Spring Welcome to the Acting Program at Toronto Film School
By Hart Massey & Michael Ayoub
The sun is out and film crews are starting to set up all over town. It must be time for the spring semester for the Acting for Film, TV & Theatre Program! This term we have a record-breaking 14 sections with 200 students from all over the world who have decided to take a giant step towards becoming a professional actor! We can’t wait to see all of your performances, which include two theatrical productions and two classes of graduating films. You will be working with the most passionate and caring faculty and we couldn’t be more excited!
Let’s start with some of our goals for this term:
- Be present and on time for every class. This is MANDATORY.
- Commit to the work and your fellow actors
- Dive into the characters you create
- Make bold and risky choices in your performances
- Break down all barriers that inhibit your creativity
- Network with as many filmmakers/writers/actors that you can
The cross integration between programs at TFS has never been more active than now. Some of this term’s acting program collaborations with other departments include:
- TFS actors starring and working on Film Production sets
- Film Production students helping to produce our Term 6 Greenlit Films
- Actors’ Voiceovers being used by Video Game designers at Steeles Campus
- Writing Program students assisting our actors on their scripts
- Graphic Design Students from Davisville campus creating more dynamic packages for our Term 5 pitches
To all of our new term 1 students, we will be posting your first camera monologues online, as directed by faculty members Hart Massey and Jonathan Higgins. This way you become part of the TFS Acting Roster and student film directors from across campus will be able to see your work and potentially cast you in their next film. This is the start of an extraordinarily fulfilling time in your life so take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and build up that demo reel!
Our graduates are continuing to thrive in the industry and are getting scooped up by the best talent agents in the city. Already we have graduates represented by:
- 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 Kim’s Convenience, Degrassi, Covert Affairs, Rookie Blue, Hannibal, Odd Squad, Mr. D, Reign, Motives and Murders, Web of Lies, Sensitive Skin and ReBoot. Also look for our seasoned faculty members on stages and TV screens across the country including Catherine McNally in A Handmaid’s Tale, Andrew Moodie in Orphan Black, and John Tench as T-Bone in the Ubisoft video game Watchdogs 2.
Rosanna Saracino, who is new to the faculty, and Michael Harms will be directing our 5th Term Spring plays. The show titles will be officially announced shortly and will run the week of June 18th at the Helen Gardiner Playhouse during our ever-popular Showcase Week. The week will also include 2 separate screening nights of Term 6 films written, produced, and starring our actors! They will be working under the tutelage of Tony Del Rio, Chad Tailor, and James Bond. Do not book flights or trains until the showcase week is over on June 22nd. Stay tuned for specific times.
Be simple in your work, stay focused, and strive towards bettering yourselves in every possible way. We are honoured to guide you on your journey in the entertainment industry. Break a leg!
Hart Massey and Michael Ayoub are the Coordinators of The Acting for Film, TV and Theatre Program at Toronto Film School. Hart is also an actor, writer, and producer, known for his television shows Hart of the Annex (2006) and the Gemini-nominated series The Film Student (2009-2013). 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 more than forty years.
