Monthly Archives: January 2016

Today was the first full excursion into the land of Meisner work. I was excited to see how this work would play out with this particular group of students. I was not disappointed. There was a wonderful sense that they did not know what to expect from me and I certainly had no idea what to expect from them. We were starting from scratch together – a perfect place to be! But, warning: “This process is so subtle that if you are not in the right open state of mind the entire work will pass you by in a blink.” Read more →

You know that you are in a very special place when you are getting kind words and thanks from students who haven’t yet graduated. In a teacher’s world, it is so wonderful to hear from graduates a year or two after high school on the impact you made in their world – and perhaps a few compliments about the time you spent together in the classroom – – but it is an entirely new and wonderful event for those nice words to be shared before they switch the tassel from side to side. Read more →

I am now taking my Company full steam into the world of Meisner. Although I have been a part of this style of acting class before, this is my first opportunity to actually teach it at an extended level. I have the perfect group of students, the right level of willingness, a space that’s rather set aside from the crazy of high school and as much time as I see fit! Altogether a rather perfect combination for both student and teacher. Read more →

I have been recently coaching a talented actor with a wonderful charismatic presence. He chose a good piece, got it all prepared, stood in front and delivered. Nothing happened. All I could detect was an elocution from a standing statue. Nothing was happening below the neck. All was symmetrical; all was grounded; all was clear but NOTHING was pulling me into the piece. I had though that perhaps a line reading of one phrase or a theatre trick or game of some kind could unbolt this actor and a little of his native charisma to shine through. What to do? Read more →

There are some things (and very few) that I really do dislike about teaching. Once of those things is teacher-speak. So many educational meeting, books, and journals are built on a series of words that used so often now have no meaning and more than that they simply get under my skin and irritate me. Some of those words are “rigor” “best practice” “differentiated instruction” etc. These words may have had some real meaning and purpose at one time, but now I find them to be dead words that really don’t come alive in the classroom. There is one of these “educational words” that I had long ago buried in my world and stamped dead. But that word came back to life for me today. Read more →