We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mario A. Campanaro. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mario A. below.
Mario, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
The first thing I think of is that quote from Bob Marley: “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.”
I think we are all born with an innate quality for resilience. In fact, anyone blessed with life, has the natural instinct to be resilient and overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of love, peace, good health and survival. By the nature of our birth, we come from the warm, comfortable, protective, and peaceful environment of our mother’s womb where everything we need is provided for us. Then all of the sudden, when nine months is up, we are thrust from that safe haven and pushed through a narrow (and I’m sure quite uncomfortable) passageway into a world of the complete unknown. We are literally born into a series of obstacles. We enter the world having to adjust our eyes from darkness to light…From warmth to coldness…From solitude to socialization…From being completely provided for to having to communicate our wants and needs. I mean, one of the first experiences we have after such a complex journey entering into the world is someone cutting and clipping our umbilical cord. “Welcome to the world kid!” lol.
But what is amazing and quite beautiful, is our instinctual and immediate ability to want to communicate to improve our present situation and keep on keeping on. We discover our cry. And that cry has a myriad of different intonations and intentions based on what it is trying to express and get fulfilled. That first cry is born because we are experiencing discomfort due to all the new sensorial conditions, strangers, and unfamiliar objects surrounding us. We want to rest from the journey and be in the protective space of our mother’s energy field…We want the warmth from which we came…We want the peace of that original iambic pentameter that comes from our mother’s heartbeat.
And that’s really what it is all about. All human beings are doing what they can moment to moment to experience their own version of peace from which they came.
I am not sure that anything about the human experience is a very smooth road, just like that passage from our mother’s womb into the world. There will always be challenges. Especially when it comes to those things that truly mean something to us and that we really want. I guess that is because wherever and whenever the heart and soul are involved, the road seems to be that much more unpaved. It is almost as if the Universe is saying, “Ok…if you really want it, I’m going to make you work for it to be sure you really want it.” And I think that is important because it is through all of our trials and tribulations, that we formulate our purpose and greatest inspirations for what we are able to create and contribute to the world.
When I consider my life, I really started to viscerally understand and experience my own personal ability for resilience during a very long season of severe chronic illness. It caused me to taste every single symptom one could imagine…physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual. Because of this, I fought for many many years (often in secret) and almost lost my life. I used everything that I had within me and went all over the globe to find answers, a way to conquer this “thing” that was trying to take me out. Sometimes I did some pretty crazy treatments, but I deeply wanted to stay here. I wanted to survive. I wanted Life. I had too much to do on this earth and wanted to make a difference.
During this time, one of the things I had to do was basically isolate myself for quite some time (years in fact) to protect myself and my immune system. That isolation, that loss of time and life, created a craving that I knew was my calling. Everything that I missed out on became my mission. That long, difficult, horrendous, scary, lonely desperate test became the basis of my present testimony.
I can honestly say that experience greatly influenced who I am today. It made me extremely strong as well as extremely sensitive. All those obstacles, all those hard and treacherous times have actually been the stepping stones to where I am today. They generously formulated the way I teach, write, direct and live. Those circumstances have blessed me with compassion, insight, wisdom, and understanding of the human condition in a way that I would not be able to have had I not been through those tough times.
I lost a lot along the way. I did. But those things were not meant to stick around. But, instead, I gained much more than I could have ever imagined. Those obstacles helped me understand life more. They helped me appreciate life more. They helped me understand others so much more. I not only witnessed and experienced my own suffering but was in communication with many others suffering inexplicably. It opened me up. It opened my heart. It helped me taste many aspects of life that many of us try to push away or pretend as if they don’t exist.
When I think back, I have to chuckle in awe because the whole time I have been on that healing journey, I never stopped working. I couldn’t. I needed it. Resilience. It was my work that fueled me to fight harder and try to win the battle. And everything that I have learned along this journey, however difficult, has been the key components to my work and having the ability to bring out the very best in all the artists I work with today. It just gave me a more profound vocabulary of the human condition which is invaluable when it comes to the world of acting.
