I have been interviewing actors for sometime now. This week we interview Jeanie Hackett, an actor, coach and director. Her body of work is intimidating, and she is quite an interesting person. “I’m an actress, director, acting coach and teacher, author & sometime artistic director.”
indieactivity: How do you describe tour coaching?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): I’m energetic & direct. Everyone’s different, so I coach differently for each client. I want work that is fearless, original, real, and I encourage the actor to give himself permission to use all of herself: intelligence, sexuality, humor, need, danger, warmth, confidence, aggression, vulnerability & charisma. In other words, I want to help the actor manifest every bit of his/her potential. On my website, which is called The Workroom, I write a lot about acting, auditioning & how actors achieve their best work. Come into The Workroom.
How did you get into acting?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): I wrote two books about acting (The Actor’s Chekhov & Toward Mastery) and after these were published I was invited to teach some master classes at colleges and universities back east. As Artistic Director of The Classical Theater Lab & The Antaeus Company in Los Angeles, I started actor training programs, and taught scene study classes in classical and contemporary work, audition technique, etc. Coaching was an off-shoot from teaching classes — my students just started asking for coaching as well. From there agents & managers started to send me clients. I never really promoted myself or worked on having a coaching “career” — it just came to me as part of other things I did.
Did you study coaching or acting?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): I studied acting at NYU, and Circle in the Square, and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. But I think work experience as an actor/director is the best teacher.
Do you operate on instincts when coaching or acting?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): Of course. I want to help my clients not just make great choices, but to manage the audition experience with confidence and ease. My instincts help me know what kind of help my client needs.
What coaching or acting technique do you use?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): My foundation is Stanislavsky. So I often use method work: substitution, sense memory, emotional recall etc. I also use Meisner technique on occasion, I studied with Stella Adler, Austin Pendleton, Nikos Psacharopoulos and draw on their techniques as well. I love Uta Hagan’s work. And Kristen Linkletter. As a coach I use whatever works best for the actor I’m working with. Some actors really love & respond to, for example, things like animal exercises, and some actors hate anything but good strong text work. I’m not teaching new skills as a coach, my job is to take the actor from good work to great work.
Briefly describe a few wrong impressions actors have about acting?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): Oh, so much! That acting is about being someone else rather than using yourself really well. That acting is about performing rather than revealing. That you can be a good actor without working hard. That to be a good actor you don’t need training. That acting is just an art and not a business. Or visa versa.
How often should actors take courses in acting to increase their craft?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): If you’re auditioning for film / TV / theater in NYC or LA you are in the Olympics of acting. You MUST act regularly in order to be competitive. If you are between jobs, you need to train in the same way an athlete does in order to be ready when the moment comes. In NYC I like HB Studios. I think Mimi Lieber’s class is amazing. In LA, I love Steppenwolf West, particularly Jeff Perry.
What books do you read?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): About acting: Stop Acting by Harold Guskin / A Challenge for the Actor – Uta Hagen / The Empty Space – Peter Brook. About other things: Tribes by Seth Godin / Platform by Michael Hyatt / The Creative Habit – Twyla Tharp / War and Peace – Tolstoy!
How do you keep in shape as a coach?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): By coaching. By now I’ve put my 10,000 hours in — the number of hours Malcolm Gladwell suggests we need to become a master in any profession — and probably more. Most important for me is to limit the number of hours I coach per day, per week, in order to be fresh, rested, ready, at the top of my game.
What physical exercises can help an actor to keep in shape?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): I like yoga, because it’s a discipline for body and mind.
When you have a new student, how do you approach them?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): First I want to learn about her, her background, her experience, her influences. Then, I want to know whey she’s coming for coaching now. What led her to decide to use a coach at this particular moment in time? What issues is she having in the work right now, and what goal does she have for herself in terms of our work together?
