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+ The Heller
Approach
Media Kit
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The Technique
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The Heller Approach is
Foundations & history exclusively founded and taught by Brad
The Heller Approach is a Los
Angeles-based acting school that
addresses the obstacles many actors find
in achieving believability and authenticity
in acting out a role. The Heller Approach
offers a successful guide to actors wanting
to convey meaningful performances
without summoning past painful
experiences advocated by the Method
approach.
Our technique is completely
obstacle with actors. The problem
teachings of original Group Theater
of nervousness, worry, and unease
member, Don Richardson. Richardson
is a constant issue many actors
directed over 800 television shows and
face, but rarely find the tools to
his legendary students include Robert
remedy their fears. The Heller
Redford, Kirk Douglass, Grace Kelly,
Approach teaches actors how to
Anne Bancroft, Zero Mostel, and
cope with high-pressure situations
Spencer Tracy – to name a few. The
and embrace their own fear.
works of Richardson’s former students
and the Heller Approach current
students (including Grey’s Anatomy’s
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Heroes’ Masi
Oka, and Rescue Me’s Natalie Distler)
yet practical and form a solid foundation to
validate the authenticity of this
engage in any medium. The application for
incredible technique.
memory, rather than the Method approach
of dwelling on past experiences in order to
evoke emotion. This truly frees the artist to
access all feelings and emotions that are
universal to humans regardless of past
experiences.
addresses anxiety, a common
Heller, with its foundation in the
unique, giving actors tools that are simple
the Heller Approach is based on muscle
The Heller Approach
Brad Heller was also mentored
The technique addresses
many of actors’ biggest issues,
including anxiety when
auditioning, lack of understanding
how to evoke believable emotion,
lack of technique that does not
require one to dig into past
experiences, and a
by academy award wining writer and
misunderstanding of how to enact a
director, Seth Winston. Winston’s
character in a most engaging
influence has also been incorporated
manner.
into The Heller Approach in order to
assist students in learning how to
analyze a scene and create the most
believable and authentic characters
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The Technique
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Conquering Anxiety and Stage Fright
Stage fright and anxiety can kill any actor’s drive,
performance, and enjoyment in acting. If an actor can learn to
cope with anxiety and fear, it will change not only their acting,
but also a variety of different other aspects of life, including
confidence, relationships, and income – to name a few. Below,
professional acting coach, Brad Heller, shares his story of how
having the right tools for dealing with fear and anxiety
changed his life and the futures of his students:
“For many years, I had debilitating stage fright and anxiety
every time I performed. This unease manifested itself in a
number of ways. The two ways it hurt me the most arrived in
the forms of distracting, impeding thoughts that would not go
away, and feeling withdrawn when performing in highpressure situations. It did not matter what acting technique I
used, because my brain became so numb from fear that I lost
the ability to think clearly.
My acting mentor, Don Richardson, repeatedly informed to me
“Acting is like being an athlete.” When he first shared this with
me, I did not really grasp how this was possible. Although after
working with him for a bit, I finally understood how the two are
related: an athlete and an actor require the same training, the
same principles of preparation, and the same muscle memory
execution. I finally comprehended Don’s metaphor; I wanted to
be able to handle the stress and the pressure of a professional
football player – like a wide received who COULD catch the
ball when a billion people are watching him in the Super Bowl.
Except in my case, I wanted to be able to be an actor who
didn’t leave an audition with regret. I wanted to be able to
leave an audition knowing that I had done the best I could, and
that fear and anxiety didn’t impede my performance. Because
believe me, when you are a at fourth callback for a role any
actor REALLY wants, and you see all of the producers, writers,
and directors behind a bunch of tables, just waiting for you to
impress them, the anxiety can hit you like a ton of bricks.
Knowing how to handle the fear when it hits you is paramount
to an actor’s success.
The brilliant woman who gave me the tools to cope with
anxiety and fear is Dr. Eda Gorbis. After decades of trying to
find a mechanism to deal with the unease, I finally found a
person who could help me. She completely changed how I
handle anxiety, and without her, I would never have been able
to achieve the success I currently enjoy. Dr. Eda Gorbis is
world-renowned authority on the treatment and research of
anxiety disorders, Associate Professor at UCLA, and founder of
the Westwood Institute for Anxiety located in Westwood, CA.
Dr. Gorbis is an author and co-author of numerous
scientifically important articles on anxiety disorders, and has
been featured on numerous televised programs and
documentaries, including MTV’s True Life, ABC News’ 20/20,
NBC’s Today Show, and Discovery Health.
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After my time working with Dr. Gorbis, I discovered that my
anxiety had nothing to do with my childhood or how I was
raised, but simply that I needed to learn tools to help me cope
with high-pressure situations that all actors and performers
alike face. I armed myself with tools to help me EMBRACE the
anxiety and fear. Dr. Gorbis’ best advice was to “invite your
enemies to dinner.” In my case, the enemies were anxiety and
fear.
