What is your reaction when you see ‘(sub),’ next to a name on a schedule? Is it exciting to try someone new? Are you sad that your teacher isn’t there? Do you skip class or do you go? Or go anyway – albeit with a bit of a chip on your shoulder? Subs will have a lot of work ahead of them. It is hands-down the hardest and most humble teaching we do.

New teachers often climb onto sub-lists in an effort to get a place on a schedule at a gym or studio. Are they expected to teach the same as the teacher they’re replacing, or are they expected to do so like them? How do you navigate the negative biases of being a substitute for the’real deal’? My friend who’s an actress likens this to guest-star syndrome – nobody on or off the set knows if they really want your character in their story.

I started my career as a sub for someone who was…