Sir Laurence Olivier believed the same. When I was a young actor in theatre school, I became obsessed with watching and studying actors and performances. Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V had come out, and I was smitten by this fresh interpretation of my favourite Shakespeare play at the time (I even…

Time to take it back again I am privileged in so many ways. I am lucky to work in a profession I adore and work with some of the most talented and interesting people on the planet. My work with young actors and leaders inspires me every day, and I…

Acting technique with words. In acting, words are everything. As one of my mentors once said, “The actor can only ever navigate the text.” This is something many young directors ignore or forget about when leading a group of actors through a dramatic text. Most actors dedicate their lives to…

An actors director. Tony Guthrie. This was how I was introduced to the man. Having worked at the Stratford Festival in Canada, many of the actors in the company had vivid memories of the man. He was Tony to them. To others, he was Sir Tyrone Guthrie. He was brought…

It is not just Doing and taking Action. How does an actor make a performance believable? This is a question that is asked by thousands of actors every day. It is a question many professional actors get at the stage door by curious audience members after the dreaded, “How do…

Who is to blame? My rant about audibility in 2022. We have the greatest technology we have ever had. We literally have microphones that can pick up a pin drop in another room upstairs. Yet, I have just watched my fifth TV series where I had to rewind the episode…

Notes & Tips from the rehearsal hall For twenty-three years, I have worked in the professional theatre. I have been lucky enough to work with some of the greatest actors and directors in the Western theatre. …

Phrasing is one of the most important elements of character. Phrasing is a term that may be foreign to you as an actor. It was for me when I first heard it from the great Canadian actor, William Hutt. I was working at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, assistant…

Where the true Lessons begin! As a professor of acting and directing, I get asked a great deal about the best environment to learn the craft. I will always be an advocate for training, and I think it is imperative that when one decides to be in the performing arts…