Pattie Martins, Teacher of Acting in English
- Can you tell us about your professional background before starting to teach at Cours Florent?
I hold a BAC+4 in Theater and Education under the Direction of Yale graduate A.Mercado. I studied Acting in Portugal and England and I co-wrote a book on Art in Education published in both Portuguese and Spanish.
I've travelled around Europe with Stage shows and Film, I've worked in various styles of acting from physical to realism in both Film and Stage. I've completed a training with Ariane Mnouchkine in Theatre du Soleil, Commedia Dell'Arte Mask Technique, and Argentinian pantomime with Julio Castronuovo. I hold a certificate from Eugenio Barba's Odin Teatret in Denmark, Si Wall's Film acting School in London and Method Acting Stella Adler Actor's Studio Technique Paris/New York.
- What inspired you to teach at Cours Florent?
It's a school that represents storytelling history in France and it's special in that it has crossed over and influenced international culture through its many inspired and talented people. Acting in English allows that spectrum of human art to be even more vast.
- What do you in particular work on with your students?
My main objective is to create a fine balance between technique and the actor as an artist. I focus on creating a safe space where the student can explore him/herself profoundly thereby erasing walls and filters that are detrimental to a successful performance and developing physicality and its link to the emotional and intellectual universe of the actor. Evolving in terms of concentration and availability and building a capacity of total emotional, physical and mental freedom allowing the student to develop an instinct for making creative and artistic choices regarding the character, the scene and the play.
- What would be your advice for a future student at Cours Florent?
Come with an open heart and an open mind and with great motivation and courage. Because you will need to explore yourself as a person before you can start exploring the character.