes for focused training.
Do it like an appointment. No multitasking.
3. Read one play or one script this week.
Pick something outside your usual style.
4. Watch one high-quality performance
A theatre recording, a classic film, or a vertical drama episode that challenges you.
5. Choose one text to work for four weeks
A monologue or scene that scares you. Write down what changed each week.