What do you think of, when the phrase “high self-esteem” is uttered to you? I am guessing the following: confident, high sense of self-worth, openness, and socially adept. And when you look at the lives of people with high self-esteem, you wonder as to how everything works out for them, irrespective of the situation.

So you go back home and wonder – “What is it that I need to do so as to be like that?”.  Looking at the above list, 2 qualities seem to stand out quite distinctly – confidence & high sense of self worth.  Since this has obviously a lot to do with your current circumstances & upbringing, you decide to do the following – change your thoughts about yourself and develop new habits .  Suddenly things seems different – you feel invincible! You have found answers to the problem you have been grappling with all your life.   There’s a spring in your step, a tingling sensation coursing through your veins, and you can’t stop smiling.

And voila – the results appear quicker than you had anticipated. Suddenly you are cooler, people & situations are responding more positively to you, and life looks like a bunch of pink roses. You have arrived, and everyone can see it as you walk around with your head held high.

That’s until a day comes when suddenly a few things fall apart (that’s usually within two to four weeks), and before you know it, you are back to square one. You feel worthless again and go through the cycle of torture and self-mutilation (and the consequent self-destruction). You stop making any effort, because let’s face it – it’s useless.

This goes on until something else inspires to go through the rigmarole all over again.

But, what are the odds that the same thing wouldn’t happen again? If so, does it make any sense in even trying any further. After all, being stuck in comfort of your weaknesses is definitely far more peaceful than pushing against them. (Most of you would be lying to yourself if you didn’t agree with the previous statement). After all, self-esteem is about accepting yourself the way you are.

I mean there isn’t any way to break this cycle of making an attempt, failing, and then giving up. Right? (Think long and hard about it, before going any further).

Turns out there is one way this cycle can be broken and that’s via taking Responsibility! Now responsibility can be as simple or convoluted you want it to be. That’s your choice.  What I present below is the way I have learnt to look at it.

Responsibility as I define is as follows: “If I want something, I will go ahead and do my best to achieve it”. Read as is, it sends the message that being responsible and having high self-esteem is incumbent on being a Type-A personality – obsessive perfectionists. And true enough, a lot of people who do implement this rule do not really understand what it means.

And who really wants to be one of those? All of us know the pain of doing something perfectly. It’s too stressful, the action becomes unendurable, and either you end up on snapping at someone or giving up (and back into the loop).

This misinterpretation has a lot of do with upbringing and what we are taught as young kids by parents and teachers; specifically, responsibility is used only in negative contexts all the time You have homework to finish – you need to be responsible for it. You have to clean up your room – you have to be responsible for it. You failed in your exams – you are responsible for it.

And then we look at the cool popular kids who do as they please, and we associate the following with responsibility:

1. Boring.
2. Painful.
3. Uncool/Socially unacceptable (It’s outrageous when the most boring of idiots call you boring for being responsible).
4. Irritating.
5. Necessary.
6. Forced upon us by society/parents/teachers.
7. Limiting.
8. Yeah, I could go on, but you get the drift.

The real problem is that responsibility is associated with something external – some work, some obligation, etc.  Or the more idiotic version – “You are responsible for your happiness. If you get a work responsibly and get a good job, and find a good life partner, and have a stable life, you will be happy.”. Ironically, though nobody tells you what will happen if you work responsibly and still don’t get a job. I guess that’s when you, like most people, throw responsibility into the gutter and let go completely - cigarettes, alcohol, sex, sleep, gluttony. I mean, let’s face it, you tried the whole responsible thing and it didn’t pay out. You were told that being responsible will get you all that you want, and you believed it like an idiot. So why not chill out and enjoy life from this point onwards?

But unfortunately, nobody has taught you that responsibility rather than being a chore, is actually a type of superpower. Responsibility is not just about finishing your work or paying your bills in time. Responsibility is about taking ownership of your thoughts, emotions, and actions, and consequently guiding them in any direction you choose, rather shooting in the dark and hoping something will stick. Think about it – you get to choose who or what you respond to.

The immediate counter argument is that it’s impossible. Some friend could say something nasty and it could hurt you deeply. My counter-counter-argument is simple – but you can always decide whether you will deal with the hurt constructively or let the hurt feelings guide your next series of actions. (Honestly, it amazes me to see the number of people, including myself at times, who react impulsively to a situation, as if their brains were never part of the millions of years of human evolution.).

