Latest announcements of recent Showcases, Press and exposure of work done by students of the Berg Studios. For a list of students works and awards please refer to the Student Bookings page.
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JULY'S INDUSTRY SHOWCASE
This upcoming weekend, the Berg Studios will be hosting it's industry showcase. 21 students will be performing scenework for some of the industries most prominent agents, managers, and casting directors. For RSVP info, please visit the bookings page.
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2011 BACKSTAGE WEST AWARDS
2011 was another big year for the Studio at the Backstage West Awards. Check the article below for more info, including an informative interview with Berg about the class.
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2010 BACKSTAGE WEST AWARDS
This year Gregory Berger-Sobeck was awarded "Favorite Scene Study Teacher in Los Angeles" by Backstage West after polling 6,000 industry professionals. Was also selected in categories for Favorite Private Acting/Monologue Coach.
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BEVERLY HILLS FILM FESTIVAL
Gregory Berger-Sobeck and Student Lee Roy Kunz the Director, Writer & Star of the The Frankenstein Brothers. The film was one of the only 12 features to be selected by the Beverly Hills Film Festival 2011. The majority of the leads and players featured in the film were excusively from the Berg Studios.
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NYLON FEATURE - PORTIA DOUBLEDAY
Congratulations to student Portia Doubleday who is currently lead in TV series "Mr Sunshine" and starred as Sheeni Saunders in "Youth in Revolt" with Michael Cera and being rated in the top new faces of the future by Nylon Magazine Young Hollywood Issue. Here is a quote from the article:
"Currently, Doubleday is taking acting classes with Gregory Berger-Sobeck at the Berg Studios in order to learn more about the craft. "It's a never-ending process. There's always another character you can study. I said to my acting coach, 'I don't care that I can master this audition and go shoot something. What I care about is doing something that I've never done before, that I've worked really hard for'. Because those are the skills that are going to last and give you longevity. It isn't going to be a part you filmed". She is also close to booking other exciting, indie projects that she's not permitted to talk about right now, but her focus, she says are her classes. "I would rather do well in class than book a job," she says. "That's the honest truth".
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LOGAN HUFFMAN ACCOLADES
Congratulations to Berg Studio student Logan Huffman, current star of the hit ABC series "V" and recently rated in the "Top New Faces of the Future" by Nylon Magazine, in it's "Young Hollywood" Issue.
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FRONT PAGE COVERAGE
Berg Studio Showcase gets front page coverage on Back Stage West for showcases.
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BERG STUDIO SHOUTOUTS
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Role: Maverick in 'Happy Fliers School of Aeronautical Knowledge'
By Sarah Oakes
Actors have to decide for themselves how far they are willing to go for a part. When Dyonna Harrison heard that her audition for "Happy Fliers School of Aeronautical Knowledge" was the day after Thanksgiving at Whiteman Airport in L.A., she knew she was going to have to go far. "I had spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas," she says. "But I figured it was an audition, I wasn't going to blow it off, so I took that drive the six-hour drive back from Vegas straight to Whiteman Airport."
"When I saw [Harrison]," says the film's director, Larry Costales, "what struck me was the eagerness, the willingness to learn and take direction." But for the role of Maverick, a student at the flight school who becomes the instructor's right hand, he needed something special. "I wanted somebody who had a strong command presence," he says. "That's what we call it in the Marine Corps, somebody able to take charge. She had the command presence, but then she wasn't hard to work with. You know, sometimes that attitude comes across as being very stoic and very hard-edged, and she could turn that on and off. It was just a pleasure working with her."
Harrison moved to L.A. less than a year ago but has already landed several gigs. Perhaps most important, she has found just the right acting coach. "Gregory Berger of Berg Studios is probably the best acting coach in L.A.," she says. "There are so many of them. He really pulls the emotion out of you. Acting isn't acting with him. By the time you take him your script or your monologue, you will walk out of his studio being that character. You become that person. He gives such a new and fresh perspective on how you would even approach acting. I have learned so much under Gregory, and I am really blessed to have him. He's been such a catalyst for my growth as an actress, and I owe him. I owe him tremendously."
Harrison has no regrets about the hours she spent driving and movie watching to land her part. "It was, overall, a fantastic experience, and I would work with them any day of the week," she says. And she will: Costales and the producer-writer of "Happy Fliers," Mike Chinea, are already planning on working with her again, in a comedy they have in the works. "We're actually going to be writing a specific character for her," Costales says.
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By Simi Horwitz
In January of '08, I moved to L.A. for a job in the business world automotive. After jockeying a cubicle for a couple of years and gaining about 30 pounds, I figured I needed a hobby. I'm in L.A., right? Acting sounded fun, so I Googled "L.A. acting class" and sifted through the 8.6 million hits until I picked a couple that were close to my home. I checked out their websites, Yelp ratings, etc., and gave the Berg Studios a call. I audited the next night, and one year later I have an agent and I am about ready to throw that desk chair away forever.