I quickly learned that it is actually our obstacles that formulate our actions in the pursuit of our objectives. And everything that is done or acted upon, is usually happening because someone is trying to maintain or improve whatever circumstances they are in at the moment. And wherever and whenever there is inspired justified motivation there is a story where everything and anything is possible. Putting this together in my head made me start to see that the human spirit is truly resilient when it is really going after what it wants or needs.
I had said it time and time again to all of our ensemble members, actors, students, clients and in many interviews I have done…and I will say it here now again because I truly believe it:
“Sometimes we are going to have to walk through our very own Hades in order to get to our very own Utopia. We may endure a lot. We may even find ourselves suffering at times. But if we keep persevering…If we keep sight of what we want…If we keep on believing in what we are doing…If we simply do not give up…We usually find that all that hardship pays it forward by bringing something profoundly fulfilling into our Life. We may want to cry at times because it hurts so bad…And then we may want to laugh until it hurts simply because we got through it when we never thought we would or could. And once we make it out of that fire, we will finally see all the beauty hidden within the ashes. Each of us has our very own story of strife and struggle. And each of us has the potential for our own very deserving and awe-inspiring victory. I truly believe that we are way more powerful than we have been led to believe. The only way to lose sight of the dream is by simply giving up on it. So…No matter what obstacles show up at our door, all I can say is Do. Not. Give. Up!”
We all go through seasons in our life that come with some pretty difficult trials and tribulations. It is something that connects all of us. I mean aren’t we all trying to improve our lives moment to moment to experience peace, love, health, happiness, joy, success, prosperity, etc. I know I am.
Life itself is going to always create the need for stories. It is going to create many very human beautifully-complicated-
And let’s face it, a lot of the time this may feel/be inconvenient, difficult, tedious and maybe even heart-wrenching work during the process…during the season…especially when there is not an immediate payoff. But the more we stay on track…the more we continue to persevere…the more we continue to align, refine, and cultivate our craft…the more we continue to grow and expand…and the more the payoff will eventually and inevitably come.
It is about persevering through. Even during those moments when we feel like we don’t want to or think we can’t persevere through. It’s not about going around it. It is not about going over it. It is not about going underneath it. It is about going through it and knowing we will indeed make it through. It is about being religious (meaning disciplined) in our approach to what we want to achieve as artists. Being focused, disciplined, and holding ourselves accountable within and throughout the process because we love what we do. And because we know there is…always has been…and always will be greatness within each of us worthy of doing the work that we love with all our heart and soul.
Our work, this thing called Acting, is not for the faint of heart. And it is not trivial or substance-less. It is pregnant with the human condition! And with that invested, mindful, committed work, we must remember that the word ACT means TO DO! And the artist perseveres when it may make sense to want to crumble. The artist perseveres because by the very nature of being an artist is to create…to move forward…to give birth to something from something and because of something.
Again, just like Bob Marley said, “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.”
That is true resilience…and I believe we all have it!
To be human is to be resilient.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Throughout my childhood, I remember always being so fascinated by the powerful question “Why?”. I always wanted to understand why things were the way they were. I wanted to comprehend, as best I could, how they came to be that way and why they came to be that way. And that kind of questioning really started to inspire me to watch, listen, and observe everything around me and start to draw my own conclusion of things through my individual experience and lens of perception of them. I wasn’t so interested in “being taught” as I was motivated by learning through experience. I found that the more I questioned everything, the more I was given the opportunity to “quest” into circumstances that were way beyond my small circle of everyday life. That kind of questioning allowed me the permission to daydream and use my imagination to see, feel, hear, smell, and taste the possible historical circumstances surrounding whatever I was considering at the time. Of course at that age, I was not thinking of it that way. I was just having fun on the journey of wherever my imagination would take me. And so my imagination started to grow very quickly into this vast world that gifted me the realization that everything comes from a “because of”…meaning there is always a motivation behind everything.
