Acting Mastery

We’re so grateful to have had the privilege to host Stevie Ray from McGregor Casting last friday night. It was such an insightful night, we hope everyone got as much out of it as we did! Stay tuned for our next Industry Talk Night for October, to be announced within the week! 😆💙✨

What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday, learning and laughing with these legends about how to nail co-star auditions in our Co-Star Mastery intensive!

Silver Screen September Spotlight: Gilda, 1941. Here we go, another recommendation from Nat. Gilda, directed by Charles Vidor is one of the best films of the era. There is no film from the era that is quite like Gilda…full of highly-charged emotions and incredible dialogue. The chemistry between Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford is palpable and their ability to connect is almost tangible. Hayworth’s dramatic scenes are equally as fantastic as her infamous character reveal that inspired Stephen King’s ‘Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption’ which was then adapted for film into ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. Her husband asks “Are you decent, Gilda?” to which she flips her hair into frame and says “Who, me?” The writing and her character is beyond the time it was written in, Gilda will have no man tell her what to do. Fantastic writing and beautiful music. Hayworth captures the duality and struggle of a woman who is fiercely independent but still at the hands of the men in her world. The premise is an ambiguous romantic triangle that provides more intrigue than the surface plot, which involves a gambling casino that is a front for shady operations that originated in a recently defeated, Fascist country. The biggest strength of the film comes from the excellent performances. The three way dynamic between Johnny, Gilda and Ballin, is engrossing and fascinating to watch as the power struggle switches between the characters thought the duration of the film. A triumphant film of the 1940's, Gilda sent Rita Hayworth into the stratosphere as a star. She was more than just a pin-up, she was a brilliantly talented actress.

Watch this amazing video on the casting for the original ‘The Godfather’ film! #godfather #alpachino #roberdeniro #acting #mastery #actingmastery #actor

Our first wise words in our Silver Screen September come from none other than Stella Adler, a prolific acting coach. She boasts silver screen stars such as Marlon Brando, Elaine Stritch, Warren Beatty, Harvey Keitel, Nina Foch, Terri Ann Garr, Robert De Niro, Karl Malden and many more… #ActingMastery #Acting #Mastery #ActingSchoolSydney #ActingClassesSydney #Quote #StellaAdler

Silver Screen September: Actor Spotlight on Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandrige was a Black actress, singer and dancer, born in 1922. She was the first Black actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1954, for ‘Carmen Jones’. She was nominated alongside Judy Garland (A Star is Born), Audrey Hepburn (Sabrina), Jane Wyman (Magnificent Osession) and Grace Kelly (A Country Girl), who won. She performed as a vocalist for venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre. Dandridge’s first credited film role was Four Shall Die in 1940, and she had small roles in Lady from Louisiana with John Wayne and Sundown with Gene Tierney in 1941. She also appeared in Chattanooga Choo Choo, the hit 1941 musical produced by 20th Century Fox. She continued to appear in films throughout the rest of the 1940s, most notably with Louis Armstrong in Atlantic City (1944) and Pillow to Post (1945). In 1959 she opened the Mocambo NightClub in West Hollywood, and in 1952 she appeared in Remains to Be Seen with Dore Schary. He then cast her in Bright Road, her first starring role, opposite Harry Belafonte. In 1953 she was then cast in Carmen Jones which had huge box office success, leading to her nomination for Best Actress in 1954 at the 27th Academy Awards and a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She was the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Life Magazine. In 1959 she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess. "Carmen Jones was the best break I ever had. But no producer ever knocked on my door. Have you ever caught sight of yourself by accident and you see yourself from the outside? That’s who you really are."

We are so excited to announce our newest Acting coach to our Acting Mastery Team, Jeremy Waters! Due to demand, Jeremy will be teaching a Monday Day Audition Ongoing class this October. Many of you might have already heard about Jeremy, but for those who haven’t, here’s a little bit about him: Jeremy is the Founder and Artistic Director of Outhouse Theatre (@outhousetheatreco), founded in New York in 2006. He has twenty years of performing, producing and teaching experience. For Outhouse, he’s produced and appeared in: Ulster American, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, The Flick, The Aliens, Four Minutes, Twelve Seconds, BU21, Four Places, Ride, Mercy Thieves, The Boys, John, Gloria, Trevor, and Dry Land. His screen credits include Young Rock (NBC Universal), Total Control (BB Prods), Janet King (Screentime), the acclaimed web series, Jade Of Death (Last Frame), and the feature films, Sweet River (ACM Films), The Combination: Redemption (Pinnacle), and I Am Woman (Goalpost). He has been nominated twice for Sydney Theatre Awards and has taught extensively at various institutions including NIDA and Brent Street, and across the corporate and private sectors. He’s also a working voice over artist. We're so excited to welcome Jeremy to the Acting Mastery Team! CLASS DETAILS: MONDAY AUDITION MASTERY ONGOING SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 17 - 7 PLACES AVAILABLE WHEN: Mondays, 1pm - 5pm WHERE: Randwick CLASS SIZE: 10 students per class, maximum COST: $300 + GST (Payment plans available) CONTACT: hello@actingmastery.com.au to secure your place

