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"Here's the thing: Robert is fantastic" Freihofer said. "He's just one of the good ones. He's a super nice guy who is really dedicated to helping actors get to the next level. He doesn't get to teach as often as he would like, and he is very much excited to come back to the Factory."

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Haas laid out a description of the weekend.

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THE BUSINESS - I discuss their working relationships with Agents, Managers, Casting Directors, Directors, Film Crew and Acting Coaches. We discuss the actor’s tools such as resume, headshot, demo reels and self tapes. Then I open the class to a Q&A in general.

 

GETTING TO KNOW THE ACTOR - We introduce ourselves and tell our goals in acting. We do physical work, trust exercises, acting warmups and improvisation.

 

SCENE STUDY - The students are giving a two-person scene which they perform in front of the class. We give notes and work on emotionally connecting to the circumstance, allowing the character to develop, build on the relationship with the opposing character, and answer important questions in the development of a scene.

 

THE AUDITION - I have a fun assignment that involves building a character and monologue around a photo. Then we return the next day to perform that character in class. We all examine the photo together, then watch the performance and discuss. We use what we learned the day before to further develop the character and scene.

 

ROBERT HAAS has been a Talent Representative for over 20 years – working at some of the top talent agencies in the industry – including ICM and the William Morris Agency. He has sought after and negotiated opportunities for actors in all areas of film and television. He has also discovered and represented some of the top star-talent of today’s entertainment industry.

 

Haas was born and raised in Los Angeles, were he began an early interest in the arts –including acting, writing and music. He attended California State University, Northridge where he received a BA in Political Science with a specialty in International Relations. He was accepted to the University of Louisville MFA Program in Theatre Arts, where he studied all aspects of theatre with an emphasis in Acting. While there, he starred in numerous productions, was Founder and Editor of STAGE LIFE, a Graduate Teacher in undergraduate Drama and interned at the highly respected Actors Theatre of Louisville. Haas spent the last summer of his MFA program at Yale University, studying Acting, Script Analysis and Stage Production. He attended lectures with theatre icons such as Lloyd Richards and August Wilson. It was here where Haas began to understand acting as both an art and a business; and in 1995 returned to Los Angeles.

 

As many Hollywood stories begin, Haas started in the mailroom at ICM. But it wasn’t long before he became Assistant to the Vice President, who represented A-list stars. Haas learned the business of representation, the art of negotiation and the necessities of industry relationships. When the President and VP’s of ICM moved to the William Morris Agency, Haas was asked to join as an agent in film and television.m As a Talent Agent, Haas has found his background to give him invaluable insight into spotting undiscovered talent. In addition, he has witnessed a massive industry-movement towards family entertainment. He has a passion for helping actors achieve their goals in both art and business.

 

The weekend is only open to 20 people maximum. Cost for the weekend is $425.   

To enroll in this class, click the Enroll button on the right.

For questions, email chris@actorfactory.net or call/text The Factory at 405.323.3354

GISTER METHOD

WEEKEND RETREAT

With Dr. Joe Alberti & Genoa Davidson

June 20-22, 2025

Friday, 7-9 pm, Saturday & Sunday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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There is a lot of excitement about the new Gister Method class at The Factory.  It's really blowing people's minds, according to the feedback. So before Dr. Joe Alberti leaves on a several-month sabbatical to teach the methodology in China, Denmark and the Czech Republic, we have decided to offer a concentrated version of his regular Factory class as a weekend retreat. This is a perfect opportunity for actors unable to attend an 8-week class to have the immersive effect of the transformative approach of Gister.

Based on the teaching of the late Earle Gister, former head of acting at Yale University, this weekend intensive focuses on training the actor in transformation, analysis of the text and putting the focus on a source outside of self. It uses Gister’s unique Principle of Action, which requires the actor to focus on affecting their scene partner rather than self-generating emotion. This creates a unique flow of energy between actors that is the key to powerful, effective acting.

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Designed for intermediate to advanced actors, this weekend will use text from modern theater to give students an immersive, working understanding of the methodology. Students will work in two-person scenes to learn how to deal with text analysis, character development and context. Many scenes will also include monologues, and the entire class will learn how to approach both monologues and soliloquies.