But with all that said, my desire for a tribe was not being fulfilled. I didn’t really fit in with others around me. Not many kids my age had similar interests to what I was being drawn to. I felt quite the oddball and, very often, extremely lonely. I don’t even know that I knew what it was that was fueling me. I just knew whatever it was, I was really passionate about it and I just could not find those connections who were equally excited by the things I was excited by. So I started to retreat in my basement where I could literally do and become whatever I wanted. I would build and play within worlds that existed way beyond every colour in the rainbow. So I instinctually found solace in building a creative world in which I found some freedom, solitude, and belonging to whatever it was that I was exploring at the time. That world often existed in my parent’s basement in which I would create elaborate worlds, build sets out of large pieces of construction paper, cardboard, and odds and ends I would find throughout the house. I would sing my heart out down there and write scripts which often dealt with some kind of “strife.”
There was something within me that yearned to understand why others experienced suffering and how to find one’s freedom from suffering. I remember the first script I wrote at that age was called “The Beast and The Servant”. It was about these two extremely different beings that went through all these “trials and tribulations” to try to reconcile their differences only to find out at the end of the 15-page script, that it was a little boy looking in the mirror the whole time.
It wasn’t until we moved to a different town that I met a friend who, to my surprise, not only had similar interests, but the exact interests and spoke the same language when it came to those interests. One night his family invited me to see him in a play that he got cast in. I had never seen or been to a play. I don’t even think I knew what one was. The only theatre I had ever been to at that point, was a movie theatre (I think it was E.T. at a drive-in).
I remember that night like it was yesterday. The theatre was this huge castle across from a big lake. You had to drive through these crazy small winding roads to get to it. When we pulled into the parking lot, it was like seeing something I had always seen in my imagination. This castle was spectacular. As soon as I stepped foot into the theatre, I felt right at home. It felt like it was home. It was strange. It was so new but it felt so familiar…like I had been there my whole life. It was majestic…It was extraordinary…It was breathtaking. As a little kid, my eyes were wide open taking it all in like a sponge. The huge stage. The massive theatre lights on the ceiling…The red velvet house seats…The audience together…And then the lights faded to black…The orchestra fired up…The curtain rose…And the stage lights illuminated an entirely different world from the world I was in…Time and space stopped…I was transfixed…Mesmerized…Awe-
In that moment, the theatre became my driving force…my spine…the passionate fire behind that powerful question, “Why?”.
To say that I was creatively driven would be an understatement. I began to surround myself with everything having to do with art, theatre, music, dance and, of course, acting. I started to audition for regional theatres and was cast in my first production ever at the same theatre that I saw my friend’s show in. I started to work with different professional acting coaches who continued to help me cultivate skills, nurture my artistic passions, introduce me to a whole new world of incredible cultures all the while inspiring me to possess talent for my talents. I continued to act in productions throughout my formative school years until the time finally came for me to take the next step in my process…and that was to get the very best professional acting training I could.
As a child actor, I got away with a lot of bad habits in my work. So it was clear that in order to have a long-standing career, I needed to know what I was doing. Once high school was over, I started to audition for professional actor training programs at some of the most prestigious conservatories in the country. I finally chose to go to North Carolina School of The Arts (NCSA) for three reasons. First, the program was impeccable and consisted of an international legendary faculty that was wholeheartedly committed to teaching the craft of acting. Second, it was in the middle of nowhere so there would be absolutely no distractions. There was literally no choice but to focus on the work and that is why everyone who accepted into this conservatory was there. It was all about the work. And third, they only accepted a small ensemble each year giving us all individual attention and amazing opportunities during our training and thereafter. Following my training, my school offered a “consortium”, and I ended up in New York City and signed with my theatrical, commercial, and modelling reps.
At around that same time, I was also invited to start teaching as a guest artist at an acting studio in midtown Manhattan. On my days off, I would go to the studio and have the honor of working with passionate, talented, aspiring artists hungry to continue to cultivate the craft of acting. It was through that experience that I also fell in love with teaching. Teaching the craft not only helps the student to learn and grow, but it also demands that I personally, professionally, and artistically continue to challenge myself to remain open as a student of life and continue to learn, grow, evolve, adapt, adjust, and expand so I can be the very best actor, artist, teacher, playwright, and director I can be.
