BFA Students Join Laura Linney for Master Class at Montclair Film

On April 28th, eight students from the BFA Acting program were lucky enough to participate in a Master Class with the talented stage and film actress, Laura Linney, hosted by the Montclair Film Festival. The students each selected and prepared scenes with faculty members Ellen Lancaster and Debbie Saivetz and presented them to Ms. Linney in front of a small, select audience.

It was thrilling to watch as the students and Ms. Linney worked together to deepen the work. Ms. Linney, the daughter of the playwright, Romulus Linney, emphasized the importance of getting as many clues from the text as one can, noting that the playwright has written keys to circumstances, environment, relationship and character and it is the job of the actor to tease those out and explore many possibilities as part of a rehearsal process.

The students responded beautifully to Ms. Linney’s generosity, her humor and her innate ability to “read” the clues.  It was a wonderful day for students and audience alike, and will be remembered as another great collaboration between Montclair Film Festival and Montclair State University.

The following are the students who participated and the plays they worked from:

Joey Palazzo (S) and Mary Grace Sumner (J)

Golden Boy by Clifford Odets

Kira Player (S) and Matt Martinez (S)

Between Riverside and Crazy by Steven Adly Guirgis

Liz Sayko (S) and Andrew Russel (J)

The Flick by Annie Baker

Maddie Albregts (S, MT) and Leah Wasilewski (F)

Sick by Bekah Brunstetter