As a student and teacher I have had the good fortune to study with and observe a number of master teachers. They have profoundly affected my life and my approach to teaching. I studied movement, mime, and masks with Jacques Lecoq in Paris. While teaching at the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles, I attended Miss Adler’s classes and worked closely with one of her master teachers. As an actor, director, and artistic director, I have worked with many fine actors, directors, and playwrights who have taught me as we worked in performance situations. In a very different vein, I had the opportunity to work with Buck Brannaman, the very real and remarkable inspiration for the book and movie, The Horse Whisperer. I studied fencing with a Hungarian fencing master and in my aikido training I worked with remarkable teachers in the hand and sword arts.
To celebrate the opening of the movie Buck, which is a documentary on the live and work of Buck Brannaman, I want to tell you a story of how this incredible teacher and horse trainer taught me about concentration, mindfulness, and patience, all of which are essential skills for acting.
To tell the whole story will take two weeks. So I hope you’ll come back next week for part 2 and that you’ll see the movie if it plays in your area.
Eric Barr. All rights reserved
