Meet George Elliott, Acting Class Teacher New to Portland

Meet our new Acting: Act II teacher.

We’re thrilled to welcome George Elliott to our Studio Program teaching faculty this term. George is an actor and producer who has performed at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway and in regional theatres the Charles Playhouse, Boston Conservatory, Boston Repertory Company, Pasadena Playhouse, The Pilot Theatre, and many others. George has appeared on television and in film, and has co-founded and run his own production company based in Los Angeles. He studied acting with Stella Adler of the Stella Adler Institute of Los Angeles and New York, as well as with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and California. George has degrees in Philosophy and Theatre from the University of New York at Stony Brook.

We caught up with George via email and put these questions to him.

Conservatory Confessions: You’ve had a long, successful acting career which has taken you all over the country. Tell us a little more about that path.

George: I have lived in Los Angeles on and off most of my adult life, but I was born and raised in New York City, where I often visit. I’ve also lived in Boston, Sacramento, and San Francisco. In each city I've relocated to, it’s been to work as an actor, acting teacher and restaurateur.

Monty Clift

Conservatory Confessions: What brought you to Portland?

George: In my heart, I wanted to settle down and give myself a break from having to "make it" in order to live an authentic, artistic life. I met my wife in California and she hails from Portland. We both decided to move here and make this our home.

Conservatory Confessions: What’s your favorite thing about teaching acting?

George: Watching the light that goes on when an aspiring actor "gets it"!



Conservatory Confessions: What’s the difference between Acting I and Acting II, and how do I know when I’m ready for the next level?

George: Acting I is figuring out if this work is something you really want to do. Can you stay interested while doing basic acting exercises, with the understanding that these things must be mastered before moving on? Acting II is for those who know they want to pursue the work a little further, weather that’s through scenework in class or maybe getting cast in a show.

You know you’re ready for Acting II when you are truly excited about classwork, ready to roll your sleeves up, give everything you got and not fear falling on your face in your quest to learn more about a great artform!

Conservatory Confessions: What’s a fun trivia tidbit about you?



George: My favorite actor is Monty Clift and my favorite writer is Thomas Mann.

It's HERE! Our 26th Anniversary Season of Plays Announcement

26th ANNIVERSARY SEASON SIZZLES WITH WIT, PLAYWRITING PROWESS

AT PORTLAND ACTORS CONSERVATORY

PCS’ Riordan Guest Directs at Oregon's Only Professional Actor Training Program



PORTLAND, ORE. – Oct. 7, 2010 – Portland Actors Conservatory’s 26th Anniversary season of plays champions playwrights new and old with high-pitched satire, classic Shakespearian farce and contemporary theatrical reinvention. As part of its unique model of integrating professional and student actors in their second year of professional training, The Conservatory will produce "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them," by Christopher Durang, William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” and Sarah Ruhl’s “Passion Play,” directed by Portland Center Stage associate artistic director Rose Riordan.



The Illustrious Class of 2011

“The playwrights in our season offer our students an incredible range of voices for our professional actors-in-training to embody,” said Beth Harper, artistic director. “As an indispensible component of our course of study, performance closes the loop between theory and practice. These carefully chosen works and give our students access to American theater that is at once comprehensive, contemporary, and challenging in all the right ways.”
Durang’s 2009 "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them” was dubbed “a hilarious and disturbing new comedy about all-American violence” by the New York Times (April 7, 2009) when first produced at The Public Theatre. This absurdist domestic piece from the author of beloved 1980s side-splitters "Sister Mary Ignatius,” “Beyond Therapy,” “The Actors Nightmare,” “The Marriage of Bette and Boo,” takes on post-9/11 paranoia and preoccupation with torture in characteristic Durang fashion. Anxiety and irreverence are never as funny as they are in Durang’s hands. ‘Torture’ runs Dec. 1 through 19, directed by Beth Harper.

In Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” directed by faculty member Philip Cuomo, Egeon has a day to scour Syracuse for the ransom that will save his life and find the missing half of his family lost at sea 33 years ago. In his way are twin slaves, a Courtesean, a gold chain, and the mistaken identity politics that make this farce definitively Shakespearean. An entire town is beguiled and horrified by the characters’ seemingly magical powers as slapstick physicality prompts us to reexamine what we think we know. “Comedy of Errors” runs February 16 through March 6, 2011.

