'My Goal is to Make an Actor our of You'

	'My Goal is to Make an Actor our of You' The Hub Please note that our current address is 174 Main Street (Route 35), Crystal Brook Professional Building, Eatontown, NJ 07724. This article has been modified to reflect our current address. "This is serious business," John Eyd said. "Don't pick my acting class just to fill a free evening, the way you might select a ballroom dancing or arts and crafts program. This is hard work." "And," he said, "you've got to come every week...don't tell me you can't drive in the rain! My goal is to make an actor out of you -- not provide a place for you to spend Monday evening." This is the philosophy that Eyd has employed during his years as teacher and coach for some of the area's most successful thespians. Eyd's approach means that graduates of the [Eatontown]-based Actors Training Institute (ATI) work hard -- which is why many are successful in landing parts in film, TV, radio commercials and stage productions. Eyd is an actor-director of 39 years standing. he has set a goal for his Institute to be "New Jersey's theatrical conservatory." New York theater publication "Backstage" calls ATI "the place to study (acting) in New Jersey." ATI is in its ninth year and, according to Eyd, really started by accident. "I was invited to the area by B&B Management's Irene Breuh," Eyd said, "to help train some of her aspiring actor clients. They had raw talent but it needed to be refined." A New York native who still lives in Manhattan, Eyd found that he just couldn't leave this area altogether... "every time I said I was done, there were more people looking for help." As a result, Eyd opened ATI studio, [now located at 174 Main Street (Route 35), Eatontown, NJ 07724]. At ATI, the philosophy is to allow students to be led by instinct rather than by intellect so they are able to function fully on stage, television, film or radio. "Actors need first to exercise willpower, concentration and sensory responses," Eyd said, "and only then can they move into creating reality and the ability to express that reality. It's the training," he said, "that helps actors move from just experiencing a part to expressing that new reality." If you are wondering if there is a talent pool in the peninsula area, and a need for actors, the answer is "yes." "The metropolitan New York area has the largest pool for acting talent in the country," Eyd said. "It's where Hollywood came to find stars in the past and it hasn't changed." A soon-to-open production studio in Harrison, NJ -- "the largest sound studio in the world," Eyd said -- "will make the East Coast more important in the production of films." Eyd indicated that currently there are only two full production studios in Queens (NY) and they are booked out for a year or more. "This gigantic facility will mean more film, commercials and other business here on the East Coast and consequently a better market for actors," Eyd said. The ATI director also points to a magnitude of opportunities for good aspiring talent. He said that eight of the ten films produced never make it to the theater but go right into video releases, so there are a lot more films being made than you ever suspect! Also there's cable TV, as well as dinner theaters, theme parks, and mystery theater dinners. "They all need actors and actresses to make things happen," said Eyd. He is happy to fill those needs with trained professionals from ATI. The latter offers three workshops for adults a youth workshop for child actors called "Kids In Acting." In ATI's first workshop, Introduction to Stanislavski Acting, participants learn the basics in 16 weeks. The course is an introduction to the techniques of the master Konstantin Stanislavski as interpreted by the actress and teacher Stella Adler. Students learn improvisation, movement, primary scene studies, inner monologue, tempo and rhythm among other techniques. In the basic workshop -- which Eyd describes as learning to master the body, speed, mood and emotion -- he will work with anyone who has a genuine interest in learning the craft. After completion of the course, that student may move on to the second workshop, Creating the Character. "This is the Sanford Meisner technique, based on the later work of Stanislavski," Eyd said. "It gives students an organized approach to the creation of real and truthful behavior within the imaginary circumstances of the theater." This second workshop encompasses 60 hours over 24 weeks. Students come away with refined acting skills, techniques for handling an audition, and learning how to work with an agent. They also have learned voice- over techniques for radio, TV and video. About 20 percent of ATI students move to Eyd's master class -- an in depth study of Lee Strasberg's method acting. "What (the course) does," Eyd said, "is get an actor to reproduce recognizable reality based on acute observation of the world." In other words, he said, "it places a high premium on the expression of genuine emotion." The master class is ongoing with no defined beginning or end. Students master sense memory techniques as well as preparing and learning roles, handling monologue, foreign dialects and classical theater techniques. Eyd estimates about have of his master class students will achieve successful professional careers working in theater, television, commercials or radio. He believes that to become a successful actor or actress, a student must be taught by seasoned actors who have been on stage and experienced "real world" interaction with paying audiences. Although Eyd doesn't put down college and university theater training, he doesn't heap undue praise on it either. "There are really only a handful of top university theater programs across the country," Eyd said, "and they are good because they invite actors and directors with practical experience to work side-by-side with the Ph.Ds teaching theory." Graduates of ATI have gone on to these and other degree-granting institutions. Many ATI students have also gone on to successful acting careers. Eyd is proud of all their accomplishments, naming, in particular, Nick Puccio of TV's "NYPD Blue" who had a role in the film Casino. Also, Evan Jay Newman, currently appearing as Gavroche in "Les Miserables", had a role in "Cape Man" while Elaine Formicola appeared in "A View From The Bridge." ATI-trained Brett Barsky starred in the award-winning short subject film "Trevor" in 1995. Alison Siegel appeared in the off-Broadway production of "Kerouac" while other students have appeared in movies (including "When Harry met Sally" and "Cadillac Man"), TV shows (such as "Murder She Wrote," "New York Undercover" and "Saturday Night Live"), along with theatrical productions such as "Beauty and the Beast," "A Christmas Carol" and more. New classes begin regularly at ATI. The ³Acting for Kids² program is under the direction of Anthony Setaro and Peter A. Stark, both experienced actors and ATI alumni. For more information about the Actors Training Institute call John Eyd at (732) 578-0055 or visit one of his studios at 174 Main Street (Route 35), Crystal Brook Professional Building, Eatontown, NJ 07724.