New dates announced for our next Fundamentals Intensive in September - ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT! DATE: Fri 16 Sep, 10am-6pm - Sat 17 Sep, 10am-7pm COST: $600 +GST LOCATION: Randwick Studio You do not want to miss out on this, so email hello@actingmastery.com.au to secure one of those last spots!! #actingmastery #Acting #Mastery #ActingSchoolSydney #ActingClassesSydney #BenMathews #AuditionMastery #fundamentalsintensive

That’s a wrap for Scene Study and Audition Mastery Ongoing classes for August with Ben! What a joy it has been to teach these two groups. Every one of you create such an amazing, joyful and safe space to come to each week, allowing each other to be vulnerable and take some awesome risks. The work is so good. Looking forward to teaching a full 2 classes this upcoming month 👏🏼👏🏼🙌🏼

Time for another audition tape/chemistry test from the archives…we present a masterclass in barebones script comedy/improv from Russell Brand for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Our favourite part of the tape is the beginning, where you can hear the director giving him direction on where to go. Watch Russell closely, how he listens to the director, takes in the information, absorbs it and gets to work. In these first few moments we see him deeply involved in his actor’s psyche. It’s marvellous to watch his fantastic comedic timing and innate ability to listen and react to the other actor. How did you think he handled the direction? #ActingMastery #Acting #Mastery #ActingSchoolSydney #ActingClassesSydney #AuditionTape #AuditionMastery #Audition #RussellBrand #ForgettingSarahMarshall

In the wise words of the great Chadwick Boseman… #ActingMastery #Acting #Mastery #ActingSchoolSydney #ActingClassesSydney #Quote #Inspiration #ChadwickBoseman

Michelle Pfeiffer on the importance of backing your choices, even in the doubt. We all have those moments, even some of the greatest film actors. Focus on what you can control and the rest will follow 🙌 #ActingMastery #Acting #Mastery #ActingSchoolSydney #ActingClassesSydney #Actor #Insight #MichellePfeiffer

What an incredible month with these two full Ongoing classes with Zeke in his Monday and Wednesday night classes. What a talented, inspiring, brave bunch! They came prepared, ready to take risks each month and Zeke is so proud of the work they’re creating. We’re going to miss Zeke for September, as he’s going to LA for an information-rich trip, and he will only be teaching the first week of both ongoing classes. We can’t wait for him to share his findings with all of you when he comes back. Thanks Zeke, have a great trip! 🙏🏼🎉🎬✨“

4 tickets have just opened up for our Industry Talk Night with Stevie Ray from McGregor Casting, Friday, 2nd September. We will be delighted to hear insights from their Senior Casting Director, Stevie Ray on the casting process, self- taping, insight into the industry and much more. Details: Date: Friday, 2 September Time: 6pm for 6.30pm start Cost: $30 PP Location: Randwick Studio Drink included upon entry. Afterwards, we will head to the Coach & Horse to catch up and network. Join us for a night of industry knowledge, networking and fun. We can't wait to see you there! 🙌🏼🎉✨ Email hello@actingmastery.com.au to secure your your place before it gets snatched up!

A huge two-day information download with these amazing actors in our Audition Mastery Fundamentals intensive! Thanks to them all for their incredible energy, generosity and work. Can’t wait to see them all on the big screen soon! 🙌🏼