At first, the old principle “keep your friends close, but your
enemies closer, ” was really strange to apply to my battle
with anxiety and fear. Although I was slowly able to
understand what she meant. I was trying to push my enemies
away, and Dr. Gorbis taught me how to keep them close,
embrace them, and WORK AROUND THEM. It turned out
to be a life-changing concept to grasp. After all of my years
in acting, trying to push thoughts and fear away, and it turns
out the key is to INVITE THEM IN. I was supposed to be
embracing the feelings and thoughts I encountered when
the pressure was high. Fear and Anxiety are two emotions
that need to be accepted and embraced. At first, the feelings
can become more intense, but after a bit of time, if you LIVE
WITH THEM in you and accept them, their power starts to
decrease.
What I learned how to do for myself, as and actor, and also
to pass onto my students is how to work around the
uncomfortable thoughts and feelings caused by anxiety and
fear. It truly is a life changing experience. We cannot push
thoughts away. We cannot push feelings away. If we try to do
this, they will only come back at you ten times stronger.
Here is a little example:
Try NOT to think if a pink elephant….Impossible, yes?
Now, use this pink elephant as an example of thoughts or
feelings you do not want to have when you are performing a
scene as an actor.
Now, if you have to perform a scene as an actor, and NOT
think of this pink elephant, or you try to push this thought
away – it will come back at you 10 times stronger, yes?
IT WILL NEVER GO AWAY.
Instead, the approach I learned simply teaches you to work
AROUND this thought. Do not push it away, but rather accept
it and perform WITH IT. When I did this, the thought’s power
and distraction ability weakened or simply disappeared. It is
similar to a dancer who must perform with a sprained ankle.
The dancer must simply accept the pain and do it anyways.
The way we approach fear and performance anxiety is by
slowly and safely learning to work with the fear in you – to
work around the fear and distraction, rather than running
from it.
To be able to act under any condition is one of the many
very important principles I teach my students. My students
can come through and perform exceptionally no matter the
condition: good feelings, bad feelings, or distracting
thoughts. They no longer mess up their auditions due to
anxiety that causes them to freeze. The key is that my
students DO NOT leave their auditions and performances
with the worst feeling in the world – regret.”
-Brad Heller
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Passing the Torch
From One Generation to the Next
Charles Jehlinger (1886-1952)
Jehlinger was one of the most
Don Richardson (1919-1996)
Don Richardson, whom Jehlinger
Brad Heller (Present)
Brad Heller, who was mentored
important acting teachers in America and
mentored, was an author, teacher, and
by Don Richardson, is an actor, teacher,
taught for nearly 50 years at The
director. Don was an original member of
and director. Brad was Don’s protégé and
American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
the Group Theater, which was the
after his passing, Brad began teaching
Among his pupils were Cecil B. DeMille,
nucleus of Acting in the United States. His
and coaching this revolutionary
Edward G. Robinson, Spencer Tracy,
fellow students include Sanford Meisner,
technique. He spent five years teaching
Hume Cronyn, Kirk Douglas, Anne
Stella Adler, and Uta Hagan. Although
as a professor of Acting at UCLA;
Bancroft, and Robert Redford. The legend
Don was the only student from the Group
afterwards, he began coaching privately
is that he taught Cecil B. DeMille in his
Theater who said, “The Method isn’t what
in his own school. Brad built a very
first class and Robert Redford in his last.
acting is about.” He directed over 800
successful acting and producing career,
In his memoir, The Ragman’s Son, Kirk
television shows in his time. Some of
appearing in hundreds of TV shows,
Douglas dedicates three pages to
these include Get Smart, One Day at a
commercials, and films. Most recently,
memories of Jehlinger. Similarly, in Hume
Time, Lost in Space, The Defenders, and
guest starring in a very well received
Cronyn’s memoir, A Terrible Liar, he tells
Bonanza. Don also directed theatre
role on Criminal Minds, and in the
the story of the day that Jehlinger
productions on Broadway, won numerous
Academy Award Nominated film, Most.
approached him and said, “You’re a fool,
Emmy awards, and taught actors for over
Brad feels compelled to carry out Don’s
boy. Oil and water won’t mix. You can’t
40 years. Some of his legendary clients
legacy. He has effectively taken many
criticize and create at the same time.
include Grace Kelly, Anne Bancroft, Zero
actors from beginner to master in a very
You’re a fool.”
Mostel, and Spencer Tracy, to name a few
short period of time.
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How we are Different & The Issues
we Address
you must create a character that has a lasting impact on the
There are many acting techniques existing in today’s
world, many of which claim to have their foundations lie in the
teachings of a variety of original Group Theater members. His
fellow students include Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, and Uta
Hagen. Although Don Richardson is the only founding student
who admitted that “The Method isn’t what acting is about.”
The technique further maintains that acting should be
fun – not a self-dissecting experience. This technique gives you a
very simple, structured way of working without making acting a
complex, traumatic, or painful experience. Furthermore, this
technique will help you learn how to analyze a scene and to
create the most believable, entertaining characters possible in a
very short period of time – which is required in today’s fast
paced Hollywood entertainment industry. The basics of the
viewer. With regards to scene study, the students bring in a
prepared scene that they find on their own, rehearse it outside of
class, and then perform it in class soon after. The instructor will
give notes on how to improve it, and the students work on it the
next week, and bring it in again.
