Do soap actors receive professional development?

_elly001_elly001 Posts: 11,937
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Sorry, very strange question of a Saturday morning but it was something that struck me the other day when I was watching EE: how do soap actors improve and develop, other than the obvious of acting on-screen and working as part of a cast?

What I mean is, do they attend acting classes, media classes, that sort of thing, or do they simply turn up for their scenes and then go home? If they do want to self-improve, whose responsibility is it to organise it: theirs (or their agents?) or the soap producer? Are there acting coaches on set, do rehearsals ever happen, that sort of thing?

I'd just imagine that, for example, EE would be very keen to invest in Mimi Keene who, going from her age and astounding potential already, could surely be one of EE's future leading ladies if she stays long enough, but if the producers give her too much attention, would there be mutterings of favouritism from some of the other cast?

Or if you've got, for example, Charlie Clapham in HO who is clearly struggling with the massive storylines they give him, would there be any help available for him to improve as an actor or is he just expected to get on with it?

Or, back to EE, Ricky Norwood getting suspended recently, the same with Khali Best, would media training and just general 'dealing with fame' type support be given in order to help them out as the BBC's duty of care towards its employees?

Would be interested to hear people's thoughts or any insider knowledge on this!

Comments

  • valdvald Posts: 46,057
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    Great post. It's something I've always wondered myself. Why don't we see the likes of Lorna and James improving instead of just treading water. Don't they have a responsibility to these young actors to make sure they attend drama classes and develop into solid adult actors. It all feels a bit hit and miss to me.

    Then there's returns. In the real world if you want to return to your profession after a break you would still need an interview and you would have to prove that you had kept up to date and gained experience elsewhere. You would need references, an actor would need auditions etc. You couldn't just step back into a job because you did it 5 years ago. IMO a high percentage of returns fail and I'm curious as to why.
  • _elly001_elly001 Posts: 11,937
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    vald wrote: »
    Great post. It's something I've always wondered myself. Why don't we see the likes of Lorna and James improving instead of just treading water. Don't they have a responsibility to these young actors to make sure they attend drama classes and develop into solid adult actors. It all feels a bit hit and miss to me.

    Then there's returns. In the real world if you want to return to your profession after a break you would still need an interview and you would have to prove that you had kept up to date and gained experience elsewhere. You would need references etc. You couldn't just step back into a job because you did it 5 years ago. IMO a high percentage of returns fail and I'm curious as to why.

    BIB: Yeah, it's particularly interesting to think about the younger actors in soaps. I know many of them will have gone to stage school but that may not always be enough as their workload increases and their roles possibly become more demanding. There's also the moral aspect of them being in a job where they're closely scrutinised by the media, probably subject to, at the very least, over the top attention from the public (and at the worst, actual unpleasantness etc), so do they get support in dealing with that?

    And I totally agree about returns. You would hope that they don't just get someone back 'for the sake of it' but they've actually looked at what that actor has done and whether they're in the right place mentally to return.

    I just find that aspect of the soap, and entertainment industry in general, very interesting. They definitely seem to operate by their own rules a lot of the time but surely it's in the producer's best interest to ensure the wellbeing and professional fulfilment of their cast?
  • cyrilandshirleycyrilandshirley Posts: 48,569
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    What an interesting question. I don't think they do get any development. Not sure about guidance for social media, but I doubt it - some of them post some pretty inadvisable things.

    I guess for adult actors, they're expected to invest in their own development, go to courses in their own time. But with soap schedules, that can't be easy. Some actors seem to learn a lot on the job from the other members of the cast - you can see when they really buzz off each other and someone is raising their game. But a lot of them just stagnate on soaps - sometimes they even get visibly worse.

    I guess the reason a lot of returns are so limp is that if an actor's done well outside of a soap, they rarely come back! So a lot of the ones that do are mainly back for the security. Plus, returns often trade on the popularity of a previous storyline, and without it, those characters aren't really as good as people remembered. Some are good though - Charity and Cain have both come back to Emmerdale after a break, and they're both brilliant. They had a lot more than just one brief popular storyline to trade on though.
  • valdvald Posts: 46,057
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    _elly001 wrote: »
    BIB: Yeah, it's particularly interesting to think about the younger actors in soaps. I know many of them will have gone to stage school but that may not always be enough as their workload increases and their roles possibly become more demanding. There's also the moral aspect of them being in a job where they're closely scrutinised by the media, probably subject to, at the very least, over the top attention from the public (and at the worst, actual unpleasantness etc), so do they get support in dealing with that?

