Student Remarks

What the ACA students say about Teachers and Classes

Following are comments and reflections from students over the past five years about the faculty and curriculum provided at the Academy for Classical Acting.

The aspect of Michael's class that has had the strongest effect on me is his attention to detail and his unrelenting quest for specificity from us in class.

Michael's detail and specificity to text is amazing.

Michael's insights into human nature and his ability to incisively pinpoint problem areas in the text and/or my work are a great gift for which I will always be grateful. His notes are always clear, and his vision of the possibilities for the work is palpable.

Michael's rigor sets an example for our own way of working: being specific and leaving no stone unturned in creating our characters and delivering the text.

The best part about Michael's teaching is that he imposes nothing. It's all about what you bring to it.

Michael taught the necessity of disciplined examination of nuance. Where does the idea change? Why are you saying this now? Why are you using these words specifically? When you examine the scene on this level you realize that your lines can be justified in such a way that all the elements of the scene, down to the individual words, become part of a unitary action.

Michael has provided me with a safe place to fail and considerable direction on how to succeed.

He is gracious, gentle, and positive, which makes him able to bring about breakthrough after breakthrough in class.

In addition to his knowledge of the material, he zeroes right in on acting problems, and does it with great acumen, kindness, and fairness.

The way that he truly believes in all of us and takes the time with each of us to teach us what we need to learn...is an extraordinary thing.

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Always gentle and eager to discuss anything, Leslie continually shows up with thought-provoking viewpoints or questions. I have rediscovered my love of history through this class and her inexhaustible thirst for knowledge.

Leslie's own unique and unbiased insights about history have enriched me personally as well as professionally.

Her class has been useful as a venue for exploring and exposing the culture out of which the plays were written. The class is at its most useful when it remains sensitive to the realities of our interests as practical people of the theatre...to our "doing" natures.

She functions wonderfully as a moderator and reference/dramaturg/historian during discussions.

The subjects we cover in Leslie's class provide a very good foundation for our discussions... The results of our research and presentations have extended my awareness of the world in which the work was created.

The research projects were invaluable. I have gained so much perspective on specific references and imagery in the text with the historic perspective I have gained in this class.

I learned so much from the projects that I have taken into my scene work a better understanding which has given me the ability to create much more real characters.

I became so thoroughly engrossed in my topic (and so thoroughly impressed by the other presentations), that I actually couldn’t wait to share what I’d discovered with everyone, and hoped that they would find this particular area as interesting as I did. I learned a great deal from the completion of my project and, when supplemented with the other presentations, have really gained a totally unique perspective on the contextual embodiment of Shakespeare’s text.

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The value of mask class cannot be adequately quantified. This work is extremely necessary in getting me finally into my body as an instrument. It is helping me realize my full power on stage. Isabelle doesn't let us get away with anything less than our best.

Isabelle and Dody provided me with a greater sense of physical awareness and size as well as presence.

Isabelle's sharp yet compassionate guidance through this intricate physical and psychological work has influenced me on several levels. She doesn't make it easy but I think this is one class I will continue to assimilate for years.

Through this class I have experienced breath, center, and kinesthetic connection in singular and unforgettable ways.

She has taught all of us a new body language. Through this language, we have been able to read the self-imposed limitations of our everyday "masks" and feel the possibilities of expression that are available to us when we can put aside that mask. She has opened to us a world of power on both archetypical and elemental levels... She constantly confronts us with our limitations and then gets us to move past them.

Mask has opened my world, my life, and my acting to movement, non-verbal interaction, the huge voice my body has, and SIZE. I had something truly profound happen to me here — and it makes me a bit emotional to write of it — but I feel that I was able to discover a lost youth in myself when I put the mask on.

It is in her class that I have found my size, and I am starting to uncover the depth of my presence. Her sharp eyes and wealth of knowledge have opened a whole new world of self awareness for me.

Aside from her eloquence and combined knowledge of human nature and her subject, her most significant contribution, so far, may be her phenomenal ability to develop "esprit de corps" among the group. She is a sensitive, exquisite field marshal with the vision and skill to take us places we have not dreamed of.