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This class will take your acting to the next level in a supportive environment that encourages the actor to make discoveries, take the focus off of self and connect with another actor in a profound way.   

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There is no bigger expert on Gister's teachings than Joe Alberti.  He even wrote the book on it:  Acting: The Gister Method (2015).  He possesses hundreds of hours of class recordings from Earle's classes, and also has in his possession every single teaching notebook from Earle's private collection--boxes and boxes--given to him by Earle's family after his passing in 2012.

 

This is the only certified Gister class in the country, and you can find it right here at The Actor Factory.

 

Only 12 people are permitted in the weekend retreat.  Cost is only $275.

 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

 

Joe Alberti (PhD) is a tenured Associate Professor of Voice and Performance at the University of Oklahoma. He attended the Yale School of Drama and wrote his dissertation as well as numerous books and peer-reviewed articles on the acting methodology of Earle R. Gister, former Associate Dean of YSD. His book, Acting: the Gister Method, is in its second printing and has been translated onto Chinese. He is a Designated Linklater Voice teacher, a certified Colaianni Speech and Dialect teacher, a certified Alexander Technique (AmSAT) teacher, and is currently completing certification in Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing. He is the Editor-in Chief of the AmSAT (Alexander Technique) Journal and is Editor-in-Chief of the international, OJS peer-reviewed Alexander Journal. He is co-author, with Genoa Davidson, of the interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed article, “The Other Side of Performance: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Listening for Voice and Speech Trainers,” published in the international Routledge Journal, the Voice and Speech Review.

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He has worked extensively at Shakespeare & Company, served as text coach at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and has been voice, speech, dialect, and text coach on many theatre productions and film projects. With Genoa Davidson, he wrote and directed the world-premiere production of The Trial, a modern play based on the Kafka novel set in the context of surveillance capitalism.  He is currently co-writing several new plays, including a play adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, The Transformation, and a two-character play about the life of John and Abigail Adams, My Dearest Friend. He has extensive coaching, directing and acting experience. His coaching work includes training and empowering non-actors and is informed in part by his work with actor Alan Alda, whose Foundation trains and empowers non-actors in communication, presence, and leadership using acting methods and techniques. He completed speech and dialect coaching on the feature film The King of Sunflowers, based on the life of internet genius Rob Ryan and is currently voice coaching the WB series The Librarians: The Next Chapter. He recently returned from China, where he taught a seven-day intensive on Earle Gister’s work at the Shanghai Theater Academy. He is currently at work on a book on reconstructing an historic dialect.

 

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Genoa Davidson is an actor, coach, voice teacher, Alexander Technique teacher (AmSAT) and writer who has attended The North Carolina School of the Arts (music and performance), St. John’s college (linguistics and philosophy) and KD Actor’s Studio in Dallas. She also completed the month-long actor-training intensive at Shakespeare & Company. She is the associate editor and production manager of The AmSAT (The American Society for the Alexander Technique) Journal and co-editor of the international, Open Source, peer-reviewed Alexander Journal. She is a certified Colaianni Speech Practitioner and is in the process of completing her certification in Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing. She is currently co-writing several new plays and screenplays, including a play adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, The Transformation.

She has published peer-reviewed papers on acting technique and interdisciplinary work, and numerous articles on the Alexander Technique. With Joe Alberti, she is currently at work on a new play about the lives of John and Abigail Adams, with a focus on a reconstructed historical dialect and the role of women in the Revolutionary War. She has just completed speech and dialect coaching on the feature film The King of Sunflowers, based on the life of internet genius Rob Ryan, filmed on location in Serbia.

After working with the actor Alan Alda, she and Dr. Alberti began to explore the use of actor training, especially improvisation, to work with non-actors who desired to improve their presence and vocal freedom and they now work in universities and corporations worldwide to help people become better communicators. She recently returned from China, where she assisted a seven-day intensive on Earle Gister’s work at the Shanghai Theater Academy. She is currently at work on a book on reconstructing a historic dialect.

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