My teaching philosophy

"The more I demand from you, the more you'll give me."

I had the great fortune to study at the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia during the summer of 2009. The voice teacher at the school was working with one of my classmates and the student was getting upset because she wasn't performing how the teacher wanted her to. Soon the tears started flowing and the teacher had to stop her lesson to console the student. The teacher described that she wasn't being malicious; she was merely trying to push her to greatness. "The more I demand from you, the more you'll give me." The student took a deep breath, worked past the tears, and pushed herself to a new level of performance.

This lesson had a great impact on me as a student and, subsequently, as a teacher. There's a tough balance to follow when you are in charge of young minds. You have to be supportive and nurturing and encouraging. But you also owe it to them to push. Students want to be pushed. Need to be pushed.

I've spent 23 years as a student and even though I'm not in school now, I'm still learning. School taught me how to learn and because of that I’m able to teach myself new things every day. So if anything, this teaching philosophy is a reflection of my life as a student. My best work always comes when my best work is demanded.

When it comes to actor training, I don't prescribe to one particular method. I was trained with a large dose of Stanislavsky, but I also had Meisner, LeCoq, and Chekhov classes. Like most everything in life, there isn’t a cookie cutter method that works for every student.  Students should be exposed to as many different methods so they can decide for themselves which particular method, or combination of methods, work best for them. When I approach a role I use a combination Stanislavsky, Chekhov and Meisner, but I also utilize little nuggets of information that picked up from various teachers and directors. Anything that can help me understand and portray the character I’m going to use. And as I learn more about theatre and acting, I’ll only going to add to the list

Thomas Edison once said, ”I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." The classroom is a safe place where it should be firmly understood that failure is perfectly acceptable. For beginning actors, the classroom should be a place to rid themselves of their self-consciousness. The so called "third eye” killed the actor and the sooner you can rid yourself of its gaze, the sooner you begin to grow as an actor.

As actors our instrument is our body. Therefore, we must make sure our instrument is in top condition. Students would sweat in my movement classes. We would work out at the start of every class in an effort to get in shape. Students would learn to control their bodies and their minds. Exercises would focus on stretching and pushing the body to be more flexible. When the body is pushed, the mind must be trained to follow. Master the mind and your body can do things you never thought possible.

When it comes to vocal training, an understanding of the vocal tract and how to safely use the voice is paramount. Students also need to learn that in order to be effective on stage, you must be heard. I was trained with a combination of Fitzmaurice and Linklater and I would utilize many of their techniques in my own classroom. The release of tension in the diaphragm, rib cage and throat combined with proper breathing technique and support will free the voice to project to the back rows of a theatre space.

Acting is hard. There isn’t an actor out there that hasn’t struggled with new concepts. But the goal of education should be to make acting easier. Every methodology, no matter how complex, can be broken down to simple, understandable concepts. It’s my hope to make each and every student understand these concepts and reach their full potential as artists.