The Workshops

Tim Hillman Workshops offers a series of workshops that cover material in a four week span, with a total of five classes per workshop. They are specifically designed for a variety of levels of actor ongoing education. Most importantly, the workshops are not finite. Given the fluid nature of Tim’s teaching style, actors find that working through the variety of workshops in the program allows them to continually focus on the areas of their craft that need specific attention.

Monologue/Audition Workshop:

Actors bring monologue material to the workshop, and work together with Tim and other workshop participants to develop monologue presentation technique focused on making the all-important “best impression possible” within the first thirty seconds of an audition- the time when casting directors and directors make their initial decisions as to whether you are or are not the individual to be considered for a role.

One-Act Ongoing Workshop

Actors work together with a different one-act each week in order to learn the craft of defining a character arc over the course of a twenty to thirty minute piece. The workshop centers around cold-reading one acts with workshop participants and doing instant staging.

Pro Series

For working actors, these workshops offer a continual presence of a mentor in your career, and an opportunity to focus taking chances in an environment that works heavily in improvisation based in the theories of a variety of settings. The central ongoing conversation relates to the compilation of a series of methodologies that fill the actor’s toolbox with the means to react smoothly in stressful situations and avoid pitfalls that can sabotage work before it begins.

Difficult Environment Acting

No acting experience is perfect, and this ongoing workshop tales actors out of their comfort zone and deals specifically with acting environments that make actors less aware of their craft. In consultation with Tim, the workshop particpants define these trouble areas, and then develop tools for dealing with the difficult.

Young Actors Workshop

Younger actors work with scene study and improvisational techniques to develop a conscious technique that allows the subconscious to come to life in any surrounding. Particular attention is paid to necessary elements of the craft (memorization, physical action, gesture, etc.) Actors in this workshop are pushed to develop skills that will get them the part they want in conventional educational theatre situations.

Barter Workshop

Actors lacking the means to pay for consistent education are invited to be a part of Tim Hillman Workshop’s “Barter for Training” program- cash is not necessary, and compensation to the teacher can consist of negotiated fees based in the day to needs of the Workshop program. The classes run on an open model, and drop-ins are welcome by appointment. Bring a can of food, a cup of coffee- anything to keep the teacher’s cabinet stocked. Special arrangements are also possible. Full remission is offered to licensed massage therapists.

All workshops are priced at $250 per four week sessions. Financial aid is available to qualified actors.

All class sizes are limited to no more than ten students so as to avoid actor’s feeling that they do not have the full attention of the teacher to their individual work. Classes are dynamic and action oriented. You will be up and working for much of any session.

Facing Forward

Hi readers…

This is actually a Facebook note I penned today.

“On the list of pivotal days, August 18 2009 is going to stick hard in my list.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been largely silent so as not to jinx a job possibility. Rabun Gap Nacochee School, high in the Blue Ridge mountains, came looking for a theatre director. It seemed so right, and I rode that train with Camel Lights and caffeine for a week. Jumps on Dehavilland Dash-8’s, ACC football, and a miraculous school with a program that is ripe to explode.

Today I found out that I didn’t get the gig. For someone who has been unemployed for a year now, trust me when I say it hit me like I’ve seldom been hit- truly, the sobs were those of a dying man and driving my Corolla into the ocean seemed like a great choice. But it isn’t, and I didn’t.

So now it is all about going on. The mistakes in my life brought me to this point. With no intention toward self-pity (hell, i would publish this as an op-ed) I’ve officially gotten about as low as I can go. No wife, no job, no money, no home, no friends in arms reach- zip, zero, nada. A Telecaster, XBOX, homemade golf clubs, and a .22 rifle are still with me while the rest of my possessions seem long gone to Ebay. There are more, but those objects kind of sum it up. Having music, entertainment and a gun for plinking cans (or getting a squirrel if it comes to that) are central.

