FAQs
- Why so many classes per week?
- Will you make me act like a tree or anything stupid like that? I mean what does that have to do with acting?
- Will I have to do work outside of class?
- Can I audit the class?
- Why is it so expensive?
- But I intended to go on vacation. Can I miss a week?
- Will I get professional work out of this?
- What if I don’t want to be a professional actor?
1. Why so many classes per week?
This course has been structured in keeping with latest in brain science.
Not the answer you were expecting was it?
What science is telling us is that our brains are plastic. They can change. We can build new pathways and rebuild the old ones that have fallen into disrepair. And most importantly, for this class, this plasticity is not age-dependant. Hooray! Brain change is possible all the way up to death. This ability of the brain to change is called neuroplasticity.
Brain change requires some very specific things:
Practice, practice and practice.
But not just any kind of practice. It takes frequent practice, focused practice and amassed practice to be effective.
- Frequent practice: 3 times per week, for a total of 16 hours per week is definitely frequent practice.
- Focused practice: This is why practice is guided by an instructor. To keep you focused on the skills that you are building.
- Amassed practice: 4 weeks 3 X per week starts to add up. If you started walking a path through an overgrown field for 4 weeks 3 X per week you would start to see a pretty definite path at the end of 4 weeks. This is amassed practice.
The final thing the brain requires is effort. That’s where your participation is critical to your success. You must work at the things that you find difficult in order to build new brain pathways. Simply travelling down the already established and well-used brain pathways won’t help you.
If you’d like to know more about neuroplasticity, read The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge.
2. Will you make me act like a tree or anything stupid like that? I mean what does that have to do with acting?
Okay that’s two questions. The answer to the first is maybe. The answer to the second is to go re-watch The Karate Kid. Seriously.
Remember Paint the fence? Sand the floor? Wax on, Wax off?
Scott and Dean are working professionals. And they both work. A lot. Do you know how hard it was to find a hole in Dean’s schedule to allow him to do this? They are going to teach you the things they use in their own work. They will also teach you the things they wish actors knew. Some of that stuff isn’t going to look like acting. Some of it will free you from old bad habits. Some of it will open you up to a new way of doing things. Go with it. Relaxing into the process of the process will very soon make you a better actor. We promise they (and you) will reconnect those two things before the class is over.
3. Will I have to do work outside of class?
Yes. You will be going over course material, learning lines, doing your armchair work, and meeting with scene partners.
4. Can I audit the class?
Sorry, no. Building ensemble requires that all the people present are participants.
5. Why is it so expensive?
Think of this course as an investment rather than an expense. It’s an investment in your creative voice, and personal growth that, if you work hard, will pay dividends in the future. The cost of tuition covers the cost of the instructors (and good instructors cost money) and expenses.
We could have lowered the price by accepting more students, but we kept the class size small in order to provide more one-on-one time with the instructors.
6. But I intended to go on vacation. Can I miss a week?
We understand that 4.5 weeks leading up to the summer is a tough commitment.
But, if you are serious about the performing arts, you will find these four weeks more invigorating than a week of lying on a beach (as nice as that sounds). Those with families may find that your family wants you to take this time for yourself. (They’re tired of all your grumpiness about not doing it. They’d rather you were doing it.)
Think of it as being in a play. You make that commitment to rehearsals and a performing schedule for a relatively short period of time. But in this case, the rewards will reach beyond that last curtain call.
That being said, you’re a grown up and if you’re accepted into the class we can’t and won’t try to stop you from missing classes. But you will miss a lot of valuable training (go review what we said about what brain change requires). This isn’t a drop-in class. Also, keep in mind that a large portion of this class is scene study, so your absence means your scene partner doesn’t get to learn either.
People who miss more than 3 classes will not be included in the showcase.
7. Will I get professional work out of this?
Hahahahahahaha. Sorry. Couldn’t help ourselves. No class, no matter how good, can guarantee you professional work. We certainly hope that with this high calibre of instructors combined with your best effort, will leave you with some real skills, more confidence in your ability, some connections, and maybe most importantly, some community for you to better position yourself in to get professional work. There’s no doubt it’s a tough profession. There’s also no doubt that some people are making a living at it.
We would suggest not approaching it with such a narrow definition of success. Maybe you take the skills you’ve learned back to the theatre community you come from and raise everyone’s game around you. Maybe you’ll make some connections in the class and form your own theatre company.
The point is really finding a way to put your creative self out into the world in a way that you find satisfying.
8. What if I don’t want to be a professional actor?
This course can still be for you even if you just want to be of professional calibre without the pressure of trying to make a living at it. Or if you want to become a better director by remembering what it’s like to try to translate direction into your body.
