ED HOOKS WILL TEACH IN SAN FRANCISCO JULY 18 - AUG. 8
(Note to CHICAGO students: Your regular Thursday night scene study workshops will not be affected by this trip. I will fly back from SF each week to be with you on Thursdays.) Bay Area details and venues are currently being worked out and will be announced shortly. I plan to offer a three-week limited-enrollment scene study/cold-reading intensive during that period, and I will of course be available for private coaching.

A NEW FILM DEMO CLASS BEGINS NEXT TUESDAY MAY 20TH
This 4-week workshop is limited to only four actors, so I have decided to teach it in my own apartment in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. (Frankly, the final edited scenes will probably have a higher production value this way.) My apartment is located at 600 West Surf #3, at the corner of Broadway and Surf, a half block south of the old Broadway acting studio. Here is a map.
The next start date after this will be June 24th. If you want to participate, sign up early because I think that will be the last film class until the fall.

REGARDING COMMERCIALS WORKSHOPS
I'm not sure what I'm going to do about commercials workshops right now. I'm in discussions with executives at The Audition Studio. Stay tuned. I'll have some announcement on this pretty soon.

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.

HOOKS ACTORS WORKING
CLAUDINE JONES (F/TV '96) did the sound design and choreography for "Cinderella Waltz" at Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond. DEE ANN WEIR (F/TV-'98) wrote to tell me that the all-female Queen's Company will present Aphra Behn's "The Lucky Chance" April 25 through May 18 at The Connelly Theater, 220 E. 4th St., NYC. Call SmartTix at 212-206-1515 or www.smarttix.com. COLIN MAHAN (s.stdy '01) is in "Life's A Bit!" at The Comedy Central Stage at the Hudson Theater 6539 Santa Monica Blvd, LA, Wednesday, May 21st, 8 PM, FREE. Reservations required - (323) 960-5519. RAY RENATI is appearing in "The Rocky Horror Show" at City Lights Theater Company of San Jose May 15th through June 21st . For tickets: 408-295-4200 or visit www.cltc.org.

SAN FRANCISCO PHOTOGRAPHER LOIS TEMA HAS NEW WEB SITE
http://www.loistema.com/

CRAFT NOTES
"Feeling Good About An Acting Teacher"
Recently I received a note from an actor in New York who had signed up with a very famous acting teacher and was embarrassed that she didn't like the man. Her fear was that, him being famous and all, if she couldn't make it in his class, then she might well never make it as an actor at all.

Lemme tell ya something: I've studied with several very famous teachers in my time and didn't take any of them home to meet my parents. Not only that, but I've learned more about acting from some teachers I'm sure you never heard of. The fact that a teacher is famous and may have had a famous actor or two in his or her class really is not the determining factor of excellence.

If I were looking for an acting teacher today, I would follow this criterion:

1) Audit a class. I have always been suspicious of teachers that will not allow auditors. Heck, you could audit Stanislavsky's class! And you could audit Lee Strasberg. And Uta Hagen and Stella Adler. Whenever I hear teachers talk about how they are protecting the "privacy" of their students, I sort of scratch my head in confusion. Acting is something you do in front of people and, as far as I'm concerned, that should extend to the classroom.
2) Make sure the teacher is not on an ego trip. Most good teachers understandably will contend that their approach is the best and most effective. I can dig that and in fact would not want to study with someone who didn't think they were the best. But a teacher on an ego trip is a big damned bore. Watching them teach, you get the feeling that they are somehow getting off on the discomfort and/or praise of their students. It is one thing to be confident, even arrogant; it is another to be psychologically needy and dysfunctional.
3) Make sure the class size will allow me personal face time with the teacher if I need it.
4) Make sure the class feels like a place to study an art form. Many acting classes feel too much like psychotherapy for my taste. Look around and count the boxes of Kleenex. If you see more than two, that's a red flag. <g> I remember one class in New York where the students had to stand around pretending to be one another's parents, recalling mistreatments and ....whatever. I lasted about half an hour in there. (And the teacher was pretty well known, too!)

My bottom line point is that the selection of an acting teacher is a very personal matter. If you audit a class taught by Mister Famous and find yourself shifting around in your chair, please don't feel bad about it. Could be that this is just not the right guy for you.

Return to Top