This was the first VN I played.. well, except Katawa Shoujo way back in the day, but that doesn't count, because just like Kelly in high school, it was everybody's first; in a time I didn't even know what a porn game was. But I digress. Acting Lessons is like playing a really good soap opera, not the cheesy Mexicans imported ones. It has everything in here: loads of drama, romance, comedy, friendship, plot twists, obstacles to overcome.. pain.. lots of pain.
Now, my second VN was Melody, another one that I deeply loved for a different reason actually, now by the time I finished playing Melody I was thrilled! "Are all these games like this?! What the hell took me so long to get into this?! What game next will blow my mind?" Then reality hit, not all these games are like that, so I've learned. I had beginners luck, I guess.
Now, Action Lessons is not short of its problems though. The game is way too rushed; the connections the character try to display on screen don't really have the time to set up properly, giving you a feeling of detachment.. it all feels like a really good showcase of the Dev ability for another game. Except for the friendship of the MC with his best friend, although over the top at times, that was well made.. maybe a bit too much, so much so, that since I didn't read anything about the game before playing, I thought, for a good chunk of the game, it was a coming out of the closet story.
TL;DR, the game is a great, you'll should play it.. you probably already did, the game is freaking popular, for the right reason.