Acting Lessons

Lessons to help hone your audition skills

While studying at The Juilliard School I had the privilege to work with the inspiring Stephen Wadsworth. We spent 3 hours with him, three days a week, working on acting and how to best reach your audience while singing.

Combining singing and acting, no matter the genre, causes a host of difficulties for emoting to audiences. Even the simplest things become impediments to acting, such as: having to look at the conductor, personal insecurities,

maintaining vocal technique to protect the voice, maximizing projection, or even the distance from the audience to the stage. These are just a fraction of the struggles performers must overcome while also trying to give a sincere performance. Being aware of and surmounting these obstacles becomes the most important part of performing. Which is especially true as the opera and musical worlds have begun looking for more than just a pretty voice.

It is my belief that the method taught by Stephen allows the singer overpower these worries and give everything to the performance.

Acting Lessons and Classes

Classes
Classes generally range from 2-3 hours, are $5 to observe and $15 to participate by performing in front of the class. (These costs are more to pay for the space and the pianist than to reimburse me.)

I try and give intro classes every other month which cost $5 for returning students, and nothing for new students.

These classes are dependent on availability of space, and whether or not the class roster fills. (The roster doesn't need to be full, but I prefer not to give the classes unless it is 2/3rd full.)

Lessons
Lessons are $60 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. A pianist will be provided for these lessons at no extra charge.

The lessons tend to be a more intensive version of the class, focusing on sentence work, and application of sentence to material.

The classes and lessons are open to actors of all kinds, not just singers. PRIOR TO ATTENDING: the only thing I ask is that you arrive with an aria/song/monologue fully memorized and prepared.

What exactly is the method?

The basis of this method is to use a single feeling or emotion as the basis of entire sections of music (i.e. an aria, a duet, etc). The crux of this method, however, is to have a completely relaxed body. There can be no tension whatsoever.

Why no tension, you ask?

The object of this method is not to emote that feeling or emotion by demonstrating it to the audience. The object is to display a blank canvas that the audience then projects on to with their own emotions and feelings. By focusing on the students single emotion/feeling, and training them to have carry no tension in their body, the audience is able to relate with the situation and project their own experiences into the performance.

All taught through extensive use of the following exercises:

Specialized sentence work that allows the student to learn how to connect their own emotions and feelings with a scene.
Exercises to loosen the body, as well as tricks to combat tension when it inevitably creeps in.
Combining the two by rehearsing arias and performing banal tasks.

If you're scratching your head and wondering how this works, welcome to the club. But hopefully though classes and work we can fix that!

If you are interested in having an acting lesson, or attending a class, please use the contact form below and I will get back to you as soon as I can!