“I was on the verge of giving up acting when I got to The Acting Center. I didn’t know how to deliver my unique voice as an actor and I was heavily controlling and critical of my performances. I was going nowhere. 

The Acting Center gave me the tools to do my job, a place to continue to get better and experiment with new ideas and it gave me my confidence back.” 

 

Amanda also echoes what many other successful actors who study at The Acting Center have shared, which is that there is no criticism from a teacher who is trying to mold you, but rather pure encouragement to create what you choose.

 

“In other classes it’s usually all about you working on material outside of class, putting it up in front of the class and then getting critiqued from the teacher. I always had a hard time with this kind of teaching. I was left to my own devices to practice, no guidance given, and then I was asked to change things when I did it on stage because the teacher saw it differently. 

It made me doubt myself and latch on to the teacher’s ideas, and become “loyal” or “obligated” to him and his class. However, this never gave me confidence in my own skill. I was just left with feeling that after all that work I still didn’t know what to do. 

At The Acting Center, that doesn’t exist. It’s about the actor and their work, their confidence, their skill. Not someone’s opinion.”

 

Whether in an audition, or when working with a director on set, Amanda can deliver. She doesn’t get nervous that she won’t be able to do what someone asks.

 

“I have the tools to know how to give the character needed for the story. I now can do what my job is: bring this character and their world to life, and live as them. I’m also willing to demonstrate my ability as an actor without worrying what someone thought about it.” 

 

At The Acting Center, every student works in every class. There is no shortage of stage time or feeling that they aren’t getting everything they can out of every class.

 

“With the exercises at The Acting Center, we are acting during the whole class, working the skills, creating 30-40 characters every time. We learn vital tools to help us think on our feet and deliver. The Acting Center is my playground where I can not only play, but also push myself to the next level.

The confidence I have isn’t because someone else told me I was right, it’s because I have experienced really being a variety of characters, working on my ideas, creating what I want to create, and doing the exercises in every class. I know that with The Acting Center, I have found the place that will help me continue to grow and succeed.”

 

“The Acting Center has taught me to fully be an artist, to believe in myself as an artist, and those are some of the most powerful abilities I’ve acquired which have helped me in all aspects of film making.

“With Producing, my ability to read and look at projects from different points of view (producer, writer, actor, audience member) has increased to a new level. I can see everything at once and with that comes the ability to make it happen with no fear.”

 

Sevier no longer criticizes himself or second-guesses his choices. He relies on that confidence to do his job and deliver what is needed for each project. He doesn’t struggle with a director’s notes nor does he get nervous in auditions or on set.

 

“As an actor I can create my character without having attention on knowing the lines, or wondering if something is good. The drills at the Acting Center have taught me to prepare by creating the character, and then unleashing that character to the fullest by living and having a true experience. I can be in a room and have anyone tell me to do it 100 different ways and I can, without fear or doubt. I can listen to the director as well as interact with other actors confidently. I know that if something else is needed I’ll be able to create it on the spot and that is one of the most valuable skills I learned from The Acting Center”.

 

Having studied at other schools for many years before coming to The Acting Center, Sevier was used to being told by someone else what he should do, or how the character should be. He had become reliant on others to validate what he did and often felt that things he did weren’t valuable.

 

“At The Acting Center, I don’t get evaluated on how the character should have been or told what I did wrong. Nobody gives me opinions or critiques that make me feel unsure or worried about something. I leave every class invigorated and motivated to go out there and work. I’m in a place that gives me total freedom to create, and be, and play. That is the most incredible feeling as an artist.”

 

 

“The Acting Center technique gets to the heart of the acting process; being someone else. The drills at The Acting Center underscore this important first component with precision and enough repetition so that one can re-discover anew what made them want to be an actor in the first place.”

 

With as many auditions as Richard has on a weekly basis, we asked him how he has been assisted by what he has learned.

 

“I use the technique of how to extract a detailed description of the character from the script I’ve been given, which gives a richer and more playable personality profile than the ‘breakdowns’ usually do. Armed with that, I then utilize the techniques of getting behind the thought pattern of each line as the character, so lines are arrived at organically and memorization becomes almost effortless.”.

 

Being a veteran of the industry and having studied with some renowned schools, we wanted to know what makes The Acting Center ……different to Richard?

 

“I’ve been in what have been considered the ‘great’ acting classes both in LA and in New York, and every bit of work I presented was subject to some ‘authority’ teacher’s viewpoint.

 

 

The ‘no critique’ policy of The Acting Center allows a swifter and truer realization of one’s vision and capabilities as an artist. I’ve seen this in my own progress and in the rapid advancement of first time actors who study this technique. What is most important is self confidence in what one is delivering which is almost impossible to achieve when trying to satisfy some other person’s criteria.”

 

 

With so many classes and techniques, so much information out there for actors trying to decide the best places to study, Richard feels certain that The Acting Center is the best place for anyone.

 

 

“This is the purest technique available for an understanding of the principles of acting. This technique will help rid yourself of bad habits and find your true voice as an artist.”

 

 

“I found myself doing a drill and being a character and actually having the thought, ‘Wow, that was cool!’ The first time that happened it was a new point of view for me… to actually like what I was creating. Now, I have the tools to consistently reach that place, and they are easy and uncomplicated, rich and full. And it happens at every class.”