Stripping myself of my face activates an acute awareness and curiosity.

I feel she challenges us a great deal: her class is one of the most difficult...but the value of her lessons is enormous.

She is honest, intelligent, and right to the point.

Before Mask, the way I thought of my body was being so small. Now I think of my body as an entirely different tool: bigger and much more important as a part of my communication instrument.

Mask class is such a fundamental element of ACA. Isabelle really addresses the major issues we need to confront.

Her class is another cornerstone to the program. We could not function without it.

I trust her judgment and I enjoy the class precisely because I'm pushed into uncomfortable places and because she refuses to let up or leave anybody alone.

Before Mask, I had trouble getting a character “into the body”. I relied on my facial expressions to convey emotion. Now, I feel I can incorporate the physical life of the character without feeling like I am “indicating” an emotion.

I love the way Isabelle applies the mask work to the work we do in other classes.

Isabelle demands detail, focus, and stillness but creates a completely non-judgmental classroom environment to (if necessary) mess up in. The class is very freeing. Isabelle demands excellence with kindness and acceptance.

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The freedom provided by Alexander Technique is tremendously important and Chris is creative and clear in how he approaches the work and in how we can begin to incorporate it into our own work.

Beyond lengthening, standing straighter, feeling grounded and finding my counter balance, Chris Cherry is teaching me constructive and positive thinking. He teaches me to affirm myself and not to judge myself. He reinforces being in each moment, being confident that if you really allow yourself to experience something, whether you see it now or ten years later, it is affecting you.

Chris's commitment to finding each of our individual quirks and his gentle direction to correct them is very much appreciated.

Chris has continuously helped to free up my movement and give me a better understanding of my body awareness

He has given me a whole new way of approaching how I use myself as an actor and as a person.

The subject matter of this class helps me SO MUCH in terms of my physicality on stage AND in life. The idea of "no end gain" and making the goal the "best use of myself" keep me focused on the process, not the goal.

I use his ideas to enrich my life and stand more comfortably in myself EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Chris has a brilliant way of illuminating the principles of the work with clear physical examples, a sense of the historical development, and a simultaneous joy.

He sets attainable goals and is 100% committed to our increased awareness.

This is the first time, out of several encounters I have had with this method, that I have understood both the philosophy behind the method and its actual practice. I am finding that working text while he makes adjustments is allowing me to open up new freedom and find greater depth in my words.

Alexander is such an important component to our acting training.

I now feel more poised and am able to start refining my physical presence.

Through classes with Chris, my work has gained greater ease, and hopefully, force and intent.

Because of Chris’s class, I feel a greater capacity to do physical and emotional actions with far less effort. He is incredibly supportive when we individually reach uncharted territories and our proprioceptive senses go eschew.

Enthusiastic and supportive, the tag team teaching with Ellen is fantastic. Chris provides invaluable information given with genuine care and interest in what is best for the student.

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Dody's energy is infectious. A less intellectualizing, more visceral experience: that is what Dody's class has instilled.

Isabelle and Dody provided me with a greater sense of physical awareness and size as well as presence.

Dody has an energy that communicates a different dimension of the mask work. She and Isabelle work well together to form a complex, rich body of physicalization for balancing the intellectual elements of our text work.

In no other class do I so clearly see my classmates learning from each other's work and applying keen observation to the execution of each exercise.

In seven weeks, I felt that I conquered quite a few fears and began to trust my body and its physical impulses.

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Ed is a vital component of our acting training here at the Academy.

Working with Ed makes me dig deeper and play harder.

Ed has a way of investigating the hard questions with a wisdom born of his extensive stage experience.

Ed teaches by example what it is to be completely and totally without pretense.

He was able to lift meaning from the text through various exercises designed to make the written dialogue the ONLY response that would make sense. He also encouraged and demanded the student to make mistakes until a satisfying result was experienced.

His class combines the precision of handling the technical aspects of Shakespeare with the connections made to the humanity of Shakespeare. It has taken the work to a deeply human level while, at the same time, paying strict attention to the structure. This is immensely satisfying!