It is through my passion and love for the craft of acting and teaching, that I opened my own acting studio, MC² Actors Studio LA | NYC | LDN which has gained international recognition and acclaim as an in-person and online conservatory-based and ensemble-oriented acting studio dedicated to the cultivation of the craft of acting for the professional actor. I am also so proud to have opened MC² Repertory Theatre Company which is a professional theatre company in association with MC² Actors Studio committed to giving a home for our ensemble members to work on and in high standard theatrical productions for both live and virtual audiences.
We at MC² Actors Studio believe that when an actor commits to training at our studio, they must always hold the intention of training, studying, exercising, and doing the work with the same accountability, commitment, work-ethic, investment, responsibility, respect, professionalism, high-standard, skill, consistency, and demand that the professional world expects and demands. There is no point in training, studying, exercising, and doing the work unless what is being learned, exercised, and cultivated is applicable for the professional actor to do professional work for when professional opportunities arise.
Whether it be in-person or online, our studio sets a very high standard when it comes to our training program and what we offer all of our students. Our instructors use their powerfully effective and intuitive individual teaching style in combination with the ingenious methods of Stanislavsky, Hagen, Adler, Strasberg, Meisner, Chekhov, Freedman, Linklater, Rosenburg, and Alexander.
All MC² Actors Studio classes are structured for the professionally oriented actor. We are excited about working with diverse, professionally-minded actors that are passionate about nurturing their talent and committed to the craft of acting. All ensemble members are invited to study at the studio based on a New Ensemble Member Studio Entry Enrollment Interview. The interview consists of a conversation with one of our masterclass teachers to learn about the prospective ensemble member’s background, training, and relationship to the work before receiving an invite into one of our ensembles and to study at the studio. There is also the opportunity during the interview process for the prospective ensemble member to ask any questions they may have about the studio, its approach to the work and the expectations as an invited ongoing MC² Actors Studio ensemble member.
All actors are placed into a specific ensemble based on their studio entry interview. Each ensemble is carefully put together based on the actor’s acting background, experience, skill, training, and professional objectives. This is to be sure that each class is solidified working at a congruent level allowing for a forward momentum as the work and ensemble progresses.
Once each ensemble is formed, that specific ensemble comes together each week to wholeheartedly cultivate and strengthen the craft and all aspects of what an actor’s work demands. Actors are paired up by their specific instructor and then have to choose or are assigned a scene/exercise that excites, stimulates, and challenges his/her/their instrument. Scene work will always be from a well-written play that is age-appropriate, well-characterized, and contains a multitude of stakes and challenges within the circumstances.
Actors will receive their scene partner, assignments and/or acting exercises two weeks before their first class on that specific text. Each group is then required to do all the necessary work on their scene or exercise. That includes all of the text analysis, the break down of given circumstances, becoming grounded in the character’s spine/through-line/super-
Actors must significantly rehearse their scene or exercise with their partner(s) before getting up into the space in order to get the most out of their time. This is to test the work the actor has done on their own and then, more importantly, trust it so as to live and experience what all that work has done for their instrument in relation to the circumstances within the unknown of the moment with their partner(s). It is required for all scenes to be off book for the first week. Actors remain with their scene partner(s) exploring the world of each assigned play and scene for four weeks. Each ensemble’s class meets once a week and each class is four and a half to five hours long.
When it comes to all of our online classes, we implement the use of green screens for all scene work so that our ensemble members continue to explore environment in a new and exciting way while also developing this necessary skill clearly happening in our modern digital/CGI film and television mediums. The camera never lies, and with close ups in mind (or even a self-tape), it demands that the actor fully endow the utmost truth and authenticity within all of the givens of the text and the unknown of each and every moment. It challenges the actor to go deeper and deeper in order to honestly reveal the life of the givens through their one-of-a-kind instrument.
When the actor truly begins to understand the craft of acting in a visceral, practical, tangible, executable, HUMAN way…and how it mirrors the way we humans live in this beautifully complex thing we call LIFE…they can begin to experience the delicious breath of freedom it provides.
