The busiest acting studio in Vancouver has arrived on Bowen, at least as far as the business end of things goes. The Actor's Foundry - founded by Bowen Islanders Matthew Harrison and Jeb Beach and now run by them along with fellow Islander Kim Sinclair - has moved its office to Artisan Square.
The Foundry is not offering classes on Bowen but there are thoughts of doing so in the future. For now, in addition to regular classes, they are offering a two-week Teen Actor Summer Camp at Vancouver studios and will give Bowen teen-actors a 15 per cent discount.
The company hopes to one day conduct acting classes on Bowen as well as workshops, coaching for auditions and acting retreats; they may even produce plays on Island down the road. For now though it's about getting the offices to the environs of Bowen and cutting down on commutes.
Harrison, the Foundry's artistic director and husband of noted actor Michelle Harrison, co-founded the Foundry with Beach in 2007. Both taught and took care of the business end of things but as the company grew, Beach, with a background in business, moved into that side of things and is now company business manager. He continues to teach as well. Sinclair came on board as studio manager a year ago.
Beach says they are a "unique company in that we're bridging the gap" between the actor and the industry they work in. They help actors learn their craft, get an agent, even work with agents and other industry professionals. In addition to acting classes they have workshops with writers, casting directors and directors such as L.A.'s Michael Nankin, who has directed episodes of Picket Fences, Battlestar Galactica and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
A big part of the reason they have had some 1,200 actors study with them and have seven or more classes at any time, is their approach. They look at all three aspects of what the actors need, Beach says, from understanding the script and the needs of the story, to being honest and emotionally available for the script and to dropping ego and focusing on doing the work required to serve the story.
For Harrison and Beach, both fathers, living on Bowen represents an opportunity to be grounded away from the business in what Harrison refers to as a place that gives them a "fresh eye" and allows them to rejuvenate their passion. "You get on that ferry and you renew yourself," he said. "There's just something about the rock that keeps the passion and the art clean."
The Teen Actor Summer Camp will run in two sessions for two weeks each, one beginning July 4 and ending July 14, the other beginning August 8 and ending on the 19th.
