First I should say: I only attended a couple of classes but knew quickly this place wasnt for me. (And in the business owner's reply they will probably reply that if I stayed I would have seen more), which would be highly unlikely because the way Its taught is the only way people on zoom could also attend. So If they did try to break into groups, the people on zoom would be unable to take part. So that should illustrate what that place purpose is. Is it a business? of course and so money is their MO. But packing people in just to get warm bodies- not cool
Bob is great, very passionate and humorous, but I was not there for comedy hour and unfortunately the teaching process was non existent, nor for me was it effective.
Class is three hours long and you only do a one to two minute dialogue with brief critique while the students who have been there longer do a scene and get critiqued as well as the people on zoom. So you can see that academic model is more for volume and turn over, not so much for quality instruction.. I had to drive an hour each way then sit two hours or more to do a one minute dialogue. I thought there would be some kind of technique taught, but after my last class monologue the guy teaching was like "dont be so mechanical" then he gave me a brief example.There is no scene study or character development as advertised. Just some pointers. And alot of time is spent with him joking and talking about sometimes unsavory things to elicit laughter under the guise of making people relaxed. For him Its just a way to have fun. There is nothing really professional about that class. If you are a real student and enjoy learning dont go there. He has little control of the class.
As a teacher of not only martial arts but English as well for 20 years, I can say there are much more effective ways to teach a group of 20 students that are better and Why does anyone would use zoom for learning acting... convenience, cheaper price? fear?
And even in the book that is recommended for the class by Basil Hoffman, in the book on page 27 he writes: " time is precious and fleeting. Dont squander it in frustration and confusion. There are good teachers and there are right ones for you." As soon as I read that I contacted the business guy for the group (which is his son) and told him I wouldn't be attending anymore.
I am not upset or angry but come on..there is no scene study , there is no real structure or techniques taught. If the teacher reads this and starts actually teaching and not acting like a teacher, than it will be a 250 dollars well spent. I will probably be blackballed for just being honest but truthful living is more important than truthful acting.
As a beginner it just seemed useless to me. But I do like Bob. Great personality and sincere. Just wish he would understand that its not about him in the room.
Why not break up into pairs and groups so people can actually learn by doing not just watching. Then the students would become familiar with each other and there wouldn't be a gap between the new and older students and then people would really be comfortable and it would truly be a safe environment. But I am learning that in this business there are teachers and there are actors, who act like teachers. For me Its easy to discern but for the 20ish age group they dont have enough experience to understand what they see.
People talk about truthful acting but truthful living is more important
* This is a respectful and honest review of my direct experience, there is no pejorative tone intended and it is in no way intended to slander or injure a business. I am exercising my right to freedom of speech in a responsible way in an attempt to bring my direct experience forward so people understand what they might expect if they choose this place because not much information is online about this business and the way it is presented on the website is not as it is. In all fairness noone at the place did anything bad or wrong, for me it was just not productIve so my goal is to enlighten people as to the reality compared to the idea. read more