Craft is meant to free the actor so they can truly live moment to unknown moment circumstantially. The craft of acting provides the ability to be CONSISTENT in the work. That consistency supports the actor’s ability to truly listen through the filter of the character’s wants and needs and therefore have stimulated justified circumstantial responses, reactions, instincts, impulses, and spontaneity within the gap of the moment.
Craft allows for the actor’s talent to be married to skill. The actor’s skill makes it possible for their instrument to experience the freedom of living the character’s life as it unfolds moment to unknown moment…as oppose to their hope white-knuckling onto luck that it will all go well and the magic might happen.
The craft of acting provides the backbone of confidence for the actor to know like they know like they know that it will go well each and every night or each and every take…Because the actor’s endowed skill fully supports the work and provides the security that the actor can truly live moment to unknown moment as a given story and its circumstances unfold.
When the actor really experiences that kind of freedom in the work, the initial passion, love, and inner joy that attracted them to this glorious art form…The Craft Of Acting…inevitably grows stronger and brighter.
That’s what craft does. But it is a craft. It is a skill. It is a profession. One that demands constant learning, exploration, discovery, experience, growth and evolution…Just as this beautifully complex thing we call LIFE does.
So many of us, in times of solitude, community, celebration, and even during our darkest of hours, are spending much of our time being moved by actors, in our homes or other venues where the actor’s work lives. This is why we must take our work (acting) seriously and with responsibility. The actor can’t forget what he/she/they does/do…why he/she/they does/do it…and what it serves. It is a rite. It is a responsibility. It is a gift. And it matters! Our darkest moments will be the greatest inspiration for our most important artistic endeavors and creations!
One such creation for me was writing and directing my play OVER THE F#(%!NG RAINBOW, SOMEWHERE for MC² Repertory Theatre Company. It was one of the most difficult, heart-wrenching, yet impactful, and purposeful creative endeavours I have ever journeyed on in my career. To say that it cut my soul open into a million little pieces and pushed me way beyond my comfort zone exploring these inexplicable circumstances, is an understatement.
OVER THE F#(%!NG RAINBOW, SOMEWHERE is a rollercoaster of a journey about two broken souls trying desperately to survive their traumatic past…a past that may seem completely unimaginable to many…but is devastatingly a reality for others. And those others have names…names like Bridger and Cat. The play takes place in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Bridger and Cat choose to anonymously connect with each other one hot rainy summer night through a fetish chat room only to unexpectedly experience their traumas surface in front of each other’s very eyes. They are both triggered by the weight of their own personal stories, an inexplicable history that has been held in forced secret, resulting in an unlikely but likely connection. This happenstance instigates, agitates, encourages, and inspires their own personal uphill battle toward their version of peace…a peace that exists somewhere special where they can be embraced and hydrated by safety, security, protection, trust, nurturing, open heartedness, and altruistic love…somewhere where all of those elements can quite possibly meet together at once…Maybe it really is Over The F#(%!ng Rainbow, Somewhere.
I also have two new plays presently in workshop and opening soon.
SINCERELY. SERIOUSLY is a play set in the 1980’s, Christmas night on the West Side Highway of New York City, streetwalker Fabulousity spends the holiday walking the boulevard of broken dreams grasping onto the one thing that keeps her walking the walk.
I’M FINE MABEL is my newest play which is a one woman show in which that actor plays two women and a little girl.
I’M FINE MABEL: A landline telephone, a secret pie recipe, prima-apple red lipstick, a white dress shirt, a cemetery, a small little blue box, a toy kitchenette set, an overzealous Sunday school teacher, a big misunderstanding…lots and lots of sugar and honey….and a huge mess in the kitchen…I’M FINE MABEL is a zany dark comedy set in the deep south in the early 1960s which follows three very colorful women; red-haired Dottie, black-haired Mabel, and strawberry blonde-haired Little Rhonda, as they deal with a mountain of unexpected and unfair life obstacles, individual losses, and strive in their own creative and rather unorthodox ways, to “fix” the betrayals certain folks have caused in their lives.
