User:MotherOfInvention

Mother of Invention Acting School


The Mother of Invention Acting School was founded in 2004 in San Francisco by Yale School of Drama MFA Andrew Utter. Andrew encountered acting teachers at this school (whose alumni include Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver), who had developed an entirely new way of approaching acting. Pioneered by award-winning directors Mark Brokaw and Evan Yionoulis, who built on the teaching of longtime Dean of the Acting Program at the Drama School Earl Gister, Evan and Mark brought this approach to bear in their work with actors like Mary Louise Parker, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, and Robert Sean Leonard. It involves adopting a new approach to character and scene which seeks to activate the actor viscerally, and engage him or her in their work in a way that is totally arresting to behold. Utter assisted Evan Yionoulis for three terms, and has been continuing her teachings in San Francisco for four years. Actors work on one scene in the class for ten weeks, which affords the opportunity for truly in-depth work on getting to the core and essence of character and scene. At this school, the focus is on the actors' effort to embody a character and his or her journey, body and soul, regardless of the storytelling medium. Starting in October 2008, the School will be offering acting classes in Los Angeles as well, at the Complex on Hollywood's Theater Row.

Student Testimonials
"I'm not one to create profiles for myself on networking sites so you see me going through the bother now for the sole purpose of giving Andrew Utter's acting classes 5 stars, thereby encouraging anyone and everyone interested in learning a simple yet profound technique for improving the quality of your performance to check out this rich, intense, eye-opening, fun, exhausting, exhilarating experience for yourselves. I'm getting so much out of my first 10-week session that I've already signed up for the next and will no doubt keep going after that. I have never seen a group of people progress so much from class to class; Andrew gets stuff out of you that you were never quite sure was in there. I am very picky and cautious about whose hands I will place myself in but after the first class I could tell I'd come to the right place; I felt both challenged and safe--not always a natural combination! If you, as I do, prefer to be taught by an individual rather than an institution, and are looking for that individual to be focused, passionate, surprising, demanding, smart, dedicated, confident and creative, then you may have found him. I'm very much looking forward to going to the next level of my acting with Andrew as my guide." ---Laura Wachtel, Actor, on yelp.com "What's great about Andrew's class is that it gives you the tools -- both in the classroom and outside -- to truly discover the characters you play, and to breathe life into them. He also kicks your ass, in the best sort of way." --Diane Karagienakos, Director of the Feature Film Come Fly With Me Nude (completed 4 class cycles)

Mother of Invention Acting School Website
MotherOfInvention 22:46, 24 August 2008 (UTC)