Bruhanski Acting Studio

04/25/2017

***To all my Facebook friends, please note I am redesigning the bruhanski.com website. Please contact me via facebook or message me to request my personal email address***

I am writing this to announce that after 37 years, The Bruhanski Acting Studio will be closing. To the thousands of men and women who I have been privileged to teach, work with and mentor; I thank you for your trust and commitment.

To those who have pursued acting as their lives' work, and have integrated some of the ideas and techniques, explored at the Studio, into their lives as actors, I applaud your bravery, commitment and perseverance. I am proud to have played some part in the enrichment of your artistic tool kit and the trajectory of your careers.

To those who have participated in classes offered at the Studio over the years, and have not pursued an acting career, please know that it is my sincerest hope that your experience was positive and on some level(s) enriched your lives personally and professionally.

To those men and women who came into my life initially as students and over decades have become lifelong friends and extended family, please know that I love and value you more than I can possibly express and feel truly blessed by your love, loyalty, friendship and presence in my life.

And finally, to quell any rumors or dire speculations, I am, all things considered, in reasonably good health and of sound mind, in spite of the wears and tears of aging and the odd ancestor having urinated in my gene pool. I am optimistic about my future, have projects I feel enthusiastic about pursuing, adventures I look forward to, people I want to meet, learn from and collaborate with, books to read and perhaps one or two to write; and cherished relationships with family and friends of long standing that need to be honored and nurtured. It is my intention to learn, and grow and continue to create.

To answer the question- why am I closing the Studio now? The simple, honest answer is....because deep down inside in my heart and my mind...... I know....it is time.

With love and gratitude,

Alex Bruhanski

12/23/2014

One day seminar at the Studio this Sunday December 28: The Business of the Business of Acting. Plus new semester begins January 5th. See bruhanski.com for details.

03/11/2013

Last Friday's Film Night was a homage to the late great Ruth Gordon. We showed the 1968 Polanski horror great Rosemary’s Baby, which earned Ms. Gordon a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and followed it with director Hal Ashby’s 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude. Head on down this Friday for more cinematic masterpieces as part of our ongoing seminar in Cinematic Literacy. 6:45 and 9:30pm Fridays. Limited seating. No reservations. Admission on a first come, first served basis. bruhanski.com/acting-classes/

02/24/2013

This past Friday, we launched Film Night at the Studio with screenings of Raging Bull (1980) and One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest (1975). Raging Bull is a cinematic masterpiece with Robert De Niro delivering one of the greatest screen performances of all time, playing Jake Lamotta. The film can be considered a boxing film and a bio-pic, yet manages to both embrace and transcend both genres by the power of its artistry and performance, earning De Niro a well deserved Best Actor award. It was a work of total melding of actor and role. The film is legendary for DeNiro’s preparation for the part, training as a boxer to the point where he was considered to be among the top twenty middleweights at that time, and then famously putting on sixty pounds to portray the aging and dissolute LaMotta twenty years later. The film also introduced Cathy Moriarty as Lamotta’s teenaged wife, brutalized by him and eventually being able to leave him. Raging Bull was also the breakthrough film for Joe Pesci as Joey, Jake’s brother and trainer. Pesci was spot on perfect.

Cuckoo’s Nest shows a young Jack Nicholson at his best as Randall P. McMurphy, the hard drinking, fighting, partying anti-hero of the screen adaptation of Ken Kessey’s novel. McMurphy has conned his way into a mental hospital to avoid doing time in a prison work camp, and finds himself in a deadly battle of wills with the icy, passive aggressive Nurse Ratched, brilliantly played by Louise Fletcher. Both Nicholson and Fletcher brought home Best Actor Oscars that year. The film also won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and a Best Director Award for Milos Forman. It was the second time in Oscar history that a film one all five top awards.The ensemble cast of mental institution inmates/patients included newcomers Christopher Lloyd and Danny Devito. Forman insisted that actors be very specific about the nature of their characters mental illness and the research and dedication of the entire ensemble was extraordinary as were the results that showed up on screen.

It was a great launch of Film Night Fridays at the Studio. Check it out if you’re interested in seeing some of the greatest performances ever put on screen. Screenings Fridays at 6:45 PM and 10:00 PM. Limited seating. First come first served. No reservations. No prior notice of what films will be shown. Be surprised. Be amazed. Be inspired.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvZ3cFO9f3I

MacMurphy finds out what he's dealing with as the boys gang up on Mr. Harding for discussing his marital problems at the prodding of Nurse Ratched. Mr. Hardi...

02/23/2013

http://bruhanski.com/and-the-oscar-goes-to/

“I found that the best way to handle [moviemakers] was to hang medals all over them. If I got them cups and awards they’d kill themselves to produce what I wanted. That’s why the Academy Award was created.”- Louis B. Mayer, founder of MGM

02/17/2013

New weekly Seminar beginning Friday, February 22!

Film Night: The Great Screen Performances is an ongoing seminar in Cinematic Literacy. Showcasing cinematic masterpieces, this seminar gives actors an opportunity to view and learn about some of the greatest screen performances ever put on film. A brief talk will precede each showing, discussing the film, director, and actors. Fridays, 6:45 & 9:30pm. Current Studio Members: $5; Former Studio Members: $6; General Public: $7. See http://bruhanski.com/acting-classes/ for full description.

02/04/2013

Today marks what would have been the 124th birthday of actor, teacher, and director Richard Boleslavsky.

Boleslavsky trained at the Moscow Art Theatre Company, and, after immigrating to America, is best known for founding the American Laboratory Theatre in New York in 1923. It was here he introduced Stanislavski’s naturalistic approaches to the American actor; his most noted work includes his teaching of what he called “affective memory”, the basis of what would be termed “The Method”. Students of Boleslavsky included Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler and Harold Clurman, founders the legendary Group Theatre Company and all destined to emerge as the most iconic acting teachers of their time.

Boleslavsky wrote a classic little book that is packed with hugely significant ideas for the actor, called ''Acting: The First Six Lessons''. It’s not an easy read, but definitely worth hunting down and poring through.

Boleslavky’s work is still relevant to today’s actor and is foundational to contemporary acting approaches. He should indeed be read, honored and remembered. So, fellow thespians, let’s take a moment to bow our heads, honor a part of our artistic heritage, lift a glass and blow out some candles in remembrance of Richard Boleslavsky.

11/19/2012

11/08/2012

New blog post, the first of a series of Audition tips. What do you think? Did Sir John Gielgud have a point?

http://bruhanski.com/auditions-how-what-we-think-can-determine-the-outcome/

It is said, and I believe rightly so, that in the audition process, the decision is frequently made within the first five seconds of the actor entering the room. Sometimes it all comes down to how we walk in the door. Our energy, approach and mind set all either consciously or unconsciously register...

11/07/2012

Showcase 2012: November 19th 8:00 pm.

The Studio is pleased to present a showcase featuring the work of the following actors:

Ryan Bell
Leslie Brownlee
Dejan Loyola
Larry MacDonald
Albert Sturm

10/31/2012

Things are happening! 10 ft screen installed in the Studio, Projector on its way, and looking forward to launching a Studio Film Club where some of the greatest performances ever rendered on screen will be shown. More to come!

10/30/2012

Thanks to those students who recently submitted Student Comments for the website! http://bruhanski.com/students-comments/

The Bruhanski Acting Studio is the only place I ever studied. Alex is a master at providing tools for actors and instilling respect for the profession and oneself in it. I recommend it for actors at any level.