The reason I am confident about the above is because the time I was the happiest in my life, was the time I took responsibility for everything – my work, my health, my thoughts, my reactions. And not surprisingly, my sense of self-worth as a consequence was so high, that nothing could really affect me. I went from a guy who doubted so many things about himself, to borderline arrogant who was never worried about anything thrown at him (though I took it to the other extreme, and life spanked me royally as a result. That’s a story for some other day.)

So how does the latter part of the post connect back with the first few paragraphs? If you had taken responsibility to become more confident, then things crumbling around you wouldn’t stop you from continuing your progress. Instead of giving up, you would most probably be spending energy on learning and moving forward. The problem was that you only expected things to change, and consequently made yourself a victim of your circumstances (and no, this is not a perception thing. You have given so much power to your circumstances, that you are at their mercy).

Coming back to the cool kids, one undeniable truth about them was that nothing really affected them. As a teenager, a person’s concern is usually social acceptance, and the cool kids never cared about it. They set their own rules, and they gave out the approval. The opinions of others didn’t matter, and in choosing to do so, they had simply chosen to be responsible (irony) for their happiness.

“Yo! Read many of your blog entries..and I should say liked it a lot ! keep them coming …and inspired by you, I going to to copy the ‘Gratitude’ idea onto my own journal (private)…unless it is protected by patents and such “

I received this unexpectedly from a friend a couple of months back. Given that this guy reads some pretty esoteric stuff, I have chosen to take it as a pretty big compliment.

There have been a few people who have read my posts, and talked to me about them, and helped me get better. But when I started writing, I was pretty nervous that I would sound lame, or that my writings wouldn’t have any uniqueness, and the whole world would laugh at me.

The thing which gave me confidence to continue writing was this statement made by 2 people – “You should write more often. When you write, it actually feels like you are talking to the person.”.

One of them is a dear friend and he knows I am grateful for his support. But the other person and I have drifted apart due to various reasons. This post is to just let her know that I appreciate her encouraging words.

It’s very easy to forget someone’s contribution to your life in the web of disagreements and disconnect. And all you are left with is a sad feeling about your association. But if we actually take the time out to appreciate what they have done, maybe, just maybe, your perception of the world might just change. Gratitude, has a nice way of overshadowing discontentment.

MISF!T (My Interest Stays Firmly In Theatre) is starting the new Level 1 (Batch 24) acting course/workshop on 6th Nov 2011. This is the 10th year of MISF!T’s acting workshops.

Level 1 is the foundation course which aims to bring out the fun of acting, make participants shed their inhibitions, teach them stagecraft, pantomime, and character building. It is also for people without any background in acting. The objective is to make them as natural as possible.

To fix your appointment for registration (or for further details), call us at 9241500886 or 9886035100 only between 12:00pm-2:00pm and 6:00pm-8:00pm(this would be the best option).

For more details go on to“Events” page on misfit.co.in .

But the primary reason I fight my fear is …wait for it…wait…because I am a bleeding idiot! I never realized (though I understood at a rational level) the purpose of the fear; most of the time I either gave in or I buried it. Either way, it  grew into a monstrous beast.

The fact was that I never learnt to deal with fear effectively. Most people never do, or more precisely are never taught how to.  They only learn techniques to handle their fear and survive.

For example, I had a fear of ghosts when I was a kid. Walking into a dark bedroom 4 feet away from my well lit living room used to make me break out in a cold sweat. But since I couldn’t avoid going into the room, I used 2 approaches to handle it:

1. Never enter a dark room.
2. Pretend to be brave, but get in and get out in the wink of an eye.

None of the above choices really changed my perspective of the dark. What I should have really done (which I eventually did), was to simply explore the room, one small step at a time, to find out if there really was a threat or not.  But more importantly, I should have understood that the real purpose of the fear was to remind me that, as a member of the species homo sapiens, in the dark I am as blind as a bat is during the day, and so I need to be careful not to bang into something, or stub my toe, or something more realistic. Or if I was outside, being in the dark increases my chance of being mugged, or tripping over.

The physiological purpose of the fear was to heighten my other senses, since one of the most important sense was now useless. The experience was, for all intents and purposes, no different from a game of blind-folded man.  (Of course, there are other reasons rooted in evolutionary psychology, but I am not going to get into that for now).

