TEACHING
As a teacher (and an actor), I am interested in the vulnerability of simple fun, pleasure and play. I have found that a lot of actors, myself included, tend to fixate on getting things right; they turn play into work and lose all of their fun along the way! But audiences don’t go to the theater, the movies, live music, dance, or scroll through Netflix to watch people work – we do all of that to watch people play! My job is to reintroduce people to their fun and incorporate it into everything they do.
What's next?
Acting As Play: Grad School Edition with Gabriel Levey
Tuesdays, 6-8pm EST, October 29th - December 10th
on zoom
Tuesday 6-9pm EST, December 17th
in person, NYC
$825
In this 8-week class, we will start with an open discussion about the graduate school audition process and why the pleasure of the performer is the most critical, and often overlooked piece of the process. We will then move into individual monologue work and one on one private coaching, using the language of clown and games to draw out as much fun, wonder and surprise as is possible in each piece.
All participants will be up on their feet with text in each group class. And, after 7 weeks of play, we will put it all together with an in-person mock audition on the final day of class.
By the end of the class, you will walk away with pieces that bring you so much joy, you will be able to step into any audition room with courageous generosity, excited to share the beautiful work you’ve crafted with any and everyone.
Enrollment in the class includes:
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Seven Tuesday night group classes on Zoom
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Four sixty-minute long, one-on-one coaching sessions on Zoom (totaling over $600 in value), scheduled individually to fit each everyone’s schedule
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One in-person mock audition on the final day of class
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*This class is not exclusive to folks auditioning for MFA programs. While there will be a focus on grad school auditions, it is meant to serve all actors looking to work on monologues*
Where I've taught
I've taught courses including Acting as Play, Shakespeare as Play, and Clown in traditional university settings such as NYU, Smith College, Amherst College and the Yale University Summer Program. I have also developed workshops and curriculum independently for renowned regional theaters such as The Alliance, Berkshire Theater Group and Northern Stage, as well as smaller, more nimble institutions such as the Pine Box Studio in Florence, MA, and The East Street Studios in Hadley, MA.
Pandemonium Studio
In 2019 I co-founded (with Christopher Bayes and Annelise Lawson) The Pandemonium Studio, a studio for the study of Clown, Commedia, and Improvisation. Located in Brooklyn, I teach my signature class, Acting as Play, at Pandemonium whenever possible.
Completely Ridiculous Productions
In June of 2020, I founded The Completely Ridiculous Conservatory where I built a team to provide six weeks of comprehensive conservatory-style online actor training - throughout the pandemic - ​with a particular focus on physical acting, self-care, clown, justice, equity, diversity, inclusivity, ensemble and play.​ Now, CRP is back to focussing on the development of new work and soon to be announced in-person classes in Western Massachusetts.