For one, it would have been nice to know that Back Stage existed before I moved out here. B.S. (no pun intended) is full of helpful tidbits on headshots, agents, CDs, and, above all, professionalism. I enjoy the interviews with successful actors more than anything. An obscure name under a headline doesn't give much feeling of reliability, but a known actor really hits home with me (Kyra Sedgwick, June 10, 16, nice!).
I would have appreciated someone telling me that I may go on 100 auditions before I get a callback. I was lucky; I learned early on (thanks, Berg!) that if a CD doesn't like me, it's not me that they don't like; it's me in that role.
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HANNA HALL WINS BEST ACTRESS
Congratulations to student Hanna Hall for winning Best Actress at the Beverly Hills Film Festival 2010 for "Happiness Runs"
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BBC RADIO ONE INTERVIEW W/BERG
On Air Radio Interview with Berg Studios Teacher Gregory Berger-Sobeck and student Melissa Leigh. This interview was Broadcast in London and throughout England. Edited from Frances Cronin's special half-hour series feature - "The Story of Brits In Hollywood".
(mp3 Length: 1:28 minutes, size 1.39 MB)
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Gregory's additional comment to this interview:
"The comments in this interview are not to demean American actors in any way. It is simply to point out the value of serious consistent training which I believe is on the decline in this country. This explains why the English and Australian actors seem to be dominating the American market not only in film but now on television (just look at the results of the academy awards this past few years). I do not believe the English are intrinsically more talented at all. They are simply better trained.
The root of the decline in this country started ten years ago with the emergence of "quick fix" acting workshops, or casting workshops, from unqualified teachers, in lieu of serious training. As a result of this, ten years later, the Americans, who seemed to have opted for this quick fix course, now can not compete on an international market, I believe it is a direct result of the actors focus on what is essential for a sustained career. You hear all the time on how to get ahead in Hollywood by unemployed actors, the conversation does not usually revolve around training. If this is not the case then why is this phenomenon now happening at this exact time?
I am proud to be an American teacher ... one of my goals at the Berg Studios is to at least put American actors back in control of their own market."
--- Gregory Berger-Sobeck
STUDENT FILMS ON FOX PRIMETIME
Both short films below were aired on Fox Network's Primetime show
"On The Lot." They were directed by Berg Studio student Trever James. All the actors in both films are students from the Berg Studios.
The film "Teri" received the following comments from the show judges:
Michael Bay (Director of 'Transformers')
"The acting is more than competent, good comic pacing and editing..."
Gary Marshall (Director of 'Pretty Woman')
"The lead was excellent in this!"
Carrie Fischer (Actress in 'Star Wars')
"Very cute, very well made film"
" Teri " |
" A Golf Story " |
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WRITER'S BOOT CAMP VISITS STUDIO
Writers Boot Camp is a world class program to develop new writers as well as help build current projects with professional writers and producers. The head of development from the Writers Boot Camp recently came to the Berg Studios to audit the master class. As a result the actors in the studio were invited to join in the readings for the development of new scripts. Some of the Alumni of the Writers Boot Camp are:
David Levien, writer "Oceans Thirteen", and "Rounders".
Jeffery Leiber, writer "Lost".
Marti Nixon, Creator "Point Pleasant" and Co-Executive Producer "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".
Dana Klein, Producer "Friends".
Jonathon R. Hiatt, Producer Touchstone Television and Steven Bochco Productions.
Charles Murray, writer "Third Watch"
Shawn Schepps, writer/director "Weeds" and "Encino Man".
Melinda Metz, writer "Roswell".
Allison Robinson, writer "Dawsons Creek".
Bryan Oh, writer "O.C.".
Hadley Davis, writer "Spin City" and "Scrubs".
Cindy Chupack, writer and Exec Producer "Sex and the City" and "Everybody Loves Raymond".
Lesli Linka Glatter, writer "Grey's Anatomy".
There's many more! The website is WritersBootCamp.com
Congratulations to everyone who read at the Writers Boot Camp, it was a great success. The next reading for new scripts in development will be in January.
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STUDIO AS A THEATRE CONTINUES
"Eleemosynary," a play acted in by students of the Berg Studios, has recently opened to rave reviews. During it's string of performances, the production earned a great deal of positive press, helping to further pave the path for the Studio as a prominent theatre venue in Los Angeles. Below is an excerpt from a recent review: (read the full article here)
"Casitas Avenue in Atwater Village is making a bid to become the next theatre row, or at least its little cousin, with several of the well known theatre companies setting up shop there... this story soars to a level that is often attempted but not often achieved in theatre. The tight direction by Steve Jarrard and the strong empathy the actors display for the characters makes this one of the outstanding presentations we have seen so far this year."
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INDUSTRY SHOWCASE
Industry Showcase held at the Berg Studios. Atwater Crossing ATX.
All invited Managers, Agents and Casting Directors please RSVP by phoning
323-666-3382. General attendance accepted on space availabilty.
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