Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Blog”
I’m teaching. Two actors finish their scene. One of them says, “That was so horrible. I wasn’t real. It was just terrible.” I pause and walk slowly to the side of the stage. “Why don’t you change the sentence in your head” “What do you mean?” “It’s just a sentence …
About five years ago I was approached about teaching a Musical Theatre class for The Barrow Group’s adult students. An acting class for singers and actors. It had been a while since TBG had such a class. They thought I would be a good candidate based on my years of …
I am standing on top of a ridge at thirteen thousand feet after hiking a bit with my skis on my shoulder. My son wants to start the day off with the deepest powder. I haven’t done this run in years and not with this much powder. I throw …
Some of the most extraordinary experiences I have while teaching come when I’m leading youth classes. Young artists are a constant reminder of the importance of play, imagination, and joy. Three ideas come to mind most clearly when I think of what I’ve learned from kids about storytelling: 1. Storytelling …
Ask any actor and they’ll tell you that some of the best acting they’ve ever seen has not been on screen or on a stage, but in small rooms. A play reading in a living room. A scene study class in an out-of-the-way studio space. Sharing a monologue in some …
I didn’t realize how someone asking me to write a blog would send me into a tailspin of identity crisis and panic about not having my own opinion about anything, let alone art. I blame this on being a fresh mom of two, where I basically live in an echo …
I’m sitting in rehearsal with K. Lorrel Manning, working on his one-person show, “Lost…Found.” He says a line about his father. He stops, overcome with emotion. “That just hit me so hard for the first time.” I look at Christine Cirker, my co-director, who catches my gaze. The room gets …
When I was a senior in college as an Early Childhood Education major, I took my first theater class. This was my first attempt to follow my dream of being a professional storyteller. It was a stage movement class that focused on character-building and storytelling with commedia dell’arte masks. My …
I’m on a speed boat speeding across the azure blue waters of the Galapagos Islands on our way to Kicker Rock. A brown-haired gentleman with Rayban sunglasses leans against the cabin wall sporting a yellow T-shirt that reads, “SLOW LIFE.” We arrive at our destination, a huge, jagged piece of …
New Year’s resolutions have never been my thing. Which may come as a surprise since I’m not only an actor, but a longtime personal trainer and a recently-certified life coach. I’ve spent years helping others clarify their desires, take steps in service of their goals and dreams, and shift limiting …
The holiday season is upon us, and whatever holidays you celebrate, I hope they’re happy. It’s also a gift-giving season for many, so I thought this might be a good time for my list of favorite theatre books. If you’ve taken class with me I’ve likely mentioned these before. As …
In 2017, The Barrow Group held our thirty-year anniversary party. As I stood in the lobby, next to a large blue painting that still hangs in our space, a dear friend came up to me, gave me a big huge smile, and said, “Lee Brock, you are an aspen tree.” …
“I love acting class because I feel comfortable talking about anything.” This unprompted remark from one of my nine-year-old students comes during a break in class. I barely get out, “Oh, great! I’m glad you feel comfortable,” before she’s off and running to a friend to chat about the differences …
It’s 5:00 in the morning. It’s dark, and Trigger, my dog, needs to go out for a walk. Oh, just five more minutes, I think. He licks my face again. I get up and get dressed; put my shoes and coat on; put Trigger’s leash on; get in the elevator …
I remember the first time Lee Brock (TBG co-artistic director and teaching artist) asked me how much fun I was having after my first go of a scene. It was in the master class, which by name alone can carry some pressure. In verbatim, she asked my scene partner and …
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?” …
“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 …
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, …
“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 …
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 …
