ACTING FOR DIRECTORS, WRITERS AND PRODUCERS
THE ACTING CLASS FOR INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAMERA
Deepen your communication with actors and inspire them to do their best work.
Establish an open-hearted and positive authority with your cast.
Write dialogue that's real and that actors can speak with conviction.
THE ACTING CLASS FOR INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAMERA
Deepen your communication with actors and inspire them to do their best work.
Establish an open-hearted and positive authority with your cast.
Write dialogue that's real and that actors can speak with conviction.
"Everything you taught me was more than useful. I am deeply grateful."
ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑARRITU, director/producer, BABEL, 21 GRAMS, AMORES PERROS, Academy Award® nominated Best Foreign Film
"Judith Weston is an extraordinarily gifted teacher. She doesn't so much explain as she changes your consciousness of the creative process and restores your confidence in it, through acting."
DAVID CHASE, writer, director and executive producer, THE SOPRANOS, NORTHERN EXPOSURE, I'LL FLY AWAY, ROCKFORD FILES
"Judith Weston's 'Acting for Directors' (seminar and book) gave me my first real insight into the work of the actor and the relationship between actor and director. Practical, scary and inspiring, it taught me to think in new ways and turned out to be the ideal introduction to the impossible task that lay ahead."
HENRY BEAN, writer-director, THE BELIEVER, grand jury prize winner, Sundance Film Festival, 2001
This workshop for directors is set up as an acting class; each participant will engage in exercises using acting techniques, improvisation and monologues and two-person scenes provided by Judith. Judith will use the exercises to highlight and discuss principles, tools and techniques of directing actors. In particular she will address issues that arise in casting, rehearsal, shooting and script analysis, including the following:
- how to establish a collaborative relationship with actors
- how to be more specific and effective with your direction
- troubleshooting poor performances
- how to recognize and fix a performance that is forced or indulgent or flat
- what to do when an actor disagrees with your interpretation
- how to rehearse; why to rehearse; when not to rehearse
- a fresh approach to casting
- how to match a performance and still keep it alive take after take
- what to do when actors freeze up; when to push an actor; when to leave them alone
- what you can do to make "chemistry" happen
- how to get more out of close-ups
- what is "result" direction; why it is bad; how to avoid it
- through-lines and "beats"
- creating unforced "moments"; building suspense
- how to work with objectives and adjustments (the magic "as if")
- the uses of sense memory objects and personal substitutions
- how to find and use a character's spine; the difference between a spine and an arc
- how to add "layers" to a characterization
- the power of opposites
- how to encourage creativity in an actor, trigger your own imagination and insight, and become a superior storyteller
- how to work with "difficult" actors; how to work with non-actors; how to work with stars
- an organic approach to blocking
- tips on directing comedy and creating period and style
- guidence & incentive to do your pre-production "script analysis" homework
- Stanislavski, the "Method," Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler
- transformation
Visit Workshop Schedule and Directions to Los Angeles Studio for further information on scheduling and location.
For descriptions of the class by former students, visit the Endorsements page.
THE BOOKS It is a prerequisite for this workshop that you have read one of Judith’s books, either "Directing Actors" or “The Film Director’s Intuition." Both books are available in bookstores or through Amazon.com or publisher Michael Wiese Productions www.mwp.com.
Participants must be able to commit to all three days of the workshop. Other than reading Judith’s book, there is no preparation required. But there is some homework each evening of first two days of the class.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at 310 392-2444 or info@judithweston.com.
JUDITH WESTON is the author of two books: "Directing Actors," which has been required reading for film directors since its publication in 1996; and the recently published "The Film Director's Intuition." She has been teaching her Acting for Directors workshops in Los Angeles, with trips to New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and cities of Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, since 1988.
Judith's ACTING FOR DIRECTORS students have included:
Directors, writers and producers of feature films, including BABEL, CHILDREN OF MEN, AKEELAH AND THE BEE, TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE, THE FORGOTTEN, SERENDIPITY, BEE SEASON, SHARK TALE, 21 GRAMS, AMORES PERROS, X-MEN 3, FANTASTIC FOUR, DOWN IN THE VALLEY, UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, SHREK, DAHMER, TULLY, THE BELIEVER, THE ITALIAN JOB, A CINDERELLA STORY, CHUCK AND BUCK, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES, BLADE, AMERICAN RHAPSODY, HONEY I BLEW UP THE KID, PRICE OF GLORY, CRUEL INTENTIONS, BUFFALO 66, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, MAP OF THE WORLD, THE NEGOTIATOR, CITY OF INDUSTRY, BOTTLE ROCKET, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS, RETURN TO PARADISE, BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, FIRST KID, SAY ANYTHING, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, GHOST, LITTLE MAN TATE, THE GRIFTERS, MATEWAN, BROADCAST NEWS, BOPHA!, FREE WILLY, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, PRETTY BABY, THE DEER HUNTER, THREE OF HEARTS, PUMP UP THE VOLUME, SID & NANCY, REPO MAN, ANNA, DOMINICK & EUGENE.
...and independent films too numerous to list.
Directors of television programs, including THE SOPRANOS, DAMAGES, LOST, CSI, CSI:MIAMI, CSI:NY, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, WEEDS, UGLY BETTY, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE 4400, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, "24", MONK, LAW AND ORDER, COLD CASE, BONES, DIRT, PRISON BREAK, ER, SMALLVILLE, SCRUBS, NIP/TUCK, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, MY NAME IS EARL, CLOSE TO HOME, WEST WING, ALIAS, THE O.C., MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, SIX FEET UNDER, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, FRIENDS, NYPD BLUE, ED, THIRD WATCH, THE PRACTICE, GILMORE GIRLS, THE DREW CAREY SHOW, ANGEL, JUDGING AMY, D.A.G., TITUS, FELICITY, THE DIVISION, ROSWELL, DAWSON'S CREEK, THE X-FILES, STAR TREK: VOYAGER, ARLI$$, POPULAR, KING OF QUEENS, CHICAGO HOPE, PICKET FENCES, NORTHERN EXPOSURE, L.A. LAW, HILL STREET BLUES, I'LL FLY AWAY, THE ROCKFORD FILES.
Also, Academy Award and Emmy winners and nominees, Sundance and other festival award winners, studio and network executives, casting directors, documentary filmmakers, commercial and music video directors, and alumni of USC, UCLA, AFI, NYU, Columbia, North Carolina School of Arts, and other film schools and graduate programs.