Emotion
One of the main principles of the technique pertains to ‘evoking
emotion.’ Emotion is the intensity you feel in your body when
you are angry, sad, happy, anxious, etc.. You feel it in every pore
of your body when you experience a certain feeling. We teach
actors how to create this quality on command, in a very quick
and reliable way.
Comedy
Heller Approach lessons include Styles of Entertainment,
Believability, Scene Study, Emotion, Comedy, and Cold
The art of comedy is one of the many teachings we specialize in.
Read/Audition Technique.
Many actors and comics come to us to learn how to get laughs in
Styles of Entertainment
There are many different types of entertainment we play: Drama,
comedy, farce, modern tragedy, mystery, etc.. We have only
named a few, but as actors need to know how to play them all. In
fact, all different styles of entertainment have a different purpose
in how they are to affect the audience. There are specific tools
we give you to help you mold the audience and get the crowds
laughing where you want them to, or move them to tears at a
specific dramatic moment.
a scene when they are playing a believable character. There are
specific principles to comedy – ranging from how to set up a
joke, to specific tools to get the audience laughing exactly where
you want them. Comedy is similar to science, in that it must be
precise. The timing of a joke can make or break the moment.
Acting in a comedic role can be a lot of fun when you have the
necessary tools; otherwise, it can be very intimidating. Most of
the shows on T.V. are comedic, and if you can’t play a comedy,
you’re eliminating a significant amount of potential work. The
important thing to remember is that once you know the tools of
comedy, it’s very exciting to plan your performance and get the
Believability
crowd laughing at the right moment!
As actors, it doesn’t matter what we do to ‘jazz up a scene’ if it is
Cold Read/Audition Technique
not real and believable. Being real is acting. Its not about ‘doing
a tap dance.’ Although we address creating interesting moments How to ‘WOW’ the casting director & leave a memorable
in a scene to get laughs or create suspense, even more focus is impression requires some very important tools. We emphasize
placed on being a real person in the scene. You will ‘wow them’ the necessity in taking risks in the choices you make, how to
by bringing yourself to the role and really believing that you are react and listen in a scene, when to look up from the scene and
the character you’re playing in the given scene – reacting to
when it’s ok to read the lines, how to prepare for the audition,
given circumstances as a real human being.
learning the role in order to perform at your potential under
duress, bringing yourself to the role, taking over the room and
Scene Study
enticing the casting director to want to know you, and how to
rehearse for an audition when you don’t have a scene partner to
After you book the job, you will need to build the roll. To do this, practice with, and making the scene real to you.
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The Technique
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Acting is Like Being an Athlete:
A Technique Based on Muscle Memory
Don Richardson taught the principle: Acting is like
is that our body remembers. The technique used
being an athlete. This statement may seem
at The Heller Approach relies on muscle memory.
confusing at first, but after some thought, it is clear
Just as a professional tennis player does not think
how the two are related: an athlete and an actor
about how he is going to hit the ball on the tennis
require the same training, the same principles of
court, an actor needs to be able to trust his body
preparation, and the same muscle memory
to remember the preparation done prior to
execution. In order for one’s acting to be
filming or being on stage.
believable and true, the actor must not be thinking
about what he is supposed to do next, or be
watching himself to ensure he is “doing it
correctly.” Don often reminded his students that
“the character doesn’t know she’s in the story. To
create convincing human beings we must obey
natural laws. In life, we do not go around constantly
thinking about who we are, and neither should the
character.”
Similar to athletic training, there are two phases in
acting: Preparation and Execution. Preparation
is the step where you learn everything, and
execution is where you let go completely –
allowing your body to remember what it learned
during the previous step. Your muscles will
remember if you have done the preparation. A
professional athlete trains every day in order to
prepare for the big match, and once he is on the
After our brains have memorized the lines, the rest
court, there is no more thinking about what he is
of the tasks in acting are turned over to our body,
going to do – he just does it. In acting, the answer
which through practice, can learn to do things
lies in making everything we can a conditioned
without thinking, just as we learn to catch a ball
reflex so that we don’t have to think about it. You
without thinking about it. The greatest aid in acting
cannot criticize and be creative at the same time.
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The Team
Brad Heller
Brad Heller began his career at Boston University School of Theatre Arts, where he
received his theatre degree. Hollywood was his calling, so he moved to Los Angeles,
where he began teaching, as well as producing films, while continuing a successful
acting career. Brad enjoys teaching the lessons that he uses in his own professional
acting career and has a strong passion to pass these tools on to help actors perfect
their craft. Brad has students who have studied with him for nearly 15 years; from
Judge Reinhold and Mary Gilbert, to David White and Masi Oka, Brad’s students have
successfully created acting careers, and constantly keep their acting tools sharp with
the Heller Approach. His students have booked roles on hit shows like Criminal
Minds, The Unit, CSI, Las Vegas, Malcolm in the Middle, and Monk – to name a few.
