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Dear John

Teaching AND acting?

Question:
I've been offered some part-time drama teaching work but I've also heard that you can't combine a teaching career with your own career and be viewed as a real actor. What do you think?

Answer:
I should love to meet this mythical 'real actor' sometime as I'm sure that he or she would have great insights to illuminate this column. But as the 'real actor' is doubtless too busy being constantly in work, you'll have to make do with me and the vast majority of other performers around the world who find that the best way to be a real actor is to act - and in order to eat between acting jobs, the real world demands we find other paying work. And that usually involves drawing on other talents we have besides our performing ones.

Sometimes those other talents are clear to us and sometimes we discover them when we take a leap and try something new. This week I have passed your query to two actors who have successfully combined performance success with a very real gift for training and teaching.

What the experts say:

Judi Shekoni

Judi Shekoni has featured in EastEnders and other UK TV and film productions but is currently based in Los Angeles, where she has appeared on shows such as King of Queens and Navy CIS, as well as films like Garfield 2 and Jekyll & Hyde. In addition to her own career, Judi's company Make It America has been successful at preparing British performers to follow in her own footsteps and break into the US market.

In my experience I think it is certainly a difficult thing to balance the two - especially if, as I hope, you are aiming to do both to the best of your ability but it is not impossible. As for those fears that casting directors might not think you are a real actor if you also teach - well, they don't know unless you tell them.

Over here in Los Angleles there are typically two kinds of teachers - the full-time acting coaches and the actors who also coach. If you are planning to become one of the latter there are a few things I think you should consider first, not least your own experience.

I don't mean that you have to be a celebrity or even have been performing since the days of silent movies but you do have to have sufficient relevant experience that you can pass on and that your students will want to draw from. We all know the stereotype of the actor who teaches because they can't get enough work performing then just unloads their bitterness on everyone else.

You need to be careful that any success you may have had doesn't make you either arrogant or over-optimistic about other people's chances. This is a hard business and you don't do people favours by suggesting that it isn't.

On a more positive note, if you are combining your own current career with your teaching, both the ups and downs of that career can be used to give your students real practical information - such as how to make contacts and what do when you have made them.

Some of the most basic stuff is only basic when you already know it - all of us started off not knowing it and sadly not all of us in this profession are confident enough to pass our 'secrets' on.

Since setting up my own training company, I've found that I am more, rather than less, inspired to keep pushing and developing my own abilities in both the performance and teaching. That increased motivation and insight benefits my work on screen as much as it does in the training studio.

Tony Kirwood

Tony Kirwood is a professional comedy writer and actor. He has written for numerous UK and European TV and radio shows, appeared in sitcoms and films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and is much in demand as a teacher of comedy writing and stand-up courses.

Many actors find teaching to be a rewarding and financially dependable second string to their bow. However, it undoubtedly needs more commitment than, say, working in a call centre. Your class as well as your employer will be dependent on you.

But I feel that it is possible to combine both careers successfully, as long as you tell yourself that it is a matter of organisation and negotiation rather than pitting conflicting demands against each other.

First, try to be clear in your mind about your priorities. You may feel that a guaranteed day's teaching pay should take precedence over an audition for a fringe job, or that a casting for a good television part should override everything else in your diary.

You should find at least two reliable people who are prepared to step in for you as covers. They need to have teaching experience or qualifications, as well as a reasonable CV. It shouldn't be too hard to find them if you ask around your friends in the business.

Remember that drama school principals are in the business, too, and - in most cases anyhow - would not want to stop you from furthering your career, so they may well be ready to be flexible. Exercising honesty and charm in equal measure helps a lot and negotiation is often possible.

For instance, if an audition clashes with a morning's teaching, your agent may be able to rearrange it for the afternoon. Don't forget that many teaching jobs, such as those in further education colleges, are in the evening or weekends, when auditions are unlikely. It sometimes happens, however, that all your contingencies fail and you're forced to choose between an acting and a teaching job.

This is where my first piece of advice comes in - if you know your priorities, whatever happens, you will know you acted for the best.

John sums up

I think most performers I have spoken to who also teach (as opposed to professional teachers) would, like the rest of us, prefer to be doing more performance work. But many of them, even those who first started teaching primarily to supplement their income have found that it brings a great deal of satisfaction and, as Judi says, insights and experience which can often be fed back in to one's own career. On the other hand if after the first few experiences you find you are still doing teaching only for the money, I agree with Tony - you'd be better off finding an easier way to support your performing career. The one factor that's common to both jobs is there are times when your personal passion for them is the only thing that will help you persevere.

* Tony Kirwood may be contacted on tony.kirwood@ntlworld.com

* Judi Shekoni's company website is at www.makeitamerica.com

* Feedback/queries are welcome to dearjohn@thestage.co.uk

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