Austin Pendleton will return to the studio at Theatre Row, NYC, to teach his fourth Master Class at the United Solo Professional Training Program! After working with and being recommended by Mr. Pendleton, many artists are given the opportunity to perform their solo pieces at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row on 42nd Street, NYC. Just sign up and be discovered by one of the most influential theatre directors. Mr. Pendleton will spend time working with the participants on scenes and monologues. He will offer his critique and thoughts in a collaborative setting, gradually trying to reach a wider evaluation of the strengths and potential of the actors as a whole. Participants are expected to prepare a monologue or scene to workshop and should expect to learn through observing Austin’s coaching throughout the class.
“I spend time in the class watching you in several different contexts. I watch you scene by scene, monologue by monologue. At first I simply critique the piece you have just presented, but gradually I try to form for myself a wider picture of what your acting problems may be. Every actor in the world has acting problems. There is not an actor anywhere who doesn’t. It’s a delicate process to get to the root of what problems you may have in the work (and I mean problems in the work: I don’t mean personal problems). It’s also a delicate process leading you to an awareness of them. Sometimes the way is to be blunt. Sometimes the way is to be subtle. Sometimes, as your work deepens and starts to acquire new colors, new problems arise with THAT. I try to be friendly. Sometimes, if I’ve gotten to know somebody, I try to be a little bit mean. Productively mean, that is my hope. Sometimes I’ll praise you to the skies if the work you have done is a breakthrough for you, even if at the same time the work is not totally satisfactory. All this comes under one heading: I try to help” —Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton is a playwright, actor, director, teacher, and a Steppenwolf ensemble member since 1987. He received critical acclaim in 1964 for his performance as Motel in the original Broadway cast of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He appeared in “The Last Sweet Days of Isaac” (for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance and an Obie Award), “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Goodtime Charley,” and “Up from Paradise” as well as many other plays. In August 2006, Pendleton played the Chaplain in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children” with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the Public Theater production. As a director, Pendleton has worked extensively on and off-Broadway. His direction of Elizabeth Taylor and Maureen Stapleton in Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes” garnered him a Tony Award nomination. Additional directing credits include “Between Riverside and Crazy,” “Uncle Vanya,” “Three Sisters,” “Ivanov,” and “Hamlet,” all at Classic Stage Company in New York. He has made over 100 appearances in television and film. His film work is as diverse as “A Beautiful Mind,” “Mr. & Mrs. Bridge” and “The Muppet Movie.” In 2007, Austin Pendleton received a Special Award for his contributions to American theater at the 52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards.
SCENE STUDY AND MONOLOGUES with Austin Pendleton will take place on Thursday, August 30 at 6pm (duration 120 min.) at Theatre Row: Stage Door, 407 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036. Pre-registration is required to participate and can be done online at www.unitedsolo.org/us/uedu – where more details can be found as well.
By All About Solo News Desk
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