I’m walking down the hall at The Barrow Group on my way to get some water before I start teaching class. I pass two young students talking about a play they had seen. “What do you say to your friend when they suck in the play and the play sucks?” …
Edward Stanley: Seek Opportunity And Be Ready For It
“Seek opportunity and be ready for it.” My high school drama teacher wrote that in my yearbook way back when. Frank Roberts. I loved working with Frank. He treated us like professionals and ran his classes and rehearsals like he would any professional company. When I went on to study …
Lee Brock: The Practice of Gratitude
Oct 5th 2023 – my mother’s birthday. (She would have been eighty-eight.) I am in Studio 2 of The Barrow Group’s arts center, which is filled with Barrow Group teachers. They are talking, eating food, and laughing. We all wander into TBG’s new studio theatre, where just thirty minutes ago, …
John Yearley: Helping Stories Come to Life
“You know”, I said, “there’s nothing inherently entertaining about watching writers work out their stories.” The people I was talking to stared at me blankly. Perhaps it was bad timing – I was in Oslo, and the people I was talking to had flown me thousands of miles to do …
Lee Brock: Creating in Dark Times
Bombs are hitting Israel; the war’s raging in the Ukraine; Afghanistan has one of the deadliest earthquakes in history, killing 2,440 people; Libya has a catastrophic flood, killing 11,000; America has no House Speaker; I am teaching an acting class in New York City. A student asks, “How do we …
Arielle Beth Klein: 5 Tips for Creating Your Own Work as an Actor
If you’re an actor, you’ve likely heard someone talk about the importance of “creating your own work.” Admittedly, when I first started hearing this I would roll my eyes. I didn’t want to do anything but act. If that is your initial reaction, I feel you. You don’t have to …
Lee Brock: A Kinder Relationship With Your Inner Critic
Me to a student: “How’d this morning’s Film & TV class go?” “I look horrid! I can’t stand how I look!” I watch the tears forming in her eyes. The tall, beautiful woman standing next to her starts nodding in agreement. “It’s so hard getting older and being a woman …
Shannon Patterson: Creative Sparks, Creative Friendships
Walking the dog with my husband, Mike, this past July, I suddenly noticed him kinda smiling to himself (Mike, not the dog.) We had just been talking about the amazing group of students we’d recently finished working with in the 1-Year Intermediate Program at The Barrow Group. “Whatcha smilin’ about?” …
Lee Brock: The Power of Spontaneity
I’m standing in a dark, loud bar in Edinburgh. The place smells of moldy carpet and cigarettes. My shoes stick to the alcohol-stained floor. I’m waiting to enter the Monkey Bar with seven of my fellow cast members from 17 Minutes to see Julia Masli’s show ha ha ha ha …
Chris Roberti: Better to be Done Than Good
Hi! My name is Chris Roberti, longtime friend and fan of The Barrow Group. I don’t think I’ve written more than two blog posts in my entire life, including this one that I’m writing in 2023. Incredible. I’m about to begin teaching a class very soon, and I hope you’ll …
Lee Brock: On Community
I’m walking down a circular stairwell of the National Museum of Scotland. Every inch of the stone walls surrounding the staircase is plastered with posters — thousands of them, representing 3,000 shows. I’ve just finished performing in The Barrow Group’s offering, Scott Organ’s 17 Minutes. A woman, who is crying, …
ICYMI – Lee Brock’s Column: Actors, Silence Your Negative Thoughts!
Nearly eight years ago, TBG’s founding co-artistic director Lee Brock wrote a five-part series of guest columns for Backstage.com’s “Backstage Experts” feature. Her fourth piece, entitled “Actors, Silence Your Negative Thoughts!” was published on March 7, 2016. Lee discusses an actor’s mindset, saying “We talk to ourselves all the time, …
ICYMI – Lee Brock’s Column: The 4 P’s of Acting
Nearly eight years ago, TBG’s founding co-artistic director Lee Brock wrote a five-part series of guest columns for Backstage.com’s “Backstage Experts” feature. Her third piece, entitled “The 4 P’s of Acting” was published on January 22, 2016. Lee gives her take on the fundamentals of the acting journey, and shares …
ICYMI – Lee Brock’s Column: Enlighten and Inspire
Nearly eight years ago, TBG’s founding co-artistic director Lee Brock wrote a five-part series of guest columns for Backstage.com’s “Backstage Experts” feature. Her second piece, entitled “Enlighten and Inspire’” was published on December 4, 2015. The column begins, “As actors we spend a lot of time waiting—waiting to get auditions; …
ICYMI – Lee Brock’s Column: The Art of ‘Letting Go’
Nearly eight years ago, TBG’s founding co-artistic director Lee Brock wrote a five-part series of guest columns for Backstage.com’s “Backstage Experts” feature. Her first piece, entitled “The Art of ‘Letting Go’” was published on November 10, 2015. Lee notes that when actors let go, “They start to have fun. This …
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