The Alchemy of Performance: 7-Week Actor’s Workshop

Performance is alchemy. It transforms will into action, emotion into meaning, thought into imagination, and body into presence. At Threshold Acting Studio in Hollywood, we train actors to harness the raw elements of their craft and fuse them into specific, powerful and truthful performances.

This 7-week foundation course blends classical acting tools (given circumstances, objectives, beats, tactics, obstacles, truth and presence) with Threshold Acting Studio’s 7 principles of performance. Together, they form a unique and complete training journey that strengthens your instrument and deepens your artistry. Developed and led by Christian Martin, a classically trained actor and experienced teacher, mentored by the likes of Larry Moss and Mark Rylance.

Date: Saturdays, January 10 - February 21

Duration: 7 weeks in total

Time: 10am - 1:30pm

Location: 6646 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 207

Instructor: Christian Martin

Session Dates:

January 10 - 10am - 1:30pm
January 17 - 10am - 1:30pm
January 24 - 10am - 1:30pm
January 31 - 10am - 1:30pm
February 7 - 10am - 1:30pm
February 14 - 10am - 1:30pm
February 21 - 10am - 1:30pm

The 7 Principles of Performance
◦ Fire – Will & Intention
◦ Water – Emotion & Meaning
◦ Air – Intellect & Imagination
◦ Earth – Body & Presence
◦ Polarity – Contrast & Tension
◦ Rhythm – Pulse & Sound
◦ Correspondence – Inner & Outer Truth

Scene Study Payoff → In the final weeks, you’ll bring all 7 principles into scenes from great playwrights (Shanley, Hare, Wilson, McNally, Auburn, and more).

A Boutique Studio Experience → Intimate setting, personalized feedback, structured progression.

Weekly Stage Time → Seats are limited, so you work every single week.

Threshold Acting Studio’s 7-Week Foundation Course is designed for actors at any stage of their journey.

• New to acting? You’ll gain a strong foundation in tools, techniques, and stage presence while discovering your unique voice.

• Already training? You’ll sharpen your craft, expand your range, and deepen your understanding of performance.

• Working professionally? You’ll challenge old habits, reinvigorate your process, and integrate a new framework that brings fresh life to your work.

This is a complete foundation course—structured, progressive, and designed to meet you exactly where you are, while pushing you toward your next level.

$490 for 7 weeks

“This being my first acting class, I'm realizing how difficult and challenging acting truly is. Threshold Acting Studio is a safe place to learn and grow as an Actor. Christian provides the tools, experience, and a whole lot of passion for the craft. It makes me feel like I stumbled upon a goldmine of talent.”
- Bobby Y.

“Christian pushes each one of us in unique ways and right when you think you're done, he will push you again. Christian is clearly doing something different than I have ever experienced. I truly feel I am learning from a master.”
- Annette P.

Contact us at aW5mbyB8IHRocmVzaG9sZGFjdGluZ3N0dWRpbyAhIGNvbQ==

Info: Ignite your instrument. Through impulse drills and fiery objectives, you’ll learn to act on instinct,

pursue bold choices, and fuel your work with unshakable intention.

Info: Tap into your unique flow. Through exercises in emotional current and deep listening, you’ll

learn to act with vulnerability, adaptability and impassioned feeling.

We begin to integrate Fire + Water, exploring how intention moves through emotion.

Info: Sharpen your clarity of thought. Through script analysis that sharpens the intellect and

improvisations that stimulate the mind, you’ll expand your cognition and imagination.

We now integrate Fire + Water + Air, building momentum as will, emotion, and imagination

interweave into creative inspiration.

Info: Ground your craft. Through voice, breath, and body exercises, you’ll build gravitas, presence,

stillness, and rootedness, to anchor performance in the moment.

We integrate Fire + Water + Air + Earth, creating a fully embodied actor.

Info: Apply will, emotion, imagination, and presence to scene work while exploring dramatic

opposites—positive and negative, strength and vulnerability, masculine and feminine, sympathy and antipathy, comedy and tragedy. All four elements now serve as the foundation for exploring contrast and tension in scene study.

Info: Discover the music of performance. Explore rhythm and pacing, beats and tempo, sound and silence in scene work. Learn how rhythm shapes acting and keeps performance alive.

We integrate Polarity with the four elements, discovering how contrast dances within rhythm.

Info: Integration. Final scene presentations bring all 7 principles together. Actors align inner truth with outer expression, embodying the full alchemy of performance. This final week integrates all previous principles into a single, cohesive approach to acting.

Also check out other Arts events in Los Angeles, Theatre events in Los Angeles, Workshops in Los Angeles.