I feel like after every audition you don’t get, you’re like ‘Oh this is it, I should quit’. But there is one time I remember where I pulled over and found out that my agent told me I didn’t get the part. I pulled over into a parking lot and shed some tears. I was crying, I was bawling. I hung up of course, I wasn’t crying with my agent on the phone, because I wouldn’t do that. And I know I killed that audition, I know I was authentic, all the things you want to hear as an actor. I got great feedback, it just wasn’t for me. I realized after that not to go into auditions trying to get the job, but going to the auditions trying to prove to yourself that I’m better than the last time I auditioned. I’m a better actor than I was yesterday. I can manage my expectations more with that, knowing that I just gave my all into the audition. It all comes from inside out. It comes from knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing, how you got there, what you see, what you want…I would have diaries and write about backstory. Doing things from the outside can also affect how you feel about the character psychologically on the inside. My entry point to the character wasn’t how I usually do things, it was the physicality, something about those suits. Honestly, the way I work, I never understand any of the scripts I work on at first sight, or I have this false sense of understanding. I never feel like I understand the movie until maybe a year later, or when the movie comes out. When you get into it, are on location, meet your co-stars and crew, discoveries start happening. You start developing certain habits the character has and stop thinking about yourself because you’re only thinking about the character in the movie. Then the answers start coming. #actingmastery #acting #mastery #actingschoolsydney #actingclassessydney #actor #insight #johndavidwashington

SEPTEMBER CLASSES ANNOUNCED! BEN 2 / 4 WEEKS - ZEKE & GUEST TEACHER - ONGOING AUDITION MASTERY - WEDNESDAY - 2 SPOTS LEFT Dates: 31st August - 21st September Time: 6:30pm – 10pm Location: Randwick Studio Cost: $325 + GST Week 1 - 31st August: Zeke Week 2 - 7th September: Ben Mathews Week 3 - 14th September: Charlie Week 4 - 21st September: Ben Mathews CHARLIE/BEN - ONGOING AUDITION MASTERY- TUESDAY - 1 SPOT LEFT Dates: 30th August - 20th September Time: 6 – 10pm Location: Randwick Studio Cost: $300 + GST CHARLIE 2/4 WEEKS - /BEN & ZEKE - ONGOING AUDITION MASTERY - MONDAY - 4 SPOTS LEFT Dates: 29th August - 19th September Time: 6 – 10pm Location: Randwick Studio Cost: $300 + GST Week 1 - 29th August: Zeke Week 2 - 5th September:Charlie Week 3 - 12th September: Ben Week 4 - 19th September:Charlie BEN ONGOING SCENE STUDY - WEDNESDAY - 1 SPOT LEFT Dates: 31st August - 21st September Time: 1 – 5:30pm Location: Randwick Studio Cost: $300 + GST AUDITION MASTERY ONGOING - BEN - SOLD OUT Dates: 1st - 22nd September Time: 6 - 11pm Location: Randwick Studio Cost: $350 + GST AUDITION MASTERY FUNDAMENTALS INTENSIVE - 6 SPOTS LEFT Dates: 16th - 17th September Location: Randwick Studio Cost: $600 + GST Email hello@actingmastery.com.au to secure your place

Manifesting a weekend full of compassion for ourselves and others, and resounding peace. What are your weekend plans? #ActingMastery #Acting #Mastery #ActingClassesSydney #ActingSchoolSydney #Quote #Inspiration #JosephCampbell

This week’s recommendation of the week comes from Nat, our Socials Manager. In her own words, one of her favourite films, the Talented Mr Ripley. (You’ll have to get through her setting the scene first, it’s important)... I found this film when I was in my last year of high school, and had to examine it for Extension English. I’ll never forget how visceral this film was to watch. I was in the house alone, in broad daylight and the task was to watch it before the next lesson. I sat on the carpet and watched it on my laptop in one sitting. I can remember it as clear as yesterday, and I’ll do my best to articulate how I feel about the film and why it is so brilliant. I won’t spoil it, obviously. It’s based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel(s) of the same name and follows a young man who is an opportunist, coveting people’s identities trying to create a better life for himself. An intense thriller that draws you in from the opening shot. The plot is complex, and so engaging. Set in a dreamy seaside town in Italy, the cinematography shines. There’s something about the grain of films made in the 90s that’s so nostalgic. And romantic and incredibly beautiful. The performances are brilliant, something as a young girl I couldn’t understand what I loved so much. Now as an actor, there is depth and nuance, truth and absolute presence. And then I realised they were Matt Damon, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Gyweneth Paltrow. I also have to tell you I hate thrillers. So when I watched this I had no idea what was going to happen, but the craftful editing and masterful directing has you on the edge of your seat. Don’t even talk to me about the gorgeous score. I’m not sure if it was because I was young, but I remember so viscerally the feeling of being chilled in broad daylight. I might just have to watch it again on the plane to Europe to get me in the mood for an Italian summer… If there’s anything you’re going to do this weekend, why not make it watching The Talented Mr Ripley.

Have you joined our classes for September? We’re about to announce our classes for next month! Limited places available… Stay tuned!🙌🏼💙✨ For all enquiries email hello@actingmastery.com.au