Occasionally, I meet interesting people with the same type of creative dreams that I have and, occasionally, they agree to meet with me and answer a few of my questions about what they’re doing with their lives and why.
Bob Goodman is one of those people.
I met him during a Christmas party at an NYC film school and instantly wanted to know more about his two babies: The Actors Ensemble and Done in a Day. In that first meeting he described how he’d created these things because he’d often come across acting students who, out in the real world, had very little idea about how to approach their careers.
It sounded familiar.
A SAG actor who has been teaching, performing, writing, and directing for 30 years, it was only when Bob lost a full time job of 8 years that he discovered a new opportunity to put his expertise toward his passions. He’d realized that, in other acting schools, film equipment was antiquated, teachers hadn’t actually performed in years, and students weren’t actually getting to be onstage or on-camera. It was no wonder that, after graduating, they were lost in the woods.
It occurred to him that there’s no summer stock equivalent for film, a way for newcomers to learn through immersion. A typical acting degree consists of learning theory, having a few stage performances, and - usually - no TV or film experience.
As someone who loves to teach, Bob found that not having an MFA caused him to hit a wall whenever he applied to bring his teaching methods to most institutions; so, he took matters into his own hands and started his own programs. This is the same DIY spirit that I try to embody with the No MFA Project. His emphasis is on small classes, so that his students get the chance to try, fail, and therefore grow. Everyone is involved in every aspect of production. Bob is even known to cause a few (on purpose) disruptions on-set so that flustered students learn what it is to cope with issues at work. As he says, “You can’t prepare trying to be perfect.”
Done in a Day is another one of his programs: within one day he guides student actors in creating their look and their image, does their headshots, brands them with social media, and follows it all up with an end-of-day acting class and panel discussion with industry professionals.
If you’re struggling to become an actor in NYC, I highly recommend checking him out:
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