ACTING SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Acting can be traced back to 4000 BC, when it’s believed that Egyptian priests worshiped the dead by remembering them in performances. So while acting may have begun as an element of religion it slowly evolved to become entertainment.

Thespis introduced dramatic impersonation to Athens in 560 BC. 30 years later he won the first dramatic competition and is considered to be the world's first actor. What was considered very good acting in ancient times—with actors using masks and exaggerated physical gestures to convey emotion—is today considered performance art or even mime. Acting, as we recognize it today, didn’t begin until 16th Century Italy when actors worked together to play out a story. Even then, performances were a far cry from what’s familiar to theatre and movie audiences in modern times.

Back in 1895, Louis Lumiéres changed the craft of acting forever when he introduced the first motion picture to the public. Although the film, La Sortie d'usine, was nothing more than a train moving on its tracks, the impact of his work on the future of acting was momentous. Until that time, it was not possible to capture a performance for future viewing. A great performance could only be experienced live, becoming nothing more than a memory after that.

theatre actors always seek to deliver realistic and moving performances, yet the demand of absolute authenticity on a film actor is so great that most theatre actors find it necessary to hone their craft specifically for the demands of modern filmmaking to deliver good performances in this medium. The Acting School at New York Film Academy seeks to give acting students a thorough foundation in traditional technique, yet allow them to have a true understanding of the difference between acting on the stage and performing for the camera on a film set.

HOW DO YOU BECOME A PROFESSIONAL ACTOR?
Well-trained professional actors who have discipline, technique, and a working knowledge of the entire filmmaking process are rare.

This is why the New York Film Academy’s Acting for Film school is on the cutting-edge of the actor-training field. Designed equally for beginning actors as well as those with experience, our Acting for Film School programs provide actors not only with modern on-camera acting techniques but also a foundation of acting training rooted in time-honored theatrical traditions. Our instructors are all professional working actors, writers, directors, and producers—veterans of Hollywood, independent film, television, Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre—and they give each student the personal focus and rigorous discipline necessary for launching a career in film and television.

In addition to full immersion in the craft of acting, we also believe that well-trained actors are made even better by understanding all of the rigors and nuances of a professional film set. Better than any other school in the world, the Acting School at the New York Film Academy is equipped to provide all of our acting students with a real-life professional filmmaking experience. Actors work closely with the film School students in class as well as in on-location short film productions. In the process, important networks are formed between screenwriters, directors, producers and editors. Unlike other acting schools, we provide all of our acting students with a basic education in a variety of filmmaking crafts: directing, producing, screenwriting, and many different crew positions. Students come away from the Acting for Film School program not only with solid acting training, but with practical filmmaking experience under their belt as well.

MANY OF OUR ACTING STUDENTS ARE: