Schedule

All classes are taught by Shea Hampton. The fee is  $260 per month for 4 classes. The schedule is as follows:

MONDAY
Weekly at 7.00 p.m. This is an advanced class.  Admission is at the discretion of the teacher.

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY
Weekly at 7.00 p.m. These classes are mostly a blend of advanced and intermediate actors.  Sometimes a talented beginner will be admitted.

ADMISSION 
To join a class actors must first audit a class.  Cold read audition is required.

AUDIT
Audit is free of charge and may be arranged by contacting the office.

WORKSHOPS
Weekend workshops are offered from time to time in other cities.  Check here for upcoming dates.

Spirit in the work

A one-day workshop that is offered 3 times a year at Shea’s residence in South Surrey.  I created this workshop to help actors learn how it feels to be truly centred in their bodies and to be able to take that to their work.  We begin with a group meditation and then move outside to walk the labyrinth.  The labyrinth is sacred space and allows you to go deep within. This is often a very powerful and profound experience for many people.  We then go inside the house and work on cold reads.  After lunch we do a short 5-minute meditation.  This illustrates to everyone how they may return to that centred, grounded place very quickly before doing any creative work.  We then work with scenes on-camera…

Process

The process we use has evolved to help actors develop and refine themselves as truthful, sensitive instruments through which their talent flows.  This is an intuitive approach that gets actors out of their head and into their body, coming from what they feel, not what they think they should be feeling.  We work with energy and the instrument to create the utmost honesty and connectedness.  Everyone is respected for their uniqueness and is worked with on a personal level to address their particular needs.

Attention is always given to the voice.  Finding the real voice.  Only when one is centred and connected to their real voice will they be able to allow the energy and emotion to flow.  Energy and voice are interconnected and cannot be ignored.

Each week we work with cold reading.  This is an exercise to teach actors to focus, listen and respond truthfully, in the moment.  The cold read scene is taken away and memorized flat and is unrehearsed.  The idea is to keep the instrument open and to allow the same kind of spontaneity and freedom achieved in the cold read.  Emphasis is not upon a great scene but upon truthful moments.  The focus is always upon development of the actor.  When the actor is working well the scene very often takes care of itself.

The last class of the month is an on-camera audition class.  We work with shorter scenes and apply the process to the audition situation.

With the mental and emotional welfare of the actor being of top priority, no substitution is used or allowed.