I did my first professional show when I was 12 and have always felt at home on the stage. However, over the years, many acting coaches and techniques seemed to guide me to a place where acting wasn’t fun anymore – it felt forced, and completely unreal. I was so miserable trying to break through the hazy layers of “acting” that I considered quitting the business.
Then I met Sande Shurin.
Her technique of “Transformational Acting” helped me find the reality in all my characters. I stopped “acting” and was able to have real emotional experiences on stage. Acting returned to the incredible rush it had been for me earlier: that sense of flying – not having to manufacture anything – and having deep, true connections with my fellow actors on stage.
In Neil Bell’s play, Two Small Bodies, my character was a low-class potential murderer with loose morals. Using Sande’s technique, I was able to realistically transform into that character (much to my mother’s chagrin!). People who had previously only thought of me as a bubbly, brassy, song-and-dance gal were amazed that I could pull it off. But by using Sande’s technique, there was no way I couldn’t.
The beauty of Transformational Acting is that it changes as you change. As I grow as a person, so does my ability to deepen my transformation into many different characters. I’ve studied with Sande for almost ten years, and have never once felt stale or at a dead end.
Sande, I can’t wait for the next ten years.