Sanita Simms, participant actor
“I really enjoyed Kristin’s workshop with Tamasha. Since graduating from drama school it has been the first workshop which has allowed me to be open and free…and the key? Playing. As an actress, or I suppose any performer, I‘m always looking to further my craft and hone in on and develop new skills. What I learned with Kristine was that I had certainly forgotten the enjoyment of finding the true moments between myself and another actor. Letting go of stage directions and concentrating on ‘objectives’ have in fact been my obstacle. I had a fantastic time because I felt I discovered a major block and rediscovered why I’ve chosen this often flippant profession in the first place. My only regret is that I hadn’t tapped into Tamasha before and I feel privileged to have experienced Kristine’s way of working although she now lives abroad. Working with future directors and going for castings will be seen in a different light. Thank you for giving me this opportunity!
Kaushik Guha, participant actor
‘It was quite simply an amazing and inspiring experience. Kristine’s way of teaching is second to none! I have never enjoyed the experience of acting so much, as she truly sees each actor’s full potential, and uses ways only she knows how, to extract the best out of each actor. It was awesome to watch her in action and I loved every second of it. I am just sad Kristine has to go back to Australia now, as I feel I could learn so much more from her. Finding such a talented coach is like searching for a needle in a haystack. She has filled me with so much more confidence that I didn’t have before, and I just want to keep that feeling with me wherever I go now. Especially auditions of course…
Thank you once again, and I look forward to hearing about other learning opportunities with Tamasha throughout the year.”
Jade Greyul, participant actor
“I was familiar with the concept of the ‘actor at play’ before attending Kristine’s workshop, but I had never explored it alongside someone with such an innate capability to work directly with the individual; with me, and myself as an artist. Kristine guided us as professionals – not at all afraid to tell us when we weren’t reaching our potential for truth in each performance. The various group games encouraged an open forum, putting us all at ease to learn, share and most importantly, play! Kristine’s incredibly instinctive and straightforward approach was a refreshing change to hours of discussing character’s back-stories, attempting to discern who ‘they’ are and what ‘their objectives’ might be… for ‘they’ are, quite simply, us. When we stop placing the character outside of ourselves, what occurs is a beautifully organic process of talking from real emotions; a process which Kristine masterfully guided us through with carefully planned improvisations and an encouraged connection with our own cultural contexts. It was equally as insightful to watch Kristine work one-on-one with the other members of the group, each time witnessing the ‘performance’ fall away and the ‘performer’ come to life. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend working with Kristine in any capacity, as I hope to do again myself in future. Thank you Tamasha for another opportunity to creatively free myself, and remain open to the rewards of playmaking.”
Prinesh Mistry, participant actor
“One of the best acting classes I’ve attended and certainly the most playful!
Kristine has taught me that when we give ourselves the freedom to add a part of our self to the fabric of a character, we have the power to give a real, authentic and believable performance. No acting, just us being real in someone else’s skin. So simple. Accents, body language and physical appearance can all be manipulated , but the true essence of the character must be real. This is the important lesson I can take from the course. Kristine is a gem in a world where so many acting teachers manage to successfully overcomplicate the craft. Through her amazing level of perception she offers positive encouragement and simple straight forward advice. I was on such a natural high after the course!”
Jishnu Soni, participant actor
“Having a masterclass with Kristine is like rediscovering yourself as an Actor. She really knows how to bring out the best in you. The most important thing you learnt in the masterclass is that you are not acting a character you are performing yourself on stage. If you leave aside all the expectations of how a character should behave or say or any other stereotypes and perform as yourself, you will give out the best in you. Her theory of playing and improvisation and then performing the text as yourself is the important thing you learn as an actor. The other most important thing I learnt is using your own cultural heritage in the performance rather than following the standard norm. Use your own cultural background to your advantage; it helps you to create the person you are. Once you have master your own self, everything else falls into place by itself like accent, dialects, text, body, personality etc.”
Sangeeta Reding, participant actor
“I have done other courses but this approach was very different & useful for me as a working actress. It created an amazing closeness in a short space of time. I had to leave early on the first day to attend a casting- I got the job- what more can I say?”