I have complete trust in Ed because it is clear he is working as hard as each of us to move us forward as actors.

He is so dedicated and extremely receptive to our needs and input.

His style integrates everything we have learned already.

Ed's own acute ability to listen and respond accordingly — not just in a scene, but also to my challenges — has been a great help.

It has been so valuable to approach text through his understanding of what needs to be heard and, perhaps more importantly, the living nature of spoken text as a giving and receiving tool of communication.

We were able to tune our ears to every aspect of the text, including meaning, pitch, speed, and context.

Ed showed me how to improve my engagement with the text on a moment-to-moment basis, feel more sensitive to how it moves and flows between characters, and unravel its complexities more efficiently so as to find out how and what it is suggesting to me as an actor.

Ed’s focus on clarity, pitch and emotional truth has significantly refined my approach to the work.
Ed helps us use what we are learning in every other class to make the text come alive in a very real and individually personal way.

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It is always good to get instruction from an actor who has been in the "trenches" and also has the gift to teach and communicate what he does on stage to the students.

Floyd doesn't tell "how it should be done" but asks, "what if it was this? What would it be like?"

Floyd has a wonderful way of seeing the ideas you present during scene work and then asking influential questions which allow you to move towards greater understanding in your work.

Floyd has a keen understanding of what's funny about simply being human.

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Gary Logan, Speech and Text

Gary’s enthusiasm for his subject is inspirational and infectious, and his expertise matches his passion. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is another amazing tool for the arsenal and Gary is training us to be expert marksmen.

With my new IPA knowledge, I feel that I can speak the verse more confidently. Gary is a true asset to the program as well as an inspiration to me as an artist.

I feel that Gary being here is one of the best reasons for me to be in this program.

Gary’s specificity with Standard American Stage Dialect (SASD) and vast knowledge has enabled me to begin to put it into practice. I appreciate the various exercises and approaches to the text that he employs to help each student, regardless of where they are, in order for them to achieve greater clarity.

Gary’s teaching style is focused on making sure each student fully grasps each sound and concept before moving on to a new sound or concept. The class requires intense focus but it still has a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

In terms of tangible expression, Gary’s class is the class in which I feel we have all improved in leaps and bounds. Learning stage dialect is such an important part of this work. I feel incredibly lucky to have Gary here. Learning each new sound gives me extra confidence in my work.

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Ellen is supremely patient with us and tries intently to answer our endless questions in a very specific way and, at the same time, keeps us focused on the task at hand.

Ellen has a magnificent combination of the academic and the organic.

Ellen's approach to the work has begun to awaken the instrument I never thought I had. She reinforces the intuitive and inherent connections of voice, breath, thought and body.

Ellen's patience and gentle insistence on process fosters trust, so I can believe change will occur.

Ellen is the most important gelling force in our study.

There is no way to sum up Ellen's influence on my work. She is unfathomably available to us. I feel my voice has grown in every way possible and that with Ellen's assistance over the coming months, I will be confidently on the road towards ownership.

We are fortunate to have a person of Ellen's ability, professionalism and diligence. If any of us do not emerge from this program with excellent vocal skills, the blame will fall on our own heads. She is objective and yet personal in her approach to our training.

The class is clear, consistently illuminating and fun — not something I'd initially associate with so technical a discipline. She is such a positive, "can-do," and supportive presence, and so acute a listener. As technical as voice work can seem, the recourse to text work along with it keeps it from feeling dry and divorced from the other aspects of my acting.

She is training me to hear and feel when I'm producing correctly. She is also great at impressing the gradual progressive nature of the work — she is constantly steering us clear of our own discouragement.

I had a difficult time at first with the tremor exercises, but I now find that those exercises and the breath support work have really begun to open me up.

She has found a key to something I wanted — more weight is the only way I can describe it — and has found the way to give that to me vocally.

The rhetoric work was something that I have never worked on in such detail. Now it is so crucial to me in my discovery, my play with the character, and my ability to dive into the structure.

