My first reaction to the question is a quote from the writer Primo Levy, the great Italian/Jewish writer who was arrested as a member of the anti-fascist resistance and deported to Auschwitz in 1944. After the war he resumed his careers as a chemist and writer in Turin until his untimely death in 1986.

We must observe that while it is disagreeable to be judged...to expect to elude all judgment is unnatural and dangerous. It is difficult to establish which judges can be accepted and which "recluse"; but to recluse all judges is useless because every turn in life, every human encounter, involves a judgment delivered or received, so it is a good idea to get used to it when one is young... The first negative judgment one will receive in life can be perceived as a deep wound.... Now, such a negative judgment is inevitable, because in life one comes face to face with facts, and facts are obstinate and pitiless judges. One must be cautious in accepting an external judgment, but must nevertheless except at least one; this cannot be avoided, since nobody can judge himself… Anyone who does so, consciously or not, merely reproduces the judgment that emotionally appears the most correct, whether positive or negative. Living without one's actions being judged means renouncing a retrospective insight...It is the same as piloting a boat without a compass.

Now that, ostensibly, covers the necessity of having an outside eye whose opinion you trust and respect.

Teacher or coach?

But before we continue, let us differentiate between a teacher and a coach, which sometimes, {especially with singers,} are two different people with two different jobs.

A voice teacher imparts to you a technique that through various exercises, will strengthen, stretch and build your voice. When they hear you're doing something incorrectly, they have the ability to guide you towards achieving the same results in a better way. They are generally highly trained singers themselves and have a working knowledge of anatomy and physiology.

A vocal coach, will help you pick material. They will make arrangements that are good for your voice, style and, yes, "type." They will help you rehearse auditions and will assist in putting together an act for you for clubs, etc., and will assist you with languages (especially in opera). They will also point out any vocal difficulties you might have, which (if you are properly trained by your teacher) you will correct "on the spot." Generally, they are also wonderful pianists and musicologists.

Sometimes lines are blurred and teachers will suggest material and coaches will try to give voice lessons.

The same is true for acting. Hopefully, when you're having difficulty you will be able, because of your training, to adjust and correct "on the spot." But, it is often in front of 500-1,000 people in a theatre or a camera and crew on a set. A director does not have time on a production costing millions of dollars and the light fading to stop and give you acting lessons.

Most acting teachers are actually coaches.

I am a teacher/coach. I am one of the 40-50 in New York City whose name and background I am familiar with amongst the 200-250 so-called "acting teachers" who are actually casting directors, talent agents, television and stage directors, etc., who are actually coaches. They can tell you what is wrong but not what to do about it.

I am also a peer, who by experience and training will share my knowledge for a fee no different than a doctor or lawyer.

My take on the question, though, is jaundiced by the facts of my own experience, and that I primarily deal with adults who are already in the business, who wish to expand their craft and explore areas they are aging into; or those in allied fields, i.e., models, singers, dancers, who now wish to go into another aspect of the entertainment business.

But do I need to study?

In all truth there is no need to study IF you are that rarest of all creatures, a genius, or if you can go from job to job for the next forty years (not likely, unless you're prepared). Brando, DeNiro, Pacino, Hoffman, Fonda, Tracy, all studied acting. Why? Weren't they talented? Don't professional ball players know how to play ball? They've been doing it since Little League. Why do they need batting and pitching coaches? Why do professional boxers who probably went through the Golden Gloves and the Olympics still need a trainer (teacher) to tell them "you're not snapping your jab," "he's a southpaw, move to your left."

The fantasy, (fallacy #1,) that has been perpetuated, at least in this country, is that "if I am truly talented, I don't need training." I would suggest you read "The Creative Process" edited by Brewster Ghiselin. It is a compendium of articles by some of the world's great writers, musicians, actors, dancers, architects, etc. The consensus of opinion is that until one thoroughly learns technique, there is an absence of freedom to express oneself. To, if you will," create art". Is acting an art? I don't know, we could argue all night. Of course there be purists among us who would take away your right to even try to create because you don't measure up to their ideals. I do know that it can be craft performed at its' highest level.

There's also the thought (fallacy #2,) " what's so hard about acting? It's only walking and talking. I walk and talk. That was the gist of an E-mail that I received from Peru "I would like to come and study with you. I am a very successful trail lawyer here, and that's not much difference between that an acting don't you agree?" My answer was "While in acting you're "lying', (as you are when you think your client is actually guilty;) because you don't really believe you're the character (that would be schizophrenia) yet you still have to convince the jury (audience) that you are, and if you fail, nobody goes' to jail because you really didn't kill Desdemona. Now try doing that with someone else's words while going from spot "A" to spot "B", Keeping in your light, focus and frame, relating to your fellow actor and staying in character'.

I was working on a movie and there was young girl who told us that she once went down and do a Shakespearean monologue because they were doing a production of Macbeth at the Public Theatre. We asked if she had ever done any Shakespeare. She said, "No, I just memorized some lines and went down and winged it." One other actor looked appalled and said to her, "Did you get the job?" She said, "No, but wasn't it important that I read for them?" And he asked, "Did they ever call you back again?" Obviously, the answer was no.

