JILL CLAYBURGH RIP - REMEMBRANCE

Jill Clayburgh has passed away at 66 after a long battle with leukemia.

I took a master class (acting with camera) with Jill at HB Studio some years ago. She was a brilliant and supportive teacher. She had elegance and grace. Jill had been a student of Uta Hagen, and carried on HB Studio's great tradition of teaching the art of naturalistic, rich performance. Sometimes she was kind and sometimes she was strict -- especially strict, it seemed to me, with women who did not find all the richness possible in their roles.

She sometimes spoke, in an incidental way during the class, with warmth and pride about her family. (Her husband was David Rabe the playwright. Her daughter, Lily Rabe, has been a steadily rising actress, and did great work as Portia this summer in The Merchant of Venice for Shakespeare in the Park. Lily just left the previews of Merchant of Venice on Broadway for a few days to be with her mother.)

In the class, Jill encouraged me in some projects I was working on, even allowing me to bring in an actress that I was working with (who was not at HB) and coaching us before a performance. She was one of the very finest and most influential acting teachers I ever had.

I saw her in a number of plays after the class. She was always brilliant... especially memorable were her work in Barefoot in the Park and A Naked Girl On The Appian Way.

One fond memory I have: I waited for her at the stage-door after Barefoot, and she greeted me with such warmth, it pleases me to this day.

Her career in theater, film and TV has been immense:

JILL CLAYBURGH in WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Clayburgh

JILL CLAYBURGH in IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001049/

JILL CLAYBURGH in IBDB
http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=35535

JILL CLAYBURGH in Off-Broadway Lortel Archives
http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=Jill&last=Clayburgh&middle=


I will miss her.

PHOTOS FROM HB'S STILLER AND MEARA GALA

Presentation of the Award!
Jerry Stiller, Eli Wallach, Anne Meara and Anne JacksonAll photos: by Eric Roffman from the Gala for QPORIT
The HB Studio -- one of New York's oldest acting studios -- was founded in 1945 by renowned actor Herbert Berghof. He was joined in 1948 by the legendary actress Uta Hagen. The two master teachers trained several generations of master actors in theater, theatre and film. On Monday, Nov 10, the HB Studio and the HB Playwrights Foundation honored Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara at a benefit Gala.


Jerry Stiller and Edith Meeks, Executive Director
Speakers, especially Jerry and Anne in their remarks, honored the tradition of the studio. Anne remembered her studies with great fondness. Jerry celebrated Herbert Berghof's passion for theater, recalling the time Berghof called him at two in the morning to come down to the studio to study, work on and read a new, strange play (Waiting for Godot). He remembered how Uta Hagen was nice, tough. After his audition, while accepting him into her acting class, Uta suggested that Jerry also work on keeping his day job.




Ben Stiller

Among the many speakers, Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller recalled what it was like to be brought up in a loving house with parents who were performers.

Jerry Stiller
Talking about bringing up children, Jerry mentioned that when Amy was about two, he was rehearsing a sketch called "I Hate You" with Anne and they were screaming at each other. When Amy came out of her bedroom, all upset, Jerry and Anne explained that they were rehearsing. Later when they had a real fight, Amy came out cheerfully to say... "You're rehearsing!"



Eli Wallach & Anne Jackson

The award was presented by Stiller and Meara's old friends, Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson. Anne Jackson is still actively teaching at HB Studio. Many distinguished alumni of the Berghof-Hagen era have taught at the school, including Bill Hickey, actress Jill Clayburgh and screen writer Tracey Jackson (whose "Confessions of a Shopaholic" is scheduled for release in Feb 2009).


Letty Ferrer, Uta Hagen's daughter,
an active member of the HB Staff,
was among the guests.


---
Anne Meara, David Amram and Ben Stiller

Among the entertainments at the Gala was a terrific, long concert by David Amram -- accompanied by his son and daughter in law.


Doris Roberts

Doris Roberts, an old friend of Stiller and Meara, was among the speakers.

Sam Groom
In the post Berghof-Hagen era, The HB Studio continues to evolve. Sam Groom, a link between the B-H era and the current world, teaches a class in acting for the camera. Anything other than pure theatre was very rare in the olde days.





Snezhana Chernova

Snezhana Chernova, a brilliant actress, acting teacher, and member of the staff, and her husband Aleksey Burago, who teaches directing, both of whom were trained in Russia (not at HB with Hagen & Berghof), are among the new generation at HB Studio. With his unique energy and style, Aleksey renews the tradition of passion for theater!