I tell this story because that is what I do- tell stories. And a long time ago, I began to write because doing so seemed particularly effective in keeping the devils at bay. So it must do for now.

Somehow, some way, it will all be okay. Really, it is now. I breath although I should have died long ago, walk despite feet that don’t work, and can still find joy in the simplicity of nature.

Now though, I am soaring like an eagle, searching for a landing point that will prove solid ground and provide reason. I’m not sure that reason can be found in all of this. I’ve seen so much- a boy die at his own hands because he couldn’t go on, my brother pass at 58 because his own life took too hard a tool. A father who saw things I’m glad I never did. A doctor apologize to me for shocking me when I should have been unconscious- this list is never ending. It seems that I never forget, but rather remember every moment as if it was yesterday. As I soar on, I know there is more to find.

Within though, I stay a child. Possessed of a child’s curiosity, the impish glee, and the emotion that is dyed into my sleeve like the fine yellow of onion and vinegar.

It’ll be all right. It’ll be all right.

The next step is toward the coast- a criminal stealing away in the evening light toward new hope and new surroundings. I don’t know what I’ll find, or whether something will happen in the next few days that throws it all a kilter once more. A good and kind friend who lost it all for an indiscretion was fond of telling his god “I am here.”

For better or for worse, I am indeed here, and don’t plan on stepping out anytime soon. If I tagged you, it’s because you’ve been a part of this fantastic journey. May the day find you well. Hold your dear ones close, and hang on as our planet spins and spins. Let the gravity keep you here, but don’t let it hold you down.”

Don’t Read This Post

Don’t read this post- especially if you are an actor.

But if you are an actor that ascribes to anything Stanislavsky said, then you need to think about the end of his career.

In a craft like ours, age matters greatly.

So the last things Stanislavsky said were the most important unless he was out of his mind, right?

Yet, our actor training says that the other 99.9% of what Stanislavky said is far more important.

I disagree.

I go on the last .000001 or so.

Stanislavsky had come to believe that you couldn’t use literature to teach the craft of acting

Having read more than my fair share of acting literature- he’s right.

What’s preferrable?

Ten hours reading about acting or ten hours acting?

Now I don’t think you should throw out the dog-earred copy of An Actor Prepares or ditch the Six Lessons. Respect for Acting can stay on your shelf, Practical Handbook for the Actor, really anything that anyone’s ever had to say about the craft.

But getting to know acting from a book?

Not gonna happen.

So we all need to think a little different,

or get our vision cleared.

Because if Stanislavsky’s supposition that reading about the craft is not the way-

We just wasted about thirty seconds.

When talking about acting-

the other actors matter most,

yet nobody matters but you.

It’s a paradox, eternal and enduring for an actor.

That’s why it’s fun, and that’s why it sucks.

Torn relationships in your wake, feelings thrown about-

Makes for great theatre.

All new.

With the upcoming west coast move, it’s time for a fresh new look here.

Ah.

Theatre of the Very Young

One of the fun parts (if there are any) about looking for work as a director in educational theatre is the challenging task of concretely expressing exactly WHAT you will do with the kids once you get there. A friend of mine was fond of calling Easter “the big Kahuna” of Christianity- the big Kahuna in educational theatre is, as I’ve noted before, expressing the inexpressible.

So now, as I look for work, I find myself trying to do just that. For weeks now, I’ve explored the idea of theatre with the very young. Here’s the result of those ruminations.

Years ago, I realized that the secret to doing high school theatre well is to run as far away from the words “high school” as quickly as possible. Those words, grouped with the word theatre, make “high school theatre.” Dangerous wording. Reasons? If you’ve been to more than one or two high school plays, you’ve seen bad theatre.

