Blake Allan reads character-driven books

Known to many as “Teacher B” or simply “Teacher,” Actors Studio East artistic director Blake Allan makes a long-lasting impression for being blunt, aggressive and emotional. His students soon come to terms with his unorthodox ways of pushing them out of their comfort zones. To him, it’s not about what’s easy, but what’s effective.

Starting out as a Gap & Nautica model, Blake always jokes about his shiny, shaved head and tells his students that they need to have technique to fall back on when their pretty hair falls out.

He studied acting and drama at the Tisch School of Arts in New York, before making a cross-country leap to concentrate on the Strasberg and Adler techniques in LA.  

It wasn’t until he met his teacher and mentor in LA, whose dedication to technique and training inspired a passion for teaching in himself. “He presented acting as a gift. He was very clear that anyone could act. You don’t have to be smart, but you have to be willing to fully express emotion on the stage and become vulnerable in front of hundreds of people.”

After sometime, he came to the realization that the best method for effective acting is a fusion of the Meisner, latter-life Stanislavski and Chekhov approaches. After learning, training and implementing the fusion, he left Adler and Strasberg techniques behind. “Being a good actor does not necessarily make you an effective actor all the time. An effective actor needs to consistently be present with their scene partner. That’s why I teach what I do and the way I do. If it wasn’t effective, I would have given it up years ago.”  

He taught in the heart of Hollywood, then traveled and trained actors extensively throughout Brazil, Mexico and the UK, finally making the leap to Asia, putting down roots in Manila to help form Actor’s Studio East in the “ber months” of 2010.

Teacher B is a firm advocate of truth and emotional honesty on the stage. He intentionally pushes actors past what is socially acceptable, and trains them in honest and natural emotional responses, utilizing “imaginary circumstances” (one of the foundation building-blocks of the Meisner Technique).

He has a strong aversion to actors and teachers who feel “emotional recall” and the process of self-inflicting pain belong on the stage. “Reliving past experiences is an easy way out. The problem is that we don’t feel the same way we did 10 years ago about the same situation. The same emotional responses are no longer valid. Situations change; we change. We grow; we mature. The even bigger problem is that the emotional experience you’re attempting to recall has got nothing to do with your scene partner.”

“The fusion of Meisner, Stanislavski and Chekhov not only allows you to get out of your own head, but they give you the grace and the beauty needed onstage without forcing anything. I train my actors to invest their life enhanced by their own limitless imagination into the play, and that means they have real emotional experiences on the stage. They don’t look like they’re mad, they’re truly getting angry on that stage. We don’t fake anything, whether it be onstage or in front of the camera, and we most certainly don’t do anything because it makes us look “pretty.” Acting isn’t worrying about how you look. We act because we desire that real, emotional connection with another human being.”

(Visit his website at www.actorsstudioeast.com.)

I asked Teacher B to share his favorite books.

Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison

“This book is fantastic. So many people see bipolar disorder as a handicap, but it takes a rare breed to see it as a benefit, to establish the bridge or connection between a ‘disorder’ and creativity.”

 Serial Killers: The Method & Madness of Monsters by Peter Vronsky

“I’ve always found this book interesting. Instead of taking the approach of assuming these guys are evil, they take the approach of forensic evidence and proof into what really surrounds the horrifying cases. To me, the truth is often much more potent than the potential story could be.”

 The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

“Loved the lack of adjectives. The story itself is enough to allow your imagination to run wild and that’s what affects me the most. Hemingway has a unique style of writing in this book that causes my imagination to wander so much more than some of his other pieces. A must, in my opinion.”

 War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

“The book itself is great, but I like it because of the emotional responses that people were authentically experiencing when first hearing it read over the radio.”

 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

“Love it because of all the conflicts the characters face early on. Conflict is what creates drama and, without it, a story fails to touch me.”

 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

“I love Charles Dickens, but I particularly enjoy David Copperfield because it’s relatable. Without hard work and perseverance, the art of self-discovery becomes limited.”

 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

“Plays and stories in general fascinate me not only when the character is conflicted, but when he’s struggling to even begin to identify what it is he is fighting for or against. The character is at a crossroads of vulnerability and loss of control. These are the characteristics that define great actors.”

 The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“Everyone sees pain and tragedy when they read this. The thing I love about this piece is that it’s not about tragedy for me, but about overcoming an obstacle. The choices we make aren’t always a happy ending, but a means to overcome one of life’s many difficulties. Even though his own death came by his own hand, the deep emotional connection he felt for his love was nothing less than beautiful.”

 Room by Emma Donoghue

“I grew up feeling like an outcast. I fit in well to the public eye, but I always felt trapped. I had so many things to say, but the small-town mentality didn’t provide the tools/traits to say them. I was discouraged from saying what I felt, and shunned when I did. I enjoyed this read because it’s a prison, and in so many ways, I felt trapped on my way to adulthood, unsure what life had in store for me. Jack’s mom did what she had to do to survive and made the primary reason for her existence about something greater than herself.”

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“The Reading Club” recommends Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, a thrilling suspense read. Available in all National and Powerbooks. 

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You may send your comments and suggestions to me at gr.rodis@gmail.com.