Then again, if I had the capacity to understand the above when I was 8 years old, I would be worth a few billion dollars by now.

Over the course of years, and even after arming myself with additional knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, I ultimately end up dealing with fear in exactly the same way – except that now I could explain and rationalize my thoughts and actions. There were usually 2 options which I used most of the times:

1. I ran – “It’s not worth it.” or it’s victim cousin “I am not worth it.”. (30% of the time. Regret factor = 100%)
2. I put on a mask of bravado – “I am going to do it. No matter what. To hell with whatever comes my way”. Though this statement makes people seem bold and courageous, I usually interpret this statement as a sad boost to the ego, all the while denying that I am losing my marbles (pun intended). (40% of the time. Regret factor = 50%)

(On a side note, there was one year in my life, the 17th year, when I dealt with fear like a healthy well-adjusted 35 year old would. It’s a different story as to why I changed.)

When I eventually accepted that I was only fooling myself with the above methods, I had to change. Things which worked before (or appeared to work before), didn’t anymore because they were clearly an illusion. So, I got into the process of understanding fear and dealing with it effectively.

The first lesson I learnt was – embrace your fear. Let me rephrase – that was the first piece of knowledge I gained. I tried and tried and tried, but embracing fear was difficult as hell. For starters, a lot of people don’t like the adrenaline rush which comes with fear. The feeling is uncomfortable.

Secondly, to embrace fear, you also have to listen to it. Most of the times, my embrace involved burying fear’s head into my shoulders with the intention of comforting it, but never letting it speak.

Fear is simply a warning signal that something may not be right (either in the real world or in our perspective). It’s a sensor which monitors changes in threat level in our environment.  So, listening to it gives a clear idea of what is wrong, and what is the course of action which needs to be taken. Sometimes, the corrective course is nothing since the signal strength is too small, or duration is too infinitesimal.

But not listening to fear is like deploying the sensor, but taking out  the bulbs in the warning lights and muting the alarms. When the threat is insignificant, everything seems fine. When the threat is real, awareness doesn’t dawn until the everything blows up. (BTW, here’s the real kicker. From what I understand about the human brain, the sensitivity level of the sensor is determined mostly by genetics. And I don’t think  anything can be done to change that. So, people have to retrain themselves, by adding a second filter in the brain, which short circuits a lot of signals which trigger the sensor but don’t really mean anything.)

Secondly, listening at the right time and taking the corrective action also prevents the arrival of full blown panic which leads to paralysis. If one system goes wonky, it is easy to correct it. But if all systems go wonky and all the warning alarms are blaring, the only thing to do is push all the buttons desperately, go fetal, and wait to be blown away to kingdom come.

I think a change in semantics might be more useful in dealing with fear. Though fear is technically an emotion, what if we considered fear to be just another sense, like the 5 primary senses. It collects signals, processes them, and sends them to other parts of the brain. The sense of fear could be no different that a ugly sight, a pungent odour, a bitter taste, or a shrill sound.  I could be wrong, but fear seems to be an integral component of what a lot of people call sixth sense. So, why not give fear it’s distinct identity and work with that?

But take a moment and ask yourself this question – “Is what they are saying really true? Aren’t our desires being fulfilled? Can’t we control our environment to suit our needs?”. Think, and think long and hard about this. The answers may astound you!

The answer you will most probably find is – “No, I am unhappy and life sucks and I don’t get most of the things I want!”, or some variant of this.  Ironically though, that very answer is the most convincing proof that, you will get what you wish; because in this case what most people would wish, is to find that answer.

Re-read the last sentence again – “what most people would wish, is to find that answer”, rather than “what most people would wish, is to find an answer”.

So, to summarize – I wanted to find ‘x’, and I found ‘x’, which implies I got what I wanted.

Let us look at a more practical example. Have you met people who always expect their current partners or their prospective partners to cheat on them? And due to their ill luck, they mostly end up with partners who cheat on them? These people talk and talk and talk and zzz….(Sorry, I dozed off) about how they deserve to find someone loyal, but that life/god/universe is playing a game with them.  But what neither they nor we really notice is that life constantly meets their expectations. They expected to be cheated upon and they were cheated upon. What more does one require to be content and happy? Hell, if I was life, I would have developed serious self-confidence issues by now.

