HB Studio to Host Community Conversations on Race, Racism & Social Equity

HB Studio, one of New York's most venerable institutions for theater training and practice, is hosting a series of community conversations on race, racism, and social equity: "BLIND SPOT: Speaking of Race," organized and facilitated by actor/educator Russell G. Jones.

HB Studio harkens back to its roots as a haven of social equity and open discourse with this series of facilitated discussions, which lead participants to build new skills to confront racism in their community and throughout their lives. Rooted in the belief that it is necessary to practice speaking through one's own racial lens in order to recognize and critically discuss systemic and internalized racism, BLIND SPOT curates a content rich environment to practice this discourse.

These salons are a series of facilitated discussions where videos spark small and large group conversations. Through these conversations, participants learn to articulate their thoughts and feelings about race, recognize systems and ideologies that contribute to racism, and analyze their own actions as contributing to, or working against, White supremacy. Open to the public and offered free of charge, HB Studio extends an invitation to join them in this commitment to making more conscious decisions as empowered members of the artistic community.

Russell G. Jones (Side Effects, Ruined, Father Comes Home From the Wars, The Americans) is an Obie award-winning actor, a facilitator, a teaching artist and the creator of Blind Spot: a series of facilitated salons for practicing racial discourse.

This project is being supported by the Bernstein Family Foundation Inc., as this year's Felicia Montealegre Bernstein Master Class offering at HB Studio.

IF YOU GO:

BLIND SPOT: Speaking of Race

FACILITATED BY
Russel G. Jones

DATES & TIMES
Tuesday, December 6 | 7-9:30pm
Thursday, December 8 | 7-9:30pm
Tuesday, December 13 | 2-4:30pm
Thursday, December 15 | 2-4:30pm

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

TICKETS
Free of charge. RSVP required.
RSVP at hbblindspot.eventbrite.com

To learn more, visit hbstudio.org.

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 Christopher Abbott, F. Murray Abraham, Carroll Baker, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, James Cromwell, Billy Crystal, Robert DeNiro, Faye Dunaway, Whoopi Goldberg, HAl Holbrook, Christine Lahti, Jessica Lange, Linda Lavin, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Al Pacino, Sarah Jessica Parker, Amanda Peet, Doris Roberts, Mercedes Ruehl, George Segal, 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.