Evan Arnold
Evan Arnold is a Los Angeles native, with over 25 years of acting experience in
television, film, commercials, and theater (Member: Buffalo Nights and Troubadour
theater companies, both award winning). His father was an award-winning member of
the DGA who worked on such films as The Godfather Part II, Bladerunner, Sixteen
Candles, War Games, and The Jerk. Having met and watched directors on the sets of
his Father’s films, Evan has seen a vast cross-section of Hollywood styles in action. His
own acting credits include regular roles on Growing Pains, Just the Ten of Us, Close to
Home, and The West Wing. Arnold is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard School
(now-Harvard-Westlake) and U.C. Berkley,
Sean Nepita
Sean Nepita began his career when he was cast in the blockbuster hit Titanic, and has
since appeared in countless television shows and feature films, including Best Laid
Plans (also starring Reese Witherspoon). He has since been in literally hundreds of
commercials and televised campaigns. You may recognize him from his numerous
Quizno’s and IBM commercials, and most recently McDonald’s and AFLAC. In
addition to acting, Sean is stand-up comedian performing regularly in the Los
Angeles stand-up circuit.
David White
David A.R. White has been a working actor and producer in Los Angeles for over 10
years. At the age of 19, David landed a three-year reoccurring role on the Emmy
award winning sitcom Evening Shade. David continued to book roles on a number of
shows, including Coach, Saved by the Bell, Sisters, Melrose Place, and Martial Law. In
1999, David produced and starred in the feature films The Moment After and Mercy
Streets. In 2001, David was nominated for The Movie Guide Awards’ Best Actor for his
dual roles in Mercy Streets. His competitors included Mel Gibson in The Patriot,
Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans, and Will Smith in Bagger Vance. In
addition, David continues to produce and direct at least five films a year, and students
are often cast in his work.
Kerry Stein
Kerry has been an actors since age 16, and has appeared in countless network
television shows, commercials, films, and stage plays. Having studied acting and
directing for eleven years with the legendary Don Richardson, Kerry has been
teaching actors for the past 20 years. He is thrilled to be associated with the academy,
as his greatest joy is helping actors use their own presence fully and effectively as the
character.
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Testimonials
“Brad has been coaching my clients for years now, and manages to bring them to
a whole new level. I work very hard developing my actors for television and film,
and I am always confident sending them to Brad. He has challenged them not to
do what every other actor will do with the same dialogue. Whether the project is
drama or broad comedy, he is there to help them make strong choices. Many
have hailed Brad as being one of the best coaches in Hollywood, and I have to
agree. Actors love Brad Heller, and so do I.”
-Mara Santino, Talent Manager of Luber Roklin Entertainment
“The Heller Approach could not be more practical; as a teacher, Brad arms his
students with the tools necessary to tackle any situation. I was brought in to
audition for one of several lead characters in an upcoming feature. After my initial
read with the casting director, she told me that she liked me a lot but the part I
was auditioning for had already been offered to a well-known actor. She then
handed me a set of sides I’d never seen before and asked me to step outside,
prepare, and read for this new character on the spot. Brad had just taught me a
lesson the night before about cold reading and told me that “sooner or later, a CD
would ask me to read for a different part than I’d prepared for” and that his
lessons in cold reading would prove invaluable if this happened. I never
expected this to happen the next day, & I found Brad’s words of wisdom echoing
in my head as I prepared to cold read for this new role. I was subsequently called
back twice and went on to screen test for the part. Thanks to Brad’s foresight and
experience, I couldn’t have been more prepared for such a curve ball.”
-Alex Goode
“I never show up for work without working with Brad first. He keeps me real and
he points out both my strengths and weaknesses in an encouraging way that
allows me to make the most of every opportunity.”
-Judge Reinhold Beverly Hills Cop 1, Beverly Hills 2, The Santa Claus 1, The
Santa Claus 2, Ruthless People, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
“The Heller Approach is so refreshing compared to other classes I’ve taken. In
my first session with Brad I had a moment of clarity and knew right away what
needed to be changed in the scene we were working on. I love the idea of not
having to be beaten down and broken to be a good actor. You can still give a
great performance and have fun with it!”
-Brittany Finamore Cory in the House, Ghost Whisperer, Another World
“I’ve trained with many acting coaches in both NY and LA, and I have never felt as
confident going into an audition as I have after working with Brad. He taught me
how to be more present and in the moment. Brad is a wonderful teacher that truly
cares and knows what he is talking about. The call back today went so great! I felt
a million times better about it once I worked on it with Brad! Looking forward to
call on Thursday!”
-Natalie Distler Rescue Me
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Testimonials continued…
“Brad Heller is an acting coach who knows what he is talking about. Most acting
coaches will just tell you how to do your scene their way. Brad will work with you to
create a character that will feel natural and unique to you as well as the casting
director. If you want to go into an audition room and book the job, then I recommend
you work with Brad.”
