First Take offers support for actors

July 6, 3:14 PMLA Asian American Movie ExaminerEd Moy

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Acting instructor Nancy Berwid.

"That's too much," Nancy Berwid tells one of her students. "Make it real."

Authenticity is a major sticking point for Berwid, who spends Tuesday afternoons and evenings each week teaching student's in her First Take Acting Program at San Francisco's Fort Mason.  She also teaches a class in Los Angeles on Sundays.

"What I really enjoy is Nancy gives us a chance to really be all these different people in different situations to tell such a nice variety of stories," says First Take student Daniel K. Lai.  "What she makes it about is figuring out how acting is really about you, and being yourself, and bringing the different elements you have in a scene into the character because unless you start from that place of being truthful in the moment, adding all those character things isn't going to be real, its not going to feel as real."

Spending an afternoon with Berwid's class, I see first hand how "real" thing's can get for her students.

In fact, the nearly three-hour long class feels a lot like channel surfing as I watch students pair off in scene work taken from a mishmosh of TV shows and movies.

Scenes range from light comedy to tragic drama.  But most of all it felt like "work" as the students affectionately describe the experience of performing.

Nancy was talking crazy talk," recalls actress Susan Chung, who has studied with Berwid for about four years. "I didn't understand it at first.  I wasn't open to knowing parts of myself."

According to long-time student James Carraway, who is one of Berwid's most successful actors, with recurring Guest Star roles on TV shows such as "Sons of Anarchy" and "Invasion", the key to Berwid's success as instructor is her uncanny ability to be able to focus in on when students aren't telling the truth.

James Carraway as the barber on "Sons of Anarchy."

"She has a really good eye for when people are "acting" as opposed to being real in the scene and in the moment," Lai adds.

Of course, to the non-actor that may seem a bit of a contradiction, since this was, after all, an "acting" class right?

As I watch students perform scenes in front of the class, I hear Berwid saying thing's like "make it pop," and "bring a little more truth into it."

During their scenes, Berwid lets students perform once, then offers her "changes" or suggestions to improve, which the students then incorporate into a second run through of the same scene.

One thing that really helps is partly being with her for a while she gets to know your strengths and weaknesses," says Lai. "She pinpoints those things out, helping us capitalize on those strengths, and helping us surmount those weaknesses to be more marketable for 'the biz.'"

That "biz" is an industry that Berwid has gained extensive knowledge and understanding of during her career as an acting instructor. Although she was never a "working actor" she feels she has much to offer her students as an instructor.

"I am a much better teacher than I am an actor," Berwid states. "I believe I found my calling and am at my best in supporting and helping others to succeed. I love actors and I get very close and care deeply about my students. Everyone who comes in my class is one of a kind with unique needs. How I work with someone is customized to who they are. I am committed to doing everything I can do help actors achieve their goals."

Daniel K. Lai.

Growing up with family members in the entertainment industry, Berwid was given the opportunity to see the inner workings of Hollywood's film and television industry.

"My cousins are in the business. Two are actors (Christian and Ryan Slater) and one is a casting director (Mary Jo Slater). Ryan isn’t working as an actor now, but he worked a lot when he was younger. Through them I’ve gained some understanding of how the business works, especially through Mary Jo," Berwid recalls. "I’ve also become very good friends with many other casting directors. The casting director workshops we do started because I know dozens of casting directors and wanted to help my other actor friends get connected to them. My industry insights have to do with spending so much time with so many casting directors. I know how they think and how they look at things." 

Like many of her students, Berwid began as an aspiring actor by taking acting classes. But she soon began to find that while watching others in class, she had an ability to pinpoint what was missing from her classmates scenes and so began her career as an acting coach.

At first, she taught for free in her living room, but when her students began booking work on major TV and film projects, high profile casting directors began to take notice of the quality of her students work in auditions.

As demand grew for Berwid's instruction, she expanded her classes, from the living room into four on-going weekly classes in San Francisco, Los Gatos and Los Angeles. 

