Well I could name drop or put a bunch of quotes up from a lot of happy people but I am just not like that and I am avoiding it.  Although I am sure I will give in one of these days.  I prefer to sell myself on what I believe.  I have myself spent a lot of money on NAMES!  Wish I had that cash now.  Oh well.  I am a say it as I see it kind of person.  Although my students have often referred to me as "Mother" because I am rather nurturing.  But I don't baby them either.  I expect a lot but I give them the tools they need to produce a lot.  

Acting vs. Performing

The core of what I teach is "make it real!" Stop performing and do what professional actors do, "live it."  

"Real" what does that mean?  Well if television shows and films truly reflected our real lives they would bore us all to death.  Most people hide their emotions, avoid confrontation and go through the day without event.  Now how interesting is that?  Not very.  Events are rare.  So what does this mean to an actor?  It means making it real is not very real at all.  So what do they really mean when they say that?

Simply, stop performing.  Stop doing and saying everything for the audience.    Entertainers, performers and actors do different jobs.  Entertainers and performers have their mind on the audience and even change what they are doing according to their response.  TV and Film actors have an audience of one.  Actors must share emotions, inner conflicts and thoughts with that audience and he or she is only inches away.  Everything changes when it's that intimate.  Save the entertaining and performing for Vegas, baby.  Look into the eyes of your scene partner and connect to them, not the audience.  And that is just the beginning of making it real.

Even reality TV isn't entirely real.  It's edited.  A story is woven and characters are developed out of the footage acquired.  All the development that goes into a dramatic series goes into a reality series, or at least it should.

It is the job of a film or a TV or internet series to tell a story.  What does that mean?  We take the viewer on an emotional journey.  On that journey they must travel from one place of thought to another.  It is a collaborative effort and everyone from writer to editor must be on board.  I like to think of it as the emotional roller coaster ride at the amusement park of life.  A very well plotted journey of hills and spirals.  And in the end you can see where you came from but now you are on the other side looking back at where you were just a short time ago.

So in a practical sense some of "making it real" is very real and some is completely against our nature and isn't real at all.  For instance. when was the last time you cried in front of a group of people, or even one person?  Crying is an emotion we usually save for ourselves.  Most people try hard NOT to cry yet actors try oh so hard to cry.  It's annoying and rarely looks "real."  Stop trying to cry.  Have the thoughts of the character and if the tears come fight them off until they force their way through and then you will have my heart.

So what do I, Maureen Dempsey, do?

I am a practical teacher.  I don't just spit back the cliché terms that every actor has heard "make it real,"  or "it's too big."  I explain that and show you how to conquer it.

I teach what to do and when to do it.  And what NOT to do.  I have sat on the other side during a casting when comments are made after each actor leaves the room.  I know what they notice and what they laugh at.

Some of my time is spent fine tuning your ability to just be in front of the camera.  Think about a close up.  We really are just inches from our audience of one.  This is intimate and not easy to adjust to.  We don't keep our friends and family this close.  

I do not teach any specific "technique."  I have myself, studied many of the most popular "techniques" during my time in Hollywood and while I believe all of this stuff is helpful, it's not the bottom line.  The techniques are like exercises and actors are athletes.  We all need them.  But when it comes down to it, you just need to walk.  Just being able to be "you" in the truest sense on camera is what they want.  And believe it or not that takes hard work.  But not the kind of work you may think.  It takes hard work to get you to stop working so hard to perform.

I will be using many of the techniques I've learned as exercises but I do not focus on one.  I use them to help you on an as needed basis or I encourage you to seek those classes.

We will cover...

Part of the time is spent on Career Counseling which includes;

Who are you?

Who can you play?

The Look.  Basic tips.

Just email me with a brief description of you and your contact phone number and I will call you to set up an appointment.fromstage2screen@yahoo.com