-George Finn How I Met Your Mother, Cold Case, Beverly Hills 90210
“I've trained with different acting coaches in both London and Los Angeles , and I
have never found a class that I truly look forward to every week. Brad has taught
me to really let go and enjoy what I do, which in turn has made me get out of my
head and be more in the moment. Brad is a fantastic teacher and a really great
guy.”
-Benjamin Stone Ten Things I Hate About You & lead roll in the play The
Dreaming (performed specifically for Queen of England at Windsor Castle)
“Brad has been a wonderful acting coach to my son, Freddy. When he works with
Brad prior to an audition, he usually books the job. His technique, though not
difficult, has brought out the best in Freddy.”
-Norine Siglar (Freddy’s mother) Byron Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By
Myself
“Brad helped me understand my character and the story being told as a whole,
and taught me to become and live the parts I've auditioned for, and projects
I've worked on. Thanks Brad!”
-Arthur Napiontek Pineapple Express
“Since I started Brad's class I feel that I have come across a technique that works
for me. I highly recommend classes with Brad Heller!”
-Tyler Blackburn Cold Case, Days of our Lives, Gigantic, Pretty Little Liars
“Mr. Heller is an absolutely amazing teacher that will not only take your acting skill
to another level that you could never imagine, but will also guide and help you in
your career and development as a human being. He is a true Sensei of the craft of
acting and a role model that has and will continue to change lives daily.”
-Kristopher Askins, represented by well respected Society Entertainment
Management
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Group
Acting
Classes
Each class offers an environment
where all students will work on
stage in every class. Classes will
consist of, but are not limited to:
scene study and analysis, cold
reading and audition technique,
career management (Getting an
agent, headshots, etc.), and tools in
overcoming stage fright or general
fear.
Classes are taught for all levels
and ages. Beginners and seasoned
pros are welcome. The Heller
Approach’s Acting Studio has
group classes every week.
Everyone hones their skills while
Weekly Group Class
Schedule
Tuesday:
7:00 PM–10:30 PM
Thursday:
10:00 AM–1:00 PM
auditioning and working regularly
in television and film. It is a noncompetitive, safe, and supportive
environment where everyone
Location
Free Introductory Class
Two Roads Theater
Check out a class for free!
See, hear, or feel if it’s right
for you. Bring a monologue or
a scene to work on with Brad
Heller, if you like. Call
323.962.8077 or email
info@thehellerapproach.com
to schedule your free
introductory class.
shares and enjoys practicing their
craft. Students receive immediate
4348 Tujunga Ave.
feedback from Acting Coach, Brad
Studio City, CA 91604
Heller; negative criticism is not
part of this unique curriculum.
Productive feedback, tips, and
Cost
pointers are only part of what
make Brad’s group acting classes
one of the most respected in LA.
All students are encouraged to
actively participate and ask
4 times a month (once a week)
group class cost is $250
8 times a month (twice a week)
group class cost is $420
questions.
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Skype
Acting
Classes
The Heller Approach offers private and
on set, or for last minute audition
semi-private live Skype lessons to
preparation.
students worldwide. Lessons are
available via webcam in real time
through the free downloadable program,
SKYPE. You can receive private coaching
from Brad Heller or any of his assistant
coaches in the comfort of your own
home. The only requirement is to
download SKYPE (it only takes a few
minutes), and you’re all set! You can
choose from general acting lessons, or
work on preparing for an upcoming
audition, callback, or monologue. The
Heller Approach and its successors are
Los Angeles based, although studying
with Brad or one of his assistant coaches
takes place around the world through
the advent of Skype.
the journey to Hollywood can obtain a
a solid technique and
huge advantage over their
understanding of the current
competitors by receiving exceptional
entertainment industry.
acting training prior to their move. An
actor’s success in the entertainment
industry heavily relies on his training
and current knowledge of the
business – both of which are time
sensitive and can be achieved prior to
one’s move to Hollywood. For every
level of actor, The Heller Approach’s
teachings includes the steps required
to embark on career as an actor,
which involves a thorough study of
the industry, the business, acquiring
an agent, and headshot guidance.
number of out-of-state acting students
industry expectations, an actor
via Skype, in addition to in-person
moving to Los Angeles can dive right
private and group acting lessons. We
into the auditioning pool and into
also have a number of students who
seeking an agent, upon arrival.
effort to forgo heavy traffic conditions, or
who request immediate coaching while
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auditions, an actors must have
With the right training and up-to-date
appreciate the advent of Skype in an
order to be prepared for these
Young actors preparing to embark on
The Heller Approach currently teaches a
reside in Los Angeles, but still
out-of- state talent, and in
Trying to break into the industry from
your hometown? It IS possible. Los
Angeles casting directors travel all
over the United States seeking
The Heller Approach offers
training for all actors’ needs,
and is one of the most highly
regarded programs in the
country. The non-method
acting technique used at The
Heller Approach is great for
preparing you before moving
to Hollywood, teaches you how
to be a better actor
(regardless if you or your child
is moving to Los Angeles or
not), and most importantly – it
keeps acting FUN!
