ACTING 101: 6 Week Beginning Technique and Scene Study with Susan Finch, Professional Actress, Acting Teacher and Coach

Saturday, February 7, 2015, 2pm ET / 11am PT

If you've been thinking about starting a career as an actor, Acting 101 is the PERFECT way to start off. You'll work with Susan Finch who will introduce you to a variety of approaches to Acting, Stage basics, Terminology and the Craft of Acting.

Acting begins with the ability to be your authentic self in the present moment. Susan will begin with imagination exercises and improvisation to help you be present, truthful, and therefore more compelling onstage or onscreen. You'll then work your way into text and performing scenes, covering the basics of scene analysis: discovering character, point-of-view, working off your partner, making it personal, finding objectives, and building up circumstances and emotional stakes.

These techniques will help you prepare for roles and auditions, and find your authenticity as an actor.

Susan Finch is an actress who has been teaching for over 28 years. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she was awarded the Drama League Award and The Edith Skinner Prize. She is an alumna of John Houseman's The Acting Company where she toured for 2 years. She has appeared in productions at MTC, Lincoln Center Theater, Naked Angels and The Atlantic Theater Company. She is on the Faculty of The Atlantic Theater Acting School and is a guest artist at The Juilliard School. She is passionate about teaching and believes the access way into great acting is through listening. That is where the magic lies.

Class size is limited to 14 to ensure personalized attention and plenty of time with each actor.

Susan Finch

Susan Finch has been teaching Accent Reduction for over 28 years. She is on the faculty of The Atlantic Theater's Conservatory program where she teaches and serves as vocal coach for productions. She is an alumna of The Juilliard School where she studied speech and voice under Timothy Monich, Elizabeth Smith and Robert Williams and was awarded the Drama League Award and The Edith Skinner Prize (in speech). She annually returns to Juilliard to coach productions. She is an alumna of John Houseman's The Acting Company where she toured for 2 years. She headed the Speech Department at Playwrights Horizon's Theater School from 1989-1999 and has taught speech at Marymount College and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her private teaching includes, accent reduction as well as accent and dialect work for actors. She teaches courses in accent elimination/presentation skills for numerous Fortune 500 Companies. Recent coaching includes: THE GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, The Public Theater, IPA, MTC, Emily Mann's production of Antony and Cleopatra -The McCarter Theater, Public Theater Mobile Unit- Richard lll, Red Bull Theater-Irma Vep, Shakespeare on the Sound- Much Ado bout Nothing. Teaching credits include: Head of the Speech Department at The Atlantic Theater School, NYU from 1987-2010, Playwright Horizons (1987-1997), Marymount College, and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Voice Fellow at The Public Theater's Shakespeare Lab. She is an actress who has appeared in numerous productions in NYC.