INTERESTING READING
Paul Ekman's latest book "Emotions Revealed (Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life)" has been published by Times Books. $25. Highly recommended.

HOOKS ACTORS WORKING
TAKU HIRAI (s.stdy '99) stars in a short film entitled "C'est Beau", directed by Matthew Penn Yeager. It will be screened at the NYU First Run Film Festival on April 11th and 12th. The Festival Website: http://www.nyu.edu/tisch/filmtv/se_firstrun01.html CAMILLE MANA (comml '99) is in LA and booked a gig on the new FOX pilot "The O.C." . JUDY MARTIN (comml '99) appears in "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" by Alan Ball (Oscar winning writer of American Beauty) at Pacifica Spindrift Players Theatre in Pacifica, CA. Through April 19 Reservations: 650-359-8002. DANA LEWENTHAL (comml '01) appears in "Man of La Mancha" at the Willows through April 27th and is currently shooting an indie entitled "Fountain of Love". On April 7th, she'll be a Guest Artist at the San Francisco State University's Actor Insight Series.

PEAR AVENUE THEATRE in Mountain View is running Show and Tell" by Anthony Clarvoe, with Jenn Erdmann (s.stdy & f/tv -'00) and Pat Tyler (s.stdy '00) through April 20. Tickets: 650-254-1148

CHICAGO CLASS SCHEDULE
ONGOING SCENE STUDY
We have two classes of scene study, which is where we work on acting as an art form. Monday night or Wednesday night, 7-10:30. On-going, start at any time, free audit, 16-week commitment. $135 per month.

COMMERCIALS WORKSHOP APRIL 26-27
Excellent and fun on-camera class for anybody that wants to get into commercials or to improve their batting averages. 9-4 Saturday and 10-5 Sunday. $250 ($175 for current scene study students)

FILM DEMO WORKSHOP STARTS MAY 20TH
Tuesday nights, 7-10:30, four-week session, work on your own demo scene. Limited to four students. Shoot and edit digital video. Intended for experienced actors. $250 (Note: This may very well be the final film class I offer in Chicago. Currently, there are two spots remaining in the May 20th class. I suggest you raise your hand sooner rather than later if you want to do it.)

PRIVATE COACHING
$75 per hour

CRAFT NOTES
"Theatrical Intent"
The theatrical transaction is very specific. Actors and audience get together in the same place at the same time for a common purpose. Both parties know that what is happening on stage is not real, but the audience willingly suspends its disbelief. Theatrical reality is compressed in time and space. It is meaningful and significant.

Over the past seven thousand years of history, the audience has moved physically further away from the actors. In the beginning, the actor/shaman was part of the tribe and was separated from them with nothing more than a line drawn in the dirt. By the time we got to ancient Greek theatre, we had formal playing areas, amphitheaters and such, and the audience was further away from the action on stage. Later in history came the proscenium arch that separated actor and audience even more. Footlights added to the illusion of separation. When movies came along in the 20th century, the audience was not even there at the initial performance any more. Actors' performances would be recorded for later consideration by an audience in an auditorium somewhere.

Through all of this evolution, one thing has never changed: An actor must have theatrical intent. She must acknowledge conceptually the uniqueness of the theatrical transaction and her part in it. The actor leads and the audience follows. Let me say that again: The actor leads and the audience follows.

I mention this today because I too often see actors in my class that, for one reason or another, want to block out the audience. These actors are frequently the most intense and emotional in the group. Their error is in presuming that raw emotion has inherent theatrical currency. Emotion is simply what it is: automatic value responses. It has no particular currency unless the actor colors the performance with theatrical intent.

An actor must intend to be seen, to be psychologically visible and to be emotionally available to the audience. It was true of shamans, and it is true of today's movie actors.

Consider the differences between the experience of rehearsing a scene in your living room and presenting a scene in front of a group. Take away the audience and what do you have? How does the experience change? The truth is that you cannot have theatre without an audience. And if the audience is not physically there in the room with the actors, as is the case with movies, then the actors should still perform for them and still be available to them. The camera and screening process carries the performance to them.

Acting is one of the most powerful things you can do. It is akin to being a religious leader. Just as a church service inspires and reassures, so too does the theatrical experience. But even though it is a powerful thing to do, the best actors approach their art with humility. They are extremely generous people. They do not act to show off, and they are not psychological subjectivists (a person whose self-worth is dependent upon the opinion of others.)

I have been teaching acting for many years and have watched thousands of scenes by now. The more I do it, the more I come to realize how important is the simplicity of theatrical intent. You do not have to be the most talented actor in the world but, if you want to make a difference, you absolutely must have generosity of spirit and consistent theatrical intent.

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