Method Studio drama classes

Places are still availbale on the Method Studio drama courses. Anyone who is interested in either the acting Through Improvisation or Advanced Scene/Shakespeare courses should get in touch a.s.a.p. as this next set of classes begin on May 3rd.

Full details available under The Method Studio or in the Auditions section.

Would love to get involved but have just started reheasing for Black Swan (BSX), can you please tell me when your next classes will be for the Advanced Scene/Shakespeare.

Hi Everyone

It is very common to read on here people asking for advice on how to get into WAAPA or NIDA , or how to become a professional actor.

After hearing John Milson last year at the South West One Act Festival say in his summing up that everyone in amateur theatre should be attending classes, it seems to me to be the perfect opportunity for a lot of us to be extending our skills and seeing what else we are capable of, by attending these classes.

Stephen Lee has made a remarkable directorial debut with "The Taming of the Shrew" for GRADS and the New Fortune and is now rehearsing for two plays around town, namely "The Elephant Man' and "Macbeth".

There are a lot of people around who use the saying "Those who can't do, teach". As much as that annoys me, you certainly can't use that phrase for Stephen. He is actively participating in the craft that he teaches.

I have had students, both current and ex students go through his classes and they love his style and skill. They come out of the class being far more confident in their performances and that has to be a good thing.

After having taught Shakespeare for 20 yrs at the Method Studio in London, Stephen is a breath of fresh air for perth theatre.

We all need to re read those comments made by the "Shrew "' cast and then look at our own work. Are we happy to sit back and simply rest on what we know we can do or should we be pushing ourselves to better our performances and ultimately the standard of community theatre.

For those of you who want to pursue acting professionally, you could do no better than to start with Stephens classes and you can rest assured of having a very solid footing to help you on your way.

For those of us who dont want to become professionals, but still love performing in community theatre, we also need to keep our skills sharpened and we need to keep improving our own performances.

You will be very pleased you did.


Kerri

Kerri wrote:

> For those of you who want to pursue acting professionally,
> you could do no better than to start with Stephens classes
> and you can rest assured of having a very solid footing to
> help you on your way.
>
> For those of us who dont want to become professionals, but
> still love performing in community theatre, we also need to
> keep our skills sharpened and we need to keep improving our
> own performances.
>


Hi Kerri

You left out those of us who ARE professionals...the advice about sharpening our skills applies just as much to us. I'm about to do Stephen's Acting Through Improvisation course...to find out how much I still don't know!





> There are a lot of people around who use the saying "Those
> who can't do, teach". As much as that annoys me, you
> certainly can't use that phrase for Stephen....



I don't know where the phrase "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." originated, but it seems to be a wry and cynical observation about a lot of occupations...actor, opera singer, concert pianist, professional athlete, novel writer, etc ... where not only a high degree of skill but something else is needed to succeed, that goes beyond a qualification.

The actual skills involved (which can take years of mastery, mind you) are more easily obtained than that elusive extra quality that allows someone to actually DO the occupation professionally. Given that they're still a highly trained individual, it seems a reasonable alternative to become a coach or teacher to pass those skills on...the problem being that not every person with skills to teach is necessarily going to be any good at teaching them. And there's the element of frustration and perhaps cynicism from the wannabe professional who doesn't have their heart set on teaching and perhaps resents the pupils that are trying to have a crack at the profession the teacher never quite succeeded at.


The phrase is misleading though, if you try to refer to the teaching profession. Those who can, do. Those who can't...still do? (Actually that sadly IS the case with quite a few teachers I remember encountering...but they probably belonged in the frustrated wannabe-something-else category.)


Good teachers are also an occupation that needs that spark of 'something extra', besides a qualification. In fact some very good teachers don't ever actually work as 'teachers' with a qualification...but they have that desire and ability to teach that enables them to connect with a student and impart learning.

(Maybe it was more to do with my acting skills, but I've often been in the position of being able to teach kids [and adults] a skill that I barely had myself...ie how to build a raft, for instance. I'd only been shown how myself the day before, so it wasn't so much a case of imparting a high degree of skill as it was of understanding how to help them learn and achieve. [It floated!])

I'd probably make a lousy professional teacher, because I'd definitely wannabe doing something else with my skills. But I still find myself working in 'teacher' mode quite often, not because it's a step down from where I really want to be, but because it's deeply gratifying to be able to pass on the professional skills I love using, to people who enjoy learning them...whether it's acting, singing, circus tumbling, kayaking or scuba diving. Getting paid to share these skills I love is just an added bonus...maybe that's part of the 'extra quality' that defines a good teacher.


I can understand how the general misinterpretation of the phrase must annoy you, Kerri....don't worry, I don't think there's any doubt from anyone you've taught (student or otherwise) that you'd be classified as a 'those who can'!



Cheers,
Craig

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Hi Craig

Thank you for your lovely comments on my abilities as a teacher and actor. I understand and agree with you on the points you make about teaching and imparting the knowledge.

I am delighted to see that you are going to attend Stephens course as well Craig. You are right, it is just as important for professional actors to keep their skills sharpened too.

I hope that everyone who participates in theatre and looks at this website, understands the importance of such classes and avails themselves of the opportunity to learn from someone who is both a fantastic teacher and performer.

My Year 12 students last year had the pleasure of working with Stephen just before their final practical exams and they were so impressed. They came away with so many great ideas and suggestions from him. To have my whole class of students buzzing about his suggestions is high praise indeed.

Enjoy the class Craig, I am sure you will!

Kerri

Hi Everyone,

This "those who can do..." comment I also find very annoying. It seems to suggest that acting teachers are a kind of lesser-talented sub species of "real" actors. In fact they are quite a different beast altogether. Teaching, acting, and directing too, are all very different and specialised skills. Quite often cross-over occurs, but it is by no means universal. I saw Beryl Reid (an extremely talented and wonderfully funny comic actress) give a Masterclass on Comic Acting. Just about everything she said seemed to me to be wrong, or ill-thought out. Instinctively, she is brilliant, when she comes to analyse her art, it all falls apart.

So why, the question seems to be, should an actor analyse at all? Why not go solely on instinct? The problem is, that there will come a time, or a part, when instinct fails, and that is when the actor should be able to examine the reasons for this, and work on them. The more an actor advances, the more challenging the roles he or she plays, the MORE that they are likely to need this kind of skill. If all you do is drive around town, you may never need to look under the bonnet of your car. Drive across Australia however, and not to have some mechanical understanding would be foolish.

Good teachers, like good directors, should be found and cherished. I have been acting for nearly thirty years and I am still learning. I think of some of the people who taught and inspired me: Alfred Emmett at Questors...a truly incredible man of the theatre, with a razor-sharp mind; Cecil Hayter, who added the heart to Alfred's intellect and taught me how to feel as well as think; or Jimmy Chin, whose passion and enthusiasm inspired me as a young man. I agree heartily with Craig and Kerri (whom I have also seen be wonderfully inspiring) here: these people are not just failed actors or time serving wannabees....they are in a class of their own (excuse pun) and should be judged so.

Hi Sarah,

Dates are not finalised yet, but the next set of classes will probably run July to September. I will let you know more as soon as I can.

Stephen Lee