Everyone deserves the right to control their own behavior. Whether artistically or personally, behavioral choices define how the rest of the world perceives us and often how confident we feel in our own bodies. The greatest acting teachers - Chekhov, Stanislavski, Adler, Meisner - were only teaching methods of behavioral control and the intricate process of categorizing personal truth. Under the guise of elite actor training, these techniques have been locked away behind years of industry experience or expensive classes promising improbable commercial success. The human mind is inherently creative, and in behavior offers a canvas on which artistry can be expressed every day and in every situation.
You shouldn't have to be rich to carry rich personal truth.
WYC Acting Classes are an attempt to make professional-grade acting classes available without disqualifying any individual artist or interested novice based on income. The techniques taught are primarily theatre-born, but apply easily to not only any acting challenge, but also to daily life.
Suzuki technique is a vocal training comprised of physical teachings drawn from traditional Japanese theatre and western techniques. Students will use several Suzuki "walks" to exercise focus, discipline and the grounding of energy. The training, while physically demanding, frees the voice and lends it power.
Chekhov technique focuses on the evocative ability of the actor’s imagination. It includes the study of psychological gesture, the three centers of the body and how they interact with each other. The character body is constructed using internal gesture and imagery.
Viewpoints is an ensemble-based technique that hones an actor’s freedom of response in movement and gesture. The Viewpoints have been adapted for actors by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau of the SITI Company and the Steppenwolf Company, respectively. Training is very physical and requires movement clothes.
Alba Emoting was invented by German neuroscientist Susana Bloch as a method of emotional recall and control. Students of Alba technique are emotionally agile and benefit from the ability to choose to summon or dismiss any emotion at will.
Sanford Meisner's technique holds that acting is reacting. The method relies heavily on text and repetition, utilizing partner work to heighten students' sensitivity to interesting behavior and making reactive choices.
Stage combat is a broad term that describes the concept of violence-as-narrative. Technique here is taught in the American tradition as taught by the Society of American Fight Directors, which oversees most major theatrical and film violence in the USA.