BERG STUDIOS WORKSHOPS
Our workshops are designed to both stand on their own and to compliment the classes and technique taught at the studio. The lessons taught in the workshops are immediately implemented and expanded on in classes. Workshops are either taught by Berg Studios instructors, or guest artist teachers invited to host workshops for our students.
Alexander Technique using animal studies & images. A two-day intensive in November @ Berg Studios!
In November, due to popular demand, we will once again be offering the in-person opportunity to study with one of the foremost instructors of the Alexander Technique, Kristof Konrad, in a two-day intensive, called “Alexander Technique using Animal Studies and Images”. This workshop is building on Kristof’s original Alexander workshops but is open to all regardless of experience.
We are keeping the number of students to 16 so there are very limited spots for this exciting workshop. Signups are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Kristof teaches Intensive Acting in Film and Alexander Technique Workshops in New York, Los Angeles, Milan, Berlin, Toronto, and Vancouver, and at his studio here in Los Angeles, Alexander Techworks. In the U.S., he has taught at the Larry Moss Studio, the Howard Fine Studio, (LA and Melbourne, Australia), and recently worked with the artists of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Cirque Du Soleil. Past and current students include Forest Whitaker, Kenneth Branagh, and Cobie Smulders, among many others.
Workshop description:
This workshop, open to all levels of actors, singers, directors, and creatives, is specially designed to teach actors how to transform into and embody a character. Kristof believes that actors must see and feel the world through the eyes and bodies of animals.
The study of animals enables actors to act and react in new ways that enrich and expands their own physical and emotional world, and allow them to discover new, surprising ways of moving and acting. In this intensive, you’ll focus on finding the physical matrix of the character, a “hook” or an “anchor” that clearly expresses the stance, the walk, the gestures, and the psychological and emotional life of the character within the given circumstances. We find the body that corresponds not only to the logic of the text, but also its rhythms and energy, which allows the words to be spoken with greater ease; the voice (and its energy and music) become a direct reflection of the body, and both become integrated.
The study of the Alexander Technique is required at the finest drama conservatories around the world, including the Yale School of Drama, The Juilliard School, ACT, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
The Alexander technique is a gentle approach that aims to re-educate the mind and the body through a series of movements so the body uses muscles more efficiently. Actors trained in the Alexander Technique consistently feel more confident and free — physically, vocally, and creatively — to do their best work. The physical and imaginative freedom that can be discovered through Alexander work can be a vital part of the actor’s craft.
All participants must be fully vaccinated and present a negative covid test before attending the workshop.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: KRISTOF KONRAD
was born in Poland, trained as an actor at the National Dramatic Academy in Warsaw, Poland, the Fersen Studio in Rome, Italy, and Larry Moss in the U.S. While in Poland, he studied and worked with theater and film masters JERZY GROTOWSKI and ANDRZEJ WAJDA. In the USA he worked with directors FRANCIS LAWRENCE, KENNETH BRANAGH, RON HOWARD and ROLAND EMMERICH. His credits include HOMECOMING, HOUSE OF CARDS, RED SPARROW, INTELLIGENCE, ANGELS AND DEMONS, HOTEL CALIFORNIA, INDEPENDENCE DAY, SCORPION, NIKITA, SCANDAL, BURN NOTICE, OPERATION SAMUM, ALIAS, THE AGENCY, JAG, E- RING and many others. Kristof has taught for the BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, GENERATION CAMPUS – MOSCOW, VERBIER FESTIVAL& ACADEMY in Switzerland and UBS VERBIER ORCHESTRA. He is teaching Intensive Acting in Film and Alexander Technique Workshops in New York, Los Angeles, Milan, Berlin, Toronto, and Vancouver. In the U.S., he has taught with Jean-Louis at the LARRY MOSS STUDIO, HOWARD FINE STUDIO, LA and Melbourne, Australia, and recently worked with the artists of the ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY and the CIRQUE DU SOLEIL. Past and current students include FOREST WITAKER, KENNETH BRANAGH, COBIE SMULDERS, JOBETH WILLIAMS, ERIC DANE, and SHARON LAWRENCE.
When: Saturday and Sunday. November 23/24 – 10 am to 5 pm.
