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Re: Howard Thursday, 02-Jul-98 21:19:47
Glad that you asked about Howard, but since my info is 2nd & 3rd hand about Margie, I'm not comfortable in responding or comparing in that regard, so I sure hope that somebody else will chime in. Re Howard: Audit: Get the phone number from your friend in class, go ahead and drop their name on the voice mail tape, which should get you a call back from the studio. At that point, in somewhere between 2-3 months (yeh ... it takes a long time), you will get to audit Monday night, the inadvertendly famous "Master Class" of Howards. It might sound sort of elitist, and it's not meant to be, but if whoever likes your work enough to think that the studio would be a good place for you to go can give you the number as long as their "industry" or a student at the studio. Howard will not even acknowledge the auditors in any way, shape, or form when you audit. Don't be the slightest bit thrown by it. It's a good thing, not a bad thing. The Master Class is the only one that Howard allows auditing from anybody except students already in the studio considering changing classes. Howard is warm, and dear, and wonderful, but to do anything but put absolutely 100% of his attention toward the Master Class toward anybody but those auditing would just not be fair to the wonderful, wonderful people in mater class, because they have a full house for auditing every week. At that point, Kyle Fritz (or somebody working for Kyle) will give you all the information about when the other teachers at the studio's classes will be starting, if any new ones are indeed starting, and he'll give you all the info about the audition process -- well, I should say, the bare bones about the audition process, in regard to how it's done. The audition process is really simple. You get your appointment (and yes, sometimes, depending on Howard's schedule, that can take a long time). You simply work up a relatively short scene (absolutely no monologues allowed) Howard works with you a while on it, talks to you about your background of training and the like, and then makes his recommendation where he thinks you would "fit in," with the studio. Sometimes it's really not at all a perception of "better" or "worse." Howard has an amazingly keen sense of what actors need in terms of training, if, they should choose to train at the studio (and sometimes he recommends somebody else, believe it or not ... outside of the studio). There is no differentiation right now in how much classes cost at the studio, regardless of which teacher you're with. Right now, it's $220 a month, for one day a week, and there's a rule that you can only take off one out of six months at the studio, for any reason, even if it's money. Other than Howard's "basic" class, a vast majority of the classes at the studio are scene study, and it's just really a matter of who, how, when and where you're studying with. As for the basic class, there are some people in Howard's advanced class who with surprising frequency choose to go back and pay to take it, so in that respect, there's nothing really "basic" about "basic." Michael Arabian just left the studio to start his own studio, after seven years with Howard, so the remaining teachers there are ... Heidi Helen Davis Karen Ludwig and John (who's last name escapes me for the moment ... since he's the newest addition to the teaching staff. They're all terrific, and though each has his/her own demeanor, the studio is really on "one page" more than any time ever, I think, in terms of teaching methods. The auditing should show you a great deal, and you'll get a good impression of what's going on. Since your info about Margie will be first hand, and mine is not, you would be in a better position than I to "compare" what's best for you, which is all that really matters to this equation. And by the way ... the studio is currently taking it's yearly hiatus, until the week of August 10, so if you should call to set up an audit, and nobody is calling you back for a while, that's the reason. And yeh ... you definitely should audit whether you want to go there or not, just to learn, since it's a terrific experience, and I still remember the night I audited with amazing clarity, even down to the scenes done, and the comments made on those scenes, with amazing specificity. And should you choose to audition for Howard, you may bring in any person you would like to do the scene with. Whoever is available for a trillion rehearsals working up your scene with whom you do your best work is the only real way to go. best of luck, sterling Wolfesden -- the official homepage of actor sterling wolfe, at the Howard Fine Acting Studio since 1996 Sterling Wolfe |
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