How do you teach an actor to take a character in a script to a honest, believable and breathing person?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): There’s so many different ways, and it’s so specific to each individual actor that I hesitate to answer this. But TRUST is a good place to start. Trust the director, the script, but most of all trust yourself. Do your homework! And have a coherent work process. Many actors don’t work hard enough just because they don’t know how to work hard.
How can an actor remain fresh on a film set?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): This takes experience. You have to know how long your day is, and then you have to know how to pace yourself. Knowledge is power. Try to visit the set the day before you work, if you can, so you can get a sense of the flow. Your best friend is the AD — he or she knows if the days are going slow or fast, if you’ll get 10 takes or 2, etc.
Do you still act?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): Yes. I’m about to go into rehearsal for a new play at the Fountain Theater called “On the Spectrum.”
What is the most memorable screen character you have played?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): I ‘ve played a series of lawyers and crying moms in film & TV. My most memorable roles have been in theater — most especially plays by Tennessee Williams & Eugene O’Neill on Broadway.
What do you want from an actor in class or during a production?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): Professionalism. Creativity. Generosity. Hard work.
How do you prefer to work with an actor during a production?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): That would take much more than a paragraph! But overall, with a great deal of mutual respect and a lot of humor.
Do you get offers from industries like Hollywood, Bollywood, or Nollywood?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): I do work on movies & on sets. Recently I worked on a film for Indonesia, produced here in the U.S. called Brush With Danger.
What do you that an actor can do to get into the film industry?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): Love acting more than anything else. Know the industry. Use social media to connect with people in the business. Be patient!
Who is your favourite actor, coach and director?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): My favorite actors are Meryl Streep and Blythe Danner. My favorite coaches are Austin Pendleton and Mimi Lieber. My favorite directors are Dan Sullivan and the late Nikos Psacharopoulos.
What advice would you give actors around the world?
Jeanie Hackett (JH): Acting is not an easy way to make a living. Only do this is you must, if you have something to say as an artist and acting is where you find your voice. But please: have something to say! Have a REASON for acting besides being famous and making money.
Jeanie’s Broadway credits include Stella in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (with Blythe Danner) at Circle in the Square & Belle in Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness at the Roundabout. Off-Broadway she’s been seen in new plays at Soho Rep, The Promenade & The Harold Clurman Theaters.
She received her Equity card at the Williamstown Theater Festival where she appeared in over a dozen plays such as The Greeks, Room Service, The Bay at Nice, Summerfolk & The Front Page among others. She’s performed at the Pasadena Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Center Theater Group, Long Wharf, Three River Shakespeare Festival & The Tennessee Williams Arts Center playing leading roles in Richard III (Lady Anne) The Winter’s Tale (Perdita, Hermione) The Taming of The Shrew (Kate) Hamlet (Ophelia) Cyrano de Bergerac (Roxanne) Uncle Vanya (Yelena) Old Times (Kate) Arms and The Man (Louka) How the Other Half Loves (Teresa) Vieux Carre (Jane Sparks) & Present Laughter (Joanna) among others.
Other LA Theater credits include: The Seagull (Matrix), Black Box (Odyssey), Phaedra (Getty Villa), Light & Pera Palas (Theatre@Boston Court), Kate Crackernuts (24th Street Theater) & Andromache in The Trojan Women at CBS Radford. She has played several roles for LA Theater Works, including Trifles with Amy Madigan. And with The Antaeus Company: Tonight at 8:30 & The Autumn Garden, along with numerous readings & workshops. Recent film work includes: The Words (with Bradley Cooper & Dennis Quaid), Take Me Home Tonight (with Topher Grace), King of California (with Michael Douglas) & Post Grad (with Michael O’Keefe & Carol Burnett.) Favorite television work: Lie to Me, Lincoln Heights, Medium, Criminal Minds, The “L” Word, Charmed, Judging Amy (recurring) & playing Queen Margaret from Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 3 on The West Wing.
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ACTOR INTERVIEWS