There are numerous examples in everyone’s life which would validate the above. Think about it (a lot), and you will be convinced.

So, to nail it down, our experiences are simply a manifestation of our expectations.  This implies that we can change our experiences by changing our expectations. And this is where it becomes difficult, since it requires that we get of our lazy asses and grow.

Simple self-affirmations aren’t going to help. Taking the above example, constantly telling yourself – “The next person I get involved with will love me to death”, isn’t going to change anything.  You will get screwed royally, and then screwed over (and you will end up buying useless books which will fuel your foolishness). This is because changing expectations from life, involves changing the  expectations you have from yourself. It means you can’t be thinking and doing the same things. You will have to break the hell out of our comfort zone of your pre-existing beliefs and consequent actions. You will have to persevere and be patient. And all of that is hard work.  A lot of hard work.

The “what do I want” can be discovered fairly quickly, the real challenge is “what do I need to do to get what I want”?

Of course, there are those who completely misinterpret the above. They change and become completely different, but things still remain the same.  The real problem is that though the changes are significant, the root beliefs are still the ones ingrained in them during their childhood. What they have done is a cover up job, but they still repeat their mistakes, albeit in a different set of circumstances. Their actions are partially, and do not have a strong foundation in their psyche.

All of the above can be reduced to one single statement – “If you want a different reality, make sure you have a different perspective.”. Or something like that.

To simplify- if you want a different reality, make sure you have a different perspective.

But…but, I still could not find a good theory to make any sense out of it. I needed a function which would explain the latent variables in the system. I tried a lot of them, but they all failed short. Some functions couldn’t model all the variables, and some brought about a weak correlation between the latent and the observed variables (Bang…Bang…Bang…that was the sound of my head banging against the wall.). I had almost given up on finding a solution, in the near future.

So then I went back to literature survey, trying to see if others had done something similar. Actually, I went back to literature survey just to read something…anything interesting, and not necessarily related to the problem at hand.

And voila! There it was. A theory which neatly explained the phenomena, and used precisely the same data points I had discovered. The pieces fell together so perfectly…it was beautiful! A few years is a long time to spend on a problem, particularly if you have looked at the problem from various perspectives, and tried really hard to find an overarching theory. And just when I thought that I couldn’t find my answers or my approach was not right, it fell into my lap. It…it was over…there was…closure.

Though I did not find the theory, it did not matter. I did not have the resources to discover what the others had, and it was not my work. But I was satisfied that I had the done the best I could with what I had been given. I was prepared; just needed a final helping hand from somewhere else (or as many would call it “luck”). The same theory may have missed my radar, if I had not been ready with my findings. I would have read it, and then responded with – “Yeah, it is interesting, but does not really apply in this case.”.

Though I am aware the theory is bound to change (it’s not a “law” after all), and things are going to be added or deleted or modified. While it changes, I would also see more of the phenomena, and collect more data. So maybe, the new theory will fit my new data.

And the discovery of the answers spawns new problems to be solved. They have already piqued my curiosity, so I know what I will be looking at. But for now, it does not matter. It does not bother me; because for now there is silence….the silence which comes with feeling peaceful. Peace, not originating from successfully finishing something, but from understanding, acceptance, and finally freedom.

ps: The problem I refer to above is nothing technical. It’s something personal.

The last couple of years have been rather interesting (a polite way of saying “shitty”), when it comes to my relationships. Many moons ago (when I was 30 kilos lighter), I had gone through a similar phase. And my response then was, to shut myself from the world, and live in the world of computers and problem solving. This self-imposed exile lasted for around 3 years, before I decided I had to make a re-entry. A couple of years later, the same thing happened all over again.

So, it was decided, I was never going to be naive again; I was going to arm myself. I studied psychology, learnt new techniques, I even studied the books of David J Liebermann, to ensure I don’t go through the same shit all over again. Things got better for a few years until the end of 2009. From then onwards, things got shitty in a much worse fashion. And my response was the same again, reduce contact with homo sapiens while focusing on career.

Ironically, that made things even worse. Much much worse. Over the course of last couple of years, there have been around half a dozen people who have screwed with me. Hell, that number is more than the number for the first 27 years of my life.

