Courses for Aspiring Actors

With the entertainment industry expanding in a big way, good actors and actresses can look forward to a bright future, if they are talented and hard-working. But there are very few actors who have been able to command attention and earn a substantial amount from the pursuit of their art as a full-time career.

For drama artists, otherwise, employment opportunities are provided by professional theatre and opera companies and institutions like AIR, television studios, movie studios, films divisions, song and drama divisions, etc.

If you are interested in acting and dramatics, there are several institutions that offer professional courses in drama which provide a firm foundation for success in the field.

The Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) provides training in several disciplines of film and television, including motion picture photography, direction and production as well as a two-year postgraduate diploma in acting, for which you should have a bachelor’s degree in any subject.

The National School of Drama, New Delhi, also offers a three-year intensive course in dramatics, which has been the route to film acting for many well-known film personalities.

However, there are some institutes that provide undergraduate diplomas in acting/dramatics. These include:

• Andhra University
• University of Mysore
• College of Indian Music, Dance and Dramatics, MS University, Baroda
• University of Rajasthan, Jaipur

BA (drama) courses are also offered at Marathwada University, Aurangabad and the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

There are also several private film acting and direction training institutes including the Subhash-Ghai-promoted Whistling Woods International Institute in Mumbai which offers a diploma in acting for screen. The Asian Academy of Film and TV (AAFT) at Noida offers short- and long- (one-year) diploma courses in acting for film and TV.

There are also several private film acting schools, set up and run mainly by ‘retired’ film actors and actresses, which train aspirants for acting in Indian films as well as in voice training, make-up, dress, diet, improvisation and dance. Prominent among these are Anupam Kher’s acting school and Asha Chandra’s new film acting course in Mumbai, and the Padmini Kolhapure Acting School in New Delhi and others.

However, while you may certainly have a great deal of acting talent, it is important to keep in mind that making a career in this field depends not only on talent and experience but also on several other factors such as marketing yourself, finding good opportunities and of course, luck. So, it is wise to have a backup career in case things do not work out the way you have planned for yourself. A good plan would be to do your bachelor’s with some career training in mind before you plunge into drama and acting. --- Usha Albuquerque

Source: hindustantimes.com