Regardless of an actor's level of experience,
the audition process is tough. Actors are rushed in front of a camera and given unfamiliar lines that require them to immediately
go into character with little or no rehearsal. The result is a frustrated actor unable to show their potential to casting
directors.
After years of understanding the pressures of the audition process,
writer-director Katt Shea decided to teach an acting workshop that prepares students for the audition process.
A month into teaching the class from her Agua Dulce home, Shea and her students said the class works
and gets more auditions.
The class, referred to as "Get Out of Your Head
and Into the Moment," focuses on doing exercises to "free up" actors so that they can follow their instincts,
Shea said, who previously lived in Sand Canyon before moving to Agua Dulce in the late 1990s.
"It really prepares you for what it's really like," she said, referring to the audition process.
During each class, students do three cold readings based on scripts from current
television shows and movies.
Each of her classes has 10 to 12 students.
As they learn the techniques, actors are better prepared during the audition process, allowing them
to slip into a range of emotions at a moment's notice.
Her teachings are based
on her experiences directing actors like Drew Barrymore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mena Suvari mixed in with her own life lessons
from working under Roger Corman.
Shea, who started out as an actress, said she
studied under acting coach Candy Herman. "The basis of my exercises are from her," Shea said.
As Shea advanced into directing thriller and drama movies like "Poison Ivy" and "The
Rage, Carrie 2," she saw how demanding scripts were for actors, so she began coaching students with exercises she learned
from her days as an actress.
"When actors would get stuck on set, I would
use techniques to allow them to freely express themselves," she said.
She
began formally teaching when she filled in for a teacher who was leading a cold reading class in Los Angeles. As knowledgeable
as the students in the class were, Shea said they had trouble breaking through during their auditions.
With her knowledge, Shea was ready to create her own class to teach her unique techniques. In September,
she began offering two classes from her Agua Dulce home. Both classes are designed for serious actors, but one is for beginners
and the other for seasoned actors.
Soon enough, Shea said she found that actors,
like Barbara A. Fisher, were driving up from Los Angeles to enroll in the class.
A
resident of the Los Angeles area, Fisher said Shea's exercises relax her so that she can feel more natural when auditioning.
Fisher said she's taken acting workshops before and finds that Shea's class teaches
a style that she had not been exposed to before.
"It's not a technique,"
she said. "It's about exercises and tools to get you out of your own way." Fisher, who has studied with Shea since
May, said now she's more comfortable when going to auditions.
As for why Shea
lives in Agua Dulce and not the Hollywood or Los Angeles area, she said that the people in the local area are "more real"
and "down to earth." Plus, she said it's easier to drive into L.A. instead of wasting time in the constant Los Angeles
traffic.
Another reason is that the Agua Dulce area lacks workshops for professional
actors. Additionally, Shea said sometimes people just need to get away from L.A.
"There's
a certain mindset in L.A. and I think you need to break out of it," she said.
The
four-week program costs $165 and Shea said she is willing to take the price cut because she wants an acting workshop to develop
in the Santa Clarita area.
Anyone interested in signing up for the class can
call Katt Shea at 268-8611 for an interview.
tmarashlian@the-signal.com
