A continuing series of online Master Acting Classes, Webinars and Workshops focused on the Major Plays of Anton Chekhov.
A continuing series of online Master Acting Classes, Webinars and Workshops focused on the Major Plays of Anton Chekhov.
Bruce Katzman is an Actor, a Teacher and a Director, currently living in Los Angeles.
In his lifetime as an actor he has performed in over 100 plays, from comedies and dramas to musicals and spectacles, appearing onstage with such stars as Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Raul Julia, Tony Randall, Lynn Redgrave and Leslie Uggams, and playing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, off-off Broadway and in regional theaters. He has more than 60 IMDb credits in a variety of Film and TV appearances, working with such directors as Ridley Scott, Rob Reiner and Ava DuVernay.
A graduate of the Yale School of Drama with an MFA in Acting, Bruce has been training actors for 35 years, specializing in the plays of Anton Chekhov and Shakespeare, teaching at such institutions as Yale School of Drama, Princeton, University of Scranton, The Actors Center of New York, The College of William and Mary, the British-American Drama Academy (BADA), the Stella Adler Studio (NYC) and the Stella Adler Academy (Los Angeles) and the Art of Acting Studio (LA). In addition, he has conducted workshops on the plays of Chekhov internationally, in Denmark, Buenos Aires and Oxford, England.
Bruce has directed plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Caryl Churchill, Dale Wasserman, and Eric Overmyer to name but a few.
…He is a gifted, giving, disciplined teacher. He is also an experienced actor and director, who knows whereof he speaks about the profession, and about one’s life as an artist. Bruce Katzman will serve your students well.
J. Michael Miller
President
The Actors Center
…A more qualified acting teacher would be hard to imagine. Rooted in an Adlerian interpretation of Stanislavsky technique, tempered with the specific action based approach of Paul Mann via Earle Gister, actively engaged in the art of acting and theater making, Bruce Katzman was one of a kind and continues to be so…… Bruce Katzman is, in my mind, among the most highly qualified teachers we have in America and would be an enormous boon to any educational program. I therefore recommend him to you whole heartedly and without reservation.
Tom Oppenheim, Director Stella Adler Studio (NYC)
…His exquisitely thought out method helps the actor to discover the truth of each character’s journey…
As always with Bruce, his detailed approach to acting digs deep into the needs of the characters guiding actors to make the most specific choices in the text. His exquisitely thought out method helps the actor to discover the truth of each character’s journey and how they fit into the world of the play. By offering very specific questions designed to lead them to their own awakening and clarity, the actors will discover it for themselves and then they make clear and often surprising choices, based on a deeper understanding of the text. Additionally Bruce’s calm and kindly method of teaching provides the actor with an immensely creative and safe environment that elevates their confidence in themselves. Through his delicious humor and clear insights into each actor’s potential he guides them through the process of discovery, which is why so many actors enjoy working with him. We learn from him how to be a better actor and a deeper thinker in our analytical process. I can not think of a better teacher and I learn from him every time we work together.
Elizabeth Huffman, Artistic Director
Chain Reaction Theatre, Portland Oregon
The exploration of Chekhov’s plays in Bruce’s class felt more like an investigative journalism class. Bruce was so precise and accurate in lifting the veil of mystery of those plays. We looked for the clues in the text that provided us with the information that wasn’t explicitly in the play, covering the passage of time and what happened to the characters in between acts.
Jake Cohen, student @ Stella Adler-LA
In 2017 Bruce taught me Chekov and Shakespeare in the Stella Adler Academy of acting and Theatre in Hollywood.
What an enlightening experience it was and both so unique.
Through his meticulous ability to communicate the depth of Chekhov I felt my knowledge grow quickly and with that my confidence. Bruce was then able to teach me to ‘give it away’ regarding my actions and allowed me to affect my partner to much greater effect. Jenn McGurk, acting student, Stella Adler-LA
“I have taken Chekov and Introduction to Shakespeare with Bruce in 2013. He taught me many things and I have grown so much by learning from Bruce as an actress and as a human being. Bruce’s approach to acting and techniques are clear and can be applied right away to the work in all area of acting (film, theater, TV. Series). He inspires me and many actors to fall in love with the depth, beauty and the complexities of Chekhov’s and Shakespeare’s. Since English is not my first language, Bruce introduced me to the world of these great writers with understanding and patient. His passion and great understanding of the texts helps me discover many aspects of the works. He encouraged us to keep working and discovering new things which I continued to do throughout my life. Outside of the class, Bruce has been very supportive and encouraging. He cares about students’ well-being and always available and enthusiastic when we need guidance from him. In conclusion, I am grateful to have Bruce as my acting teacher. His works as an acting teacher continue to inspire me.”
Natvara Hongsuwan
(Actress based in Bangkok Thailand)
The Chekhov workshop was the most enlightening and rigorous scene study class I’d experienced to that point and since. The discipline and skills he instilled for breaking down and reconstructing action and character have been lasting and pliable to all other plays, scripts, and parts I’ve come across. Don Boughton, actor and director, Los Angeles
