​Maggie Blair Smith

My philosophy is pretty simple:

 

1. Anyone can act.

2. Those with natural talent can and will be surpassed by those that put in the work.

3. It takes building a toolbox of techniques to find the best methods to help you get to where you want to go.

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I believe in teaching students as a whole, rather than trying to shape them into a specific kind of performer. Through my experiences as a teacher and student, I’ve seen the pressures that students are put under to be perfect. My goal is to teach new ways to approach characters through movement, imagination, and analysis. 

 

In teaching, my main movement technique focuses are Laban movement and Unrehearsed Shakespeare, both of which I have been using for fifteen years. I am also comfortable teaching animal work, body centers, and devised theatre.

 

For more internal work, I have taught aspects of several techniques that I have studied over the years. Previously, I had a focus on the Russian-style Stanislavski training I received at the Moscow Art Theatre, which involves using theatre games and etudes to teach basic acting vocabulary in a way that is more accessible to kinesthetic and verbal learners. I am currently reshaping how I communicate this information in light of the second invasion of Ukraine, as I do not stand by the current Russian regime.