How can I say this with such confidence? I’ve seen high school theatre. Generally, there are a few marks of traditional “high school theatre.” First off, acting. There are plenty of good acting teachers out there, and they often create good actors for mediocre productions. The teacher sinks so much effort into the good ones that she leaves the rest behind, resulting in an uneven play. We’ve all seen those. Second, costuming. The standard routine is to call a costume house and have them ship in all of the costumes for the play. That’s terrific in that you get great costumes (if slightly tattered and smelling of napthalene), but there is no design element in play. Opening the boxes of costumes is great fun for the actors who miss the qualities that costumes designed to meet a director’s vision miss. This leads to scenery, the thing you can’t fake. If it’s bad, it’s bad. If you’ve painted in a palette of colors that doesn’t match the costumes, it’s worse

Here’s the thing though- most audiences don’t blame anyone for the horrific three hours they’ve spent- they accept that it was high school theatre and move on with the illegal video of the show and memories of their child’s success (or lack thereof.) And as to the young actors, they actually come to believe that the bad is good. Standing ovations for mediocrity lend to that belief. If you doubt me, think on this.

The worst musical I ever directed (No, No, Nanette) was doomed from the start. Rented costumes, a forgettable set, bad choreography, and worst of all, dancers moving through the audience flinging tea bags during “Tea for Two” all helped create a disastrous piece of high school theatre. However, a funny thing happened on the way to awful. Not unlike Max Bialystok, I was stunned when the audience, stars of stage and screen included, rose to a thunderous standing ovation at the end of each show. I was stunned by the moments, and recognized that if this gets standing ovations, then there is something wrong with the standards of the high school audience. And if that’s true, what can possibly be inferred about other school theatre audiences? Gilbert and Sullivan likely spend a substantial amount of time rolling in their graves as middle school audiences endure yet another Pirates of Penzance.

Take a step closer to where creativity begins, and I fear it starts to get worse. Once you’ve arrived in elementary school, the unknown “they” have started to call it “Creative Dramatics” instead of theatre. Translated, that phrase means creative action, as if there has been no creative action from children before- you must teach it to them.

Now, wind the clock back even further into the earliest years of a child’s awareness. Lots of games, lots of simple plays, and lots of theatre without a complete focus comes to fruition. So how do you fix it? First, throw out the notion that the plays we’ve been doing with kids are worthwhile because they teach “other” skills.

You don’t teach math to help with self-confidence, or history to create better communicators. You teach them for the validity of the subject material, and to aid the student in developing a concrete manner of processing and synthesizing material. Kids communicate well to start with- laughter, yelling, crying- these all do a heck of a job communicating what’s up with a child. It’s the communication they don’t do well that is the domain of the theatre.

Thiers’s is a world fraught with uncertainty- monsters in the closet, Santa Claus and the Easter bunny- extremely real fantasies. They are challenged though (and in some cases, not emotionally able) to communicate in the way that good theatre demands. So what is one to do? One school of thought seems to accept that bad will be bad, and if you dress them up well enough and make sure they don’t screw up, bad will be good.

I propose a different tack. Theatre in and of itself is the simplest and oldest of art forms. All you need are two people communicating (and agreeing on what is communicated) to create theatre. Look it up- it’s true. We know, because we have seen it again and again, that young children are wholly capable of creating good performances and supporting the work of others. Some are tricked into it, but the final result is the same. Great acting. Anna Paquin and Tatum O’Neal carry Oscars- can others do the same? Of course they can

There is of course a simple argument- these successful child actors are unique talents and should not be lumped in with the vast numbers of children who don’t have the same gift. And of course, the naysayers are correct- special is special and casting directors search high and low for “special” kids who can pull adult performances out of their lunch sack. But- does that mean we cannot attempt to teach all children to create effective theatre? Of course not. And in the arts, that is the meat of the matter. A child may create a dreadful painting, but we attempt to teach them to paint well. A child may sing a song adequately, but we work to teach them to sing brilliantly. A child may write well, but we always work to teach them to write better. We don’t always succeed, but the art is the center of the question. So whither the theatre?

