EVA VOLITZER ACTOR’S STUDIO
Interview of journalist Denis Nikiforof with Eva Volitzer
Denis Nikiforof:
I completed my acting studies in the class of Eva Volitzer, an extraordinary person, actress, director and teacher who I am proud to be lucky enough to know. I remember with great pleasure all the exercises, trainings and rehearsals we did for more than 4 years. Eva is a professional who manages to develop the talent of anyone who has the desire for it. I participated in many of her performances, sketches, stories and training sessions. All this has built me up a lot as a person. To date, I combine what I have learned with journalism, podcasting and psychology. Training with such a professional as Eva is more than opportunity and luck. I am very happy about the creation and development of the EVA VOLITZER ACTOR’S STUDIO in New York, because as one of my colleagues says: whoever studies with Eva becomes an actor, and the theater builds us first of all as individuals, that’s why my first question in this interview with my leader on the theatrical stage is connected with the activities of EVA VOLITZER ACTOR’S STUDIO, New York.
Denis Nikiforof:
What type of training do you conduct?
Eva Volitzer:
Dennis, first of all, thanks for the kind words about our acting classes. At Eva Volitzer Actors’Studio, we have courses to build basic techniques and skills in acting training as well as rehearsals and analyses on texts and scenes from Anton Chekhov’s plays, modern American drama, such as Nee Simon, etc.. Upcoming Shakespeare course presentation: analyses and rehearsals of dialogues and scenes from several comedies and tragedies by the great playwright.
Denis Nikiforof:
Who are the training sessions and courses suitable for?
Eva Volitzer:
There are no age or experience restrictions for our courses. The students are both: actors who want to refresh their smarts, especially after the two years of closure during the pandemic, and participants who want to practice acting training and develop personal qualities that everyone needs: concentration of attention, deepening and expansion of imagination, logic, skill of persuasive presence in the conditions of publicity, relieve from muscular tension, etc.
Denis Nikiforof:
Does a person need talent or rather motivation and effort to become an actor?
Eva Volitzer:
Talent, as the great creator of the Method Konstantin Stanislavsky used to say, is one percent, and ninety-nine percent is work.
Denis Nikiforof:
What does the practice of acting teach us and what qualities does it develop?
Eva Volitzer:
Acting training develops personal qualities and skills: to know what we want on stage, but also in life, what goals we set for ourselves and how to achieve them! The most important thing is to act in the direction of achieving a certain goal. Acting rehearsals on scenes teach how to analyze the behavior of the individual characters, how to explore characters, motives for action, emotional progression of feelings, etc.
Denis Nikiforof:
Eva, tell us a little more about the creative process of your students?
Eva Volitzer:
The training of our students in the acting courses follows certain steps and build-up. We start with theoretical lectures on each element of the acting technique, and then we implement practices, improvisations, sketches. A very essential part is the personal creativity of each student. After a certain time of mastering the individual elements of the acting technique, we encourage each student to create personal creativity: a stage sketch, an improvisation, a text. Thus, our students also advance as actors. We also work on monologues and scenes by playwrights, analyzing actions, circumstances, motives and characters.
Denis Nikiforof:
How can one become a part of EVA VOLITZER ACTOR’S STUDIO?
Eva Volitzer:
On the website of EVA VOLITZER ACTOR’S STUDIO www.evastudio.org
Upcoming courses are published with a description of the contents of each course. Anyone can view it and sign up.
Coming next 6 WEEK ACTING TECHNIQUE CLASS.
Denis Nikiforov: Eva, Thank you for this interview! I wish you good luck!
Eva Volitzer: Dennis, I also thank you for your interest in the activity of EVA VOLITZER ACTOR’S STUDIO!