My objective in creating my plays was always…and still is…to be able to share complex and very human stories with the world in the hopes that it may serve as a voice…maybe not for all…but for many…whose voices were hushed…never listened to…never believed…never helped…and never given a chance at safety…security…protection…
Art is not always meant to be comfortable, but I truly believe it is always meant to be of service…at least that is what keeps my heart beating as an artist. As we all know, life is not an easy journey…and some…or dare I say…too many…walk through Hades along the way…but my hope is that my plays help audiences know that they are not alone. That to me is the most rewarding thing about my work.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Talent/Professionalism + Discipline/Accountability + Responsibility/Service.
I always believed that talent is a very precious gift that can only take us as far as we are willing to cultivate it, nurture it, invest in it, and put it to good use. Because of the creative mentors I was surrounded by in my formidable years, I adopted the philosophy that the artist’s talent can only take him/her/them as far as the professional accountability he/she/they maintain to do something remarkable with it. There are not many professional acting jobs out there where the actor is not expected to come in well-prepared to do the work they were hired and getting paid to do. So why in the world would an actor ever train without the intent of those same professional demands?
As I mentioned earlier, for me when I was 17, I auditioned for the top acting conservatories in the country and decided upon going to North Carolina School Of The Arts (NCSA). Not only is it renowned for its exquisite actor training in America, it is considered one of the top four professional actor training programs in the world by the Hollywood Reporter. For four years I studied under the incomparable mentorship of legendary Gerald Freedman alongside NCSA’s incredibly acclaimed faculty of teachers/mentors from around the world. For four years, six days a week (sometimes seven) we trained day and night in acting, drama, mask, movement, dance, singing, period & style, comedy technique, stage combat, voice and speech, breath work, dialect work, Alexander technique, arts and context, text analysis, the art of story(living)telling, theatre history, design & production, hair & make-up, the business aspect of being an actor and, of course, modern, classical and musical performance in front of audiences.
It was my fourth year, when we each had the opportunity to go to NYC and perform for some of the industry’s top agents, managers and casting directors. Back in that day, it was called “The Consortium”. From that day, I landed an incredible team of reps and signed with their agencies. One was for theatre, television, & film. The other for commercial, commercial print, and voice overs, and the other for editorial work. I graduated from NCSA with a BFA in drama and moved to New York City where I started to build my career and work in noted productions both on & off Broadway and in film & television.
That’s where the learning of the craft really had to happen in a very visceral and expedient way. You learn very quickly that this is not an easy profession. There is the art and then there is the business. The art exists within the business and the business exists because of the art.
I learned to always be on time…That the professional actor’s “On-Time” is showing up fifteen minutes early. My training really ingrained that in me but when I saw the consequences of a late actor before my very eyes, it got real, real fast. Simply put, a late actor easily becomes another actor’s opportunity.
The real world taught me that actors do not ever really have the luxury of leaning on the excuse of “I’m tired” especially because of the professional demands and necessary stamina, concentration, discipline, determination, perseverance, will, and tenacity needed just to say “I’m ready” and then truly BE READY at the drop of a hat.
I learned that you are responsible for your professional reputation by your actions or inactions. Word travels fast in this industry, so it is imperative to always stay professionally accountable. You never know who is watching, listening, or potentially inquiring about you. Your reputation will either illuminate you like a spotlight, or follow you like a shadow.
I am so thankful to have had the training I did to be sure I always put my everything into what I am doing, and to do it with both artistic integrity and high professional standards. I was (and thankfully still am) surrounded by well-established professionals so it was (is) crucial to always hold myself accountable to that high standard as a professional artist in a very complex and demanding business.
And most importantly, I learned, and still hold this close to me today, to always maintain your morals, respectfully stand your ground, stay available for adjustments, be ready for adaptability, dive into the struggles, embrace the learning experiences, welcome growth, and keep an open heart as much as humanly possible.
How would you describe your ideal client?
