The vibe for me in Toronto is so different than anything I have ever experienced. I'm not talking about the city (which personally I find dirty & closed off), but what being in this city has done for me as an artist. I'm here taking classes with a wonderful teacher named Michèle Lonsdale Smith. She is primarily based in Vancouver, but she's been all over the place. I've studied with her, on and very much off, for the past four years whenever she came to Ottawa.
You see I've discovered a bad habit of mine. I take lots of classes, as many as I can afford, in a variety of theatrical practices. My preference is for weekend workshops. A little dabble here, a little dabble there... Are you beginning to see the problem?
I like to dip my toe in the water, I like to scratch the surface and be done with it. It's like going to the gym one day and not going back for six months (which reminds me...). How do you expect to get fit that way?
Acting is like that. It's a muscle, like any other, and if you don't use it, you will lose it.
After taking her weekend workshop (ahem!) in Ottawa this past August and with no projects on the horizon, it was with trepidation I applied to 3 week intensive in TO. And I could not be happier.
My time in Toronto is completely dedicated to going to acting class, auditing acting class, and going to auditions. I feel, for the first time in my life, like I am an artist.