Joshua Bolla Acting Coaching
About
My coaching is holistic in nature. That is to say that I don't believe acting is a purely intellectual excerise there are a number of factors. I work with my students individually to assess and help with their specific needs. I help train the voice, teach techniques, do scene work, help break emtoional blocks, or provide training physically to get my students where they need to be. I even can teach Stage Combat! Long story made short? I will make sure you get what you need and make sure your sessions will work for you specifically and efficiently.
I love sharing the craft of acting with students. It's a truly fascinating practice and it just becomes more enjoyable the deeper you get. Personally I am passionate about acting and I love sharing that passion with my students. I love watching them progress and become true professionals. Lastly I also enjoy a challenge, figuring out how best to my students to me is an extremely gratifying eperience because when your lessons click with them? It can be a beautiful thing.
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
The first order of business is to asses my student's goals. I need to know what the student intends to get from my tutoring. Then we asses current level of skill. This can take a couple of different forms, I tend to prefer giving a test such as preparing a monologue or a scene for my first visit to see where the student is in his journey. Then after our first lesson I design a plan to work with the student to reach their goal. The plan is flexible of course to the student needs but it is a helpful guide.
From there I work with the current students knowledge, I teach proper usage of voice including how to take care of said voice and of course the proper series of stretches and excersises to properly use the voice. This is generally a 20 minute warmup each session. From there I prefer to go into scene work I teach a number of different acting techniques which I wrap into scene study work. As I said the exact session is always in flux however, as I will mold it to whatever the actor needs right at that moment.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have an MFA in performing arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design, the terminal degree for my field. I am well versed in the most popular acting techniques in America and posess years of real world experience as a performing actor.
I am also very experienced with tutoring I have been tutoring professionally as a side job for the last 10 years through college and now in my proffessional life. My tutoring experience includes but is not limited to: sat prep, subject tutoring from 1st grade - highschool, advanced college subject tutoring in economics, history, and calculus, and of course acting in a variety of techniques.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
pricing gennerally starts at 60 dollars an hour. Unless already a student and in special circumstances I generally do not prefer to do 30 minute sessions as in my opinion acting coaching needs dedicated blocks of time. To encourage this I offer a discount of 15 dollars for the second hour of a session. I offer a free consultation before any less gets started as well of course.
to simplify:
$60 an hour $45 for the second hour of that session
How did you get started teaching?
I've always been someone who loves learning. From an early age I've found the learning and understanding of complex concepts to be it's own reward. My move into tutoring is a natural extension of this, I tutor things that I am truly passionate about. So in tutoring I share this passion for the subject with others.
Acting is my current tutoring focus and is also my career and I found that helping my fellow classmates, when I was getting my degree, to be extremely enriching. Not just to help others but to increase my own knowledge and understanding of the craft, so I began focusing on helping others get where they wanted in their technique.
What types of students have you worked with?
I have worked with the full gambit of students. Students both children and adults just starting their practice in acting, to highly advanced actors who just want some fine tweaking in their own skills. I work well with children in teaching them the basics though also know how to demand the exemplary work that will be required in the professional industry. Adult or child, novice or veteran I hone my style and work to what the student needs when they need it.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I was able to appear in a film in early febuary. It ended up being a night shoot during a bitter cold snap in a field in Lithuania Georgia. I felt so privilege despite that to be doing what I love with several other extremely talent working actors. It was an action sequence and I was able to practice my film combat skills which is always alot of fun.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Experiment, not all teachers will click with you, if you don't feel like you can work together then move on and find someone who will. The guy with the most credentials and prestige may not work with your style, and thats ok. Look for coaches interested in learning who you are and working FOR YOU. Demand a coach that is willing to make an effort to help you specifically not a standard course.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Know what you want to gain from this coaching. We all want to get better but think about where and how you specifically want to get better. I can work with you faster I you have this goal in mind instead of making me draw it out. If you really don't know that's fine too but then having goals of what kind of actor you want to be will be helpful too.