Redlands Footlighters is sponsoring an intensive weekend workshop for actors on Saturday June 3 and Sunday June 4.  This weekend workshop with Rus Blackwell is guaranteed to provide access to the tools required to excel in your craft or in the industry.

Registration Deadline is May 31st - No on-site registration

• Register and pay in full before May 26th and the cost is just $250.00 for both days. ($100.00 deposit required by May 19th.)
• After May 26th, the cost is $300.00.

Send payments to: Redlands Footlighters, P.O. Box 444, Redlands, CA  92373

Space is limited to ensure maximum attention to each attendee. 

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The workshop will cover four areas of study:           

The Mental Game of Acting
Mental tension, nerves, stage fright, censoring and judging are all mental obstacles that inhibit the actor. Being free and agile enough in your mind helps to silence the critical voice in your head. This is essential to a solid process. Getting a handle on focus, concentration, and “not thinking” becomes an invaluable tool. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk out of any audition, rehearsal or a job simply knowing that you were connected and not have to second guess or beat yourself up?

Physicality
Bodily tensions lead to expressive restriction, keeping you from doing what you want to do. When your body is stiff rather than pliant your mind can become rigid instead of flexible and your emotions become frozen. In this segment I will deal with tension through relaxation and exercises to free the physical instrument. When your body is free, progress in your process grows by leaps and bounds. If you’d like to reach another level in your acting, this is a first place to start.

The Emotional Connection
When the body is free and the mind is focused you are more aware of what is going on internally with the character. There is a difference between acting a scene and experiencing a scene.  An audience cannot, nor do they wish to, “act” with you and they certainly don’t want to see you “act”.  But they do want to see you experience a story and they most certainly can experience a story with you (the character).  When there is something going on inside of you something goes on inside of them.  Being able to connect to this part of your work is what sets the “working” actor apart from the rest.

The Craft and Business: Theatre, Film and Television
In this session, we’ll discuss Theatre vs. Film and Television: How the audition processes are different, the difference in working live and in front of the camera.  We’ll put your work in front of the camera using film, television and commercial scripts then take what we discover and see how you can use it to your benefit in the “Business”. We’ll also work thru some mock situations and discuss individual strategies for reaching your goals as an actor. 

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Rus Blackwell has over 20 years of experience in film, television and theatre as an actor and director. He was the 1984 scholarship winner at New York’s Circle in the Square Theatre School. Over the past 15 years Rus has taught literally thousands of actors and helped them along their creative journeys and currently teaches at The Actor’s School. He offers his students insight to a process comprised of his experience working with some of the finest instructors in New York such as Julliard’s Michael Kahn, Teresa Hayden of The Actor’s Studio and the late Nikos Psacharopolous  of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Topping it off, Rus brings a world of practical experience as a working actor in today’s market.          

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See you on June 3rd and watch your potential explode!

• Arrive the first day prepared to do a 30 – 90 second monologue.
• Wear comfortable work-out clothing to allow freedom of movement.
• Workshop begins at 10:00 am and ends at 5:00 pm, with a hosted lunch from 1:00 to 2:00.

For information, e-mail choosefame@msn.com or call (909) 831-4449.

Redlands Footlighters is located at 1810 Barton Road in Redlands. Click here for directions.