INTRODUCTORY CLASSES
A six-week course where students are taught how to analyze a scene, make strong and interesting choices, take direction, and audition effectively, culminating in an audition workshop before an industry casting director. A perfect refresher course for actors getting back into the business or new actors who want to take their craft to the next level. In addition to gaining more confidence on stage you will get advice on:
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Where to find a scene/monologue that is right for you.
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How to breakdown beats and analyze a scene.
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How to make the strongest choice you can for the audition materials you are given.
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Practical knowledge of competitive resumes and headshots.
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During the final session an industry professional will have a Q&A session and provide feedback for the monologues and scenes you have been working on in class.
PURCHASE
INTRODUCTORY CLASS: $240
8 Week Intensive/Advanced (WEDNESDAYS ONLY)
A more rigorous examination of scripts, scenes, and character. Perfect for the working actor who wishes to make stronger choices in the audition room. Teaches actors to dive deeper into text analysis of scenes and monologues, improving your audition technique to get more callbacks. By the end of this eight-week course, you will leave with results that will get you work.
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Work intensely on 2 scenes or a scene and a monologue selected specifically for you for reels and/or auditions
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Start every class with a cold reading assignment to improve and hone your audition skills
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Each class is videotaped and sent to students the next day
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Find a clear sense of your “type”
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During the final session an industry professional will have a Q&A session and provide feedback for the scenes you have been working on in class.
PURCHASE ADVANCED CLASS: $300
CHEKHOV/SHAKESPEARE
Offered once a year. 2024'2 intensive will be October 23- December 11th.
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Demystify Shakespeare and Chekhov by doing intensive script analysis and character motivation.
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Students work on a Chekhov scene.
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Students work on a Shakespeare monologue
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Texts analyzed and rehearsed using exercises from Meisner, Strasberg, Robert Lewis, and Stella Adler
BUSINESS OF ACTING
Develop a strategic plan to pursue an acting career in New York Share and learn from experiences and knowledge of a community of actors. Teacher Catherine Russell will guide you, advise you, and kick your butt. The initial six-week class is followed by a two hour class once a month for 9 months. Students will be divided into smaller groups and will follow up and communicate between classes during the six week course and then during the ensuing year.
Topics will include:
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How the business works: agents, managers, casting directors, etc.
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Finding work and auditions in theater, film, television, commercials, print, web series, industrials
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Headshot and resume workshops
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Identifying and refining your "type"
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Getting representation
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Auditions formalities and processes
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Creating a reel
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Joining the unions
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Creating your own opportunities – writing, producing, directing your own material
Each student will set individually tailored, achievable goals and then come up with a list of specific tasks to accomplish those goals.
PUBLIC SPEAKING FOR
THE NON ACTOR/
MEDIA TRAINING
(Private one on one sessions only)
While public speaking may no longer be Americans’ greatest fear, it is still one of the top five, (along with spiders, heights, and the dentist). Still, most of us will have to speak in public at some point in our lives – either in person or on zoom – and few look forward to the experience.
Perhaps you have three days to write a eulogy. Or you are the best man at a wedding and you have to give a toast. Does your son or daughter have to give a speech in front of the entire school? Do you have to pitch a new idea or product to your co-workers or to a client?
Many people put off writing and then practicing a speech until the very last minute so the last day or two before the event is torturous and the actual speech is nerve-racking. SPEAK BETTER NOW will help you organize your ideas, write the speech and then practice so you can deliver it with only a few notes, making you look like an experienced and effective speaker. And you might actually enjoy the process of working with a coach!,
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We offer several options - you can pay by the hour or the project - and I encourage you to ask for a free 15-minute consultation to see if we can help you achieve your goal of giving a great speech or presentation.
MASTER CLASS
(Invitation Only)
Advanced class for students who have completed at least a year of study at the Russell Acting Studio. For the serious working actor who regularly auditions and books work. Rehearsal of scenes outside of class is mandatory.