Jeanne's acting classes

 One of the best things a director can do is take an acting class. It isn't easy to get the time to do it but thanks to Jason Tobin refusing to take "no" for an answer, I was one of the lucky ones to benefit from Jeanne Hartman's two-day workshop. Kudos to the Alive Not Dead crew for backing this project and giving Jeanne and Jason plenty of "air" time on the site to promote it. Many of those who attended have already written about the benefits from an acting background. From a director's viewpoint, it's like being on the other side of the front line. The relationship between a director and an actor is all about communication and understanding each other. Better communication comes from having a thorough understanding of what each actor is experiencing at that moment you want their best performance (which is every scene). Anyone can act. But only a few have the talent to act well. Taking on a different persona and making people believe that you are someone else takes talent. Bringing that talent out in people requires an understanding of the craft. I don't think my acting improved greatly during the two days, but I think my skills as a director did. And being that type of personality who hates being bad at anything, I'm now motivated to improve my acting (ergo, my directing). But that's going to take work. Jeanne? We ain't done yet luv.