I propose a more direct approach. While fully aware of the difficulty involved, those teachers blessed to work with the young should be teaching them theatre from day one. No tasks to simply entertain, or kill time. More importantly, no tasks for the young actor that are simply drawn from a book, without concrete understanding of purpose. For high school age actors, I’ve always made a clear distinction. “You are not doing high school theatre” I say- “You are doing theatre in a high school setting.” For the youngest actors it should be the same- it’s not Pre-K theatre, it’s theatre in Pre-K. If you accept that premise, then you’ve made an enormous leap. The children will show what they can really do in the construct of a play or piece of theatre, and they will learn as actors should. Their self-awareness will grow not because we’ve taught them, but because it’s a logical outgrowth of the work.

Therefore, I advocate for a new theatre of the young- a wondrous place where spectacular things can happen. Frankly, the prospect of tapping into the creative power of children to make theatre is more than simply exciting- it’s the way we keep theatre alive and protect its future.

Playing in the Field

As the hunt for work continues, with all of its highs and lows, I have to admit that ultimately this is all good for me.

Now that’s fairly difficult to say nwhen you are hunting for employment- with bills to pay and people to feed unemployment is more than a bit terrifying. Some days good, some not so good, but all are simply further moves on the game board. Chutes and Ladders for grown-ups.

Major realizations….

I am over fifty now, and that is a bone of contention with employers. One recruiter told me that most of the principals in  his system would be loathe to hire someone of my age and experience.

My feet aren’t getting better. Can’t dance, can run for about twenty yards before they break down, and they are a simple part of daily thought. It’s a bitch but what can you do? Major lesson though- if you try and walk about three miles a day with what I’ve got you better be prepared to wonder why your feet are numb from the toes to the heel (and all the way up the leg even!)

I bury the lead. Bloss understands this…

The trick to what I do isn’t a trick- it’s a way of being. When asked what I would bring to a program, I was stumped for more than a moment. I am not accustomed to blaring my own horn. Yes, I am as egotistical as the next actor, but I generally brag about the people I’ve helped- not myself. So when your body of work is best described by your students, it pays to figure out why they’ve been helped so.

I haven’t helped them nearly as much as they have helped me, but certainly that’s not their intent- you don’t try to help the teacher learn. All I can finally say is that it’s about two things- how well you listen, and how well you communicate.

Forced to confront that “what” of me, I finally got a glimpse of what the “what” is. Recently folk have taken to calling me authentic or genuine. But what the hell does that mean?

In the midst of talking to three interviewers, I finally got a glimpse. Without question, even interviewing is teaching- you’ve but a brief moment in time to communicate a reality- in the case of an interview why you stand out among a group of candidates.

And in my case, what makes me stand out is the listening thing. I can talk up a storm and weave wonderful stories, but I listen too. My awareness of self extends to my awareness of the “other’s” reality. Blame it on improvisation training- you focus so hard on the effect of your words that you react in real time, unfettered.

That’s what causes the double entendre’s- I am so wrapped up in the moment that I don’t focus on five different ways to take what I’ve said.

But with every individual, be they three years old or sixty, the focus remains the same. I don’t see them as adults or children, but simply as people. If they don’t understand what I am saying, I restate. I measure whether they understand or not. And that means that all are treated as equal.

Result is that no matter the situation, I stay myself. Sometimes that translates to errors in judgment, but mostly it translates to effective communication, and a deeper sense of understanding between people.

Try treating a thirteen year old as an adult, and you’ll see what happens. If they err they err, but you will hear the real person, the authentic soul.

If you want a different understanding, rent The Legend of Bagger Vance. Will Smith spends a fair amount of time in the flick trying to get Matt Damon to find his “authentic” swing- the one that only he can master, and the one that is so elusive. That, and “playing in the field.”

I like to play in the field.

This is a Challenge

For years, I’ve ridden the wave- not of career really, but employment. Since exiting college nearly thirty years ago, one thing remianed constant until about five years ago.