Where: Berg Studio’s Annex space (just up the street from our main studio space!)
3273 Casitas Ave #105 – Los Angeles, CA 90039
Cost: $300 student price (you must be currently enrolled in a scene study class to receive the student discount), $350 non-student price
Self-Tape workshop w/ Gregory Berger: Berg Studios in November!
Berg Studios is excited to announce a 2-day intensive (November 16th and 17th) The Art and Technique of the Self-Tape, with Gregory Berger, former on camera acting faculty member of The Yale School of Drama, and private coach to Lupita Nyong’o (Oscar Winner), Riz Ahmed (Emmy Winner), Winston Duke, Aziz Ansari, and many others.
Gregory will lead you on an exploration of the practical and creative application of on-camera acting and how to translate that to your self-tapes, merging the imagination with the technical. The fact of the matter is that the British and Australians are dominating the American market. Their advantage is that those actors are trained in a deep artistic tradition and are able to bring that training right into the technical aspects of working in front of the camera. Gregory believes it’s long past time to level that playing field!
Using the same technique and experience that he brought to his on-camera acting class at The Yale School of Drama, Gregory will help you reveal your own powerful imagination and make it palpable, visceral, and transferrable to the rigors and restrictions of creating a self-tape.
Both days will include practical “dos and don’ts,” the technical and artistic requirements of creating effective self-tapes, as well as rigorous and creative script analysis. In this workshop, you will also:
Record a self tape in class.
Receive personal and detailed instruction from Gregory.
Discuss the technical requirements of creating a self-tape such as a background, lighting, wardrobe, and the use of a camera or phone.
The objective of this workshop is to release the actor’s imagination through technique, cultivating authentic behavior on camera. Gregory encourages the actor to illuminate the text with bold provocative choices rather than illustrating the mundane, or predictable. Working this way allows the actor to move past any blocks, or fears, enabling the actor to truly reveal their private selves on an audition tape.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Gregory Berger-Sobeck is a graduate and former acting faculty member at the Yale School of Drama, in addition to teaching bi-coastally both in Los Angeles and New York. Additionally, he has taught workshops all over the world including in London, Paris, Sydney, and Tahiti.
Gregory’s many regular private coaching clients include Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, Black Panther), Emmy winner Riz Ahmed (The Night Of), Winston Duke (Us, Black Panther), and Portia Doubleday (Mr. Robot) among many others.
Mr. Berger opened The Berg Studios in Los Angeles in 1998, where he is the artistic director and master acting teacher. Berg Studios alumni have been Emmy Award Winners, Emmy Award Nominees, acted on Broadway and have had multiple series regular and guest star roles on television. Mr. Berger has also been voted Best Acting Class, Best Classical Class, Best Monologue Coach and Private Coach by Backstage Magazine.
Prior to Yale he trained at The Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City. He has studied with such legendary teachers as Paul Mann, Michael Howard, Kim Stanley, Nikos Psacharopoulos and Earle R. Gister. His New York stage credits include Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, The Flowing Peach, Romeo and Juliet, The Admiral Bashful, The Shrewing of Blanco Posnet, Molly, Andrew After Dark, Much Ado About Nothing, Faust, and The Colonization. Regional credits include work at the Yale Repertory Theater and The Yale School of Drama: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, King John, Measure for Measure, Three Sisters, and A Ride Across Lake Constance, to name a few. Among his directing credits are Dolores and Sisters at the Company of Angels and the west coast premiere of John Ford Noonan’s POPPS.
To find out more about Berg and Berg Studios please visit our website.
WORKSHOP DETAILS:
When: November 16th and 17th Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am to 5 pm
Where: The Berg Studios 3245 Casitas Ave, #104
Atwater Village, Los Angeles, 90039
Cost: Students: $350, Non-Students: $400
To receive the student discount, you must be currently enrolled in a Studio Technique (scene study) class at Berg Studios.
In order to secure a spot in this amazing workshop, contact the office (M-F 10am to 5pm PST) to put down a deposit (50% of tuition) today. Due to the nature of this workshop, deposits are non-refundable. Based on the structure of this workshop, the purchase of individual days is not possible.