ALL Classes are paid for in full for one month, four classes with Paypal only:
What size are the classes?
What size are the classes?
I will keep the classes the classes from 10-15 students. I like students working every week. You only develop as an actor by working at it.
What acting technique do you teach?
I teach emotional memory (using your past emotional memory in scenes), moment-to-moment (the heart of acting), character preparation, utilizing impulses, character analysis, scene analysis, creating a character. I like improvisation work to free the actor and make him more creative and impulsive. I use Strasberg, Stanislavsky and Meisner. Spontaneity is what makes acting interesting to watch and gives the actor more power in his technique.
What are you classes like?
I start the class with relaxation for a half hour. I may do individual exercises, then I start scenes, scene analysis and monologues. Students are allowed to comment on the scenes (but constructive criticism only!) Don’t forget, you’ll have to get up and do your scene at some point, so it is wise to be gentle and constructive.
What level of actors are in your classes?
I have acted for 40 years in show business and have worked with actors who are trained, some who have never trained and others that are talented, but have no technique. Nowadays, from a professional standpoint, you should be ready to act with anyone on whatever level they’re on. So I match experienced students with less experienced students to do scenes, sometimes experienced with experienced, etc. We are all always learning to be better! Reality is, when on a professional set, all that matters is delivering the work.
Do you allow auditing?
No. It seems to be disruptive. It can make student self-conscious.
Do you do private coaching?
Yes, for stage, TV and film auditions.
Any wisdom you can pass on to a student?
Good acting looks easy, but it isn’t easy to create. In this age, everyone wants to achieve fame and fortune quickly without working for it. Good acting takes work. You have to be dedicated with discipline to go far. Success in show business is a combination of hard work, opportunity and then delivering. Doors are always opening if you have the right agent or manager. But then you have to have the confidence, the preparation and luck! You can give a dozen great auditions, but it doesn’t mean you’ll get the part. So many variables dictate who gets the part.
Being at the “right place at the right time” or maybe knowing a casting director, being recommended to someone, having an influential agent or manager, being the right ethnicity, the right age, the right physical type, the right height to match up with a star, giving an unforgettable and unique audition, having the right personality for the character, etc., etc., etc.
In all my years as an actor, all of these things have happened to me. I talk from experience. One never knows.
What is the criteria for entrance into the class?
I want to keep the class active with passionate people who are serious about acting. I don’t want people focused on the stardom thing. That comes with work and luck! I would like a head shot, a resume and an interview to get a feel of the student. That will determine a lot for me.
Any age limitations in the class?
No.
Do you help people seeking representation?
That really isn’t my job, but I do know many people in this industry. If you are good, dedicated and a person people feel comfortable with, then YES I will make a recommendation. I don’t not want to be embarrassed by an agent calling me saying who is this person you recommended. Rude, self absorbed, nasty, condescending, angry, short tempered, arrogant and egotistical don’t really go far in show business.
Most of the biggest names I ever worked with are the nicest, caring and humblest people on the face of this earth! Your character and reputation is the most valuable commodity you have in show business and life!
What is the difference between stage and film acting?
Stage acting has the same internal life as film acting does. Film acting is what you think and feel. The actor focuses on the camera delving deep into his soul.
Stage acting is more physical/behavioral. What you think and feel has to be physicalized in behavior to project that out into a venue that houses 1,500 audience members. Good stage actors can express their bodies to show an audience member in the rafters what he is feeling and thinking.
What is it like working in scenes with great and famous actors?
I have been an actor since 1975 and have acted on numerous Off-Broadway plays, one Broadway play, TV, films, commercials and print modeling. I have worked in scenes with Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney, Matthew McCaaughey, Giancarlo Esposito, Chuck Norris, Danny Aiello, Oliver Platt, Sean Connery, John Travolta, Jerry Orbach, Vincent D’Onofrio, Louis Gossett Jr. (to name a few of over 100 actors) and all I have to say is, “they’re all good, or great. It is very exciting at times to get that rush when you perform with such talent, but acting is work and you must be ready and flexible to ideas, interpretations and changes that happen spontaneously while work on a professional set. You can’t be rigid and unbending. That’s where spontaneity comes in!”
