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APPROACH

Choice and action are the essential storytelling tools of the actor’s craft. Like driving a car or playing a musical instrument, acting is the practice of choosing actions to achieve a desired outcome. With training, this practice becomes intuitive.

I teach my students how to mine a script or scenario to determine what a character wants and how they go about getting it. I teach them how to make informed, imaginative choices that bring a story to life and make an audience care about its outcome. I teach them how to identify the obstacles that stand in a character’s way, and make bold choices about how to overcome them.

I introduce my students to a systematic approach to script analysis that helps them quickly identify key elements like given circumstances, conflict, and objective that will inform their acting choices. I give them practical techniques that enable them to fully embody those choices physically and vocally. I encourage them to explore a broad range of emotional and expressive possibilities, always grounded in the text and inspired by their imagination and who they are.

I train the muscles of analysis and insight, expression and ingenuity. Training these muscles prepares my students not just for a long, rewarding career in the theatre, but for the challenges of life.