ED HOOKS BAY AREA ACTING CLASSES -- March 22-April 14, 2004

When I was in the Bay Area last year, I taught in both San Francisco and Mountain View. This time, my itinerary is unfortunately tighter and I will be able to offer open classes only in Mountain View at the Pear Avenue Theatre. In addition to the Mountain View workshops, I will be working privately with groups in Oakland and San Francisco as well as participating in the (Video) Game Developers Convention in San Jose. I will, however, be available for private coaching in San Francisco.

The 8-class series of Mountain View workshops will meet March 22 -April 14, mainly on Tuesday and Sunday nights. Tuition is $350. These are professional level acting classes that are appropriate for experienced actors. I will, however, accept motivated beginners without audition. If you are a new actor and have doubts about whether you might qualify for professional level classes, let me know ASAP so we can talk about it. Class size is limited to twenty actors.

LISTEN TO PAUL EKMAN INTERVIEW
Psychologist Paul Ekman is a pioneer in the study of the expression of emotion in the human face. He recently was a guest for one hour on the National Public Radio program "The Connection". You can still hear the entire January 16th broadcast on a Real Player recording at this link: http://realserver.bu.edu:8080/ramgen/w/b/wbur/connection/audio/2004/01/con_0116b.rm

In the interview, conducted by Gail Harris, professor Ekman explains his work and tells how it is applicable to actors and animators. This man is often the subject of magazine articles and is the author of many books, the most recent of which is "Emotions Revealed", but it is rare for him to be on the radio for a full hour. I highly recommend that you give this a listen before NPR takes it down from their web site.

ED HOOKS'S UPCOMING SCHEDULE
(Most of these dates are in connection with my Acting for Animators workshops. If I am in your area, however, and you would like to arrange a private coaching session, I frequently have time to do it. And of course, if I am teaching an Acting for Animators a workshop that is open to the public, you are welcome to join us.)

Feb 28 College of Creative Studies, Detroit http://www.ccscad.edu/flashHomepage.cfm

March 20-21 ANIMA '04 Showcase, Montreal, http://www.anima.sat.qc.ca/en/index.htm

March 22-26 San Francisco Bay Area . Acting workshops in Mountain View plus participation in the Game Developers Conference, San Jose, CA. (http://www.gdconf.com/)

May 6-9 FMX '04, Stuttgart Germany (keynote speaker) http://www.fmx.de

June 7-11 Annecy, France http://www.annecy.org/home/index.php?Page_ID=8

June 18-19 Zurich Switzerland. This is an open Acting for Animators class sponsored by FOCAL and ASIFA-Switzerland. For more info, contact Robi Rengler at: rengler@mail.tnca.edu.tw

HOOKS ACTORS WORKING
DIANA LEATHERS (s.stdy '03) appears in "Dog Sitters" at Tabard Theatre in San Jose, January 23 thru February 7th. She also did industrials for Safeway Pharmacy and Longs. ALAN QUISMORIO (S.STDY '01) directs "Dooley", running through February 22 at The New Conservatory Theatre in SF. For info: (415)861-8972. LISA WISEMAN (s.stdy '01) appears in "A Shayna Maidel". For info: http://www.artsopolis.com/

E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY
I will appear on this program in connection with a profile of actress Heather Locklear. She was in my commercials workshop in Los Angeles back in the late 1970's and I had a hand in getting her career launched. Keep an eye out for the show.

CHICAGO CLASS SCHEDULE
SCENE STUDY -- On-going, Thursday nights, 7-10:30 at The Audition Studio, 20 West Hubbard Street, #2W. Free audit, start any time. $135 per month, sixteen-week commitment. Here's a Yahoo map to the The Audition Studio: The Audition Studio

It is easy to reach The Audition Studio on the CTA red line. Exit at Grand Street and State. Walk two blocks south on State to Hubbard. The #36 Broadway bus also stops very near the school.

PRIVATE COACHING
I'm always available for private coaching. My rate is $75 per hour. We can work on cold reading, career strategies or whatever you want. Call 773-929-1667, or send an e-mail to edhooks@edhooks.com.

CRAFT NOTES
TRUST

Acting is a process of exposing, not of hiding. New actors often mistakenly believe that when they learn how to act, it will feel safe. The truth is the reverse. The better actor you become, the more willing you are to expose your inner self. When acting is right, it often feels like you are telling secrets about yourself. The experience is like walking a high wire without a net. The mark of a powerful actor is that she will find the exhilaration in being that far off the ground. New actors want a net.

For some actors, this aspect of acting boils down to a matter of control. Nobody likes to be out of control in life, right? When you are out of control, you feel like you may get hurt. The experience of acting in the moment walks a fine line between control and release. If you truly were to go out of control, it would frighten and disturb the audience. That is why, even in a scene that is full of pain and tears, the actor must still be in control. If the actor actually breaks down on stage, it interferes with the implied contract between actor and audience. Everybody - actors and audience - get together at the same time and place in order to pretend, yes? The audience must be able to suspend its disbelief in the pretend events on stage in order to empathize. If an actor loses control, the audience gets worried.

The greatest gift you can give to your scene partner on stage is to let him know that his expression of vulnerability is safe with you. When a person allows vulnerability, he obviously opens himself up. He is exposing. The message you want to send is, "I respect what you are doing. Your secrets are safe with me. We work together in an arena of emotion, and you can trust me, the same as I want to trust you. This is our profession and our art."

THE POWER OF THEATRE

Throughout history, theatre has been a reliable barometer of culture's mood. That is why they it has so frequently been censored by totalitarian governments. I mention this today because there is a new standing-room-only hit play in Cairo, Egypt entitled "Brainwash". It is a comedy about the U.S. occupation of Iraq and it pokes fun in particular at General Tommy Franks who led the big attack on Iraq last year. Regardless of your perspective on U.S. involvement in the mideast, this play is a culturally significant event. Rather than tossing rose petals at American soldiers, this playwright is tossing rubber chickens. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E712C840-8F16-4247-A077-62668A4EB8A5.htm

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