Employment. Right out of college it was simple. One interview, one week of waiting, and appointment to a position at Phillips Andover. In my own dreams, I couldn’t imagine such a thing happening. For a then actor, newly affianced, the choice made perfect sense. And along with the job came a new passion. Teaching theater and training actors.

I still don’t entirely understand the nature of it- and I won’t try to understand. But I know what the “it” is. Watching the telly last weekend, I saw a competition between college receivers. All had made it this far- to the showcase for catchers of footballs soon to be playing the game on Sundays. In each case, their skills were amazing. Balls blazed at them thrown by Jugs machines. Through the first four receivers, each dropped their fair share, but still, catching the ball the way they did was nothing short of remarkable. Until the guy from Penn State checked in.

He dismantled the competition. Standing there with hands by his side and seemingly oblivious to the pressure of the moment, he picked balls out of the sky as if they had been thrown by three-year-olds. Each ball thrown nestled into his hands and was tossed away like a bad apple. Not thrown away, or dropped after a catch, but tossed away lightly as he turned to the next machine. Eight for eight each time.

At that instant, I knew that he would be employed the next year by some NFL team in search of a wide receiver that needed a third down “possession” type of receiver. he showed no blazing speed, or dominating toughness, just an uncanny ability to pluck footballs from the air. I felt at one with him.

Except in the employment part. Thing is, there is no possible way to explain what it is that I do in a classroom. Time after time, I have asked actors a simple question- how do you act so well? They’ll never give you an answer, because they can’t. Moreover, they will readily acknowledge the impossibility of such a thing. You can’t explain a sub-conscious process. Something happens- you made it happen, but the “something” is elusive.

That’s the way teaching is for me- when I do it best, I am trying to get out of the way of myself and of the actors I teach. My own conscious awakening of my sub-conscious is the point I work toward, then I avoid the things that would bring me back into the conscious state. Ideas come flying out of my subconscious with ease- they are then monitored by my conscious self, chosen for delivery or tossed away like those bad apples.

So that’s my gift, the thing that makes me employable. The gift I have, when carefully considered, brings people to the theater. Unfortunately though, you can’t explain that magic “if” to just anybody. I’ve no idea how many theater educators are out their plying their craft successfully, but in my experience, the vast majority of those teachers have colleagues and students who will maintain that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Those who do the hiring then are concerned with different things. How old is the person? Can they do other things well? Are they the perfect “fit” for our school? Perfectly reasonable questions to ask. My first two schools were fits. The third was, and then it wasn’t. The fourth? Let’s just say I was in that one to keep my family fed.

So, just past fifty years old, I am searching for the school that will open its doors to what it is that I do. The age doesn’t help, the handicapped feet don’t help, the master’s degree never pursued because I was so enmeshed in teaching doesn’t help. All that can really help is my ability to describe the indescribable to someone, somewhere, and hope that they get “it”.

Until then, I am learning a different lesson. That one brings me back to the Great Depression, and emboldens me with the knowledge that fighting for survival in hard times is perhaps the best lesson of all.

First show at the school that brings me in?

Grapes of Wrath.

That I understand.

More on Facebook Jumping Shark

“Facebook is starting to get on my nerves. We need a new social networking site. There, I said it.”

See? I am not alone…credit it to a friend of mine.

Central issue is exactly what the net has enabled- nothing private anywhere.

The 25 Things About Me lists are the new fun- as the astute young man responsible for the quote also observed,

Facebook Reaches Tipping Point, Jumps the Shark.

Let it be said here first- Facebook has officially done both the tipping point and jumping the shark in the same virtual moment.

Up until now, it tended to bring in real, but distant friends.

But somehow, the demographic has shifted wildly.

There was a time when being over thirty (or forty) on Facebook was, well, cool.

Found hundreds of former students- know who they are, and what they’ve become.

And they know what’s become of me.

But, for me at least, the rules have changed.

8 years

8 years since I did a play?

Honestly?

What have I been thinking!