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My name is James Flauvel. I am from New York, New York. I was born in Queens.
I guess technically now I am an alumni. I just finished the second year. Q: What specific issue in your acting brought you to the studio?
I guess
I didn't know exactly what my problem was and until i got here. I knew I was
kind of hitting my head against the wall
in trying to create these characters to find a way to do it
kind of organically. But I didn't really know how to build
a character. i had no idea what character work really well. That
turned out to be my problem along with a lot of other things. [laughs]
but that was that was kind of stood out. I met all these great
actors
who came from the studio. Who had been here.
Anytime I saw someone do a reading, mostly at Labyrinth (theatre)
I would ask them "what do you guys train in?
It seemed like across the board every one said "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie. Go see Maggie."
So I went and saw Maggie. (laughs) Q: How was the first year for you?
The first year
was
very enlightening.
Once you get past
dealing with kind of the
the frustration. You know,I think I got used to...
I had this weird thing where i'd love to know everything. I'd like to know what's
going on, how to do it, and kind of starting over. I had been an actor for four
or five years and thinking I knew something
and then coming here
and kind of having my mind completely blown. So the first year just exercises
really opened me up.
It really change the way I
listened and responded.
You know something i thought i was really good at it (laughs)
It's interesting what you think and what you actually know. Q: What were you hoping to get from the training at the studio?
Yeah, personally live my life is that it completely different place than it was when
i got here.
I really wanted to find a place like that kind of take responsibility for
the artistry in my life. I figured the one thing that would be in my control is
how good of an artist i would be and how hard I could work.
This turned out to the place that i could actually do
that.
The business is so kind of, as you know, insane.
The one thing that I felt like could be in my control is how good the work i was
doing was.
So thats
how I ended up here.
I guess that's what was happening to me personally. I was really struggling with
a kind of direction.
I don't think the work i was doing
was good enough.
I think there's a certain
clarity and certain direction
that i have now that we have before
and that's
in the work that i'm doing, that I am lucky enough to do and then in life as well.
So being bale to attack the work
and attack life in this new angle of kind of clarity
When I say clarity, kind of just
being totally
aware of what's going on with me, how I feel,
what i want. Things like that. These questions that we kind of ask ourselves.
These basic questions that Maggie
has us ask ourselves from the get go. So
direction which is a crazy thing. I am almost a grown up now not (laughs) and kind of
more clear on the work that I can do and want to be doing.
Q: How do you like voice and movement classes? I just started with movement so I am kind of a little out of order. So I just started
with movement and it's great.
It's really great.
It was necessary for me
just to stay in my body especially when those emotions come in.
I start screaming and
and go blank. So
but I just started the movement and the idea is to go through
all of them. So... Q: How have the teachers at the studio helped you?
It's one of this things that is really hard to describe.
With Maggie, just
her generosity
I really
The only thing I knew when I got here was that
i would work hard
and that I really wanted to be
or to have an understanding of the work, and she really
set me up to succeed.
I got a play in the middle
of my first year
and it was this character that is nothing like me.
He is like a freestyle rapper from the street and all this stuff. I am in the middle
of the first year and I didn't know what to do and
i went to maggie and she
she took the time to just
figure it out with me, to give me a bit of second year work
clear up my understanding
and give me direction to head so I didn't go completely crazy (laughs)
And also just
the gifts of the work. The studio is really committed to that.
Maggie and Charlie are who I have had the most
experience with and they are
always open and available
for you if you
bust your ***, if you are working really hard
they are there for you.
They have saved my *** in many ways
mostly artistically (laughs) Q: What do you specifically like about the Meisner Technique?
Just how personal, it is.
I know that probably sounds redundant
but it just
becomes a hundred percent from
from me
and kind of having the faith to create in that direction.
So, i didn't know
i had never really had no idea what it was before
besides the fact that
I knew all these actors who
who really came really alive when
they were doing it enough and uh...
so the fact that
I can kind of go through a script with respect and make everything
incredibly personal that was the first thing that really
blew my mind for sure.