The Safety Net: How We Keep Kids, Teens and Adults Emotionally Safe at the Acting Academy

Before anyone learns a single line or takes a single step on a stage, there is something far more important that has to happen.

They have to feel safe.

Physical safety is a given. What matters more is psychological safety. Safe to try something and fail. Safe to be different. Safe to not know what they're doing. Safe to be exactly who they are without editing themselves to fit the room.

Without that safety, nothing else works.

Where the Safety Net came from

I developed the Safety Net Philosophy over many years of working with people of every age.

The philosophy is simple to state: creating safe spaces to totally support each other taking creative risks.

It came out of watching what happened when people felt genuinely held by a group. When they knew, with certainty, that the room was on their side. Something shifted. They became braver. More honest. More creative. More themselves.

Over the years, I noticed something. The classes with the strongest Safety Nets learned way faster. Those classes were supercharged.

While our coaches introduce the Safety Net Philosophy and support it, it is the class that choose to hold it.

What the Safety Net looks like in practice

The Safety Net is a philosophy first. Practiced consistently, over time, it becomes a culture.

It underpins everything we do at the Academy: Foundation classes, Extension classes, holiday workshops and camps. Every program is built on the same principle.

In our classes, it means we name the culture explicitly. Students know the Safety Net exists and what it means, and they become co-creators of a safe space.

It means we respond to courage as much as success. Someone who tries something and it doesn't work is celebrated for the attempt. The message is always: trying is the whole point.

It means mistakes are treated as evidence that something real is being attempted. We often say in class "There is no real failure, other than not trying. We only have two outcomes, success and learning."

The Five Agreements

We also teach every student five agreements, whatever their age. They stand alongside the Safety Net Philosophy and support it.

Take responsibility instead of blaming. Make conscious choices instead of being reactive. Accept consequences instead of playing the victim. Choose kindness instead of needing to be right. Seek help instead of going it alone.

These are not abstract values. They come up in every class, in real situations, in real moments. Over time, they become habits of character.

What this means for you

If you are considering acting classes, for your child, your teenager, or yourself, here is what I want you to know.

The Australian Acting Academy is a place where people learn to act. Along the way, they learn to find their true selves.

We take emotional safety as seriously as we take any other part of our responsibility to every student who walks through our doors.

To find out more about our programs and philosophy, visit actingacademy.com.au or call (07) 3171 7822.

About the Author

Brendan Glanville is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Australian Acting Academy. For over 30 years he has helped more than 100,000 young people build confidence, courage and authentic connection through acting and storytelling. Learn more at actingacademy.com.au.