COVER
to COVER
Commercial Acting
Training
By Diana Grubin
..."As an actor, there's never enough
work," Barry says. "My philosophy
is that you have to have something else that
makes you feel creative, accepted and that
can be used as an extension of yourself. It
should be something like two days a week -
something you feel successful at - something
you can do."
For those who don't have the acting training
as yet, Barry's group does take beginners,
asking them to bring a picture or resume "so
we have a sense of them." She says she
prefers the novice to have absolutely no training,
as opposed to college courses because drama
professors "don't teach you to act, they
teach you to teach."
"Everyone (even the beginners) auditions
from a script because in reading them, you'll
see what their needs are," she continues,
"then if they seem eager, I ask 'are
you ready to jump in 100% or are you just
feeling acting out?'" If they're just
feeling it out, Barry puts those people in
a scene study or improvisational class. However,
she is strict in the levels of courses: there
are beginning, intermediate, advanced and
Master's classes and she tries "real
hard" not to mix them unless there's
a purpose. Classes, she feels, are the places
to discover three things: to see if you're
rehearsing right, to get new information,
and yes, to make mistakes.
While Barry says no matter how good you are
there's always something you can learn, at
the same time, she doesn't want actors to
be in classes forever.
"In classes, some actors feel very safe
and they don't want to go out and do the cold
readings and deal with the rejection,"
she notes, "So we also teach them how
to get work. Getting work is different than
learning how to act. Working on a set is different
than learning how to act."... |