So, it was time to dig deep, unearth the damn ruins, to figure out what was going on. As usual, the first question I asked myself was “What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I keep getting into these situations?”. After dwelling on this for months, and finding no conclusive answers, I decided to look at the other aspect of this problem. “What the fuck is their problem?”. So started an experiment where, I understood their thought process, the motivation for their actions, both pleasant and distasteful. (The sad part about this was that I was slowly but surely turning into these people. Happens with me whenever I am trying to find answers, technical or otherwise).

And finally a few days back, it hit me…it was a lack of consistency in behavior. That is, simply wavering once stand on anything, with no regard of the consequences for another person. This makes it difficult to set expectations or hold them accountable for not meeting the expectations. Or to summarize – “Cannot be trusted.”.

People have different notions of trust. For me the definition of not trustworthy is, actions and words, or actions over time, or words over time are not positively correlated. For example, one day, I am one of the best things in their life, and a few weeks later, nothing. And then back again. These ups and downs are what puts me in a position where I don’t know what to expect.

There are a lot of reasons for this kind of behavior, which could be deliberate, non-intentional, vindictive, or driven by sub-conscious patterns. I am not going to analyze those, because it can go on for pages.

The obvious question is why the big fuss? Isn’t it common? Yes it is. But the real problems are the frequency, and the course correction (or lack of it), when it is pointed out. Nobody in their sane mind would want to deal with a person who’s consistently inconsistent. They become a liability, and a royal pain in the ass to deal with.

So what about me? Am I arrogant enough to claim I am not guilty of it? No. I have been guilty of it, but usually I figure it out myself and work on correcting the mistake, or if pointed out, make appropriate changes.

Even then, I have to note that over the course of the past few months, I have seen an increased frequency in my inconsistent behavior, triggered by these events. I can rationalize my behavior by saying that I am going through a difficult time, but it would make me no different. The truth is that it has serious long term consequences on a lot of aspects of one’s life, especially one’s self respect and self confidence. Luckily for me, I know this is just a short term discrepancy, since it is not who I am. But unless course corrected, I am also aware that it will become an easily justifiable nasty habit, something which I want to avoid like the plague.

I like to keep a few simple rules to prevent situations like this:

1. Don’t make grandiose claims, particularly of affection and loyalty to another person, unless you have the balls to see it through.
2. If you are unsure about something, make it crystal clear. No point in letting the another person down willingly and knowingly.
3. If you can’t fulfill a promise, make sure you explain in advance to the person why that is so. Don’t try to dump your guilt (assuming you have any), on the other person. They didn’t screw up, you did.

All of this can be summarized with this cliche

ps: Thanks to a good friend of mine, who helped me nail down the problem some days back. He just said one thing, “Your trust has been broken”, and this sort of helped me summarize my findings. Once I knew the root, I could easily connect the dots.

People, the truth is, the undeniable, unshakable truth is that…”I am not stupid.”. I know many of you think I am dumb, and would never wise up to your games. But unfortunately, I know; I know from the first sentence said to me aimed at toying with me. I can, unfortunately for you, read between the lines, employ Captain Subtext, and also respond in a fashion which gives the impression that I have bought the poppycock you have been feeding me. Usually when you see me smiling while listening to your cock and bull story, it is because I am thinking about how to make it better, whether it is by fixing the holes in the story, delivering the story with a different graph, or using different body language techniques. It is because I am too selfish…too selfish to tell you to “sock it”.

But I don’t blame you for any of this. It is my mistake. I am the one who comes across extremely naive.

And the second problem is my kindness. The way I express my kindness, it can be very easily confused for weakness. Though nothing is farther from the truth.

Given the above 2 flaws in my personality, it’s very easy for anyone to assume that they can get anything they want from me. And when you don’t get your way, you do something to hurt me, and consequently end up loathing yourself for being a bad person.

But remember, it’s not your fault. It’s mine.

But today I have resolved to change; from now on I will try my best to ensure that the very thought of messing with me, will make you shit bricks. That said, would you please forgive me for my past?

The first thing you notice about him are his extremely long and rapid strides while walking; this is a man with purpose. Of course, it’s hard not to notice him, given that he looks like a cross between Sean Connery, Hugh Jackman, and Pierce Brosnan, with a voice which makes the students freeze instantly, irrespective of age. I guess he needs to do it, since most of them keep buzzing around like a bunch of excited little kids, in anticipation of the class. Not surprising, since he’s one of the most engaging teacher you’ll ever meet, or more specifically, experience.

