Do you …
- Struggle with social anxiety
- Struggle to make a presentation in front of a group
- Sometimes feel overwhelmed with self consciousness
- Not pursue your interests because of self-judgement
- Feel like you are pretending when you’re in social interactions
Through thoughtful discussions we work to understand how some habits we’ve developed to ‘protect’ ourselves can actually work against us. Creating a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable we move step-by-step into exercises that focus on the process of truthful acting to re-train ourselves and allow for a deeper, more authentic expression of ourselves.
We offer a 100% refund if after your first class you do not feel the program is a good fit for you. No questions asked.
Register below or book an appointment to meet with us and discuss the program.
Cost:
$240 + GST
4 weeks
Upcoming Program Dates:
Saturdays 6pm – 8:30pm
Starts June 1 – June 22, 2019
Want to talk to us?
Schedule a phone call.
Testimonials
I just wanted to say thank you again for holding a wonderful and safe space that allows people to wade through such difficult emotions.
Many years ago I did one [public speaking] class and hated it and never tried again. I often wished since then that some kind of magical world existed where I could try a form of speaking or performing while having a positive voice somehow override my internal negative and terrified one… well you are providing exactly that magical environment! The way you verbally support each person while they are on stage is incredible. I think these classes are priceless and will have a positive impact on all aspects of life… truly life transforming!
My internal life is so changed, my mind puzzles are beginning to unravel, the fog and confusion are not so extreme and I can meet the eyes of another person.This is solely because of the safe place and guidance you have provided. You can imagine that saying thank you seems inadequate, but THANK YOU.
As a kid and young adult I was very open, sensitive, and intuitive; over time and through relationships with people who I let use the very best of those qualities to their advantage and my disadvantage, I built up a protective wall around my heart. I’ve been living with a mild unhappiness and restlessness for a number of years and recently it’s become physically uncomfortable, and at times painful, to live like this. I carry a heaviness in my chest and experience an intermittent blockage in my throat – I believe that both symptoms are physical manifestations of my choice to close down something in me that wants to make itself known.
I went to Actorium have absolutely no idea what to expect, no preconceptions about what might happen or how I might feel. Over the 4 weeks I felt my eyes and heart open, the heaviness I carry in my chest loosen. Little epiphanies throughout the weeks started to release some of the tangles in my mind, and I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.
I am so happy with my progress! You have no idea. I was feeling so stuck behind that block that it was really testing my ambition and resiliency because I was feeling really powerless to change. I don’t know how it happened other than just breaking that part open and just allowing myself to be imperfect and where I am at… slowly. Though I still feel a certain trepidation over being really seen, I feel I can much more easily sit and be honest with that feeling of un-comfortability.
It is a surreal experience for me being in your acting classes. I have lived my life inside a sort of straight jacket and blindfolded. I have known something was very wrong but I did not know how to help myself.
I could not explain how this is working but over the last six months I have felt a loosening from what binds me, which is such an incredible relief. I can not emphasize enough how limited I have been due to my fears and my thought processes..
I am so deeply thankful for this painful and joyful process. I am sorry so much time has past in my life, but thankful there is some left.
I have always been terrified of public speaking and have never even in my dreams wished to be in the limelight on any stage. The thought of taking acting lessons would have never occurred to me. But I was introduced to this idea in such an intriguing way. Michelle said this class was a safe place for those who wanted a chance to tiptoe out into the spotlight and thus to explore hidden facets of their essence and personality. I’ve always been rather inhibited and not-quite-the-real-me in my range of expression in social settings so I thought this would be a potentially fun and cheap way to expand my range, as compared to say, sitting weekly on a therapists’ couch for months on end. Well it’s only been four classes so far but holy moly! I could not have guessed how eye-opening and personally rewarding this experience would be for my inner development and self-knowledge. Not only do I feel I have a better window to my authentic self ( and what could possibly be more precious than that) but I also feel like I really have an inner eye and empathetic understanding of my fellow classmates which in so few hours with strangers is really incredible. I would urge anyone who resonates with me to try this course. Very highly recommended.
I took the Acting for the Supernaturally Shy class, not knowing what to expect and feeling quite nervous about it. Shyness is something that still grabs me by the throat and tells me that I should just stay home, that I’ll be safer that way. I’m very glad that I didn’t listen to my fear. I took the class and it was fantastic. As an unexpected benefit, the experience made me realize that maybe there’s an actor inside of me, suppressed but struggling to emerge.
Now, I’m enrolled i Foundations. I didn’t foresee that I would take another course, and likely more to come. I don’t know where this will lead, but the training has been inspiring, challenging, empowering, confidence-building, and enriching. I have no regrets that I took the risk.
Student Interview – Liz Wurzinger
1. How did you become aware of Actorium?
I was never actively looking for acting classes because it seemed so completely outside of my introverted spectrum that I never even considered it until I saw an ad for the Supernaturally Shy Acting program.
I felt I was stuck in life then and was tired thinking and talking things over and decided I “simply” needed to start doing/acting instead. So when I saw the Actorium ad I thought, where better to practice acting (as in being active in life) than in an acting school, within the safety of imaginary circumstances and fictitious characters. It turned out to be so much more than that.
2. Can you talk about how the feeling of shyness affects your life in a way that made you want to try Actorium? How did it change for the better? What changes did you notice?
I’ve always seen shyness as my biggest self-inflicted obstacle and had grown tired of missing out on interacting with people I really wanted to connect with. I wanted to be able to reach out to others and sustain a relationship beyond a “hello”, before crumbling up into a ball and rolling my way. …
I have learned is to pay attention, to not crumble up right away, but keep my attention on the other person anyway,. Once you keep your attention on the other you realize that everyone ultimately has the same fears, if shy, tough, funny, charming, or whatever mask keeps you at distance from others, and from getting hurt. Shyness was just the mask easiest available to me when growing up, I guess. As with every vice you carry around you eventually realize it’s also been your biggest source of strength and what makes your unique. Where I would’ve been paralyzed by the pressure of social conventions before, for not acting how one is “supposed to” act, I’m now much more comfortable to lean back and enjoy being observant and interact on a much more subtle/“shy” level and be more outgoing when I feel to, not because I feel I have to. … Or “letting the image come to you, instead of you coming to the image”, as Michelle would say.
3. You’ve been in scene study classes and continue taking Foundations. As someone who does not have a plan to make acting a career, can you talk about the value for you on a personal and/or professional level.
Foundation Class for me is a constant reminder and continuous practice of being fully present with oneself and others equally, without compromising either.
What I love about Scene Study is the duality of working with a script: there’s the solitary part, my comfort zone, where you obsess over the meaning of the lines, trying to make sense of your character’s choices and trying to find parallels in your own life that let you relate to it as honestly as possible; both, the character traits you like to admit to, and the ones you don’t want to but have to, out of respect for a wholesome character. There’s something very therapeutic about it which inevitably flows into your personal and professional life as well.
The second part is when you get to forget everything you’ve wrecked your brain over in the first part and realize that actually doing it feels completely different to what you could’ve ever imagined. Partly because you can’t predict your scene partner’s reactions and partly because – if truly connected – you can’t predict yours either.
Allowing myself to be surprised by myself, as much as by the circumstances or anyone else is probably be the biggest lesson I’ve taken away from Scene Study. I think it’s one of the hardest things to do in life and the essence and most intriguing part about art for me – to create a perfect vision and the let go of it to let the vision create you.