​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 a more inside-out approach, I teach Slavic-style Stanislavski*. I had the privilege of studying at the Moscow Art Theatre School in college, and continue to teach that work now.

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*While I continue to teach the work that I learned in Russia, I do not stand with the Russian regime. Despite previous plans to move to Moscow, I have spoken out against it since the first invasion of Ukraine and its implementation of the anti-gay propaganda laws. If you are interested in learning this work, I suggest finding places to donate to the Ukrainian war effort through the following website: https://war.ukraine.ua/donate/