Director Rose Riordan, associate artistic director of Portland Center Stage, directs the Conservatory’s third selection, “Passion Play,” by Sarah Ruhl. This epic panorama of amateur actors participating in re-enactments of Christ's Passion portrays productions of the ritualized Christian drama taking place in 16th-century England, Germany in 1934, and 1969’s South Dakota Black Hills. “‘Passion Play’ is the most exciting, stimulating, and thrilling piece of theater to hit New York since ‘Angels in America,’” Backstage wrote earlier this year. “Passion Play” follows the Conservatory’s critically acclaimed 2010 production of “Melancholy Play” by the 2006 MacArthur Fellow. “Passion Play” runs April 13 through May 1, 2011.

In traditional, Conservatory fashion the Class of 2011 will select and produce monologue and scene selections for its Graduation Showcase May 18 through 21, 2011. The showcase marks the culmination of two years of fulltime professional acting training.

2010-2011 Portland Actors Conservatory Season of Plays

• Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them by Christopher Durang
  Director: Beth Harper
• The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
  Director: Philip Cuomo
• Passion Play
  Director: Rose Riordan
• Graduation Showcase
  Director: Class of 2011 and Cristi Miles

All productions take place at Portland Actors Conservatory’s Firehouse Theatre, 1436 SW Montgomery St., Portland, Ore., 97201. Order tickets online, or by calling (503) 274- 1717; tickets range from $13-25 and season subscriptions are available for $50 to $80.

ABOUT PORTLAND ACTORS CONSERVATORY
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Portland Actors Conservatory is the premiere school for professional actor training in the Pacific Northwest. Artistic director Beth Harper leads the Conservatory's multiple offerings including its fulltime, Two Year Professional Training Program, ongoing Studio Class offerings, and the Summer on Stage youth theatre program. Portland Actors Conservatory provides the highest standard in actor training with distinguished faculty including Beth Harper, Connor Kerns, Philip Cuomo, and Michael Mendelson among others. The Conservatory is located near Portland, Ore.'s city center in the historic Firehouse Theatre, housing an upstairs studio space as well an intimate 70-seat theatre. Portland Actors Conservatory annually produces a three show season featuring its second year students working alongside professional guest artists, in addition to two student showcases. Portland Actors Conservatory is Oregon's only independent professional actor training school accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre.



***

Day 1: Meisner Technique = No Makeup, No Masks

Meisner Technique teacher Michael Mendelson pulled no punches yesterday in addressing our First Year students on the first day of class:

Michael Mendelson

"There are currently 17 of you. Some of you will not be asked back at the end of this year. And of those who make it to the Second Year, not all will work as actors...To give you a frame of reference, there were ten students in my graduate acting company at the University of Washington. Four are still working."

It was bad enough that none of the girls were wearing makeup and the boys all had to shave off any facial hair - Michael's required "undress code" for Meisner's brutal honesty.
But then came something even scarier: sitting in front of an audience with nothing to do.

 You'd be surprised how nerve-wracking this "simple" exercise is: sit in a chair for three minutes facing the class. Know how long three minutes is? A heck of a long time when you're being looked at. Nervous ticks start to emerge at about 40 seconds, then excruciating pain at minute two. By minute three, it's not unheard of to be experiencing some serious, and very unexpected, emotions.


Image courtesy Joanne Baron / D.W. Brown Studio



Like manna from heaven, Michael then gives the hotseat-scalded student something to do. It is a simple activity, like separating and counting coins or rolling for a Yahzee! (what's that? they say).



Instantly, the face previously contorted in attempted control becomes relaxed, expressive. Kind of like you want to feel on stage...

Who WAS this Meisner guy and what was he thinking?

Start here.

Day Two of Professional Actor Training: Just Breathe

 

Kate



It's not very nice of me to do this, but I'm posting our new First Year students' ID card photos in honor of Day Two of classes. I mean, cheap camera, first day nerves, orientation dementia - probably not the most flattering pic of any of these folks.

But I want you to get a bird's eye view of what we mean when we call them "newbies." I mean, that's not very nice either - kind of condescending - but it's really hard not to compare this lovely crop of 17 bright eyed, bushy tailed professional actors-to-be to the first episode of a performance-oriented reality show say, or for the really old, "Fame."
 

