I was lucky enough to attend a one-day intensive acting workshop recently with Tom Todoroff, and I have to say, this guy is the real deal. I was incredibly impressed by his ability to really push actors to get believable, emotionally charged performances. And the icing on the cake was when he could take an already good scene and knew the perfect staging and small adjustments to make moments really poignant or super funny.

 

Tom teaches week-long intensives in NYC and even runs a two-year conservancy, but it’s kind of amazing how much I learned in one 8-hour period. I have PAGES of notes!

 

Here are some highlights of the many, many, many tips Tom had to share:

 

1. Acting is not about YOU — it’s about the STORY

2. Take the words OFF THE PAGE

3. You must allow the part to play YOU

4. Acting is believing

5. Acting is private moments made public

6. It’s all about relaxing

7. Find funny in everything!

8. Do what’s necessary, and nothing else, to tell the story. Humble yourself to the writing!

9. Be a text detective. Dig dig dig!

10. Don’t bring all your baggage to a role. You need to create from a blank slate.

11. Don’t look at other actors to learn how to act. Look at LIFE.

 

And one awesome tip that really struck me from Rick Horovitz, who was on VO Buzz Weekly the last 2 weeks:

“I AM.”

Don’t ever think about “that guy/girl in the script.” YOU are that guy or girl, so everything that’s happening in the script is happening to YOU! Read it that way!

 

But if you really want to get it, go to the source directly! Tom Todoroff has an amazing series of acting workshops and even an intensive two-year conservatory program, and Richard Horovitz offers private coaching too.