Jeff Francisco as Raymond Nipay on "Numb3rs"

"I have a holistic approach to class. I see my class as a preparation ground to help actors be competitive in all the areas that are under their control," Berwid emphasizes. "We spend most of the time focused on acting skill since that’s the most important area to work on, but I also talk about the other areas. I want to help every student be the very best they can be in their total presentation. We work on audition technique, headshots, resumes, how to promote yourself, and how to develop and maintain industry relationships.

Berwid proudly points out that many of her students have gotten their first SAG (Screen Actors Guild) acting jobs or LA agents under her tutelage.  She also serves as manager for many her students, including Carraway (http://www.jamescarraway.com), Jeff Francisco, Miranda Lilley, Alex Alessandro Garcia, and Kristin Burke (http://www.reelaccess.com/talent/kristinburke).

I also am committed to helping actors stay in a healthy place in the way they relate to pursuing this career. One of the most destructive things I've seen is when actors allow their self worth to be tied too much to their success," Berwid says. "It’s something every actor I know gets challenged by. When actors fall into that trap it’s not only destructive to them as people but also to their career because it makes them desperate. Casting directors pick up on that attitude and get turned off by it. I constantly work with actors to help them see their personal value apart from their industry success."

With help from several long-time students, Berwid also continues to organize "casting workshops" throughout the year.

During these workshops, students can meet and network with Hollywood casting directors and associates, who give tips and instruction on what to do and what not to do in order to be a successful "working" actor.

James Carraway actors reel.

"Acting is about being truthful in a fictional moment as opposed to just pretending," reiterates Lai.  "Nancy has a real great eye for that and I've seen people make dramatic improvements in the 5 1/2 years I've been with her.  Someone may start off as an obvious novice and a year or so later, I'm impressed by their work.  It depends on how much work they put into it, and there's this organic learning curve, where you might feel like you're not getting it for awhile, and one day, something clicks."

According to Berwid, her First Take Acting Program not only help students grow as actors but as people.  She emphasizes that acting allows individuals to seek out the truth about themselves through reflecting on the roles they're inhabiting and pondering the feelings and emotions that arise while remaining present in the moment.

Or as Berwid's puts it: "Magic happens the moment an actor begins to live in the moment and experience the beauty of his or her own spontaneity."

Miranda Lilley as Judy Campbell on "Mad Men".

"The thing that I like the most; the thing that really is important to me is that I need someone who can give me honest feedback," says Carraway. "They don't try to stroke it. They don't distort it. They give me an honest assessment of how they feel, what they perceive, what they don't perceive, what it feels like to be with me in that experience."

And it's that "experience" that is at the heart of Berwid's First Take Method.

Watching Berwid's First Take students perform, I become acutely aware of how many of them are not just pretending to be a character, but are actually being and inhabiting that role.

They seem to be channeling their own personalities, emotions and values into their performance so they can bring to life the words and directions in their scripts.

James Carraway in the movie "Touching Home"

"It's not an easy job to do that all the time," says Carraway. "I mean for an actor to do that. But that's what we have to do. I mean our job is human behavior. We have to observe not only outside of ourselves, but in particular our own personality, our own self, and our own behaviors."

During my afternoon with Berwid and her students, I get the feeling that being a "working actor" on television and film is a time consuming process that affects a person deeply on a mental and emotional level, not to mention physically and financially.  But it seems that for those willing to go on the journey, it's also very rewarding.

"You have to be brave," Carraway says. "You have to be brave to go to those places...to experience what its like...and that's the challenge."

Berwid summed it all up this way:

"Acting is a journey. To succeed takes a lot of hard work and patience. I think most people coming into acting have unrealistic ideas about what it takes to be successful. There’s a perception that acting is easy and you just have it or you don’t. It’s funny that no one thinks that about any other art form. When it comes to acting, people have an idea that they can take a class or two and they are ready for work. It would be outrageous for someone to think that about being a professional dancer or pianist. Acting is as difficult an art as any and takes just as much time, hard work and dedication to succeed. You have to love and appreciate the journey and not just focus on the end result or you will drive yourself crazy. The journey is unbelievable rewarding for those who actually take it."

For more information about First Take Acting Program, visit the website at: http://www.firsttake.org

Actor promo card for Alex Alessandro Garcia.