Acting Tuition
Jo is extremely original in her tuition, offering a kind of 360 degree approach to preparing actors for stage and film. She works with you to establish a suitable plan of attack in relation to the character you have been asked to play. Firstly, she will look, with you, at the obvious: genre of the material, era, your character’s age, physicality, (stance, gesture, gait etc), vocal qualities, (accent, tone, inflexion etc), relationships, costume considerations etc and then move on to a more forensic ‘seige’ of the character, putting in, with archaeological accuracy, all the necessary fine details needed for your fusion into your role. Jo guides you towards the exciting synthesis of you plus your character to create Stanislavski’s “Third Being” :– a completely unique entity which only YOU can create, and perform.
The equation is simple: the greater the integrity of your background research on your character, the more intense and believable your performance will be.
Jo’s unique experience of the last twenty years synthesizing Stanislavskian and Method theory and practice into her own highly successful approach benefits all theatre and film students, of whatever age, interested in a forensic ‘3D attack’ in terms of their approach to technique and background work.
Beyond naturalism, Jo has huge expertise in almost all genres and playwrights and she is particularly experienced in Shakespeare and Jacobean texts and an expert on Devised Work.
She works with a combination of great discipline, tremendous humour where appropriate, original detail and unrelenting depth-psychology: no stone is left unturned. Actors working with Jo achieve new levels of focus on the work in hand as they begin to assimilate their character. They are encouraged to initiate ideas and perfect their work with discipline. Jo inspires the young actor to develop as a human being – encouraging them not ‘go cold’ on their own exploration and awareness of the human condition each time they leave the stage or the film-set, for this ‘archaeology’ lies at the heart of the Method practice itself: the creation of character through a heightened reading of the five senses – and their exploration of this should, ideally, be total. Jo encourages her students to read, observe and interact with the world in general – and in relation to their developing character in particular – continually.
Jo is fully CRB checked and can work in hired space locally or London rehearsal rooms close to the West End. Alternatively, she can tutor you in your own home but there must be enough room in which to work.
Costs: Fees are negotiable according to budget requirements but Jo expects her experience to be valued accordingly! Minimum session, I hour.