I'm an older (emerging) actor and I have to travel over an hour to get into Manhattan, so I really don't want to spend time and money on mediocre training. If I enroll in a class or with a specific teacher or coach, I'd like to be reasonably certain that it will be worth it. So who are your favorite teachers or coaches or schools? Have you had any really bad training experiences?

My primary focus is Voiceover stuff, but any recommendations in any area will be enormously appreciated.

Hey Joe,

Boy, for voice-over, I have to recommend Joan Baker. Check out joanthevoice.com and see if you can get in for privates with her. Alternatively, I think JJ Adler teaches a great class and you can find him at Actor's Connection or Breakthrough on a semi-regular basis.

Hope that helps!

Coming to you from the sunny beaches of Playa del Carmen...D. XOXO

Hey Darbi,

Thanks for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule sucking back pina coladas to respond!

I'll certainly look into your recommendations.

Have fun!

Joe

Dear VO Thesp-
There are some great coaches out there, Joan Baker among one of them. I would also recommend Marla Kirban www.marlakirbanvoicer.com and Wendy Dillion. You should check out a few and see which one you like best. As Darbi mentioned Actor's Connection is a great way to get started.
KG
Ps: I listened to your demo and think you really have something there! Go for it. If you are currently non-union,I would send it out to Suzie Friedman and Ann Wright Reps. They both do a ton of non-union are are very reputable agents.

I second those recommendations, especially Susie. Love her! Another good agent who does non-union is Jenevieve Brewer at About Face. Fantastic! Although with voice-over, you really can Make Your Own Way without an agent. There are several good websites that offer talent direct access jobs (voice123.com, voices.com and others).

Dear Joe,

I went to Yale Drama School and most of my old (not emerging) but old teachers are at the actors center. It's a very serious place for training. A lot of very impressive resumes but you have got to find the right person to click with. It's pricy. But you can get connected to a lot of working directors through the school.

They do not cover any commerical work. This would be to work purely on the skills of acting that you take into any area you end up working in.

Good Luck.

Roz,
I didn't go to Yale, but studied with Ron Van Lieu at the Actor's Center. I loved working with him.
--------------------------------------------------------
VO Thesp- Some other ideas for you are: The Barrow Group has a great affordable program, as well as T. Shrieber studios. These places offer good quality classes, with performance opportunities.

Thanks everyone for the great recommendations. I will certainly look further into each of these. Quick question, of the myriad classes and seminars available at Actor's Connection, which would you recommend?

P.S. Thanks Kate for the kind words about my demo. I am actually still trying to finalize the thing and come up with some new copy including some stuff in Spanish since that's a market that I'd like to target as well.

Boy, there are SO many wonderful classes at Actors Connection. But for VO, I gotta go with JJ Adler, assuming he still does his class there. I took his class a couple of years ago and he taught me things that I still use every day in auditions and bookings. I love JJ. And he'll steer ya right regarding your technique and your demo. On the business side, Johnna Gottlieb teaches a class there that will give you all of the ins and outs of how to WORK in VO. No accident that those two were among our first interviews on the show...I respect them and they've both been instrumental in helping me build my career.

JJ for technique and craft. Johnna for business.

I was thinking of taking a class at the Barrow Group and was wondering is anyone knew anything about them (I mean besides what's on their website)? Thank you!

Sorry, I can't be of any assistance on this one. I haven't had any experience with the Barrow Group.

quote:

Originally posted by Darbi, Everything Acting Podcast:
Boy, there are SO many wonderful classes at Actors Connection. But for VO, I gotta go with JJ Adler, assuming he still does his class there. I took his class a couple of years ago and he taught me things that I still use every day in auditions and bookings. I love JJ. And he'll steer ya right regarding your technique and your demo. On the business side, Johnna Gottlieb teaches a class there that will give you all of the ins and outs of how to WORK in VO. No accident that those two were among our first interviews on the show...I respect them and they've both been instrumental in helping me build my career.

JJ for technique and craft. Johnna for business.

Thanks Darbi, Those are the 2 I was looking at. Unfortunately JJ's class overlaps Johnna's Class in April but I'm going to try and schedule his class if I can.

