| • Experience Your Creative Potential... • The First Time Jitters... • Why You need Training... • Be Prepared... • Improv... • Speech and Diction... |
| Experience Your Creative Potential... |
Creative Workshops under the direction
of Stewart Solomon, offers you affordable acting classes for film,
television and the theater. What sets these workshops apart from other
classes is their ability to bring out your creative potential and mix
it with the realities of a competitive business. The workshops are
structured in such a way that you can work at your own pace and still
receive individual attention.
All workshops are held in our beautiful and spacious studio in Aventura. It' s a creatively safe place for you (from beginner to advanced ) to learn and practice your craft. An atmosphere of encouragement and support is created by the instructors for all students. At Creative Workshops you will learn a sensible approach to acting. All students are creatively challenged with many viewpoints of acting so they remain flexible and avoid the pitfalls of a narrow, 'there is only one right way of doing it' style of training. |
| First Time Jitters... |
I recently asked some of my students
to describe the feelings they experienced when they decided to take their
first workshop with me.The most common answer was fear. When some students finally do arrive for
their first workshop, I often ask, "What took you so long. I sent
you a letter six months ago. " Well, it seems this is a pretty common phenomenon. Sometimes, however, a student becomes so paralyzed with fear, he never makes it to the front door. This is sad because a part of his creative potential will never be realized. Well, let me make it easier for you. We have all experienced the First Time Jitters. It's normal! So, if you start to feel nervous about doing the workshops, know that you are in good company. They all (including me) once had the First Time Jitters. But, also know this: When you do make it through the front door, we will all be there to support and applaud you! The First Time Jitters |
| Why You Need Training... |
The great Russian theater director Constantine Stanislavski signed a copy of his book My Life In Art to a friend with the following inscription: "To Charles Norris Houghton, my dear comrade in art, with this friendly advice: Love the art in yourself and not yourself in art." In preparing yourself for an acting career we offer the same friendly guidance. In other words, love the work of acting, not just the idea of being an actor. As an actor today, you too will need to develop a realistic approach to your career because simply saying you're an actor isn't enough. You will have to earn that right. How? First, by training. If there is one current trend in the acting profession, it is that now more than ever before actors are required to be well trained. Secondly, you will need theater experience, even if you dream of movie stardom. And finally, to earn the right to call yourself an actor, you must have an ironclad belief in your own talent, a healthy professional attitude toward rejection, and a comprehensive knowledge of the business you wish to be a part of, including a keen perception of how you fit in. We all know the glamorous aspects of an actor's life... the premieres, the awards, the recognition...because that is the part we see. But actors, particularly beginning actors, must live an attentive, diligent and observant life to come out on top, or risk being left with a fantasy rather than an acting career. Everything you learn about the business will be helpful and pay off sooner or later. Awareness leads you in the right direction and teaches you how to present yourself as an actor in an appropriate way. Lack of awareness leads you into dreamland and that old joke: 
Q: What do you do? A: I'm an actor. Q: Oh, really? Which restaurant? Matson & Katz |
| Be Prepared... |
Training is imperative today for most actors
for several reasons. Training provides skills, and skills are what separates
amateurs from the professionals. You may be able to perform an impromptu
acting task instinctively with great self confidence, but without the
skills of the craft you won't be able to repeat the work.
Training also provides you with the basic tools of an actor: moving and speaking correctly. There was a time when actors could learn by doing. Today, with films costing millions of dollars, and fewer and fewer theater companies able to support themselves, your chances of working in film or theater without training (except as an extra or bit player) are almost nil. During Hollywood's Golden Age, studio moguls could and did create stars by molding young, untrained actors into legends. Today, the studio star factory system does not exist. Training in schools and workshops is where young actors get to work and have their talent awakened. There are also practical reasons for training. Agents, casting directors, and directors pay more attention to well trained actors. While it's true that no school can teach you how to have that special quality that truly gifted actors seem to possess, you will learn how to activate and sustain your raw talent and communicate with other professionals. In the long run, that is what counts. Matson & Katz |
| Imrov... |
In her book Acting In Commercials, Joan
See explains that in many film and commercial auditions, actors don't
get any information about the content of the script until they are in
a room with the casting director. Then they are told whatever they need
to know in order to create the scene. That is why these auditions can
make you feel like one of those improvisation performers who takes ideas
and suggestions from the audience and immediately uses them in a comedy
sketch. In many auditions, there is no time to prepare. Your skills have
to be razor sharp, and you must be able to create right in the moment.
Improvisation offers you a way to practice working fast...a crucial skill if you want to succeed in acting. Creative Workshops the leader in innovative and quality training for the performing artist, offers you classes that specialize in the basic improv skills you will need for auditioning and performing. Remember: Improv works wonders with all actors, but particularly actors in film and commercials! |
| Speech and Diction... |
Unless you are a mime, everyone (especially
actors!) is in the business of speaking. And even though speech should
be one of your strongest skills, it is often the most neglected element
of your training and education. People who speak well are generally composed
and self assured, and can compete for a wide range of jobs and roles.
But those who carry the name of their home town in every sound they make
are in for some really tough going.
Unacceptable accents and speech patterns can cost you work. You may already suspect that your regional accent or lack of communication skills has "typed" you and adversely affected your choice of jobs or auditions. Like an earthquake, worries about the way you sound can shake and topple your self confidence and that shakiness is immediately communicated to the people who do the hiring or casting. This can make you nervous about pursuing further work. It's a vicious circle...but you can easily break it with training and practice. |
For More
Information 17065 West Dixie Highway Aventura, FL 33160 Office: 305-933-0560 Studio: 305-948-3909 Fax: 305-933-3629 "South Floridas Most Prestigious Acting Studio" ©2000-2001 Creative Workshops. All Rights Reserved. Site Design by Eric Meyer |
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