Confidence

Directing first-time actors is both exciting and challenging. New performers often arrive with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a desire to belong. But they may also carry anxiety, uncertainty, or misconceptions about what theatre demands. For many, this is their first time stepping into a space that asks for vulnerability, discipline, teamwork, and imagination all at once. A successful experience depends on creating an environment where students feel supported, informed, and empowered to grow. One of the most important first steps is getting to know everyone quickly. Learning names as soon as possible helps build trust and creates a sense of safety in the rehearsal room. When actors feel seen and acknowledged, they are more willing to take risks, participate fully, and collaborate with others. Name games and group warm-ups help establish connection not only between director and actor but among the entire ensemble. First-time actors thrive when responsibility is shared. Instead of presenting yourself as the sole source of knowledge, let students become experts too. Assign groups to explore different theatrical styles, storytelling techniques, or production elements, and have them teach their discoveries to the rest of the cast. When actors help shape the learning process, they gain ownership of the work and deepen their understanding of the art form. This approach is especially useful in mixed-age or mixed-experience casts, where collaboration supports growth at every level. Another essential component is creating space for student voices. While directors may arrive with a vision, new actors benefit from being able to express what excites them, what confuses them, and what they hope to achieve. Invite them to suggest ideas, ask questions, and contribute to creative decisions when appropriate. For actors who are shy or apprehensive, build alternative pathways for communication: private check-ins, reflection journals, anonymous question boxes, or digital forms. These tools allow students to share concerns or seek guidance without fear of judgment. Finally, encourage consistent self-reflection throughout the process. Daily or weekly journals, exit slips, and rehearsal reflections help first-time actors articulate their progress, identify challenges, and recognize their own growth. Over time, this collection of reflections becomes a meaningful record of their journey. Directing new actors is not just about producing a show; it’s about helping students discover confidence, empathy, discipline, and joy. When you create a supportive and collaborative environment, first-time performers often surprise themselves with how much they can achieve.

Do your students ever struggle with exploring new concepts and putting themselves out there in drama class? Do they try to sit out of exercises, saying things like “I suck at this” or “I can’t do this, I feel stupid”? You’ll also notice that some students will give one attempt and feel that that’s enough — “I’ve done it once, I’ve got this, let’s move on,” despite them clearly not having given a decent effort. Or you might have students who make an attempt at a new idea or concept, stress out because they can’t do it perfectly the first time, and give up. Either way, it’s frustrating for you and for your students. Drama class is supposed to be a safe place to learn and explore, yet many students go into class expecting the worst. They worry about looking silly in front of their peers, they stress about getting good grades, or they’re so busy trying to fit in and be cool that it’s easier to just not try. Let’s try reframing the drama classroom experience. Drama class is the perfect place to embrace “beginner mindset.” Beginner mindset is looking at things with fresh eyes and an open mind. Beginner mindset is knowing mistakes are going to happen and even looking forward to them because mistakes are amazing learning opportunities. Beginner mindset is leaving expectations, preconceived notions, and ego at the door and entering the room ready to just try and see what happens. And it’s actually way less pressure — the whole point of beginner mindset is that it’s OK to not know something! How can we put that in ways that our students can understand? Here are some examples to share with your class. 1.The magical “yet.” “Yet” is a great word for your students who get stuck in absolutes. “I can’t do this.” “I don’t understand this.” Add that little word YET to the end of those sentences. “I can’t do this… yet.” “I don’t understand this… yet.” Adding yet to their phrasing helps to take some of the pressure off. They might not be able to do a certain task or understand a new concept right this second, but that doesn’t mean they never will. 2. Drama class is a place to learn, not just a testing ground of what you already know. This one is for your students who are laser focused on getting that A, getting that 4+ on their evaluation, or showing off what they know. They can recite facts or memorize a monologue, but are they willing to explore, go deeper, take a risk? These students can benefit from focusing on process over product. Exercises, rubrics, and reflections that focus on participation, exploration, and in-class work can be helpful with this. A class exercise that you can try is having pairs or small groups work on rehearsing a scene, but letting them know that there won’t be a final performance. How do students use this time and space? Discuss or have students reflect on what they learned while rehearsing, even without performing the scenes for an audience. See the giveaway below for a printable version of this exercise. 3. Embrace failure and try again. Oh, the dreaded f-word. No, not that one — failure. Nobody wants to fail, or feel like a failure. However, consider this quote attributed to Thomas Edison: “I have not failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” While he wasn’t an actor, he’s got a great attitude when it comes to trying again. So the lighting design didn’t quite work. This choreography didn’t quite tell the story. This costume looked funny onstage. This rehearsal exercise fell flat. What did you learn? What will you do differently next time? Theatre is a practice — you’re always going to find new and different ways of approaching a character, running a rehearsal, using new technology, and so on. There is no such thing as perfection, and nobody ever gets everything right the first time they try it. Try sharing with your students an example of a time when you failed, and what you learned from it. Sometimes knowing a teacher isn’t infallible can be reassuring for students. We’re all learning together! 