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• Jeanne Hartman's 2 Day Intensive Acting Workshop
  ( 繁 | 简 )

  Thursday, May 21, 2009 3:02PM / Standard Entry / Members only
  20 comments

  
  Photo by Jennifer Thym (http://www.alivenotdead.com/rockginger)
  
  It was only 2 days, but it felt like a good 2 months, this acting workshop has exceeded all of my expectations!
  
  Before shooting Legendary Assassin, I had no experience in film AT ALL, not even the slightest bit of training. When I was told I got this role, after a long audition, I really thought the directors had a lot of guts to use me as a lead actress! I was a lost lost puppy in a big big world. So, the only things that I could think to do were: research the top acting books and buy them, rent all the oscar-winning movies to analyse how actors portray their characters, rent all the policewomen films available (Western and Chinese) and to go through as many behind the scenes interviews as I could possibly find. I learnt a lot this way, but to be honest, acting became a trial and error for me. What did it mean to 'raise the stakes' in a situation, how do I interpret the directors' directions, how do I create a backstory, how long do I give myself to prepare before I cry? I had a million questions, and so little answers and only until Jeanne's workshop did I really find these out.
  
  She shed light on so many issues: How do I analyse a script? How do I get in touch with my emotions? What parallels can I draw from my life? How do I fill the blank spaces between lines? What actions should accompany my lines if any? How do I create a deep backstory for my character? When auditioning for a role, how do I  read the lines without burying my face in the script? How do I build character arc? How do I let it go after all of the analysing? and YES I know the answer to all of these NOW thanks to her!
  
  For the very first time, I was not acting, I was living! Each character, be it a mother, a pschologist, a lawyer, a cop, a girlfriend or a lover... I had no idea how I did after each scene, all I knew was how my chest felt heavy after a tough and depressing scene, how I was out of breath from arguing in a heated situation, how I was numb thinking about a childhood memory I tried to repress, how I was repulsed yet at the same time attracted to a serial killer....
  
  Jeanne Hartman is an acting coach that will make you very comfortable in the sense that you can open up to her, and spill your guts out, you feel you can overcome your fear, and be each character freely. Yet, she is also an acting coach that will make you feel uneasy because she's constantly pushing you to achieve higher and higher, to take on more and more challenging roles.
  
  Not one moment was wasted during the 2 days, as we not only learnt more about ourselves, but we learnt more about each other, and most importantly  we learnt from each other! All of us became friends, and came out feeling as though we had known each other for months, because Jeanne's technique brought us together.
  
  I think this is a valuable workshop not only for actors, but for directors/ screenwriters who want to be better at their jobs, for singers who want to be better at expressing themselves and for any other person who wants to learn the art of communication, and the psychology of human beings. It's worth more than $3000 and these lessons will stay with us not only in the field of acting for a lifetime. Thank you Jeanne and Thank you Jason for bringing her to us!