Alexander Technique | Los Angeles Acting Classes

How To Do Script Analysis

September 15, 2016 Acting Classes

Discover How To Do Script Analysis

Everything we do in our life has direction that is governed by law. Take for example cooking. When we are cooking, we follow a recipe. When we are building with Lego’s, we follow the directions to make sure that the castle or spaceship we make turns out just right.

In the world of acting, the closest thing to direction actors have is a script. But unlike normal directions, which have only one meaning, a script is interpreted differently by different actors which makes it their job to analyze a script so that they can gain a profound understanding of the character and bring them to life.

Listening Exercises For Actors

the playground acting classes for young students

August 13, 2016 Uncategorized

Listening Exercise Scenes

As an acting teacher at Gary Spatz’s The Playground, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many children over the years. And the thing that I’ve noticed most often with children’s classes are that they think that memorizing is acting.

They believe that if they say their lines perfectly and in order, they’re acting. And for some children this is a great first step. But it’s also important to make the transition to being in the moment, being believable and really communicating. Easier said than done.

A simple way to get in the moment while acting is to focus all of your attention on your scene partner. The truth is that the scene is not about you. It’s always about the other person. You want something from them and you must check in with them at every moment to see if you’re getting it. Simply reciting lines in order doesn’t make an interesting scene.

Alexander Technique For Kids

August 11, 2016 Acting Classes

Alexander Technique For Young Actors

I have spent my weekends the past seven years working with the bright and precocious young performers at The Playground Los Angeles, Gary Spatz’s first-rate young actor’s conservatory here on Avenue of the Stars.

Gary has assembled a truly unique and dynamic staff of teachers to run a program that is the model for other acting schools for young people the worldover. It is an extreme privilege to be a part of it and more often than not, I learn more than I teach while working with my students and colleagues at the school.

My primary function as a teacher at The Playground is to teach the foundational acting technique that the conservatory offers in its curriculum for students from reading-age up to young adults. Working with students in this broad age-range affords me a fantastic view of the artistic and psychophysical developments as they occur in young performers as they grow up.