Exciting Term Ahead for Acting Program | Guest Blog by Hart Massey & Michael Ayoub
Film crews are setting up all over town, the Blue Jays have returned, and patio season is almost here. It must be time for the Spring Semester for the Acting for Film, TV & Theatre program!
We have 9 acting sections this semester full of diverse talent and committed actors. The creativity is bursting in the studios and hallways and we want to encourage you to get out there and network with your fellow actors, film production students, writers and video game designers. This is your community.
We want to welcome all the new acting students who have joined our program. Congratulations for taking this step towards your new career. Make sure that you audition for the TFS General Auditions which will be held by our resident instructor Omar Zamir. This is an online platform for acting students to record a monologue on camera, and then have Omar post it online for TFS directors/producers who use it to cast their films. If you have not auditioned for the generals or want to update your monologue with something new and improved, we urge you to contact Omar at OZAMIR@YORKVILLEU.CA.
Acting for Film, TV & Theatre program has a very exciting term ahead. Firstly, Jonathan Whittaker will be directing an adaptation of the world-renowned thriller, “Lord of the Flies” with our Term 5 Stage Production class. The shows will run on June 17th and 18th at the beautiful Helen Gardiner Playhouse.
Our Term 6 graduating class will be starting production on their short films under the guidance of Yale Massey. The directors will be on location and in studios for the first half of the semester. Make sure to inquire with them as to whether they are holding auditions for acting program students. Or do anything to get involved! It’s all part of networking on campus.
Also, Term 3 camera acting has a new spin this term as your co-coordinator Hart Massey, acclaimed actor John Tench (T-Bone on Watch Dogs) and newly anointed camera teacher Lori Ravensborg will each be directing a class. We have some awesome characters and films lined up for our students.
We are thrilled with the level of talent and commitment that we are seeing within our student body. Our plays and short films continue to show the versatility and astonishing strength of our actors and graduates. Our graduates are thriving in the industry and are represented by some of the best agents in the country including:
- Noble Kaplan Abrams
- Talent House
- Characters
- Butler Ruston Bell
- Ambition Talent
- AMP Talent
Graduates have gone on to direct/produce/write/and star in several films that have premiered at TIFF, Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, and Toronto Film School’s Festival of Films. They have also made appearances in both commercials and tv series including Degrassi, Covert Affairs, Rookie Blue, Hannibal, Odd Squad, Mr. D, the new HBO series Sensitive Skin. Also, look for graduate Domenic Derose on two television series, “Motives and Murders” and “Web of Lies” this spring.
Finally, our enormously popular acting showcases will be held the week of June 13th to June 18th. Attendance to the Term 5 play and the Term 6 Short Film Screening are mandatory. Do not book flights or trains until showcase week is over. Stay tuned for specific times.
Have an amazing term! We encourage you to strive towards excellence and we are honoured to continue the journey with you.
Hart Massey & Michael Ayoub are the Coordinators of The Acting for Film, TV, and Theatre Program. Hart is also an actor and producer, known for Last Monday (2010), Ordinary Magic (1993) and The Film Student (2011). Michael is a graduate of the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City, under the brilliant Sanford Meisner. As an actor, director, producer and teacher, Michael has been an active force in the business for over forty years.