Gilbert



All that said, we love them already, and they are starting to think about what it will be like when they love each other. Or at least have exchanged more than one five minute conversation.

Not that they aren't well on their way already. In fact, Acting 1 co-teacher Jane Bement Geesman has officially bestowed a title on the Class of 2012: "In a word, supportive."



Brad, or Bradley if you're nasty



When you look at these pictures, you will see:

a) what a good photographer I am, and;



b) the equivalent of a "before" picture in a weight loss ad - but it's not weight we're losing here.



Christina

It's more in the neighborhood of self-preconception, limitation, fear and...you know. All those things that make you a bad actor. :) Or say, not as good as you COULD be.


So for day one, what did they do? Self confessed, breath obsessed Acting 1 co-teacher Sarah Lucht got them to resemble both a Lamaze class and "I Dream of Jeannie."

Reports of sparkly, tingly, lightheadedness and heat came from our intrepid first years. So THAT's what breathing feels like!



Lexi



The good news: no one has ever passed out in Sarah's breathing exercises.

 

Why do they do this, the teachers asked themselves rhetorically before the class. 

 

(Hmmm, Sarah Lucht has something to say about it in this post. Would you like to leave a comment below about it? Perhaps?)

Well, ever get dinged for being "in your head"? Breathing may well be the solution. And even better, Jane and Sarah have an ambitious plan: to get First Year students to be able to think AND breathe. At the same time.


Lissie

And why exactly do we stop breathing? Seems odd, given that we need oxygen to survive. Come to find out, restricting your flow of oxygen is a good way (not only to sustain brain damage, but also) to cut yourself off from feelings one might not want to feel - say, anger, sadness, or discomfort.
  

Katie

The thing is, you NEED those feelings when you're acting. And if you can't get to them, your experience will be empty. And so will the audience's. Says Jane and Sarah, anyhow, and I'm inclined to agree with them.



Jeffrey, or Jeremy if you listen to Gilbert



Anywhoo...then we DANCED. And that dastardly Jane made even yours truly dance. In an unfair advantage, the students were all warmed up from Movement with Philp Cuomo. Where they also danced. And swayed. Some even demonstrated.

I, my friends, had none of this preparation, and simply had to whip off my heels and join in. I did, in fact, have an "anticipation of dread," as Jane called it, and then unexpected fun. Also, I thought about what a weird / cool job I have. I needed to breathe more, obviously.

The rest of class was devoted to introductions, wherein each person "presents" their partner to the class from name to goals to obstacles to deep thoughts. Or not so deep. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about a person from the way they introduce, or get introduced. These mini-performances were peppered with pop quizzes from Jane on people's names, which showed ... um .... that there are a lot of new faces to learn.

I'll let you devote yourself to name/face study.

Emery





Genevieve





Carl with a 'C'



Bjorn





Jessica







Rebecca



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve



Adam





Ursula



 

 

 

And for fun, I'd like to draw your attention to the latest snaps of our Second Years. They are not quite to the "after" stage yet, mind you. But it's fun to see what a year can do.





Emery



The First Day of Portland Actors Conservatory's Professional Training

And we're off! Drink it in, everyone: here's what the Class of 2012 - and PAC's 26th year of professional actor training - looks like:

Our esteemed faculty joked plenty, but the students were facing a whole new world.

 

Just like on "So You Think You Can Dance," they faced the future that would soon be theirs.

These are the pictures they'll look back and say, Remember that first say! Oh my gosh we've changed so much!

Connor Kerns (below) named himself Senior Faculty, after Beth (been here 16 years, or some such)!

Jane Bement Geesman and Sarah Lucht - an indomitable duo, just you wait - will give our First Year students their very first acting class at the Conservatory. Woo!

Welcome one and all!

Second Year Orientation at Portland Actors Conservatory

  

It was a very exciting day as the now-Second Year students (the big men and women on campus) came together after four months apart to jump into the culminating year of their study at Portland Actors Conservatory.

Lionel McCann, Ty Boice, and Sam DeRoest reunited after four months.



Nicole Bensching, Jessica Anselmo and Juliana Wheeler pal around.