Sitting in his class is clearly an experience. Here’s somebody who has a very clear idea of how he’s going to structure the class, mixing the easy and difficult concepts, theory and practicals, serious discussions and childlike activities, in a seamless fashion, each following the next like a beautifully choreographed dance. A fundamental requirement for being a good teacher is an instinctive ability to sense the pulse of the students, and adjust the tempo accordingly. Ratan knows this, and he keeps each of his senses open during the course of the class to achieve this. He knows who’s paying attention, who’s getting confused, who’s getting bored with the theory; it doesn’t matter where you are sitting in the class, he has his eyes on you. According to him, this is necessary, as people come in all sizes and shapes, and it’s his job as a teacher to do everything possible in ensuring that each of his students understands and grows in confidence. To quote him, “There are no bad students, only bad teachers.”.That’s a lot of responsibility to carry on one’s shoulder, and Ratan does it with a lot of care, joy, and affection.

I mention the care and affection above, because Ratan is very protective of his students. He never lets himself or anybody else bring down the confidence of his students, irrespective of the nature of the performance. According to him, “I have had to deal with the confidence crushing blows during my early days, and hence cannot bear the idea of my students having to deal with it. I know they’ll have to face it once they go outside. But as long as they are with me, I want to make them confident enough to be able to deal with it.”. If you are a parent, please re-read the last line 5 more times! It could make a big difference in your life.

Of course, don’t let that fool you into complacence. He can give one solid firing (a couple of his students told me that they call this the “graph”), be sarcastic enough to make stand-up comedians blush, or say nothing but lift an eyebrow to get everybody in line. Confusing as it may sound, it works. According to Ratan, different techniques work towards motivating different people, and he needs to use the one which is most effective for a specific student and a specific situation. Individualized attention in a class of 40! A very very rare occurrence.

Simply put, sitting in Ratan’s class is like watching an extremely engaging performance. It’s no wonder that students who he taught over a decade ago, when they were in primary school, still remember him, and come to wish him whenever and wherever they see him.

What does acting have to do with, people pulling each others’ cheeks and talking like babies? Or jumping around and screaming like a bunch of pre-historic neanderthals? Let’s face it, the probability of getting a movie or play role, which involves either of the above, is so remote, that you might as well call it impossible (Movies like 10,000 B.C. and Apocalypto get made once in a blue moon).

I don’t know the relation of these exercises with acting, but in MiSF!T, these are considered important for the development of an actor. It must be true, because the performances put up by the students, are freakishly fabulous!

The funny thing about this place is that you find people from all walks of life, and the initial perception is, “This is one motley crew – actors, models, designers, engineers, scientists, businessmen, students, housewives! What the hell can these guys achieve under one roof?”. It doesn’t really make sense, since each of the above can be considered an archetype. And teaching an artform like acting to this group does seem like, if not impossible and vain, a long and arduous process.

So how does MiSF!T pull it off? Because acting, according to Ratan Thakore Grant (the founder of MiSF!T), is a process. A process which is structured, disciplined, and requires commitment, and hardly has anything to do with your talent, background, experience, IQ, EQ, or any other Q. A process, so rooted in the human psyche, that it can’t be “but” anything that. Coincidentally, seminal research in psychology and cognitive science, shows that world famous atheletes, scientists, engineers, businessmen, etc also follow a processes with the same fundamentals. But there is one difference – learning acting at MiSF!T is simply more fun! A lot more fun!

And it’s this process that Ratan has been teaching students for over a decade and a half now, and has been refining and simplifying over the years. It must work; the plays and “presentations” of the students, is a testament to this. I have seen many students who walk in the first day nervous, unsure, shy, fidgety, wondering what they are doing there, and even some with a facade of extreme confidence. And I have seen the same lot go up on stage during the presentations, and the “motley crew” image vanishes with a bang; all you can think is “Are these guys professional actors, or taking up acting professionally? Is that the same guy I saw on the first day?”. The fact that, it’s the students have done everything from conceptualization, scripting, directing, music, etc, shows the ability of the MiSF!T and Ratan to unleash the potential present in each human.

And the confidence and ease with which his students carry themselves off the stage, means the course must be doing something more, than just teach them acting! All this in a couple of months – talk about an effective course!