Yeah, my advice is to take JJ's first and Johnna's second (because you want to have your chops together before you start doing the things that Johnna will teach you). If you can't make it work out that way, no problem...just make sure that you are 1000% ready to audition WITH the big boys before you start putting Johnna's startegies in place because it will likely get you meetings and there are no second chances when it comes to first impressions. The time to start working Johnna's tips is when you are ready to swim in the deep end. And for ongoing private coaching, Joan Baker is AMAZING. PM me if you have any other questions on this. And GO GET 'EM!!

quote:

Originally posted by stella10014:
I was thinking of taking a class at the Barrow Group and was wondering is anyone knew anything about them (I mean besides what's on their website)? Thank you!

Besides what i mentioned earlier, TBG is known for its extremly naturalistic style in acting. It is a great school of acting. It is wonderful and many casting directors look for them on a resume (hint: especially the Law and Orders)

my friend/acting teacher teaches at "circle in the Square"

For VO coaches, Harlan Hogan (famous commercial VO) has a pretty big list on his website, organized by region:

http://harlanhogan.com/coacheslist.shtml

More voiceover coaches are welcome to email Harlan and submit their own listing to his site.

As far as here in Chicago,

Jimmy Carrane teaches AWESOME improv classes!

I can't say enough about Sound Advice for voiceover training:
http://www.voiceoverinfo.com

For on-camera training, I've heard good things about these folks:
http://www.thegreenroomstudio.tv/

And then there's Glenn Haines. Glenn is an acting coach who divides his time between Chicago and LA, and he's fantastic.

Hey Mix,

Thanks for chiming in about training in other areas of the country. So many of our listeners are not on the coasts and we have a hard time knowing what to recommend for them. We'd love to hear from other folks "in the regions". Let us know who are the quality teachers in your area!

Darbi,

Your advice is excellent! Thanks for all the many, many posts you constantly provide us with. You are a great motivator to the board.

I would like to ask you about good training programs for the summer.

I was thinking about attending the School of Film and TV in New York for the summer, but now I am thinking about the Atlantic Repetory Theatre.

Are any of these good suggestions? I would like to hear what you think.

Thanks and have a great week!

Hi Lover (actorlover, that is!),

Boy, I don't know anything about Atlantic. You're talking about the theatre in Florida, yes? I'm not sure I can give you a qualified opinion for two reasons: 1)I, unfortunately, am not familiar with their program and 2)I am TOTALLY and completely biased because I LOVE this city.

SO, if I were a young person looking to spend my summer acting, I'd want to come to New York. But I don't want to discount Atlantic, since I don't know their program. I do know that they put up quality work and have a good reputation. Atlantic's focus is likely to be theater, while SFT is definitely Film/TV. I took a Commercial Course there when I first started in NYC and I LOVED it and felt like I learned everything I needed to know to get started auditioning in the city.

Not sure if that helps you or just muddies your decision. It's a tough call; there are many, many wonderful places to train. In the end, you have to weigh your options and go with your gut. No one can tell you what's right for you....except YOU. Good luck and let us hear how it goes!

This is a subject that's sort of a quiet storm for me because I haven't been to training in about six months. There's been a few factors to consider: (1) Lack of cash to pay for classes; (2) I haven't made a whole-hearted effort to research a class or coach to continue my education; (3) I'm still in touch with my former teacher who still gives me tips and spend stime and effort in showing me techniques.

My formal training from my teacher are the Integrated Techniques from Stanislavski(y)Cluman, Adler, Meisner & Strasberg. His primary playwright is Tenesee Williams for whom he worked with closely and his model actor is Kim Stanley (who also was a very good teacher and he knew quite well). While as students we learned the principles of Meisner & Strasberg, he kept a very tight reign on these two disciplines -- especially Strasberg "method" because he felt that actors only mimick real emmotions and thoughts when only trained in his (Strasberg's) techniques. The end result is that you have actors who are not really displaying real emotions because Strasberg method disconnects the actor from actually having any. Still Strasberg's techniques has a significant place among training actors and we were educated in them.

I also use a lot of improvisation in my acting: Both in what I learned during my training and things of my own. So I'm sort of a hodge-podge actor when it comes to disciplines. And while I really like what I have learned and developed, I feel that there is much, much more for me to know. So I am definitely not done.