HB Studio to Hold First Spanish-Language Acting Class This January

HB Studio, one of New York's most venerable institutions for theater training and practice, launches its first acting class conducted entirely in Spanish this January.

HB Studio has been a sanctuary for immigrant artists since its inception in 1945, when Viennese-born actor Herbert Berghof (soon joined by German-born actress and master teacher Uta Hagen) founded the studio as a commerce-free haven for theater practitioners from all walks of life. With the launch of this Spanish-language class in January 2017, HB Studio carries on its long tradition as an institution of inclusivity, mentoring and developing artists who can contribute to a theater that expresses the social, moral and political realities of the world in which we live.

For the first time, HB Studio-where Uta Hagen developed her world-renowned approach to acting as discussed in her book, A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR-will teach Uta Hagen's acting exercises in Spanish. Participants of this class, "Actuar en Español," will explore Uta Hagen's object exercises to solve acting challenges, applying them towards work on monologues, soliloquies, and scenes from contemporary Hispanic plays. This course will be taught by two award-winning actors of Hispanic theater: Pablo Andrade from Caracas, Venezuela and Maria Fontanals from Barcelona, Spain.

Actor/director Pablo Andrade is an HOLA and ACE award-winner and a member of NYC's Repertorio Español. Throughout 2016, Andrade has performed with Repertorio to great critical acclaim in the part of young writer Mario Vargas-Llosa, in Vargas-Llosa's auto-biographical play, La Tia Julia y el Escribidor. Actress Maria Fontanals has performed on stages in Barcelona, New York and Mexico City, was nominated for a 2015 Revelation award by the Association of Latin American Critics, and had two nominations for Best Actress at the Dominican Consulate Secretary of Culture in New York City.

"Actuar en Español," will meet once a week over 10 weeks, and is open to both native Spanish speakers as well as actors who have Spanish as a second language. The course is divided into two five-week parts, and participants are welcome to enroll in either part, or both.

For more information, visit hbstudio.org/classes/acting/actuar-en-espanol-acting-spanish-part.

IF YOU GO:

Actuar en Español / Acting in Spanish

TAUGHT BY: Pablo Andrade & Maria Fontanals

DATES & TIMES: Wednesdays, January 11 - March 15, 2017

LOCATION: HB Studio (120 Bank Street in Greenwich Village, NYC).

COURSE FEE: $230 (5 weeks) / $445 (10 weeks)

ENROLL NOW and learn more at:
hbstudio.org/classes/acting/actuar-en-espanol-acting-spanish-part

HB Studio is a nonprofit organization that supports vigorous, lifelong practice in the theatre arts based on a solid foundation of practical training. The Studio was conceived as a place where artists at all stages of their careers could continue to work and train between engagements, supported and challenged by their more experienced colleagues, in a space free from pressures related to commercial success. HB is open to any person with a serious interest in the theater and its related disciplines. Its students, faculty, and alumni form a vibrant community of actors, playwrights, and directors.

HB Studio alumni include some of the most notable actors of American theater and film including including Christopher Abbott, F. Murray Abraham, Carroll Baker, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Billy Crystal, Robert DeNiro, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Faye Dunaway, Whoopi Goldberg, HAl Holbrook, Christine Lahti, Jessica Lange, Linda Lavin, John Leguizamo, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Al Pacino, Sarah Jessica Parker, Amanda Peet, Mercedes Ruehl, Molly Shannon, and Barbra Streisand.

Founded by Viennese actor/director Herbert Berghof in 1945, HB is one of the original New York acting studios. In 1947, Berghof met the celebrated actress Uta Hagen and invited her to join him in teaching at the Studio. The two later married, and Hagen, author of the seminal acting texts Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor, became one of the most renowned and respected acting teachers of the 20th century. HB's faculty of master teachers and practicing artists carry on in that tradition today.