For my blogs, click BLOG (above) then start at the bottom for chronological order.
For recommendations and contact info, just scroll down. Thanks! Vic
Private acting study
In twenty years of teaching classes I’ve often seen a self-imposed pressure to perform create self-consciousness for some actors. They do better in private study. Private study encourages freer experimentation for them and provides an unhurried, process-driven atmosphere that's essential for growth.
A few quick thoughts about the process
Talk is cheap and talk about acting is the cheapest talk there is (so it's in my blogs!)
Behavior is what counts.
All great acting has one thing in common: it’s happens in an unconscious state.
All bad acting has one thing in common: self-consciousness.
Live freely in the moment. Increase your capacity to surprise yourself. That’s where all your as-yet-undiscovered talent lives.
Meisner called good acting Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances. Stanislavski said You’re a thousand times more interesting than the best actor you can ever become.
I agree, absolutely.
The easiest way to to be false--to create behavior that looks false-- is to imagine that you’re playing a character.
It’s you. It must be you. Always, and fully, and regardless of what you may have to add or subtract depending on who the character is on the page.
Private Scene Work or Cold Reading for Two people
1 hour: $80 per person
3 hours: $200 per person
6 hours: $350 per person
Monologue Work or Cold Reading for One person
1 hour: $100
3 hours: $250
6 hours: $400
For an interview: victordaltorio@yahoo.com
Please call only if no email reply within 48 hours ~ 310 657 4050
Amanda Righetti ~ Actor “Grace Van Pelt” on The Mentalist and star of the upcoming Friday the 13th (2009)
“Victor D'Altorio is all about the work, and he kept me focused on what was important for me as an actor. He pushed me past my fears, stubbornness, and unwillingness and helped me grow while breaking down walls. The challenges he put before me incited a clearer vision for how to work on my craft as well as with other actors. The insight that he helped establish applies to all aspects of my work, including auditions, and The Mentalist is no exception. I use what he taught me in the auditioning process, and I continue to draw from his instruction when I am on set. Victor's teaching has been invaluable to my personal artistic goals for improvement, and I take those tools with me to every new opportunity presented.”
Laura Innes ~ Director, Actor Director: The West Wing (Emmy nomination), ER, House, Brothers & Sisters Actor: “Dr. Kerry Weaver” on ER (2 Emmy nominations for supporting actress in a drama)
“As a director, I’m always looking for the truest, least embellished behavior in an actor's audition. As an actor, I strive for the same thing in my work—honest communication that’s fully alive in the moment, and as specific as possible to the needs of the script. Vic has a rare ability to quickly connect people to their most authentic selves, whether he’s working with experienced professionals or with beginners, and that’s the most important quality to look for in a great coach.”
Megan Mullally ~ Actor “Karen Walker” on Will & Grace (2 Emmy awards, supporting actress in a comedy)
“Victor guides the actor right to the truth of the moment. He directed me in a role that was about as different a woman from myself as I’ve ever played, and our collaboration and exploration was really fun and very, very challenging. There were times I wanted to smack him on the head! He demanded that every moment be honest, fully alive, and specific, and then he wanted more. And then more! I loved working with him.”
Richard Schiff ~ Actor “Toby Ziegler” on The West Wing (Emmy award, supporting actor in a drama)
“Vic is a great, gifted teacher, and so I recommended to a young actor on The West Wing that he take Vic’s Meisner class. The change in his work, after only one session, was impressive. His tendency to dramatize was gone, and his sense of truth and commitment to the moment much, much stronger. He had more presence, more confidence, actually more charisma—which can’t be taught—but it emerged along with the stronger sense of self he developed in Vic’s class.”
Neil Vipond ~ Actor Broadway: Macbeth, Strange Interlude, Tamburlaine the Great TV: Will & Grace, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Medium, Frasier, Melrose Place, LA Law and many others
“It is a rare thing to find an acting coach and director who combines a profound understanding of our human natures and how we relate to others and the world around us combined with all the technical aspects of acting for the camera and on stage. Victor D’Altorio is one of these memorable people and anyone who has the good fortune to work with him will be deeply enriched by his talents.”
Marlene Kelly ~ Senior Producer, Programming and Syndication for Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, Inc.
"What did I learn in Victor's class? I learned one of the most invaluable lessons of my life and it is not so simply this... When you choose (and it is a choice) to get out of your own head with all of it's nonsensical insecurities and instead put your attention wholeheartedly and completely on another person, you will find everything that is beautiful and flawed and human. In truth, you will see yourself for the very first time and then you will know real intimacy. Which can be applied to every relationship in your life if you dare to live so bravely."