in person
with John Markland
July 22nd - september 9th
I am an immigrant. I was twelve when I arrived in this country. I was the new kid, the stranger, the weirdo, the one who did things differently and spoke with a funny accent that no one understood. I was asked to repeat myself every time I spoke. “Say this”, and then laughed at. I was not chosen in games or on the playground and I was fat. Now hear this… thank God I had these experiences that drove me to hide in the school bathroom crying, alone, because I would not understand belonging as I do today.
You are an immigrant or the child of an immigrant … WE ALL ARE. You seek opportunity, to become someone, something, that makes your parents proud, your friends impressed and you, yourself, fulfilled. The drive to make it, the passion to become great, the faith you will someday make it, is at the core of everyone of us. You could say it’s built into our DNA to ensure survival and we renamed it success. That survival instinct also pulls us toward tribe. There are better chances of survival belonging to a tribe rather than alone.
You come to this country with dreams, passions and a culture and history that is unique – different than the tribe. You become hyper vigilant and hyper tentative. How do I fit in? I do I become accepted? I want to belong. You watch and listen so closely to anything that might be something you can absorb and give back to say, look, I’m like you. This quickly becomes critical, my accent is too strong, my skin is the wrong shade or color, I think strange, I do things oddly, I can’t look, sound, behave or be them! Yes, and thank the heavens you don’t. This idea that to work as in actor you must be the same as… is not true.
You want to not just be genuine and authentic… you want to accentuate and celebrate those differences. Your accent, your skin, your hair, your eyes, your history, your behavior, your beliefs, and anything that makes you different than the rest, is the greatest and most powerful thing you have to offer. When you not just accept, but own, and lean into who you are, you quickly rise above all the rest.
This class will guide you to reveal, expose, accept, express, and celebrate every aspect of who you are. How to bring confidence, flare, style, and ownership to your differences. It will allow your authenticity to have the swagger and grace it deserves. And wake you up to the power you hold in your hand but are hiding from others.
We’ll work with material from your own countries and cultures and translate that into the material you receive for roles here whether it is auditions, booked roles or classes. Belong.