Ellen continues to give us all so much knowledge in a way in which we can easily apply it in a productive way.

After years of ignorance and these past months of perseverance, I can sense a transformation beginning.

She has helped push me into new territory... I find I am gaining more variety in range and placement, and I can also begin to focus on greater rhythmic variety.

Ellen's is the only ear I trust.

I’ve been grateful for the slow, steady approach, the ease and clarity with which Ellen has married voice and text. I have noticed a deepening of my instrument and a greater facility with the text. I can’t wait for more.

When a light goes on, the foundation that Ellen’s work has given us supports such breakthroughs and enables us to maintain and explore them, rather than play a perpetual game of hide and seek with our instrument.

The Fitzmaurice work and my awareness of breath has changed me already. Finding the inspiration for each new thought and breathing the size of the thought is completely sensible in this work and yet I have never paid it much attention before. I look forward to more growth.

Ellen is a focused, calm and informed leader. I am at ease following her through this strange territory. I am looking forward to experiencing our destination.

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Wonderfully demanding. Positive energy.

Roberta has such wonderful enthusiasm for what she teaches and toward each of us that she really fosters an environment in which I want to work hard on my body and try to improve its strength and grace.

Everything that she does in class brings us to a deeper relationship with our bodies.

Pilates is hell, but Pilates is working — and again, as is so often the case here, discipline becomes fun because of the way Roberta teaches... She teaches with OUR larger goals in mind rather than from her own vantage point exclusively.

The Pilates is wonderful strengthening work, and we have all made astonishing gains. My stomach has been weak for years, and my back has been bad — by the end of this year it will be a new me! She is attentive, perceptive, fun, and yet relentless.

What a gift to gain such a love of exercise, dance, and movement. I shall take this love of movement and my body with me for life. I have seen a great change both in my body and how I view my body — really for the first time in my life.

Roberta's teaching style is so encouraging and inspiring.

Her humor and ability to motivate me are unsurpassed, and I have never felt more graceful or in control in my life.

I am very happy with how Roberta approaches a room full of people with such a wide variety of previous movement work. She's helping me develop a strength, form, and body awareness that I've lacked.

She has such a great balance of fun and seriousness in her work. Pilates and stretching are a wonderful way to increase body awareness.

Powerhouse! I never had one before. It is exhausting and sometimes hurts, but it has truly paid off.

The Pilates exercises are hard work, but I love the results.

This is not a workout or a dance class -- everything we learn from Roberta will contribute directly to our being more versatile and expressive performers.

Roberta has reshaped my body and helped me gain confidence about how to move my body in space.

Roberta’s bright, positive information, humor and rigor have given my body a strength and clarity of physical intent.

As my center strengthens, my ability to ground myself in my acting work increases.

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Brad intertwines behavior of character and action to make for experiences that are greater than just "moves".

Brad is much more interested in the reasons for and the effect of violence than in violence itself.

I've been given a concept about knowing exactly where my target is, communicating my intention clearly, and then hitting it precisely. His specificity about each moment is awesome.

Brad's class helps me with my acting in a way that I did not realize was possible. His insightful feedback and perceptive remarks force me to confront "issues" — blocks in my acting that are impossible to avoid in the physical work.

The training has been precise and detailed.

I found it interesting and helpful to get the broad exposure to all the various weapons we used.

His class has given me a whole new vocabulary of movement and another area of technical know-how on which I can draw. Brad is also scrupulous about referencing his combat work back to our own concrete knowledge as actors.

The exploration of circumstances within each phase of the fight to motivate our action is of the utmost importance.

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General Comments

I regret that this year will be over before we know it. I am overwhelmed by the personal attention we have received. The comradeship, love, and unity of purpose are very edifying and stimulating. I am so very grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, largely made so by the program leadership and general caliber of the students selected.... I continue to feel proud and privileged to be here.

The faculty are constantly on the same page as far as the progression of our work is concerned. There is a great care paid to every student and his/her specific needs in every class and a devotion to the growth of our class as a whole with every teacher.

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