MC² Actors Studio LA | NYC | LDN is always excited to welcome and work with diverse actors that are passionately and professionally committed to learning, growing, training, studying and exercising the craft, creative process, and art form of acting. Since we are an ensemble oriented acting studio, it is crucial for talent, creativity, focus, discipline, inclusivity, community, support, generosity, exploration, discovery, open-mindedness, and safety to be the backbone of each group and every class.
The essence of an ensemble is for a group of actors to come together to grow and support each other’s successes as well as struggles. Without that support, it no longer becomes a safe creative environment. It becomes an unproductive competitive one. This is how I was trained as were many of our industry’s most respected artists on stage and screen.
Studying, training, and working in an ensemble is truly a powerful way to grow and cultivate one’s craft. That kind of community not only holds a remarkable service in the studio environment, but it also inevitably extends professionally and socially into the real world. That’s the whole point. The nature of what we do is all about connection and human relationship(s) within this rollercoaster of a journey that we call Life…all of which creates the need and purpose of stories.
I recently gave a masterclass lecture on the “spine” of an ensemble:
“You will always ‘know’ your creative tribe when you can live your most authentic genuine Self in each other’s presence. You will never feel alone and never walk away feeling lonely. There will always be a willing generosity of Spirit. There will always be an undeniable human to human connection. There will always be a desire to share something deep and real. There are many factors that magnetize us to that creative tribe. There is the love of art. There is the gift and blessing of talent. There is the joy of creation. There is the hunger for exploration. There is the fearlessness of struggle. There is the excitement of discovery. There is the passion for revealing. There is an openness for expression. There is the desire for investigation that stimulates human understanding, empathy, and compassion. There is the unquenched thirst of unceasing curiosity. And there is the delicious appetite for transformational story(living)telling. And it is sometimes through the unexpected dark moments and inexplicable circumstances that guide us and/or lead us to that creative tribe. Those same circumstances that we may think are causing us to crumble and break our heart and Spirit, are the same circumstances that actually break our heart open and allow our Spirit to be In-Spirited (inspired) while opening our mind, body & soul and awakening us to something greater than we could have ever imagined. Those same circumstances very often pave the path to our greatest purpose and potential. All human beings at some point will own a story of hardship. That is part of the human experience. But within all that hardship also lives an individual and universal story of how hardship paved an unexpected path to resilience, perseverance, growth, inner-strength, compassion, insight, understanding, creative inspiration, and connection with others who can gather with each other and say: ‘Yes, I know. Me as well. I see you. I understand. Let’s not let it be in vain. Let’s do something remarkable with it all!’. And so we find our tribe. Or our tribe finds us…A tribe that meets through the most unlikely and yet, likely, of circumstances…A tribe that is generous in knowledge, creativity, heart, compassion, passion, love, support, kinship, responsibility, accountability, creativity, talent, and Spirit. And because of those circumstances, we recognize, see, understand, care, support, and even love each other from one artist to another…From one actor to another…From one human to another. That is the purpose and magic of an ensemble! Together we learn, explore, discover, grow, expand, struggle, break through, succeed, share, give, make art, tell & live stories, and reveal the full color wheel of the human condition. And together we hold onto the fact that once we make it out of the many fires that exist within the professional artistic/creative and human obstacles/trials/tribulations…
Actors that have that professional & artistic standard, purpose, and outlook…those are the actors/artist we love to work with at our studio.
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mc2actorsstudio.com MC² Actors Studio’s Amazon Storefront: https://www. amazon.com/shop/ mc2actorsstudio?ref=cm_sw_em_ r_inf_own_mc2actorsstudio_dp_ GKqXyJuRKUwE5 MC² Repertory Theatre Company IG: @mc2repertorytheatreco MC² Repertory Theatre Company Facebook: @mc2repertorytheatreco Mario A Campanaro IG: @mario.a.campanaro
Image Credits
Photos courtesy of the MC² Actors Studio masterclass scene work archive. Actors: Mario A. Campanaro, Lynne Hunter Davis, Marco Da Silva, Holly Hubbell, Gabe Golden, Irina Aylyarova, Maurier Johnson, Sara Laratro, Samson Zaoutis, Julian Totah, Wilson Bosque
