Our Approach
The Beverly Hills Playhouse Acting School instructs its students through the unique, down-to-earth, three-pronged approach developed by its founder, Milton Katselas, one of the foremost teachers of his or any generation.
Acting
The BHP strives to train each actor in real-person-real-place, behavior-oriented, moment-to-moment acting work in the tradition of the great American actors. In an era when many actors don’t see a need for training, or where the training is myopically geared toward tomorrow’s 5-and-under audition or toward certain comedic or “improv” work, the BHP is a standard bearer for an authentic kind of acting that is too rarely seen today. It is a training ground for serious artists who aspire to long-term careers. Our product is an actor who can properly read and analyze a script, and then deliver an authentic, rich, believable performance no matter the circumstance, from arduous film shoots where there may be very little rehearsal, to plays where there may be weeks of rehearsals, to the very audition that gets you either of those jobs.
Attitude
What is your viewpoint of this business? What is the viewpoint of those around you about you in this business? Many actors deal in daily fashion with rampant negativity about their profession, from within the business, as well as from their friends, associates, and family. If your agent has ever said, “We can’t get you in,” if you have ever said to yourself, “My agent isn’t cutting it,” or “If only I could get a better agent,” or “I’ll never be able to get an agent,” if your family has ever asked, “How long are you giving this acting thing?”, or if you have said or heard any of the million-and-one variations on blame, doubt, suppression, or actor-as-victim, then what the BHP has to offer you in handling Attitude is for you. Attitude is a state of mind. The BHP wants to train actors who know how to keep an even keel, who know how to right the ship even in stormy seas. A career is a long-term journey, and your attitude will play a huge part in how that journey plays out.
Administration
What are you doing to get professional work? In what work are you interested – TV, Film, Theatre, and what kind? What parts are you right for, really? What is your relationship with the industry professionals who can help you? What are you doing to create your own projects? The BHP is very interested in these questions, and your answer to them. Each actor has a specific dream that led them into this profession, and the BHP tries to get each student to identify this dream specifically, so their career administration has a focus, an energy, and a purpose. If sending out endless headshots, postcards, or other promotion has seemed a fruitless exercise, if you have never really thought specifically about how to get this acting career moving, or if you are a working actor who is looking to change the nature of the parts you are booking, then the BHP’s approach to Administration will help. Our product is an actor who can properly read and analyze a script, and then deliver an authentic, rich, believable performance no matter the circumstance, from arduous film shoots where there may be very little rehearsal, to plays where there may be weeks of rehearsals, to the very audition that gets you either of those jobs. Through a disciplined focus on the areas of Acting, Attitude and Administration, the Beverly Hills Playhouse Acting School instructs its students in not only a thorough understanding of craft, but as well the tools to get that skill out there in the marketplace, with an attitude that will keep you going for as long as it takes to accomplish your dreams, handling any negativity along the way without becoming yet one more weeping victim of “The Industry.” The BHP is out to train “Artistic Killers,” defined by Katselas as “someone who uses constructive actions to complete, or kill the deal that they are after – kill meaning to complete to the fullest, most productive degree.”
© Beverly Hills Playhouse Acting School
