1 week later, I signed up for an acting class in HB Studio, located on Bank Street, Greenwich village of New York. This studio was founded in 1945 and is well known among New York theater community to be a place to mentor, develop and re-educate theater actors. Many Tony-award winners including Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Mathiew Broderick were among the alumni.So every Saturday morning, I took a 70 minute train ride from CT to Grand Central station, from there switched to subway to downtown, then walked for 10 minutes to my acting class. After 2 hours of class, took the same route back home. I know it sounds strange, but I stuck to this routine every week, because to me it was not about acting, it felt more like a weekly therapeutic treatment, much more effective than my therapist could provide. Because everyone I met on this trip seemed to be real human being. Feeling that connection with another human being is healing to me. Of course, at that time I haven't discovered 文学城 yet. ：-）There were about 20 students in my class, from all age groups and all walks of life. The oldest is a 72 years old lady, a retired accountant, the youngest is a 20 year old, stunningly beautiful blonde model from Ukraine. They came from different backgrounds too. Some are professional union-member actors, some are models trying to become an actress, some are unemployed and looking to get into the field, some are there to prepare for an audition. Some, like myself, are there just for fun. It's worth noting though, there were 3 shrinks in class, all practicing as psychotherapists or mental health counselors in the city. It puzzled me at the time but now it seems to make sense.I was the only one from the suburbs. The coolest thing about New York city is that, no matter who you are or what you do, nobody gives a damn or raises an eyebrow. So I felt safe there, no need to explain my motives. The instructor's name is Michael Beckett. An interesting man, an eccentric man. Many dislike him, but I do. It still made me smile to think of him. On paper, he didn't have a great acting career himself. He worked in a few TV shows in the 80's, and played a few roles off Broadway, then switched to teaching full time. He probably still tried to audition for roles every now and then, but nothing big came up.But this recent comments from ratemyprofessors.com speaks for me:"Michael Beckett is THE MAN! He is amazing, talented and extremely deep. He has a very keen eye on each student's strengths and weaknesses and to some, that could be intimidating and a put-off. However, I appreciated it because it intensified my progress and personalized my learning experience. Take him!"The class I took is called "Improvisations", 即兴表演。 Michael was very quiet, very brief in his instructions, never give any specific "quick tricks", but so straight-forward in his critics. You learn as much from watching others performance and listening to his comments as performing yourself.The classroom was a mini theater, with a stage, lighting, movable furniture, and a few rows of chairs. You can create many different believable scenarios with those simple settings.I wasn't sure what I expected to get out of the class, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The unbearable anxiety before you get on stage, the sudden feeling of relief once you start, the calming effect of blocking all noises around you, and the sensation and thrill of opening up to the "4th wall" (a theater term referring to an imaginary wall between stage and audience).