After getting off on the right foot with artistic director Beth Harper....





We went round the magic circle.



 To be continued....more pix on our Facebook profile!

A Bawdy Tale Opens Tonight!

After a hilarious preview stint at The Woods last week, "A Bawdy Tale" opens proper at Curious Comedy tonight! Don't miss this PAC-infused confection, written and directed by longtime faculty member Connor Kerns and featureing an all-PAC alumni or current student cast: Nicole Yoba, Juliana Wheeler, Natasha Terranova, Scott Rogers, Tom Mounsey, Spencer Conway (hey, he just won a Drammy!) and Rob Ciardi.

 

From the Montgomery Street Players' web site:

A Bawdy Tale is inspired by the poetry of John Skelton, and tells the story of young twenty-somethings sent to die at an island resort because they have contracted a rampant disease to which older people are inexplicably immune. The resort’s immune bartender serves the drinks while the dying youth deal with their impending demise by seemingly not dealing with it at all. They choose to drink and screw their way to happiness as they wrestle with how to make their final exits.

 

 

Buy tickets here! But not before whetting your whistle with some words from Mr. Kerns in conversation with Conservatory Confessions:

Conservatory Confessions: If you had to choose one line from 'A Bawdy Tale' that sums up the experience, Connor, what would it be?

Connor Kerns: Sarah: “I want to make-believe. That’s the play I think we really want. I want to remember I’m alive.”

Conservatory Confessions: Tell us a little bit about the premise.

 



Connor Kerns

 Connor Kerns: If you were going to die of a disease within the next few months and you were in hospice, what would you do? Pain medication, expenses, social contact are not a problem. Very few rules are enforced. Like in a college dormitory, you are surrounded with other people your age and there’s a party every night at the bar. Would you grapple with issues of mortality or would you try and forget? Do you feel lust or love, anger or horror? How would you live when you’re about to die?

 

"A Bawdy Tale," then, is about three young couples suffering from an unnamed terminal disease and how they deal with their last days while quarantined on an island with a bartender/hospice worker. It is inspired by 15th century poet John Skelton's harum-scarum wit and dark sense of humor. I sought to combine those qualities with spare, gritty realism. What I tried to create, in short, is:

• a dirty, pretty play
• a dark comedy with make-believe: ghosts and sword-fighting
• some poetry, and a little sex

Conservatory Confessions: What does the play mean and how do you project that to the audience?

Connor Kerns: Superbugs, SARS, AIDS, Black Plague—whether from history or the present, the play explores pandemics and how they affect those who can’t pay for treatment. We are facing overpopulation and global cross-contamination that could easily separate the haves from the have nots. This gives audiences a chance to re-evaluate the peril of being lower middle class in a decaying society.

 

Conservatory Confessions: Why did you want to do this play?

 

Producer #1

Connor Kerns: The producers, Scott and Tom, said this when selecting the play for their company’s second production:

"We think that A Bawdy Tale is the kind of thing that Montgomery Street needs."

I think this is because it seems more raw, less concrete, and more challenging a play to produce. It seems like it would require some kind of development process to figure it all out, which is more exciting to us.

 

Conservatory Confessions: What do Skelton's images say to an audience today, right now, in this particular time and place?

 

Producer #2, on the left, in the dress

Connor Kerns: I studied Skelton (1460-1529) in British Literature in college. His poetry is like no one else’s, and I never forgot it. I came across his poem "The Tunning of Elinor Rumming" some years ago, and the idea for writing "A Bawdy Tale" emerged from it. Here is a bit of Skelton’s rollicking verse describing Elinor and the folks who visit her pub:

 

“Tell you I chill

 If that ye will

 A while be still,

 Of a comely jill

 That dwelt on a hill . . .

 Such lewd sort

 To Elinor resort

 From tide to tide:

 Abide, abide,

 And to you shall be told

 How her ale is sold . . .”

 

I envisioned a contemporary version of Skelton’s pub. Instead of the bubonic plague, I imagined a modern day disease that has confined the infected to a blasted island. The island pub would be the place the characters would come to fight, dance, drink and maybe forget their cares.

 

Check out "A Bawdy Tale" running Thursday through Saturday, September 16 through September 25 at 8pm. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door at Curious Comedy Theater.