Coaching/Classes | carriedrazek

Teaching The Craft of Acting

"I have spent over 20 years developing my craft as an actor, and I continue to do so. It is a never ending process as we grow and change in life and therefore, it is challenging and exhilarating at the same time. I am passionately addicted to it. And, I love to teach other actors how to develop craft so they can express their unique selves freely through the lives of the characters that they play."

Carrie Drazek

PRIVATE COACHING/CLASS

I coach actors privately who are looking for craftual guidance when exploring a particular piece of material or for professional actors who are interested in continuing to hone their craft and make discoveries that will take them to new levels in their work. As a coach, I never make choices for you. I only guide you with my knowledge of the craft as it pertains to your specific instrument and the material you are seeking to fulfill. You make your own choices, decisions and do the work. To sign up, click on the Private Services Tab Above and Join now.

To schedule a private coaching session and get information on price, please use the contact form to reach out to me.

APPROACH TO THE WORK

I teach acting actors at all levels who are interested in continuing to hone their craft and take themselves as artists to new levels in the work.

The first area of focus, is THE INSTRUMENT. The instrument is the actual actor himself. The actor is a vessel for the character and the instrument must be free to express every part of one’s self, without judgment and with courage in order to honor the multitude of characters that are brought to life in the work. Just like a professional musician practices their specified instrument every day, an actor must also work on their instrument every day in order to be facile with the work. To be able to call upon parts of yourself on demand, when a director says "...How about doing it this way?” is part of an actor's job. And in order to do that, the instrument must be free to express itself completely.

The second area of focus, is THE CRAFT. The craft is the “how to” of the process. How does one become the Character? How does one create the reality of the Time and Place, the Relationships between the characters, the Subtext, the Historical elements, the Thematic requirements and the Emotional demands from a place of truth? This is done with the craft. How one fulfills what Eric refers to in his books as the seven obligations, with reverence to the material is through their craft. He has created a system of acting that offers actors hundreds of tools to fulfill these obligations. And because every human being is unique, actors must each find the tools that work best for them to access and create the work from their instrument; which evolves into their own expressive work as an artist.

And the third area is THE BUSINESS of acting. It is a business. I will share my 20 something years of training, performing as a professional actor, writing, directing and producing which incorporates many aspects of the business. Understanding this ever changing business can be complicated and something to keep up if you are interested in working as a professional.

I will also be sharing concepts that I have learned from my long time mentor and friend, Kathy Laughlin, at The Performers' Studio Workshop, where I began learning about Eric's process in the early 1990's. Kathy's work as an actor earlier in her life and later on as a casting director has given her great insight as a teacher. Her truthful critiques of the scene work we did in her classes, were always constructive and articulated through the process. It wasn't personal, it was about the work and having a craft that you can rely on; and that is what the Eric Morris Process is about.

Additional craftual tips and tools that I have learned from other beautiful mentors and friends in the business will be sprinkled into the work. Susan Batson, author of Truth, has had a profound influence on me as an actress and I hope to pass on the craftual insight and joy that she bestowed upon me when we worked together for a year developing a one woman show that she directed me in.