Another time a bunch of us were sitting around shooting the breeze and an extra came up and said, "I know you. I once wanted to study with you." So, I asked, "What happened?" She said, "Well, I got a job." I said, "What about when the job was over?" She said, "Gee, I don't know, I guess I lost incentive." So, I asked, "Are there any dancers here?" And about 2 or 3 hands shot up. I said, "Any of you in shows?" All three said that they were. And I asked, "Do you still take class?" The answer was 'sure.' I said, "Why, if you're working?" The answer I got was, "Well this is a heavy jazz show and the next show might be ballet or tap.

Can you train talent?

Many years ago I went to a concert at the old Lewis Stadium in the Bronx. It was with Jan Pierce, Roberta Peters, Mignon Dunn (who were terrific) and a young man who looked about 17 but was probably older, Justino Diaz (who was OK). Over the next 10 years, people would ask me to go to the opera and when I heard that Diaz was in it, I declined, "I've heard him." One day, listening to WQXR, I heard this beautiful voice, and I exclaimed to myself, "Who the hell is that? He's great." Only to hear, to my embarrassment, the announcer say, "That was Justino Diaz." What had happened? He studied, he worked, and he grew. Talent can be trained and developed.

At a violin school in Russia, 12 students were graduating. The principal, after offering congratulations, there are 4 of you, if you continue to practice your technique 1 hour each day, you should reach the pinnacle of your chosen field. There are 4 of you, if you practice 2 hours each day, and 4 more of you if you practice 3 hours each day, will achieve similar success. He recognized that all talent is not equal, but the less talented can surpass the more naturally talented with hard work. Talent can be trained and developed.

Arturo Rubinstein, the great pianist, said, "Until 40, I was a playboy, then I went in my garage and I practiced 8 hours a day for 2 years, and then I became RUBINSTEIN." Talent can be trained and developed.

6-time world champion, Tommy Hearns, "good boxer, no punch," learned leverage, started knocking people out.

Riddick Bowe, heavy-weight champion, "good boxer, lazy, won't train," started to get serious, trained, lost weight, shaped up, won championship; stopped training, got fat, lost championship.

Anyone who exercises can tell you, if you use the proper "form", you get better results in less time and do not injure yourself.

Anne Bancroft, queen of the grade B westerns, went to the Actors' Studio, trained, got "Two for the Seesaw," Miracle Worker," won all kinds of awards and is considered one of our top actresses. Shelly Winters, went from blond bombshell to character actress. She trained at the Actors' Studio and went on to win the Academy Award.

Most people know how to cook, some even very well, but if you want to cook professionally you go to the, the Culinary Institute of America etc. The main complaint about restaurants? TOO MANY COOKS NOT ENOUGH CHEFS! I could go on and on.

In my own case, I started to work at 19 in TV and movies (mainly because of my type and age). By the time I was 23, I realized I didn't know what I was doing. (In spite of the fact that I had "trained " at N.Y.U. for six whole months.) I was an intuitive actor (as most people are), but, I knew when I was good and couldn't always repeat it and I knew when I was bad and didn't know how to fix it. That meant I had no technique and I had better learn some or go sell dresses in the garment center. Fallacy #3. Once you train there's no need to continue training. TALENT IS LIKE ANY OTHER MUSCLE, IF NOT USED IT WILL WASTE AWAY! You can read about the rest, on my website: www.edkovens.com

But you must still face the truth, that, at best, this "business" is a crapshoot. 85% of union actors are out of work at any one time. 5% of SAG actors make over $10,000 a year. 3% make all the big money you read about. So, the only thing training can do for you, is to better the odds, if you do get a chance to audition and, if you're fortunate enough to get a job, keep it. (People do get fired when they can't produce.) Jane Fonda once said "Sure, my name got me in the door, but once inside I had to produce". So who do you think was in class when I studied with Strasberg ? Jane Fonda, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Burstyn, Rene Taylor, Barbara Streisand, and Monroe.

In the past, the studios, like MGM, etc., had teachers and coaches (like Michael Chekov, Sophie Rosenstein, Richard Boleslavsky, Marie Ouspenskaya, Leo Bulgakov, Lee Strasberg) who trained, directed and influenced many acclaimed film performers of the period, like Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery, Frederick March, the Barrymores and, eventually, the Liz Taylors and Mickey Rooneys and other child stars so that they could make the transition into adult roles. Eventually, the ball player gets out of baseball, or becomes a manager or coach. Look at 10-year-old movies. See all those people with small parts who you never see again? What happened to them? Why did they not progress on to other parts? I had a student who studied with me 30 years ago - Robert C., who has been in over 200 productions. You probably don't know his name, but would recognize him, and I'm as proud of him as the students who went on to win awards and are world-renowned. He's made a living at a profession he likes and that makes him luckier than 95% of the people in the world.

Only in America

The other day on television they showed 1000 people lined up to audition for "American Idol II" They allowed about 12 to sing a line or two of a song, and that was all you needed to hear who was trained and who was hoping for a miracle. When I Judged auditions for IMTA and the Actors Studio, maybe 10% of the applicants were even semi-professional. Over 3000 wanna-be showed up in New Jersey for a "Sopranos" open call. . Most of them had no training but they ALL had headshots!

In every country throughout the world there are theater schools.