Many of us try to intellectualize our way into the work. We analyze, analyze, analyze, until we think we understand the character intimately. Then when the cameras are rolling or the curtain opens, we find ourselves stuck in the analysis, wondering why we feel stiff and disconnected.

Inside you lies the answer. You have an untapped reservoir of pure life force in your subconscious. It lies behind the ego and the judgements you have of yourself.

Through dreamwork we gain access to that untapped reservoir, and the messages sent to us by our dreams lead to work that is fresh, alive, unexpected. Dreamwork is the panacea to analysis paralysis.

I’ve been teaching and practicing dreamwork for over 25 years, and I’ve trained extensively with Sandra Seacat and Kim Gillingham.

A few of the prominent actors who practice dreamwork are:

Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern, Harvey Keitel, Jessica Lang, Mickey Rourke, Aaron Eckhardt and Sandra Oh.

In this course, we will be layering dreamwork on a Meisner foundation and working with family Archetypes as we dive into Sam Shepard’s classic play True West.

We will be making his characters gender fluid, as the struggle for power between these two brothers is universal and translates easily to any gender.

Before class please READ TRUE WEST and bring a printed copy with you to class.

DOWNLOAD THE SCRIPT HERE

Also, please prepare this dream assignment and bring it on the first day of class.

DREAM ASSIGNMENT ____________________________________________________

Before you go to sleep, write out the following letter to yourself in a journal.

Dear Inner Self,                                                               (Time and date)
If it is your will, please reveal to me in a dream tonight what you would like me to know about True West by Sam Shepard so that I may work on this play in a way that will bring me closer to you.

With Care and Respect,

(Your name)

P.S. Please help me to remember and write down my dream when I wake up.

Leave a pen and notebook by your bed. First thing when you wake up, write down all aspects of your dream that you can remember. If you have no dream or just a single image, write it down or even just your first waking thoughts and feelings. Trust the process.

Give your dreams permission to help you become aware of areas where you struggle for power in your life, and journal about feelings that arise as you read the play.

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This promises to be a transformational workshop that will inject life back into your work. Join us.