a Film Acting Course
The great actor Laurence Olivier called acting “The Art of Persuasion”.
Based out of Vancouver, Canada, this is an exciting opportunity to take your film acting to the next level, with online acting classes. Join a small group of like minded, well disciplined and hungry students; challenging yourselves and each other to be YOUR VERY BEST.
In The Academy film acting course, William will push you towards industry excellence.
Now Accepting Applications
This Year's Focus:
This year’s course focus is on booking work. We will be working on shows that are currently casting out of Vancouver and Toronto, Canada, and that you will actually be auditioning for. Every week, you will receive a list of shows to watch and study, and together we will be examining the style, tone, pace and content of these shows. We then will work on sides from these shows, or sides written specifically to imitate the style of these shows. We are going to find out how YOU fit in to these shows, through constant practice and repetition. William will be holding mock auditions where you will come in and nail the role, or not. We will then go back to the drawing board to see what we can do to improve your game.
We are now in a world where auditions and call backs are done over ZOOM. It is very important for you to master this medium. There is specific energy and behaviour for ZOOM auditions and call backs. We will also be looking at the art of self tapes.
As an ADDED BONUS for this years class, William will allow you to practice your actual auditions in class, as well as film your actual self tapes in class.
This will be the year you move your career forward and impress upon the casting directors that you are an actor that takes their craft seriously and is deserving of consideration for major roles.
You Are…
A hardworking actor, a new actor, a veteran actor, a mid career actor, who is feeling like this whole acting career thing is out of your reach, intangible, complicated and hard.
You know you have something to offer this industry but you feel invisible, you can’t seem to break the glass ceiling, you are overwhelmed with what it takes to actually “make it”, and you want a passionate, experienced mentor in your corner.
You Need…
As a mentor William will…
- 50 class package (aprox 2-3 sessions per week)
- 6 months
- Midterm break
Curriculum
You will be challenged as a group to bring your audition level up higher and higher. Using sides for shows that are currently being filmed.
We will watch video clips of the shows you will be auditioning for; study them; imagine how we would fit into that work; then work on audition sides from that series.
William believes your range as an actor can cover the breadth of humanity. This course will constantly provoke you into expanding your vision of yourself and your craft.
We will be working from your 3 main centres. Thinking, Feeling, Willing. Where does your character lead from? Where are their wounds, blocks, strengths; and how are they alive in your characters body?
Examine and play with the power of Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gestures and how to incorporate that into working with the camera lens.
The life of the character lives INSIDE you. Your INNER MONOLOGUE keeps you alive and excited to be in the scene; it guides and naturalizes your responses; it creates spontaneous and exciting choices. Everything has it’s opposite; and these opposites certainly live inside your character. That is POLARITY.
We will study the Hero’s Journey to identify where in the journey your character is and thereby increasing the clarity and power of your acting choices.
- Where we deal with all things “Industry” and we take a look at where you are Personally in your career.
- We will cover your relationships with agents, casting directors, producers, contracts, as well as ON SET psychology.
- How to gain experience and Demo Reel footage from student, independent, and short films.
- How to promote yourself, including headshots, resumes, cover letters and demo reel material.
- Examine the difference between cold read; audition with casting director; home self tapes (including eye lines and use of a reader.)
- Call backs, Chemistry tests, table read and The BOOKING.
- We will thoroughly examine everything that happens on set and how to take advantage of every moment: in your trailer, in the makeup trailer, at the costume fitting, at the first table read, walking from your trailer to the set, sitting in the cast chair, going from blocking to rehearsing to your first take, + then repetitive takes; the psychology of staying alive, alert, focused and creative take after take after take, angle after angle, set up after set up.
- On set terminology.
- Rights and Responsibilities.
- We will thoroughly examine on set preparation for your performance.
- Proper and most effective systems of homework.
- How to prepare at home.
- Relationship with 3rd Assistant Director, 2nd Assistant Director, 1st Assistant Director; understand the different responsibilities between the various assistant directors as well as your Rights and Responsibilities with them.
- The difference between Assistant Directors at the “Circus” vs the ones On Set.
- Relationship to the Script Supervisor, Camera and Sound teams, props, set dec and wardrobe teams, camera operators and Director of Photography, Line producers, Supervising producers and executive producers, the difference between them and the relationship with each one.
- How to take advantage of the On Set Writers, and finally and most importantly, the Director.
The best exercises for transformational acting. Animal work; Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gestures, Radiation Atmospheres; Uta Hagen’s Destination and Sides of Self work; Clown and Movement; Breathing Techniques; Meisner’s Independent Activity and Repetition work; Sense Memory, Effective Memory and dozen’s more…
Where we will examine the complex and challenging material from Oscar worthy films. We will examine how to make the best out of what the writer gives us. We will look for arcs, reversals, polarity, subtext, inner monologue, secrets, tactics, units and beats, etc..
We will learn the difference between television and film acting; pace, and the balance between external and internal focus.
How to play with what your character REVEALS and what she HIDES. This keeps you totally empowered in your performance; making choices that make you undeniable to watch.
If you are interested in taking The Academy program, here are your next steps…
Fill out the application below and click ‘SEND’ to start the process
Click the link inside the email you receive after submitting your application to reserve your spot on William’s calendar scheduler for a Discovery Call.
After your discovery call with William, if this is the right program for you, you will read and sign our agreement + Pay your invoice to get started in The Academy.
The Academy Application
“Taking William’s online on camera class is one of the best decisions I made during these crazy times. What sold me on his class is his commitment to digging for the truth in every scene he works on. He encourages us to make our work personal, creating unique and authentic characters. If you want a rigorous acting workout with honest feedback, this is the class for you.”
Nneka Croal
Riverdale, The Good Doctor
“The work I’ve done with William over the last few months has been some of the most artistically inspiring and eye-opening work I’ve ever done. In every way possible, William has not only managed to allow me to channel my confidence, ideas, and passions into some of the greatest performances of my life, but he has also provided me with so much room for my own individual expression and artistic freedoms. The Academy class format has been brilliant as well, allowing a traditional “class” format to meet the endlessly inspiring and pristine teaching style of William has been, simply put, life changing.”
Lucas McKinnon
Academy Alumni
“My experience with William has been absolutely incredible, to say the least. His mentorship and industry experiences shared have been life changing both in and out of the classroom. His approach to coaching only keeps me more excited for the art as I develop my skills in the industry. I am so excited and lucky to be an Academy alumni with William’s leadership.”
Beatriz Batoon
Academy Alumni
“ I had the pleasure of working closely with William for 6 months solid and he is a true artistic leader. He has so much experience and knowledge to draw from. He came in guns blazing. Working with William is an opportunity that shouldn’t be taken lightly. His brilliance has a way of rubbing off on people and I think it has something to do with his generosity. He has a beautiful way of guiding and leading someone to their brilliance without doing it for them. I feel lucky to have had the time I had working with him.
-Michael Eisner
“I have gained so much from each class to sharpen my craft. My passion for acting was already there but William’s classes online have just set it a blaze!”
-Natasha Fiorino, ‘American Mystery’