Brad Heller featured in Back Stage Magazine
The Craft
Leave the Agony Behind
These are the kinds of acting techniques I
have experienced myself and have heard
about from my students, ages 7 to 70.
Some call it affective memory, a technique
used in Method acting: using your memory
of a personal tragic event to catapult you
into a state of mind, at which point,
supposedly, the character takes over and
you’ll be emotional for the scene.
An Electric Connection
"Think of your pet dog having a thousand
needles stuck into him over his entire body.
Think of his pain. Now, while in this state,
do your monologue for me." An adult
student told me that this is what his acting
teacher instructed him to do in order to
play a character who’s terrified.
A 9-year-old student informed me that her
previous acting coach had told her that just
before starting an emotional scene, she
should think of her mommy dying. Little did
this teacher know, the girl’s mother had
recently been in a major car accident and
was pronounced dead at the scene in front
of her daughter before regaining
consciousness and being rushed to the
hospital. Months later, the girl was still
traumatized by the acting exercise.
Fortunately, she’s no longer studying with
that "teacher."
As an adult, I don’t ever want to think of
those images, especially before shooting a
scene. I can’t imagine how terrible it would
be for a child. I thought acting was
supposed to be fun. As a kid, I pretended to
be a cowboy. I never had to do things like
this to be a scared cowboy.
Furthermore, you aren’t playing yourself;
you’re playing a character. How can
remembering a Brad Heller experience
evoke emotion effectively for a character
I’m playing? The amount of terror I feel
from thinking about my personal experience
won’t properly fit the scene I’m doing. The
character is not Brad Heller. It’s like trying
to put a piece of one puzzle into another—it
just won’t fit.
These are the kinds of acting techniques I
have experienced myself and have heard
about from my students, ages 7 to 70.
Some call it affective memory, a technique
used in Method acting: using your memory
of a personal tragic event to catapult you
into a state of mind, at which point,
supposedly, the character takes over and
you’ll be emotional for the scene.
What is emotion? To me, emotion is the
electricity in your body and your heart
when you feel, which then beams out
through your eyes. Like the electricity of
rage you see in Anthony Hopkins’ eyes
when he says, "Hello, Clarice," in "The
Silence of the Lambs." I believe we need
this electricity for great acting, and it
beams out through our eyes. It’s the
engine that runs the car. Without it, your
motor will be dead and your character will
be flat—like old 7Up lacking carbonation.
So how do we get that without ending up in
therapy?
After literally hundreds of thousands of
wasted dollars and hours spent on crappy
acting classes across the country, I found
that the most effective way to evoke
emotion was not taught to me in any
university, but nearly 20 years ago in L.A.
by the late Don Richardson, my acting
mentor.
Don wrote an amazing book called "Acting
Without Agony: An Alternative to the
Method." He taught some of the greatest
actors of my generation: Grace Kelly, Anne
Bancroft, Zero Mostel, and Helen Hayes
(who wrote the foreword to his book). He
directed more than 800 episodes of TV
shows, many of which I watched as a kid:
"Get Smart," "Bonanza," "The Defenders,"
"Lost in Space." He also directed plays on
Broadway and was an original member of
the Group Theatre, alongside Stella Adler
and Sanford Meisner. This was important
for me to know, as I wasn’t looking for
some fly-by-night, quick-fix technique.
the body is so familiar with emotion, you’ll
feel it by simply saying it aloud.
Say "anxiety" aloud. Don’t you feel an
electric tingle in your chest? That’s where
the center of the emotion anxiety is located.
Say the word "joy." You may feel a tingle in
your chest that rushes up your throat to
your mouth. It may make you smile. You’re
feeling this small amount of emotion. It
isn’t enough to carry you through a scene,
but it’s the epicenter, if you will, of that
emotion—where it starts in the body.
Just Breathe
I learned that after saying the emotion
aloud, there’s a very simple breathing
exercise to get my body filled with a
tremendous amount of the required feeling.
I could suddenly feel very angry, happy, or
terrified at the snap of my fingers, without
having to delve into my mental diary.
Let me explain the breathing and why we
do it. Whenever we’re emotional, our body
has the same type of physiological
reaction—the same one we get when we’re
panting and out of breath after exercising.
We get a little lightheaded, our muscles
tense up, our heart rate increases, we
sweat, and so on. No matter what the
emotion is, our experience is the same.
In my classes, I teach how to get really
emotional—terrified, happy, angry, etc.—
simply by saying the name of the emotion
and breathing heavily for a few seconds,
and then we start the scene. The technique
is built around the muscle memory that will
automatically produce the lightheaded
electricity we have when we’re really
emotional.
I taught this technique for five years at
UCLA (where Don Richardson taught me)
and then opened my own school in 1994,
the Acting Without Agony Academy, where I
currently teach. Don’s technique changed
my life and completely rejuvenated my
passion to act.