4. For experienced students — remember that you were a beginner once. Some of your more experienced drama students might sometimes feel bored, frustrated, or impatient with their peers who are newer to drama class or less skilled. Ask these students: Think back on when you were a new drama student. How did you feel? What do you wish someone had shared with you back then? How can you now help to act as a leader to your peers? How can you model for or guide them? And if they’re doing a lesson or practicing a skill that they feel they’ve already mastered: How can repeating a lesson help to deepen your own practice? Even the most skilled drama students can learn so much by adopting a beginner mindset. There’s always something new to learn, skills to practice, techniques to perfect, and stories to discover. By being open to new experiences, students will be in the best mindset to grow, discover, and learn. Even when mistakes happen and failure occurs, it’s OK. Students will know what to do differently next time — or at least, one thing not to do next time. And that opens up a world of future learning possibilities! Additional Resources: How Do We Encourage Confidence in Students? How to Solve Beginning Actors’ Mistakes Using Improv to Address Fear of Failure

Students nowadays are more connected, aware, and tech-savvy than ever before. Yet, with all that connection and knowledge, students are hyper-aware of their insecurities, their desires not only to fit in but also to succeed in every area of their lives, and the public nature of communication through social media and the Internet. Seemingly, everything is available for everyone to see, including students’ mistakes and failures. This can make students fearful of failure and reluctant to take risks – they know that others may be watching and ready to pounce on any perceived weaknesses. Students may feel that it’s easier not to try than to risk looking bad in front of their peers. Teachers must work with their students to help them feel confident and encourage them to push themselves out of their comfort zones. The drama classroom is a great place to do that, as the art of theatre is a practice – there is no such thing as perfection, but there is progress. And as with many other things, confidence is something that can be grown and developed. Try using the following five tips to help encourage confidence in your drama students. 1. Choose your words with care.This doesn’t mean having to be extra-flowery or unnatural, nor does it mean being afraid of constructive criticism. However, I have found that using words of affirmation throughout the learning process (before, during, and after the lesson) works because it encourages students to focus on what they’re doing well and to keep doing it. During the introductory section of the lesson, focus on encouraging your students to give their best efforts, and follow that up with brief and clear instructions. This way they can have the maximum amount of time available for actually practicing. During their work time, check in with students and affirm visible progress: “You’re on the right track,” “Keep at it,” or “Great question – let’s figure that out.” At the end of class, try to end on a positive note. Even if the class didn’t go as well as you’d hoped, focusing on ideas such as “What did we learn during today’s class?” and “How can we improve for tomorrow?” will help students to stay positive and feel confident, despite setbacks. Avoid using phrases like “This is easy” with your students. The concept you’re introducing may be easy for you, but, for some students, you could be presenting a very daunting task. (“What do you mean I have to say a monologue in front of the whole class? All by myself?!”) Which brings us to our second point… 2. Encourage risk-taking and trying new things in the drama classroom.Students need to know that not everything they attempt is going to succeed on the first, second, or thirty-fifth try. Maybe the joke in their improv scene that they thought was hilarious didn’t land, or a crucial prop got left behind, which threw off the entire flow of the scene. Work with students to frame failure not as an indicator of their abilities (or lack thereof), but as an opportunity to try again. “Maybe I just didn’t get this lesson as I should have. Let’s try again.” “What did I learn from this experience?” Failure is not the end of the world. Rather, it’s a chance to give it another shot or to go in a new direction. Maybe a different approach would work next time. 3. Embrace “beginner” mentality and focus on the process.Some students want to be good at everything right away – and will give up if they don’t succeed immediately. They don’t want to analyze their scene – they want to jump right up onstage and perform it. But learning takes time and effort. The theatre is a place of constant learning and practice. Think of a baby learning to walk: You need to learn to sit up, crawl, and stand first, all before you can walk. As well, remind students that not everyone is good at everything immediately, but everyone can and will be good at something. Maybe one of your students is not great at mime but they’re awesome at spoken-word poetry. Encourage your students to embrace their strengths but keep chipping away at their weaknesses. Practice makes progress! 4. Guide, but don’t overpower.As teachers, we must find the balance between being available to explain, clarify, and answer questions. But we also need to step back and allow students to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions. School is supposed to be a place where students grow and learn, not just regurgitate what the teacher says. Being able to think for themselves, analyze problems, deal with challenges, and come up with creative ideas and solutions are all important life skills that students need to develop. 5. Ask students directly what they need.“What do you need from me to help you feel confident in the drama classroom?” What works for some students doesn’t work for others. So ask them what helps them. Some students need discipline and strict deadlines, while others need affection and praise. Some students work better independently, while others prefer group work. Some students work better when they have a clear outline of what the plan is each day. Some students need time at home to review and process what they’ve learned. By asking students directly, you can better align yourself and your lesson plans to accommodate their different learning styles. This also shows that you are willing to work with your students to help them succeed. This could be a great Exit Slip or Reflection exercise to share with your students.