Julia Wolfermann


Performer Denusia Trevino

Julia and Denusia are members of a new generation of actors studying at HB and working with the HB Playwrights Foundation. At the Gala, Denusia presented an excerpt from the one-woman show she is developing at HB, about the immigrant experience.

Posters of productions with legendary directors, actors and playwrights line the walls of the Playwrights Foundation Theatre next door to the studio. Continuously operating through the years, recent productions have included a new adaptation of Chekhov's stories by Aleksey Burago, and work directed by Tony Award winning Jack Hofsiss, who also, currently, teaches directing at HB.

The re-assertion of the values of Hagen and Bergof and their passion for acting and theater were the spirit of the remarks by Stiller and Meara, and were then echoed in the comments of their children, Ben and Amy. As this Benefit Gala is a link to the past, it is the next generation... it is the evolution of HB into the future that will benefit!

STILLER AND MEARA HONORED BY HB STUDIO

For the story of this event and a gallery of photos, see the post just above:

Nov 12, 2008: Photos from HB's Stiller & Meara Gala!
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2008/11/photos-from-hbs-stiller-and-meara-gala.html



The invitation to the Stiller & Meara Gala perched on my desktop

HB Studio & HB Playwrights Foundation will host

A Gala Benefit to Honor Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2008 at 6:00 P.M.
at The Players, 16 Gramercy Park South



For the story of this event and a gallery of photos, see the post just above:

Nov 12, 2008: Photos from HB's Stiller & Meara Gala!
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2008/11/photos-from-hbs-stiller-and-meara-gala.html

I was lucky enough to take the class that Jerry Stiller taught one semester at the HB Studio. And on days he couldn't make it to class, I was also lucky enough to study with Anne Meara, who came in to substitute for him.

He was a kind and generous teacher. Nice to everyone, although he never liked my "English accent" in my scene from "The Real Thing". (I put "English accent" in quotes because he was right... I never did have a real English accent.)

It was a very good class. I had a wonderful time working on scenes with Isabelle Fokine (grandaughter of the great choreographer), perhaps the most charismatic scene partner I've ever had; and there were many other fine students in the class.

Stiller used free-form improvs and scene study, and remembrances of his own days as a student. When one student took off his shirt for a gritty scene, he talked about Uta Hagen's objections to Steve McQueen who, Stiller suggested, seemed to almost always act with his shirt off. Anne Meara was gently focussed on getting to the emotional heart of a relationship, often using targetted improvisation to zero in on the truth of a scene.

I was most impressed because, more so than perhaps any other teachers I've had at HB (and I've studied there off and on for decades with many teachers -- it's a great place!), they were people with a generous and deeply human warmth.

Here's more information about the benefit, and the recipients of the honors:

The Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio and the HB Playwrights Foundation will host a tribute to the acclaimed and accomplished actor/comedians Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller in a gala celebration at The Players Club on Monday, November 10, 2008. Richard Pergolis of Pergolis Swartz will be the Corporate Chair of the event and television personality Joy Behar will be the MC for the evening. Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach will present the third annual Herbert Berghof - Uta Hagen Achievement Award to Ms. Meara and Mr. Stiller, given in memory of the actor/director Herbert Berghof and his wife and partner, the storied actress and master teacher Uta Hagen. The award recognizes theatre artists of extraordinary talent, achievement, and humanity who, in the conduct of their professional and artistic practice, have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the vitality, integrity, and mission of the theatre and its community.

The evening will include a cocktail reception, dinner, and a musical presentation featuring jazz musician David Amram and an excerpt from HB Ensemble member Danusia Trevino's one woman show "Wonder Bread." The tribute will also feature remarks by 2007 Honoree Fritz Weaver, John Guare, Kevin James, Doris Roberts, Amy and Ben Stiller and Joseph Benincasa, Executive Director of The Actors' Fund. Ticket prices range from $300 for an individual ticket to $5,000 for a table for 10 and a full-page tribute in the souvenir program for the event.

The honorary committee for the gala includes Jason Alexander, Barbara Barrie, Jill Clayburgh and David Rabe, Tom Fontana, New York State Assemblymember Deborah Glick, John Guare, Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach, Kevin James, Rochelle Oliver and Fritz Weaver, Carol Ostrow, David Hyde Pierce, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Doris Roberts, Jon Stewart, Christine Taylor and Ben Stiller, Amy Stiller, Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna, and Marlo Thomas.

For information and reservations, please email to gala2008@hbstudio.org, or contact Peter Bloch, Managing Director, at 212.675.2370 x6.