Don completely changed my outlook on
acting and made it fun again. I discovered
that it’s possible to get emotional without
having to think of anything personal.
Brad Heller will host the intensive "Master
the Audition" at Actorfest LA on Saturday,
Nov. 6. For more information, go to
Actorfest.com.
Here’s the deal. It may sound weird, but it
works. Try it and you’ll see. Evoking
emotion doesn’t have to be done by
thinking of something from your own life.
You can do it by simply verbalizing the
name of the emotion. Don explained that
**This article is available at
http://www.backstage.com/advicefor-actors/acting-teachers/leave-theagony-behind/
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Brad Heller featured in LA Weekly - An Article by Erin Aubry Kaplan
Finding Alan
My husband, acting out
By Erin Aubry Kaplan Thursday, Apr 21 2005
When my husband, Alan, confessed not long after we got
married that he wanted to take acting lessons, I was
thrilled – Alan was in for hell, and I could help him
through it. He could prosper in a way that I never did
when I studied acting at UCLA, but only if I explained it
all.
I’d have been less thrilled and more jealous were Alan not
the most un-actorly guy I know. He hates affect of any
kind and despises having his picture taken even more. He
likes coffee shops but is wholly suspicious of
coffeehouses, which he thinks of as colonies for slackers
and model types and people with no real jobs, like actors.
He’s a leftist social critic and a public high school teacher
with a wardrobe and mindset so utilitarian, I have to beg
him to buy new socks or underwear from a real store (he
also hates malls) instead of a swap meet. Yet he’s always
had a flair for the dramatic and a commanding ease in
front of tough crowds — the hallmark of any successful
teacher, and excellent training for any actor. But he still
resisted lessons.
This was partly because he remained leery of the whole
acting culture, but mostly because he’s a perfectionist
who hates doing anything that he can’t do well the first
time. Essentially, he fears looking like a fool. “If you want
to be an actor,” I told him, “you had better get rid of the
idea that you won’t look like a fool, at least at first.” That
much I knew.
14
thought that I would still be performing, but on the page.
Every art form shares a common set of muses, and all
that.
Finally, Alan agreed to acting lessons, but only after
braving tap-dance classes for five weeks and feeling like a
total failure from moment one. He was in bad need of an
antidote. I leapt into action. I went on the Internet, and,
among the 850,000-plus hits I got when I put in “acting
classes in Los Angeles,” found the One: Acting Without
Agony. Probably too good to be true, but the mere
promise of a painless experience sold me.
The program was inspired by the teachings of Don
Richardson, a Group Theater alumnus who’d decided that
the deep-psychology approach of Strasberg and
Stanislavsky was bad for good acting, so he created a
much more pragmatic-sounding technique that he called
“an alternative to the Method.” Richardson was dead, but
one of his protégés, Brad Heller, was running an Acting
Without Agony academy out in Studio City. Classes met
every Tuesday at Two Roads Theater on Tujunga Avenue,
directly across the street from the restaurant where
Robert Blake’s murdered wife ate her last meal. Alan
thought this was a good sign, in a morbid kind of way.
Like almost every red-blooded Angeleno who grew up
with a love of the movies and a chronically vague sense of
career, I thought I wanted to be an actor. After college I
did the rounds of small theater, playing everything from
Anita in a dinner-theater production of West Side Story
to a tap-dancing allegory named Life in an ambitious little
musical at a community playhouse. It was as good a time
as I’d ever had while making almost no money, and I
thought I’d found a calling.
Heller turned out to be wiry and bright-eyed, with an
impossible amount of energy and dark, wispy hair that
always made him look like he’d just rolled out of bed,
though I could hardly imagine him doing something as
passive as sleeping. No coddler, he put Alan onstage right
away with a monologue Alan had chosen before this first
meeting. I had gone through a monologue book with Alan
over dinner to suggest pieces he might like to do. One was
a lovely speech about regret and lost youth from a play by
Ivan Turgenev. I thought my intellectually inclined,
Russian-descended husband would like it; he didn’t. “I
don’t get this,” he grumbled. “It’s too talky. What else is
there?”
In UCLA’s graduate theater program, I was taught that
acting is about the furthest thing from a good time that a
person could possibly imagine. My teacher was a fierce
Strasberg devotee who believed people must be reduced
to emotional pulp before they can even call themselves
actors. I was still in guarded post-adolescence and knew I
was in trouble when, during the first moment-to-moment
exercise, I stood before my professor’s famously
withering gaze and said, “I feel fine. Nothing’s going on!”
Bad answer. I eventually ditched my acting dreams for
writing, I suppose because as a writer I could detail my
feelings without somebody barking from five feet away
that I wasn’t feeling them. I consoled myself with the
He ended up choosing a speech from another play called
Good Business, in which a character named John, a lowrent white thug from Detroit, tries to talk his partner out
of pulling a boneheaded job in a Jewish part of town.
“‘West Bloomfield — that’s way the fuck out there, man,’”
Alan read aloud. “‘They’re gonna nail our asses to the
wall, man. Jesus—fucking—Christ!’” He looked pleased.
