Master Acting Classes

Master Acting Classes
Master Class Scene Study

It’s a Scene Study class – with a difference. Everyone in class works on scenes from the same author. The plays (or screenplays) are chosen for their complexity, challenge, depth, and for containing the great roles that actors dream of playing.

Another difference is that scenes are usually double-cast. In my classes, the goal of watching another pair of actors in the same scene is not competition – rather it is confidence. At the root is my deeply held philosophy that each actor can bring something unique to each role. Seeing others bring the same role to life, with completely different choices, gives you confidence that you can trust your own ideas and follow your own instincts. It also helps you give up the notion of “doing it right.” There is no “right and wrong” to creativity. In addition, being able to watch each other work on difficult material that you yourself are grappling with intimately, affords invaluable inspiration.

I call it the Scene Study/Masters Class because of the confidence and freedom an actor achieves when he or she “masters one of the masters.” It is both an intense script analysis class, and an entrance into each individual’s deepest struggles with the craft. Each session has brought breakthroughs to the participants’ acting skills. This is partly the result of working on challenging material that takes you to the very limits of your abilities – but also the effect of the intimate exposure to the roots of our humanity, that is given to us by the great writers. What makes a writer great is the extent to which he or she taps into the most primal human emotions, mysteries and insights. When actors work honestly on these texts, they are brought into contact with their own most primal resources. Although many of the writers selected for these classes are known as “classics,” I promise that this work will strengthen and prepare you for modern movie and television scripts.

The Scene Study/Masters Class is open to actors by invitation, after a personal interview. It is also open to directors who have taken Acting for Directors with me. (Directors who take the class work as actors. For scene work I usually partner directors with other directors, and directors may sometimes be assigned exercises instead of scenes.)

The location is Two Lights Acting Studio, 3402 Motor Avenue, between Palms and National Blvds, corner Woodbine, entrance in the back.

The Class will be limited in size, so please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to join this session.

Next Page: Commercial Acting Classes