Our Expertise
Professional training with insider "intel" and on the job "hacks" for the beginner to the practiced to make it better, make it stronger and make it work. From group sessions to private lessons to individual coaching, A Place for Actors is a place for you. If you don't see it here -- ask. We can help.
TV Commercial Technique
TV Commercials are the bread & butter of New York actors, and there's no reason you should not sit at the table and join the feast. Competition is hard. Making it, even harder. The pay is great! Acquire the tools you need to get the job and get it done.
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Acting for the Camera
Harder than it seems. Easy said than done. No one must see you do it, and it's worth it's weight in gold. An art. A craft. A skill, plus a discipline of many rewards with just as many disappointments. You can't do anything wrong, as long as you do it right. Learn how to "make it work" when you get the work.
Finding the "Bottom Line"
Script analysis. Scene breakdown. Beats. Objectives. Exposition. Style and function. Action and reaction. Structure and arc. On camera, it all boils down to the "bottom line." What is truly going on and why.
As a rule, directors fear a "thinking actor' but praise an actor "that thinks" and "shows up prepared to work." Unlike the theater, where an actor may have the luxury of 3 to 6 weeks of rehearsal before previews and opening night, a camera actor has, usually, a week with the script and overnight to prepare, if even that much. Get your brain to think like an actor and get the praise (and jobs) you deserve.
Audition Technique
You have only one chance to get noticed, but even if you don't get the job, you may leave a lasting impression that may pay-off sometime down the road. Don't sell yourself short. Get the audition skills you need to be "remembered."
Character Development
"Who? What? When? Where and Why?" Yeah, you've heard it all before. Whether you're an ingénue or character actor, you bring to life the character on the page. It breathes. It walks. It laughs and it cries -- moment to moment, take by take and scene by scene. Are you the next Tom Hanks being Tom or Johnny Depp being someone else? Find your strength and learn the "How."
Understanding the "Biz"
Agents. Casting-Directors. Talent Managers. Business Managers. Stage Managers. Production Managers. Time to take control of your career and for you to manage it. From headshots to resumes to casting notices; pick our brains and learn from experience. Protocol, behavior and the ins & outs with unions, procedures, etiquette and professional expectations, that no one ever tells you about, are at our fingertips. In the end, no one will market your talents but you - day in and day out, it's your responsibility to control your future. While there is no guarantee to success, don’t miss a step in the process and set yourself up to fail.
Cold Read Technique
Possibly the most difficult task in an audition, or call-back, is the "cold read" for novice to pro alike. You never know when it will be asked of you. There's a craft to it, and it takes practice to do it well. Nothing speaks louder as a "doing business" skill than the ability to read cold for that director when asked to.
Scene Study/Monologues
Work it. Pace it. Exercise it. Learn by doing. Take off your training wheels and fall off the bicycle. Here it's safe to fall-off. We'll help you get back on, take after take. Learn your strengths and weaknesses, from hidden to the obvious. Find your technique. Stretch your muscles. Flex and focus. Get in front of a camera and do it.
Understanding the "Bard"
Writers Boot Camp
Unlike others, we say FEAR NO SHAKESPEARE and we mean it. Take the time to discover Shakespeare and you'll be amazed as to the depth and width of his works, the richness of his characters and the twists in his plots. The discipline and focus that Shakespeare demands will not only help you support your acting skills sets but also aid you create your art as well as solidify your craft. Have the edge above other actors in the audition room. If you've been down this path before, well, maybe it's time for you to "brush up your Shakespeare."
Cold Read Technique
Theater Boot Camp
A lot of on-camera actors in New York City should take advantage of the off-off Broadway and fringe showcase productions, but are afraid to because of the discipline required. Believe us, stage actors are just as fearful of camera work because they can't quite grasp the intensity and subtlety of what is expected on a shot by shot basis.
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Theater Boot Camp gives you the opportunity to comprehend the basic stage demands placed on your instrument with regards to character & play analysis, rehearsals, performance, movement, delivery, enunciation and projection.
The Art of Improvisation
No. Not The Upright Citizens Brigade nor Gotham City Improv. Not The Comedy Store nor The Peoples Improv Theater. Sorry. Not that improv. No disrespect. We are talking Mike Leigh ("Mr. Turner," "Secrets and Lies," "Career Girls") or John Cassavetes ("Faces," "Husbands," "Mini and Moskowitz") style of improv. Dramatic improvisation.
The strength of an actor to work with a minimal script, objective dialogue and rock solid characterization is priceless. An ability to improvise exposition and stay on story structure is extremely valuable. It's an art, a craft and a skill-set that gives you the ability to think on your feet, rise above the printed dialogue, discard the ad-libs and get the job done. Aside from providing a safety-net for all around you, you become an asset with this controversial, yet increasingly popular and demanding ability.
Writers Boot Camp
Everyone has a story or two in their head that is begging to come out. Is it a screen play? Is it a stage play? Is it a short or a full length or a feature? Is it a series or episodic or is it an HBO home video?
Find out. Take a chance. See if you can pen that play, grind that series or knock out that screenplay. If anything, develop your story on paper for a dramatic medium.
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For actors, Writers Boot Camp will lay out a basic knowledge-base of how to blueprint a movie or craft tragedy or comedy for the stage...and what the difference is.
On-Camera Boot Camp
You've studied everything, so now it's time to put it into practice. In the down periods, take the time to keep fresh by filming scenes and monologues a level ABOVE a Scene Study class.
Be assigned a scene and come in to shoot it each week, as if on location or in a studio. Be directed. Hit your mark. Go from a master scene to a close-up to reverse angles and two-shots. From "Action" to "Cut!," how many takes are you away from "Print!" Can you do it in one? Do you need a run-through? Can you read it "cold?"
