The Fundamentals of an HB acting technique: Here, you develop the ability to respond truthfully, dynamically, and vividly with fellow actors and the ability to access sensory elements. You tap into the power of imagination and the reservoir of memory. You gain a working understanding of the terms: previous circumstances, destination, inner and outer objects, intentions, obstacles, and conflicts. You develop an awareness of the power, function, and dynamics of “place”, and learn to be in a state of discovery, which leads to actions. You develop tools of research and observation and you get comfortable improvising. You begin to measure yourself against professional standards and develop habits of discipline and a strong work ethic. Do understand that these practices take time to master. It takes about a year (20-30 weeks) at this level to really own the skills addressed. Further scene study or performance work will then take root in this fertile ground. 

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• Required reading: A Challenge for the Actor by Uta Hagen
• Recommended viewing: Uta Hagen's Acting Class documentary
• Prerequisite: Open to all.

Esta clase, impartida en español, es un curso de nivel combinado (Niveles 1 y 2). Está basada en la técnica de Uta Hagen y diseñada para guiar a los actores en el proceso de preparación y ensayo de textos dramáticos. A través del trabajo de escenas, monólogos y soliloquios, los estudiantes aplicarán los Seis Pasos de Hagen mientras fortalecen herramientas esenciales como objetos internos, sustituciones, transferencias, atribuciones sensoriales y el desarrollo del personajes. Los estudiantes trabajarán con escenas de obras hispanas contemporáneas y clásicas, transitando por un ciclo creativo de descubrimiento, investigación, experimentación y refinamiento. En clase, los actores presentarán su trabajo, recibirán notas y continuarán explorando el arco completo del material—incluyendo el entorno, la partitura física, la vida emocional y las motivaciones—para dar vida a cada escena con honestidad, especificidad y riesgo creativo. Se podrán incorporar ejercicios de técnica según sea necesario para abordar desafíos actorales específicos. Se espera de los estudiantes un compromiso de ensayo con sus compañeros fuera de clase, con una dedicación estimada de 2 a 3 horas semanales de preparación.

• Aprende más sobre el instructor
• Libro necesario para el curso: Un Reto Para El Actor (Artes Escénicas) by Uta Hagen
• Requisito previo: El curso está abierto a actores hispanohablantes de todos los niveles, así como a aquellos para quienes el español es una segunda lengua y desean profundizar su capacidad para actuar en español

In this workshop, led by Reza Salazar, participants are invited to explore the clown not just as an entertainer, but as a vehicle for exploration and discovery. Actors will develop a deep understanding of the transformative power of clowning. Reza will guide each individual toward uncovering their unique clown—the one that transcends the traditional red nose. The clown here is an expression of vulnerability, authenticity, and a tool for embracing the absurdity of life. Through laughter, physicality, free-form writing techniques and play, this workshop encourages actors to break free from societal constraints, tapping into the unfiltered, joyful part of themselves that exists in everything, everywhere.

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• Prerequisite: Open to all

Open up to a beautiful world! Mime is a form of silent communication using gesture and physical body movement to describe an event or tell a story. The best mimes are also good actors (and vice-versa!) because the emotional honesty of the work needs to be there as well. Mime requires that the body be prepared to accept the suggestion of the actor’s mind and emotion. In this class, you will learn exercises which bring your awareness to the many ways the body is ready to respond. Mime opens the world to an actor because the actor can create their own world –objects and places – with the immediacy of a few gestures. Mime tends toward comedy, but as with Charlie Chaplin, the work can also be moving or even tragic.

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• What to wear: Loose or flexible clothing (i.e. leggings, etc.) you can move in; gymnast/mime shoes or bare feet
• Prerequisite: Open to All

Held online via Zoom: A combined-level class for actors at level 1 and level 2. Scenes are presented in class for critique, then reworked to explore and apply feedback. Actors at Level 1: For those at the beginning of their acting training, this class will be an introduction to the process of preparing and rehearsing a scripted text. You will work to find authentic inner connection to the character’s details and circumstances and to choose truthful, effective and lively actions. Actors at Level 2: For those at the intermediate level 2, you apply the lessons of Acting 1 and 2 to the preparation, rehearsal, and presentation of scenes from contemporary realist plays (mid-20th century to present). Technique exercises may be introduced diagnostically to address problems as they arise. A commitment to rehearse with partners outside of class is required.

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• Prerequisite: Open to all

Training in voice work begins with the cultivation of deep physical awareness. Specific attention will be given to how the body—bones, muscles, breath, and nervous system – relates to healthy vocal production and vocal freedom. Examine how it feels to stand on your feet. Learn about how you live in your body, how you relate to your head and neck and shoulders. Discover how this affects your use of voice and influences healthy vocal spontaneity and expressiveness. Develop curiosity about these sensations and the circumstances and habits that affect them. Work through specific exercises to develop a Level 1 vocal and creative warm up sequence that will become your ongoing practice. Through your warm up become used to the process of checking in: recognizing and allowing the physical/emotional moment you are in and the circumstances that attend it, experiencing the moment, and working from it. Develop a relationship with the habitual patterns that influence how you engage with yourself–your skeletal and muscular structures, autonomic nervous system, your breath and your voice. Develop spontaneity, learning what it feels like to give in to a physical experience. With curiosity, explore and experience rigidity in the body through the release of tension, breathing, and spontaneous truthful sound. Learn the basic anatomy that supports breathing, sound making, and articulation in speech. Throughout Level 1 you are asked to discover your own process and be with others in theirs, so together the group develops a sense of what it means to be heard, seen and understood. This class employs the destructuring and restructuring processes of Fitzmaurice Voicework® devised by Catherine Fitzmaurice. Be advised that this Level requires time to master, and most actors will need a two- or three- term investment at Level 1 to develop awareness and become confident in these practices. All else in voice and speech work will build on this foundation.

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• Registration Prerequisite: Open to all

A deep look at the close up: We live in a fast, result-driven culture. Our industry is just as frantic. Social media has us pointing phones at ourselves all day. But if we are hoping to learn, or re-investigate screen acting, we need time to explore our relationship to the camera. What is “too big”? What does it feel like to “trust the mic”? How much can you bring to simply listening? This workshop offers a space to slow down and experience these questions for yourself. Through monologues, scene analysis and on-camera rehearsals, you’ll have the opportunity to find you in your character; to breathe and to BE. Created and led by two acclaimed actors each with 30 plus years experience on stage and on both sides of the camera. 

• Learn more about the instructors: Amelia Campbell & Anthony Arkin
• Prerequisite: Open to theater actors with some on camera experience

In Scene Study 2, you will apply the lessons of Acting 1 and 2 to the preparation, rehearsal, and presentation of scenes, focusing on contemporary realist plays (mid-20th century to present). Scenes are presented in class for critique, then reworked to explore and apply feedback. Technique exercises may be introduced diagnostically to address problems as they arise.

• Learn more about the instructor
• Prerequisite: Open to Acting Level 2 and up; English proficiency is required. New to HB? Submit online for level placement