    And I totally agree about returns. You would hope that they don't just get someone back 'for the sake of it' but they've actually looked at what that actor has done and whether they're in the right place mentally to return.

    I just find that aspect of the soap, and entertainment industry in general, very interesting. They definitely seem to operate by their own rules a lot of the time but surely it's in the producer's best interest to ensure the wellbeing and professional fulfilment of their cast?

    We know that every actor is given a mentor when they start. It's probably their place to advise them on dealing with the pressure and the media as well as the job itself. But again this is going to be hit and miss...there's a world of difference between Shane Richie and someone like Rudolph Walker. They could end up getting very poor advice.
  • mojo5000mojo5000 Posts: 54,086
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    I think, and don't quote me on this, that Hollyoaks used to do workshops with their actors to help them improve but I remember this being a fair few years ago now so I don't know if they still do. Also I'd imagine it was quite difficult with scheduling when they film for such long stretches.
  • DeschanelDeschanel Posts: 8,732
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    Interesting question.

    From what I understand, the best answer is no.

    The only training actors get is if they attend drama school before getting their big break. Obviously, not every actor does go to drama school. Child actors (under 16) work less hours than adults, and depending on the show, they can get extra help on-set with working through the script (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

    Basically, acting is a job, and if they suck at it, then so be it. They are free to do acting workshops in their free time if they want to, but that's something they have to organise themselves; it's not their agents or the producers responsibility. Actors learn as they go along, and from each other. Inexperienced actors always (well, 9/10) flourish when they're given scenes with the experienced actors. Most actors improve with experience and working in different environments.

    They have rehearsal time, but it depends on the show how long they get. With a decrease in budget, rehearsal time isn't as long as it used to be. Soaps have a very quick turnaround in filming. Inexperienced actors can get a bit lost along the way.

    Every new actor gets a mentor, but that's not to guide them through the perils of the media, it's to show them round the place, introduce them and make them feel welcome, and to be someone they can turn to if they have any problems/questions. So, if someone wants to know how to deal with fame, the advice they get back will be depending on who they ask. They do get some advice on how to conduct interviews and stuff, but nothing like how to deal with fame - everyone is different: some actors are very grounded, while others allow their ego to inflate.

    As for returns: Producers invite back whoever they want no matter what experience the actors may have had between jobs. I don't think the majority of returns fail b/c the actor hasn't worked much in between stints, but mostly b/c the writing usually sucks; the return (or the storyline) is misguided and misjudged, or the character is being written out of character.
  • soap-leasoap-lea Posts: 23,851
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    Deschanel wrote: »
    Interesting question.

    From what I understand, the best answer is no.

    Basically, acting is a job, and if they suck at it, then so be it. They are free to do acting workshops in their free time if they want to, but that's something they have to organise themselves; it's not their agents or the producers responsibility. Actors learn as they go along, and from each other. Inexperienced actors always (well, 9/10) flourish when they're given scenes with the experienced actors. Most actors improve with experience and working in different environments.

    I agree with bits of your post and disagree with bits but the basically acting is a job bit.

    In your job if you do something wrong do they not help you? actors have the greatest thing in on the job training and seeing others work which can help them improve. I have heard of actors taking special classes etc to help them.

    also they get direction in every scene from the director, if they are doing something wrong then I imagine they soon find out!

    as for the media, they tend to give you training at stage school nowadays but most of the soaps give you training/guidance before they let you loose and theh generally have some kind of media person there when you give the interviews etc. think when they tweet about storylines it has to be approved first
  • Old Man 43Old Man 43 Posts: 6,214
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    I think that this may be the problem with many soap stars.

    In the old days most actors went through Rep Theatre which gave them all the training that the would require.

    However Rep Theatre no longer as widespread as it once was and many actors do not go through that route.

    If you look at America you will find most actors (especially those in television) have acting coaches that can help them with developing their talent.

    I think this is paid for and arranged by the actor. However as actors are paid more in America than in this country that is probably easier than in this country.

    So if I was a producer in a soap I would always recommend to all actors (especially the younger ones) to get acting lessons to help them develop their talent.
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