FLAGSHIP 5-WEEK PROFESSIONAL ACTOR TRAINING PROGRAM

Access Acting Academy is proud to announce that we have successfully completed our 2020 flagship, 1st-of-its-kind, 5-week Professional Actor Training Program specifically for blind and visually impaired actors and future artistic change-makers. CONGRATULATIONS to the 2020 ALUMNI! See who they are by clicking THE ABOUT → ALUMNI link on the main header.

What was this program? This program was for beginners, early to mid career professionals, and those who may have acted before experiencing vision loss and are eager to integrate their new perception and artistic agency.The Access Acting Academy, founded by Marilee Talkington, has pioneered a new acting pedagogy based on Marilee’s 25 years of experience as a professional actor, director, creator, teacher, consultant, and legally blind individual. The foundation of the work is the belief that all actors are whole, valid in their lived experience, and inherently rich with imagination and potent creative potential. No one is missing anything necessary to be an impactful creator. It’s the training and access that have been lacking.  Our evolved and integrated techniques, developed by Marilee and her master-level collaborators, do not build in the visual bias found in traditional actor training. This allows the innate sophistication of perception and abilities in each student to emerge so they can can get to the real work at hand:  Fully investing in themselves, their craft and their artistic careers. Actor training of this caliber and level of accessibility for blind and low vision actors has never been available before. Now is the time for this profoundly rich and untapped talent to be cultivated, collaborated with, celebrated and realized.

2021 Program Dates: TBD

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Program Description

Access Acting Academy’s Professional Actor Training Program is an immersive 5-week acting program open to aspiring beginners to mid-career blind, low vision and visually impaired actors.  This program is for students hungry to dive deeply into intense performance training, self-discovery, and artistic expansion and expression.  The rigorous 6-day a week, full-time schedule offers classes in the core skills of acting, voice, and movement for both stage and screen, as well as opportunities to create original work, become savvy about the business of acting, have unprecedented access to elite industry professionals, and develop a network of future collaborators and casting allies. See full list of classes below.  

Program Schedule

Five Weeks, Six Days a Week.

A typical week runs Monday-Saturday. A typical day runs from 9:00 am-6:00 pm. There will be homework and rehearsals outside of class as well as elective opportunities to participate in social events, artistic outings, and mentorship workshops. Yes, it’s intense. Yes, you will be tired. Yes, it will be exhilarating.

Program Curriculum

Week 1-4:  The Art of Acting

Full-time study of acting and rehearsals (see classes below).

End of Week 4:  The Art of Giving Back (*optional)

Actors will be invited to step into their own artistic mentorship shoes and work with blind and low vision children in a half-day acting workshop.

Week 5:  The Business of Acting

Master classes with industry professionals, professionalism workshops, taping of on-camera scenes, and rehearsals for the final performance

End of Week 5:  The Act of Offering the Art

A Private final performance for Industry professionals, family and friends. And a graduation celebration

Program Classes

Acting Technique
• Character Development
• Movement Embodiment
• Voice
• Shakespeare Text Intensive
• Modern Text & Scene Analysis
• Navigation and Movement for the Stage
• Devising Original Work
• Exploration of the Actor/Audience relationship
• Self-Advocacy as an Artist with a Disability
• Audition Technique for Stage and Screen
• On-Camera Scene Study