BIOS FOR ANNE MEARA & JERRY STILLER


Anne Meara has been nominated for five Emmy Awards. Her recent credits include appearances on Sex in the City and King of Queens. Her writing credits include After-Play produced Off-Broadway at Theatre Four and The Manhattan Theatre Club, for which she won the John Gassner Award. Another play, Down The Garden Paths, was done Off-Broadway and regionally starring Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach. Anne also created the role of Bunny in John Guare's House of Blue Leaves, received a Tony Award nomination for Anna Christie at The Roundabout Theatre, appeared in the feature film Like Mike, and in Night at the Museum with her son, Ben Stiller. She was also co-writer and star of The Other Woman, a CBS movie of the Week, which won a Writer's Guild Award.

Jerry Stiller was nominated for an Emmy Award and won the American Comedy Award for his portrayal of Frank Costanza on Seinfeld. He just finished nine years as Arthur Spooner on King of Queens. In film, Jerry was most recently seen as Mr. Pinky in the movie Hairspray and Doc in the Farrelly Brothers movie Heartbreak Kid, where he starred opposite his son, Ben Stiller. Broadway has seen Jerry in Hurlyburly, The Ritz and Three Men on a Horse, while other film appearances include The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three, Airport '75, the original version of Hairspray, Zoolander (also with his son, Ben) and the starring role in The Independent. He has also lent his voice to animated films including Teacher's Pet, Lion King 3, Lion King 1½ and the CBS holiday special, Robbie the Reindeer.

As Stiller and Meara, Anne and Jerry played record-breaking engagements at Max Gordon's Blue Angel and The Village Vanguard and were seen on the Ed Sullivan Show 36 times and received many awards for their radio and TV commercials that include Amalgamated Bank, Blue Nun wines and United Van Lines. They have been honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; with the Productive Aging Award, presented by the Jewish Council For the Aging in Washington, D.C.; and with the Thalia Award from Humber College in Toronto.

THE MASTER AND MARGARITA

There's a very interesting event coming up for anyone interested in modern Russian/American theater. The HB Ensemble is presenting THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, a play based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, adapted and directed by Aleksey Burago, with many fine actors, including the brilliant Russian/American actress Snezhana Chernova.

THE MASTER AND MARGARITA
based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov
adapted and directed by Aleksey Burago

July 11, 12, 13, 14 at 8:00 pm
July 14, 15 at 3:00 pm

HB Playwrights Foundation Theatre
124 Bank Street

with
Georgina Bates, George Bartenieff*, Snezhana Chernova, Pascal Escriout, Jack Gillespie*, Hanna Hayes, Vadim Krol, Andy McCutcheon*, Danusia Roberts*, Tom Schubert, Nick DeSimone, David Sochet*, Lana Stimmler, Kenneth Thompson, Thomas Tinelli, Marius Zilberstein* (*Member of AEA)


Assistant Director Pamela Wilkinson
Production Manager Shiraz Biggie

On a hot spring day in the 1930s, the Devil comes to Moscow. His havoc-making visit intersects with the love story of a writer (Master) and a married woman (Margarita). The Master is struggling under censorship to make his voice heard. An accidental meeting on a street begins a tale of devotion, sacrifice and love as the pair of lovers gain spiritual strength even when threatened with great danger.


Call for reservations starting July 2nd, 212 989-7856 or 212 989-6540, M-F 12-5pm
Admission is free of charge

SALEM LUDWIG 1915-2007

Salem Ludwig, an actor, director and teacher died on April 1, 2007 at the age of 91.

He studied at the Actor's Studio, and appeared in dozens & dozens of movies , TV shows and plays, as early as 1947 (actually even earlier -- as a dancer in Sweet Surrender in 1936), and as recently as 2007, in Savages with Laura Linney and Philip Bosco.

He taught acting and directing for many years at the HB Studio. Until very recently he was still climbing, with no complaints!, to his third floor classroom. He was a gentle man who gave strong and clear directions. (He also had strong political opinions and was blacklisted for years at what should have been the center of his career.)

I took several classes with him, both acting and directing, and always came away with useful information and, somehow, a feeling of encouragement and progress.

A terrific description can be found (NY Times registration may be needed for access) in Alvin Klein's 1989 review of Broadway Bound, in The New York Times:

"Best of all is Salem Ludwig as Eugene's stubborn, Trotsky-spouting grandfather, Ben, who urges the boys to become political satirists, not just joke machines. With masterful timing, the veteran actor finds the warmth in a man who says: ''I don't trust affection. Sometimes people give it instead of the truth.'' "

He will be missed.