Summer Semester Begins For Acting Students: Guest Blog by Hart and Michael
With film productions all over town, The Toronto Fringe and SummerWorks theatre festivals opening and TIFF just around the corner, Toronto is the centre of cultural activity. Soak up the energy of the city and all the action going on right here on our campus at Yonge and Dundas Square.
We have 10 acting sections this semester and we know we will continue to see incredible collaborations throughout all of our three campuses. Some of the Acting for Film, Television & the Theatre collaborations include:
- TFS General Auditions which highlight our actors for Film Production student’s films
- Actors starring in each other’s Term 6 films and monologues
- Film Production students helping to produce our Term 6 Greenlit Films
- Actors’ Voiceovers being used by Video Game students at Steeles Campus
- Writing for Film & Television students pitching scripts to our Term 5 Acting Students for the greenlight competition
- Graphic Design and Interactive Media students creating visually stunning graphics for the credits in our Term 6 films
We want to welcome all the newActing for Film, Television & the Theatre 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, we urge you to contact Omar at ozamir@yorkvilleu.ca.
Caroline Smith is back to direct our summer show with Term 5 students. The title of the play will be announced shortly. The show will open on September 16th and 17th and will play at Pia Bouman’s Dance Studio in the heart of Queen West.
We’d also like to congratulate our Term 6 graduating class who will be starting production on their short films under the guidance of Yale Massey. The directors will be on location for the first half of the semester. Make sure to inquire with them as to whether they are holding auditions for acting program students. We continue to encourage you to do all that you can to get involved. It’s all part of networking on campus.
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 Caplan 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, Reign, Motives and Murders, Web of Lies, and the HBO series Sensitive Skin.
Finally, our ever-popular acting showcases will be held the week of September 12th to 17th. 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 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.
