Coaching is an essential tool for actors interested in developing and maintaining their skill and artistry. What may be particular to the art of actors is that their art is not complete without an audience. The audience is essential to the creation. Many simple actions exercised by the artist only become performance, become art when there is an audience present. As we are developing a piece for performance, a dialogue with the viewer becomes essential to our understanding of what and how well we are communicating. This makes critical feedback from the viewer a crucial component of our development. Our greatest benefit could be the critical eye of an experienced artist who has developed a professional, passionate, scrutinizing eye and sensitivity to the nuances of the art and the industry we navigate.
Over the past 20 years, Meissa Hampton has developed an exciting career as a New York actor. She has won over a dozen acting awards at commercial and independent Film Festivals. She is an active member of New York Women in Film Television (NYWIFT) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She is a journalist, screenwriter and a published, awarded poet with a foundation in literature – the base of an actor’s work. Her intuitive sense of of the written word gives her keen insight into the development of character and character’s place in the development of story. She is versed in both drama and comedy and the impact of genre nuances on the development and presentation of characters to different audiences.
Meissa ‘s studies of Film and acting have contributed to her unique understanding of the art. She received a bachelor of arts in film and theatre before continuing her studies at the Stella Adler Conservatory. She studied at Harvard University and MIT. She was awarded and held an Artist’s Residency at MIT for five years.
She has investigated different ‘methods’ proposed by various schools and considers each valid in its ability to provide an actor the confidence and preparation they need to successfully communicate in film or on stage. Different ‘methods’ work successfully for different actors and in different projects.
Meissa believes that it is beneficial to understand different schools of thought on the art and craft of performance and that each may be applied as needed. She has discovered that different methods have been useful in an actors approach to stage versus film; comedy versus drama; from one production to the next; from one director to the next; from one cast to the next. An actor must be adaptable in a competitive and developing market. An actor must be adaptable to the script and production team with which he or she is presented.
Meissa can help you determine what approach might be best for the project with which you’ve been presented, and work with you to find ease and honesty in the character you’ve developed. She works with actors of all ages and levels.
Please inquire. We capture professional HD footage for auditions and reference.
