How Transformational Acting Can Provoke Your Storytelling

From Carnegie Mellon to Juilliard to CalArts, my guest today has served on the faculties of some prestigious institutions. Peter Frisch, is a nationally-recognized director, producer and instructor, teaching hundreds of actors across the U.S. and has poured many hours into television work and theater productions. With that type of background, you know he has plenty of juicy storytelling insights and anecdotes to share.

During my discussion with Peter, we examine the concept of play when practicing the storytelling craft. He also takes us on an exploration through static and dynamic perspective, two different acting styles and which is directly related to effective storytelling. We also dig into storytelling through the lens of personality versus transformational actors (even naming some names). Along the way, he peppers his own stories from the stage which you won’t want to miss.

• Why story can serve as a medium for guidance and change
• How non-actors can apply stage principals to enhance storytelling
• How play becomes essential in the craft of storytelling

Peter Frisch’s work has taken him from coast to coast and across borders. He’s directed 160 regional theater and New York-based productions, as well as produced 150 hours of network television. He was Head of Drama at Carnegie Mellon and has served on the conservatory faculty of The Juilliard School, CalArts, Harvard University, and Boston University.

Peter served as Producer of the CBS soap The Young and the Restless and Fox Network’s Tribes in Los Angeles. He was also the Executive Director of The Granada Theater and the Granada Restoration in Santa Barbara, Resident Director with the Berkshire Theatre Festival and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Director of American Playwrights Theatre in Washington D.C. Along with Studs Terkel, he co-authored American Dreams which played in New York and across the U.S. and Canada.

Aside from being widely published in journals, Peter’s accolades include Joseph Jefferson, Outer Circle, Helen Hayes, and American Express/Kennedy Center Awards. He even won a “Best of the Fest” Award at the Seattle Film Festival for his macabre comedy Deadication.

Currently, he has a private practice that has taught hundreds of actors in Boston, New York, and L.A. and now offers actor classes in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. He also directs a theater company in Santa Barbara and has a book, The Transformational Actor, coming soon which will be available on April 1, 2021.

• The Frisch Approach: Transformational Acting
• Peter Frisch on Facebook
• @storytellingschool on Instagram
• @storytellingSchool on Facebook