The First Lesson for Any New Actor Isn’t About Acting at All

by Chris Peterson

Let’s just say it: the first thing a new actor needs to learn is not memorization. It’s not blocking. It’s not projection, breath support, or figuring out where stage left is without panicking. All of that matters, sure. But it’s not first.

First is listening.

Real listening. Not the fake “I’m waiting for my line” kind. Not nodding while your brain is sprinting ahead to your big emotional moment. I mean listening with your whole body. Listening to words, tone, silence, hesitation, energy shifts, all of it. Listening in a way that lets another person actually affect you.

That’s the work.

Because without that, you’re not in a scene. You’re just nearby while saying lines.

I learned this the hard way, because early on I thought acting meant doing. Doing more, doing bigger, doing louder, doing “interesting.” I was always trying to show I was acting. And in the middle of all that effort, I missed what was right in front of me. I missed my scene partners. I missed what they were giving me because I was so locked in on what I planned to do next.

Then one director stopped me cold in rehearsal and said, “Chris, I don’t need you to do anything. I need you to hear her.”

I smiled like I got it. I did not get it.

Because listening is weirdly hard. It asks you to give up control. It asks you to stop steering every second and trust that something honest might happen if you stay open. It asks you to be present instead of polished. And if we’re being honest, that can feel terrifying when you’re new and trying to prove you belong.

But that’s also where acting actually starts.

Great acting isn’t showing people what you prepared in your bedroom mirror. It’s showing up in the moment with another human being and letting the scene happen between you. It’s attention. It’s humility. It’s responsiveness. It’s listening.

So when someone new walks into class, I’m not immediately worried about whether they’ve done a perfect monologue or can explain the difference between every acting theory under the sun. I want to know: can you hear the person across from you? Can you stay open? Can you respond instead of perform?

If that piece is there, everything else can be taught.

Text analysis can be taught. Technique can be taught. Vocal work, movement, style, period, all teachable. But if you’re not listening, none of it lands. You can hit every cue and still feel disconnected. You can cry on cue and still feel false. The audience can sense it.

Teach listening first, and suddenly everything else has somewhere to go.

And the best part is you don’t need a giant production or a Shakespeare monologue to teach it. You just need two people and attention.

Do repetition work. Strip language down until behavior starts to appear.
Do mirroring. Let actors feel timing, breath, and intention without words doing all the heavy lifting.
Do “yes, and” and watch how quickly people learn that presence beats cleverness every time.

None of these exercises are flashy. That’s kind of the point.

Listening is not flashy. It’s foundational.

Start there. Stay there. Come back to it every single time things get overworked or over-acted or over-thought.

Because once an actor can truly listen, they’re not pretending anymore. They’re alive in the scene.

And that’s when theatre gets good.