He was more nervous reading it to Heller onstage, though
Heller didn’t really give him time to be, immediately
explaining the basics of Richardson’s anti-Method
method, which consists of setting an objective and
emotion in any scene and sticking with them throughout.
“Acting is 80 percent emotion,” said Heller. “We don’t
Brad Heller featured in LA Weekly - An Article by Erin Aubry Kaplan
Finding Alan…(Continued)
My husband, acting out
By Erin Aubry Kaplan Thursday, Apr 21 2005
need sense memory. Objective is the anchor that keeps
you focused. With an objective, you always try to get it, to
keep the other character here, but you never do. You keep
trying, but you never actually achieve the objective. You
never figure it out, because then the dog gets the bone.
The story’s over. The story’s never over.” Alan nodded
vigorously. He was probably thinking of all those students
whose attention he had to hold for an hour at a stretch,
and then get it back the next day. Alan lived this stuff in a
way that I never did, especially at 23.
At 7:30 the rest of the class filed in, and Heller introduced
the new recruit. Alan got to do the monologue again, this
time kind of jumping the gun instead of relaxing,
jamming the words together in his haste to get them out.
But there was no doubt my husband was interesting to
watch, genuine and appealing even as he stumbled.
Heller praised him and then gave him copious notes,
punctuating every one of them with, “Does this make
sense?”
Driving home, Alan was broody, but in a more productive
way than usual. “I lost it,” he muttered. “I had it the first
time, and then I lost it.” I reminded him that the acting
flow was like that, maddeningly ephemeral, there one
beat and gone the next. But I could see that Alan was on
the right track; he wanted to be good. He didn’t think he
sucked or that this whole enterprise was hopeless. He was
having some normal difficulty, but no agony — in fact, he
was having fun. Now I was envious.
The following week he rehearsed John with a vengeance.
He said his lines under his breath in the car, around the
house, in supermarket lines and parking lots. He started
pacing and gesturing with his hands. Once I called him on
his cell phone and was startled to hear John answer,
“Jesus-fucking-Christ!” The next class he did the
monologue from memory. Heller was impressed enough
to let him go to the next step — a scene. He assigned him
a partner, a veteran actor named Kerry. Alan was excited,
though he lapsed for a moment back into his loser gloom.
“Kerry’s a pro, and I’m a beginner,” he said after class.
“He’s being polite about baby-sitting me. He probably
doesn’t even want to do it.” Alan practiced even harder
the next week. Before I could offer help this time (which
by now I could see he didn’t need), he drafted me into
playing his partner.
Over and over we rehearsed the scene, in which Alan
played another thug — Scottish this time — and Kerry
played the gang boss. The thug was a loose-cannon
underling who tries to get his boss’s assurances that he
won’t screw up a lucrative drug deal. Rudimentary stuff,
dramatically — hardly Turgenev — and I was already worrying
that my husband was typecasting himself as a hood. But maybe
he needed this to vent an inner criminal that he didn’t normally
exercise as a history and humanities teacher dedicated to
serving others. Maybe if I had used acting that way when I was
studying it, I would be doing it this very moment instead of
writing about it.
Alan’s passion now was such a contrast to my reticence
then, I couldn’t help but feel a kind of peevishness that I
hadn’t known or trusted myself enough to walk away, or
speak up, or use what I had in me. Nor could I help but
wonder what might have happened if I’d had a Heller for
a teacher instead of an accidental terrorist. But then, one
thing I’ve already learned from Heller is what he told
Alan when he derailed in his monologue: It’s always
better to be where you’re at than to try to recapture a
moment you lost.
The scene was brilliant, by the way. Dressed all in black,
Alan was much more imposing than I’d ever seen him. He
brought to his character all the nuances of himself,
everything utterly familiar to me — anxious air, darting
eyes, clasped hands, hunched shoulders — which now
looked utterly different. He was menacing, but oddly
sweet, which made him more menacing. He stared at
Kerry hard enough to burn a hole in him. I knew the
scene by heart, but when Alan leapt up and exploded in
anger, I was taken aback. Everybody was. When the scene
was done, Heller didn’t say anything for several seconds
— a long time for him to be quiet. Alan was very good,
and we all knew it; I felt not regretful or envious at all,
but proud.
On the way home this time, I said little. I wanted to bask.
Alan was torn between being giddy and being sheepish.
“That was all right,” he finally said. “That felt good.” He
let out a long breath and laughed shakily. “But you know,
I was terrified. I was scared to death.” That, of course, is
entirely the point of acting, latching on to the moment
and riding it wherever it takes you. I never really got a
hold of it, but Alan — well, he’s going to be a different
story. One that’s hardly going to end anytime soon.
**Erin Aubry Kaplan’s article, “Finding Alan” is
available at http://www.laweekly.com/200504-21/news/finding-alan/
15
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The Heller Approach
4348 Tujunga Ave.
Studio City, CA 91604
Phone: 323.962.8077
info@thehellerapproach.com