Sneya Rajani, participant actor
“Inspirational, is the only word I could use to describe the workshop. Kristine is more magician less director. She has this amazing ability to hone in on your inner actor or rather shall I say the she hones in on finding ones self in the purest form. Where you have no inhibitions or pretense of what your role should be, just working on pure human connection and gut instinct to perform. Or in Kristine’s words the ‘PLAY’ theory. This theory can then be used in our future roles but has definitely inspired me to work harder and has made me see acting in a new light.
Thank you Kristine for giving me hope for acting and the tools to succeed.”
Teena Antia, participant actor
“As actors we live in a world of possible rejection. And that possibility can some times loom so large that we forget to do the one thing that we are meant to do…play. This workshop really focused on the important stuff – openness, professional vulnerability and honesty. These words sound lofty but Kristine Landon-Smith made it surprisingly easy to attain. She tuned into every one of us with such precision, it was almost like she could sense a false impulse before we even made it. She made us remember that we were good at our craft, so when she said “why is this so awful” it didn’t bruise our egos. She made us stronger and more vulnerable as actors and she reminded us to enjoy it all. I left the workshop feeling more secure in my acting than I have in months. She was one of those people you don’t ever forget.
Anurita Heer, participant actor
“It was great to take part in the masterclass with Kristine as her way of teaching and directing actors has been so important for my learning process as an actor. Kristine’s method is simple: she simply places the actor at the centre of any work. In doing so, the actor becomes completely free to play in improvisation or with a text and the result is a great performance. I have been through, as well as observed, this step by step process numerous times, watching actors transform in carefully crafted improvisations and then move on to perfectly directed text work. By taking the actor’s cultural context into consideration, Kristine always provides an environment for actors where they can create something magical for an audience.
Pema Clark, participant director
“I came to Kristine’s masterclass in order to further my own practice and research as a scholar-artist. In making links in my own mind around the place for actor-centred approaches within my own experimental interests, I was very enriched by Kristine’s work as it puts the actor/performer at the heart of any rehearsal and performance. As she reminded us, an actor can never be anyone other than themselves so, as performance makers, we might as well draw from their strengths and skills as creative and inspired resources. I would definitely attend another workshop with Kristine and highly recommend her as a teacher and director.”
Aysha Nawaz, participant actor
“I was quite nervous before I went along to the masterclass and so prior to going I tried to do a bit of homework and came across the concepts of ‘playing truthfully’ and the ‘intracultural approach’ that Kristine employs in her work. I got a vague idea but nothing can really prepare you for the actual experience…from the first moment, I knew this wasn’t going to be like any other class I’d attended.
I didn’t know any of the other participants before the class but by the time the morning was over, an intimacy and closeness had developed within the group and this allowed us all to connect and play freely with one another. Kristine encouraged us to remove the layers of what our perceptions of ‘acting’ may have previously been and by doing so uncover and reveal the true artist beneath.
When attempting to deliver our prepared monologues we were each taken on an individual journey of self discovery, a journey that taught me personally how the use of my mother tongue (Urdu) can be an extremely useful tool within improvisation, rehearsal techniques and as an actor full stop. I had never before attempted to use any aspect of my cultural heritage within the performance space. I instantly sensed the transformation within my delivery through Kristine’s careful guidance and intracultural technique; and although initially I felt quite vulnerable and exposed, the overwhelming feeling of being free from ‘convention’ was hugely liberating. I connected with my text in a way that I hadn’t done previously, it seemed to take on a whole new meaning for me – the ease and simplicity were all underpinned by an internal surge in energy and confidence.
I certainly look forward to working again with Kristine and Tamasha. Please don’t just take my word for it, I highly recommend this inspiring class to all artists regardless of age, gender background etc, I promise you won’t regret it!”
Rochelle Rose, participant actor
“I was excited to take part in the workshop because Kristine came highly recommended to me. However I must admit that I died inside when I found out we were going to be playing lots of games. But through Kristine’s encouragement and facilitation and her ability to hone in on the individual needs of an actor, I made much needed breakthroughs and enjoyed myself. I now have things to be mindful of whilst acting without being crippled by the things I have to work on. I also found it really helpful to watch Kristine direct the other amazing actors in my group. Watching helped me understand her process better and apply the advice she gave them to myself and my own acting. A very inspiring way to start the year! Thank you!”