 

This new certainty in her own skill and enjoyment of acting is something that Stephanie quickly realized wasn’t just happening in class, but in her life as well. She noticed at auditions and on set working, that she was no longer looking for validation from others and instead was confident in her own work.

 

“In auditions and sets I also found that I wasn’t craving approval from the casting director or director. I had gotten to a point of where I was, for the first time in my life, creating art and the characters as I saw them. Not through the eyes of my teacher, fellow actors, or friends.
When Stephanie first began her study at The Acting Center she was filled with self-criticism about her acting, and also of herself as a person. Through her study and use of the drills she learned, she was able to put that criticism to rest and really focus on being a character without hesitation or judgment.

 

“I found myself doing a drill and being a character and actually having the thought, ‘Wow, that was cool!’ The first time that happened it was a new point of view for me… to actually like what I was creating. Now, I have the tools to consistently reach that place, and they are easy and uncomplicated, rich and full. And it happens at every class.”

 

This new certainty in her own skill and enjoyment of acting is something that Stephanie quickly realized wasn’t just happening in class, but in her life as well. She noticed at auditions and on set working, that she was no longer looking for validation from others and instead was confident in her own work.

 

“I would go in with this character that I was really excited to play and it was FUN. I mean really fun! Those moments that you remember from when you started acting in the first place, whether it be with friends or in my case, with my sister putting on plays and dancing. That exhilaration that I felt and the total fun of it was all there AGAIN! For the first time, in what felt like years! I was newly inspired. I missed that! And was so incredibly grateful to get it back!”

 

Stephanie found the technique at The Acting Center so revolutionary and successful for her as an actor that she got trained as a teacher as well. She is a huge supporter of other actors and feels that studying at The Acting Center is vital for any artist.

 

“If you really want to be able to work all class, every class, then come to The Acting Center. It’s the best way I’ve found to handle the self-criticism.

 

“It helps you find out what makes you the artist that you are. If we are all being cookie cutters of someone else, then how are we going to think differently, to do what we, by nature, do? Artists think differently. That’s what I believe. If Tarantino, Nolan, Kubrick or any other great director or writer didn’t think differently and create these incredibly unique stories then we wouldn’t have any of them.”

 

Stephanie stars in the recently released and critically acclaimed film; Absence. A film in the “found footage” style, it was largely improved based. Written with a skeleton script, Stephanie relied on her understanding of character to navigate her way through it, and really be this person and live their life. This is a skill she learned at The Acting Center.

 

“We really had to understand our characters fully, so that we could just live as them, have their thoughts, say their ideas. Right away at The Acting Center, I was drilling this skill. So that was easy for me. You really have to trust yourself, creatively, to be able to do that.

 

“I also had the wonderfully lucky experience of working with a director who had done the Directing Program at The Acting Center. The program teaches a director how to get a real and visceral performance. That combined with my own understanding of character work made it an incredible experience.”

 

Stephanie believes wholeheartedly that the technique she studies and teaches at The Acting Center is imperative to her having a successful career, as well as her own self-confidence.

 

“Most importantly, I am doing, what I consider, the best work of my career. I have a long way to go. But now I have a wonderful foundation to get me there. I booked more work in my first year studying at The Acting Center than the prior eight years put together! It works!”

 Cady  McClain is a two-time Emmy award winner. While she is best known for her work on All My Children and As the World Turns, Cady has starred in  numerous roles in film, television and off Broadway shows. Her  enthusiasm for performance carries over to music where she has recorded  two albums. She’s been making art since she was a child and has found  her creative home at The Acting Center where the technique has given her  “total freedom.”

 

“Total freedom! There is no strict technique or guru with  all the answers. The exercises liberate you to find your own, unique  expression using your imagination, not someone else’s idea of what is  “right.” The Acting Center actually saved me as an actor. Seriously, I  was on the verge of quitting because I was finding acting so painful  using my old method-based technique. Now I love acting more than I ever  have, which is really saying something.  I feel proud of what I can do,  and find it INCREDIBLY FUN.”

 

Since studying at The Acting Center, Cady has learned not to listen to  her inner critic, whether at an audition or on set, and the exercises  she’s learned help to freely develop a character using both her  imagination and the script.

 

“I acknowledge that I have one, but now that I know to  simply ignore those voices, I don’t have to get caught up in them as  much. Because of this, my craft is now clearer to me, meaning I can  identify my art as separate from the inner critic and keep true to it,  no matter what else is going on in my head. I have also discovered that  my acting imagination is something that is immediately accessible and  can be put into instant practice. Being able to instantly come up with  characters or be able to take notes from a director and adjust on the  fly is incredibly useful. I don’t judge a note or an audition now. I  look for the opportunity to be creative, to play.”

 

Cady’s confidence has skyrocketed and her willingness to demonstrate her ability couldn’t be higher. She plans to continue to work hard and use  what she has learned to keep on going with her successful career, all  the while feeling completely certain about her technique.

 

“The Acting Center is about discovering the actor you know  you can be, developing that artist, and then taking your work out into  the world to create the career you desire. There is nothing like knowing what you can do and then doing it in front of a camera or an audience.  It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. The Acting Center has  given that back to me, and I am so grateful.”

 

The Impression Guys – Integrity (YouTube Comedy Week)