ABOUT
I believe that being an actor is more than a profession, it's a way of life, it's a psychological and physiological practice; a deeply aesthetic and honest approach to our relationships with each other, the world, and the narrative that gives meaning to our lives.
-Annelise Bianchini
"I ask if she knows what it’s like to feel like ‘a stranger in your own land, with no home’. She says she does, but she answers me too quickly in a good-student sort of way, closing the door to the feeling of being without a home. I tell her to let her body answer the question, instead. She takes a breath and her next words are the text, simple and true, I, as the audience now, feel the effortlessness of her connection like a hammer..."
THE IDEA
When she moved to London she was distressed, to say the least, that she could not find an on-going scene study class anywhere. It was something that she'd always taken for granted when she lived in New York. How was she going to keep her skills sharp? How would she progress as an artist between jobs? How would she ever be satisfied with only a few minutes of acting in the audition room once or twice a month? How could she call herself an actor when she was hardly acting? Where would she meet her tribe? She had to do something about it. So she called up all the actors she knew and invited them to try out this crazy idea she had for a NY Style Scene Study Class experiment. She held class in her kitchen at first and then found two brilliant spaces, one in West Hampstead, the other in Shoreditch. Actors were hungry to be acting and slowly word got out; friends told their friends who told their significant others who told their cab driver's cousin's ex-brother-in-law's dog walker's yoga teacher's bartender. And so it grew, and before she knew it, super cool and talented actors from all different backgrounds were coming together to make art and tell stories.
A
s a teacher and facilitator, I'm watching for story. I am looking for the individuality of each actor as a storyteller, where the actor can flow and where they are blocked. Real-life baggage comes up all the time because that is what we are examining, our clay is the human experience, our instrument is ourselves. I am without judgment, I am full of respect for your journey, I believe in you, and I am here to catch you.
-Annelise Bianchini
LIFE
Born in California, raised in Colorado, Annelise moved to New York when she was twenty to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After AADA, she completed her undergrad in Drama Therapy from Goddard and her intermediate-level certificate in wine from WSET, all the while attending ongoing scene study classes at the T. Schreiber Studio, Ron Stetson Studio, Joan Rosenfels Studio, Ken Schatz Studio, and The Freeman Studio. She has her MA from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has studied Meisner at the Salon Collective.
work
Annelise too is a working actor, and there may be a time where she'll have to put the class on hold and reschedule because of a job. Actors will be reimbursed if they are unable to attend the make up class.