Class101 Acting

Class101 was founded in 2015 in Seoul, South Korea by Ko Yohan as a creative education platform focused on connecting passionate creators with students who want to learn hands-on creative skills. The platform launched its English-language global service (Class101+) in 2018, expanding beyond the Korean market to serve an international audience across categories including art, illustration, music, crafts, cooking, photography, and performance. Class101 has raised over $80 million in venture funding and has grown to host more than 6,000 classes from creators across dozens of countries, with a particular strength in visual arts, design, and creative content production. The platform's distinctive approach emphasizes creator-led instruction where working professionals share their specific creative processes and workflows rather than teaching abstract theory — courses are designed to produce tangible creative outcomes rather than conceptual understanding alone. For actors, Class101 occupies a unique niche as a platform that addresses the increasingly important intersection of performance skills and digital content creation — on-camera charisma, video production, social media presence, and the creative entrepreneurship that modern acting careers increasingly require.

In 2025, Class101's acting and performance category is smaller and more specialized than what is available on larger platforms like MasterClass, Udemy, or Skillshare, but it offers perspectives and content types that those platforms often lack. The performance-related courses emphasize practical, project-based learning — rather than lecturing about acting theory, instructors guide students through specific creative projects like producing a short film, developing a character for social media content, building an on-camera presence for YouTube or streaming, or creating an engaging personal brand through video. This project-based approach reflects the platform's Korean educational philosophy, which prioritizes doing over discussing and outcomes over credentials. The international instructor base brings diverse perspectives on performance, storytelling, and audience engagement that differ from the predominantly American and British approaches found on most English-language acting platforms. Course production quality varies from polished studio productions to intimate, creator-filmed content — the emphasis is on the authenticity and expertise of the instructor rather than production values alone.

Getting started with Class101 requires creating a free account on class101.com or downloading the Class101 app. As of 2025, the platform operates on a subscription model at $19.99 per month, providing unlimited access to the full library of 6,000-plus classes across all categories — a shift from its earlier individual-purchase model that makes exploring the platform's offerings significantly more accessible. Courses are organized by category, with performance-related content found under headings like 'Lifestyle,' 'Career,' and 'Digital Content' rather than a dedicated acting category, which can require some browsing to discover relevant material. Each course includes a detailed description, preview video, curriculum outline, instructor biography, and student reviews. Courses are pre-recorded and available on-demand, with most consisting of 10 to 30 video chapters that can be viewed at your own pace. The platform supports desktop and mobile viewing, and the app allows offline downloads for viewing without an internet connection. Some courses include downloadable resources like templates, worksheets, or reference materials.

The Class101 learning experience for actors is most valuable when approached as a complement to traditional acting training, focusing on the digital content creation and online presence skills that are increasingly important for building and sustaining a modern acting career. The platform's strongest offerings for performers are in areas that conventional acting programs rarely address: creating engaging video content for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram; developing on-camera charisma and energy for non-scripted contexts; building a personal brand through visual storytelling; and the technical aspects of self-producing video content including lighting, framing, editing, and sound design. These skills are directly relevant to actors who need to create self-tapes, maintain social media presence, produce content for their personal channels, or develop additional income streams through content creation alongside their acting work. The creator-led instructional approach means you are learning from people who have successfully built audiences and careers through digital content, which provides practical, actionable insights rather than theoretical frameworks.

Class101's audience skews younger and more digitally native than traditional acting education platforms, attracting creative professionals and aspiring creators who see performance skills as one component of a broader creative practice rather than as a standalone career path. The platform is particularly popular with content creators who want to improve their on-camera presence, actors who recognize the growing importance of social media in career development, and creative generalists who are interested in multiple artistic disciplines — an actor who also illustrates, makes music, or creates digital content will find more relevant offerings on Class101 than on a platform focused exclusively on acting. The international student base, with strong representation from South Korea, Southeast Asia, and other markets where Class101 has established presence, creates exposure to diverse creative approaches and cultural perspectives on performance and storytelling. The platform's community features are less developed than competitors, with limited student interaction beyond course reviews and instructor Q&A, but the emphasis on project completion creates a portfolio-building dynamic that benefits career-minded learners.

Class101 is priced at $19.99 per month for the Class101+ subscription, which provides unlimited access to the full library of 6,000-plus classes across all categories including performance, art, music, crafts, and lifestyle. Annual billing options are available at a discount, typically around $167 per year (approximately $13.99 per month). The platform offers a free trial period for new subscribers, allowing you to explore the library before committing. This subscription model represents a significant improvement in accessibility compared to the platform's earlier individual-purchase pricing (which ranged from $30 to $80 per course), as the monthly fee provides access to thousands of courses rather than a single purchase. Compared to competitors, Class101's pricing is competitive with Skillshare ($13.99 per month) and more affordable than MasterClass ($10 to $20 per month) when factoring in the breadth of content across creative categories. The platform occasionally runs promotional pricing for new subscribers with first-month discounts. No physical material kits are required for performance-related courses, though some art and craft courses include optional kit purchases.

Class101 is best suited as a supplementary resource for actors who recognize the growing importance of digital content creation, social media presence, and creative entrepreneurship in building a sustainable modern acting career. If you need to improve your self-tape production quality, develop an engaging social media presence, learn basic video editing, or build content creation skills that generate additional income between acting bookings, Class101's library addresses these needs more effectively than traditional acting platforms. If your primary need is core acting craft development — technique, scene study, audition skills — you should prioritize dedicated platforms like MasterClass, ActingStudioOnline, Backstage University, or local acting classes, and use Class101 to supplement those skills with digital content abilities. The subscription model makes it low-risk to explore — sign up for a month, browse the performance and content creation categories, and cancel if the library does not align with your needs. Creative generalists who pursue multiple artistic disciplines alongside acting will find the most value in the platform's breadth across categories.

Use the search function to find performance-related content rather than browsing by category, as relevant courses may be filed under headings like 'Lifestyle,' 'Career,' or 'Digital Content' rather than an obvious acting category. Start with courses on on-camera presence and video content creation, which are Class101's strongest offerings for performers and address skills that most acting training programs do not teach. Approach the content creation courses with your actor's eye — the principles of on-camera charisma, audience engagement, and storytelling that content creators teach are directly applicable to auditions, self-tapes, and social media presence. Use the project-based structure to actually complete the creative projects each course assigns — building a portfolio of self-produced content is more valuable than passively watching instructional videos. Explore courses in adjacent creative disciplines like photography, illustration, or music production — cross-disciplinary creative skills make you more versatile, more interesting to collaborators, and more capable of self-producing the kind of original content that builds audience and attracts industry attention. Cancel and resubscribe strategically if you exhaust the relevant content — the library adds new courses regularly, so checking back periodically may reveal new offerings worth a month's subscription.