One-to-one acting training and audition coaching, semi-private & group classes in acting fundamentals, scene study, text analysis, all on-demand.
Auditions have changed. Actors are creating, curating, and generating many tapes, submitting them for hopeful consideration in a near-vacuum. After having received minimal information in a breakdown, and no script, Actors are to divine what it is production may be seeking and, without the casting process to support them, some Actors feel like they have little choice: spend money and time focusing on the look of their slate and scenes. But what exactly is it that Actors are missing from the loss of real auditions?
SOME CONTEXT: The loss of the audition in the casting process denies Actors that which they’ve needed to refine and focus their offerings: input and feedback. When requested for an audition, the Actor was in a supremely subtle unspoken dialogue with Production, adjusting and responding to myriad cues, tone, and preference from the point of arrival through their encounters in session with a skilled and informed Reader, Casting Director and, later, the Director and/or Producer. While it may be true that the first 30 seconds of an actual audition can be intensely significant, it’s equally true that Actors have won the part, in an actual audition, in their second or third scene.
Actors are losing – or have lost – their ability to tell a story. Story gets lost in a world where all that the Actor has created is reduced to a scan of the opening moments of a submitted tape.
On the other hand, an audition, with interaction and feedback, produces an Actor who is now involved in production. The loss of the audition results in Actors showing up for work blindfolded, having never met the Director but with whom they must closely collaborate even as they are frantically catching up, working hard to keep pace with an already fast-moving train. Taking direction in this environment can feel next to impossible. A reliance on story can be the life raft many Actors are looking for.
THE CLASS: Audition sides can offer little. Breakdowns can be misleading or so generic that they seem to request stereotypes. Zero human interaction before a booking assures that the Actor is heavily disadvantaged. A return to and reliance on storytelling can aid Actors who have been left adrift in the wake of having been abandoned in the casting process. By focusing on story, Actors make use of their skill set as creators and, by delving into text analysis as a gateway into backstory and character development, Actors can move away from the anti-artistic, one-dimensional focus on marketing and “look,” and back toward the multi-faceted and more human craft of acting.
And because it’s true that, in any moment, any person has the potential to respond in dozens of ways, all germane to them, the same is true for the characters Actors create. By creating a robust and dimensioned character, Actors are well-able to sustain input and collaboration from Directors because the Actor has never “locked in” a performance tailored to “look right.”
In HOW TO TAKE DIRECTION, Kelly-Ruth centres story, and what it is that audiences connect with: The Actor. This class helps Actors create relevant characterizations, as well as helping them to just feel like Actors again. And, for those who entered the work force in 2020 or later and who’ve never met a Casting Director, Producer, or Director, it’s an opportunity to understand just what it is that a Director does and how to make space for – and welcome – all that the Director can offer.
It’s never how you say the line; it’s why you say the line. – KRM
Submitting a tape is not the same as auditioning. – also KRM
As of March 2023, class times and locations are being scheduled. Please email interest below!
The Survival Kit workshop (4 hours)... it's comprehensive and is illuminating, regardless of whether a student has been on set quite a bit or never at all. It's also an opportunity for parents whose children either have/have not yet been on set. This workshop walks participants through the entire production process, from development thru to distribution, making clear the actor's participation, responsibilities, and potential contribution to story. It illuminates residuals & pre-payments, casting processes from a production viewpoint, and just who it is an actor should talk to and get to know among the crew.
The one-day, 4hr Text Analysis workshop, "On The Same Page", is where participants prepare an audition, put it on tape when they arrive, work on the text individually & in groups, addressing story elements, writer "code," structure and clues intended for other, non-acting creatives, and then record it again. This rare opportunity shines a bright light on just how important analytic tools are to working actors, prior to investing in the creation of character.
These classes are a bargain, as the content is so highly valuable and can be directly put into your working practice as actors.
Please forward queries to MMG' via the portal here on this page!
Story Circle is akin to a university-setting class, where every corner of a (visual) story is addressed through the accessing of multiple layers of content. Following on the success of STORY CIRCLE v1 (which is still available, on demand, and dives into Les Liaisons Dangereuses -- from the Laclos novel, thru Hampton's play, the resulting film and the spinoff, Valmont), STORY CIRCLE v2 focuses on The Pygmalion -- from Greek myth to the Victorian era's obsession with it, Shaw's play of the same name, the film, My Fair Lady (the musical) and "Pretty Woman" (the film). These two story workshops are intended FOR ACTORS, fostering a community of intelligent and skilled collaborators, inspired & unafraid to embrace the craft in a dimensioned way, able to independently experiment and create using legitimate resources,in order to compete when auditioning and collaborate when at work. Classes offered in-person (where/when appropriate), virtually, or a hybrid of both.
Please forward interest directly to MMG.
Kelly-Ruth's career as an actor began prior to completing her acting training at Dalhousie University. She's been on stage in 9 of 10 provinces, and in many major network & streamed series and feature films.
For a current list of film & television credits, please visit <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580420/ >
Find K-R's fb presence: <http
Kelly-Ruth's career as an actor began prior to completing her acting training at Dalhousie University. She's been on stage in 9 of 10 provinces, and in many major network & streamed series and feature films.
For a current list of film & television credits, please visit <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580420/ >
Find K-R's fb presence: <https://www.facebook.com/krmfanpage/posts >
Interviews:
<https://creativemornings.com/individuals/krmercier >
<https://www.bizbooks.net/blog/pageant-spotlight-interview-kelly-ruth-mercier >
K-R's path as a teacher began in 1986, and includes a broad base of disciplines in acting & performance, filmmaking, writing, and directing. A highly experienced instructor, K-R has taught privately, at schools and at the college / university level.
K-R's path as a teacher began in 1986, and includes a broad base of disciplines in acting & performance, filmmaking, writing, and directing. A highly experienced instructor, K-R has taught privately, at schools and at the college / university level.
K-R's credits include stage and screen. A multi-award winning director, writer, and producer of indie film, Kelly-Ruth holds an MFA (Directing) from the University of British Columbia and is a graduate of the prestigious Women In the Director's Chair (WIDC) Program. She is the winner of the 2009 MPPIA Award (with her film "Move Out Clean"
K-R's credits include stage and screen. A multi-award winning director, writer, and producer of indie film, Kelly-Ruth holds an MFA (Directing) from the University of British Columbia and is a graduate of the prestigious Women In the Director's Chair (WIDC) Program. She is the winner of the 2009 MPPIA Award (with her film "Move Out Clean"), twice with the Director's Guild of Canada - BC Branch Kickstart Award (most recently with her film "No One Knows You Like Your Mother," for which she also won the 2010 Best Screenplay Leo Award), and has films broadcast & screened at festivals on several continents.
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS:
<https://www.leoawards.com/nominees_and_winners/pdf/2010.pdf >
<https://www.leoawards.com/winners_and_nominees/pdf/2016.pdf >
<https://mppia.com/links/resource-links >
<https://www.leoawards.com/past_winners/pdf/2003.pdf >
<https://bestshorts.net/past-winners/award-of-merit-june-2016/ >
<http://festival.vaff.org/2016/vaff-award/ >
TRAINING:
<https://www.widc.ca/director/kelly-ruth-mercier/ >
SOCIAL:
<https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kemercier >
Do you have questions or comments about our class offerings? Do you have a group of colleagues and friends who are interested in serious, deep-dive courses of meaningful study? Send us a message, and we will get back to you soon.
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