Teachers and directors – have you ever watched a run of your show, noticed a particular student, and wondered, “Now where did that performance come from?!” I’m talking about the student who plods through the rehearsal process, doing just enough to get by, but when they’re onstage, all of a sudden it’s like they’re an entirely different person – bright-eyed, smiling, and performing their heart out. While it’s wonderful to see this performance, I’m sure you were wondering why this is the first time you’re seeing this student perform with this much energy and enthusiasm – especially when you were probably worried about how the show was going to come together! For some students, the theatrical process can seem long and tedious. Many students love performing but don’t like going through the process of rehearsing – learning, developing, exploring, and reviewing. They may not see the point of drilling notes, trying different approaches to lines, and practicing choreography over and over – they just want to get onstage with the costumes, lights, and cheering audiences. What really surprises these students is the concept of “practicing how you’d like to perform.” This means performing full out all the time, with maximum energy, as if every rehearsal, review, and run-through is a full performance. Through this repetition, students develop their stamina, improve their volume for speaking and singing, increase confidence (both their own and that of their teacher/director) in their abilities, and demonstrate their passion and enthusiasm for the show. By demonstrating a half-effort in rehearsal, students aren’t displaying their full abilities and potential – they are essentially holding themselves back. But by practicing everything like a performance, students will be capable of much more onstage. Here are six tips to help your students embrace the concept of “practicing how they’d like to perform".1. Discuss why rehearsal is important. Does every student come to rehearsal with all his or her lines memorized? Does everyone learn the dance steps perfectly the first time? Does everyone already know their blocking? Of course the answer is no! Have students discuss everything that goes on during rehearsals beyond the mechanics of line work, choreography, blocking, and vocal rehearsal. How do characters truly come alive? How does an actor know how to express exactly how their character is feeling? How does each moment onstage actually happen within the constraints of this particular production, in this particular theatre, with these particular students? The answer is – this is all discovered through the rehearsal process! 2. Re-frame students’ thoughts about rehearsal. Students spend far more time in rehearsal than they do actually performing the show. Have students think of rehearsal as constant performance time – they love to perform, and they have all this time to be performing in rehearsal! If they say, “It’s not the same without an audience,” remind them that the artistic staff and the rest of the cast and crew are always watching. You may also wish to bring in outsiders to watch a portion of rehearsal at times – perhaps another teacher, the principal, or some parents might be able to come in and see a run-through of a scene or musical piece. This will keep your students on their toes! 3. Urge students to get off-book as quickly as possible. The sooner they are not fumbling with their scripts in their hands, the easier it is for them to really develop their physical movements and understanding of who their character is and what they want at all times. When students are not struggling with their lines, they can focus on making their work bigger, louder, and more energetic. 4. Start with small increases in energy. Tell your students to “bring the energy level up two notches” or “increase your energy by 10%.” Smaller increments are easier for students to believe they can do well. Hearing “The whole number needs to be WAY BIGGER!” is less intimidating than “Let’s bring our energy up from 5 out of 10, to 7 out of 10.” 5. Encourage “bigger is better” in rehearsal. It’s much easier to bring an over-the-top performance down, than it is to coax and plead a bigger performance out. You can even have students do a run-through where they deliberately “go overboard” with their voices, gestures, and characterizations. Chances are, the overboard performance is closer to what they need to do. You can then pull back the performance as necessary. 6. Have your students rate their own performance in rehearsal. Ask them, “By show of hands, who would rate that run-through a 5 out of 10?” and go upwards or downwards from there. I’ve found that students are generally pretty honest about their performance, and they tend to follow it up with “Can we run it again?” or “Can you re-explain such-and-such please?” If your students’ opinion of their performance is different from yours, explain your rating and why you feel they deserved that rating. Give concrete examples of what needs to be fixed, such as: “I couldn’t hear your lines clearly,” “Your character is supposed to be happy in this scene, but your facial expression makes you look bored,” or “Your arms and fingers were saggy, when they should have been straight and extended.” Alternatively, if your students are harder on themselves than you would have been, be sure to give them positive feedback about what they did: “Your turns were much better during that run-through,” “Your voices were much clearer that time,” or “Even though you are in the back row of the dance, your energy made you stand out in a good way.”