MasterClass Helen Mirren Acting Class Review

Make the first comment!
Hello Subscription independently researches and reviews the best subscriptions and products. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.
Go to commentsNotification

MasterClass provides in-depth and engaging classes taught by experts in various fields. The classes are designed to bring your favorite experts to your home in an engaging online experience, which includes state of the art pre-recorded videos, workbooks, and stimulating assignments. Your Annual Membership gives you access to 100+ world-renowned instructors on Film and TV, Culinary Arts, Design, Photography, Fashion, Sports, Science and Technology and so much more. Instructors include world-famous chef Gordon Ramsay, bestselling author Margaret Atwood and many more. The classes have about 20 lectures, each about 10 minutes so you can watch and re-watch at anytime. Video lessons can easily be watched on the MasterClass mobile app, on your desktop, Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

When you join MasterClass, you’ll subscribe to the Annual Membership ($180). With this, you can take any class you want at any time, and your access continues until you cancel.

This is a review of the Helen Mirren Teaches Acting class from MasterClass!

The MasterClass Instructor – Helen Mirren

This class begins in an empty space and then Helen Mirren enters by doing what she believes is the hardest task for an actor, walking into a room as yourself. She goes through her thought process before walking into the room to demonstrate the constant decisions actors must make when playing a part, but in the end she decides the only way to be herself and make it look natural is to just get to the chair without actually thinking about how to get there. Helen does this to also demonstrate how she views her role as an actor. She walks into this empty space because as an actor’s one role is to fill the empty space with their emotion, fears, terrors, imagination, poetry, and most importantly their story.

For those who are not familiar with Helen Mirren, she a world renowned actress and is known for her role as Jane Tennison in BBC’s Prime Suspect and roles as Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II.

Helen Mirren is one of the greatest actresses of our time—not to mention an Academy Award winner, Emmy Award winner, Tony Award winner, and Golden Globe winner. Though she did not attend drama school, Helen underwent intensive training at the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in London, and also spent a year traveling the world in Peter Brook’s experimental theater company. She is known for her work both on stage and on film.

This class takes viewers on an inside look at how Helen Mirren takes on and prepares for a role. She talks about how she breaks down a script, finds her character from the world around her, and a variety of acting techniques. Viewers also get an amazing guide to how to create character costumes, which not only includes diving into what a costume says about the period, but also how a character’s story is displayed through their clothing and makeup.

Acting – Who is it for?

This class is for anyone who wants to strengthen their acting skills. The class really goes in-depth through Helen’s process in a way that is easy to follow and provides great insights for anyone of any experience level.

MasterClass Helen Mirren – Main Themes

  • Creativity
  • Fundamentals
  • Storytelling
  • Be one time, be polite, be self-protected

MasterClass Workbook – Helen Mirren

The workbook for this class is a great reference tool to use along with the video lessons. Each lesson has a chapter in the workbook that provides a review, opportunities to learn more, and assignments that are designed to help viewers create their own unique acting process. The workbook also has a variety of suggested readings and resources. The workbook also suggests viewers have a camera that allows them to record themselves to complete some of the assignments and get the most out of this class.

MasterClass Acting Key Takeaways

Helen Mirren has created an exciting class that really goes through a wide variety of techniques and insights about Helen’s personal acting process. The class takes viewers through how to understand your character through research based on history and your own personal life, along with a few great lessons on how to enhance your character through their costume and makeup.

Our world of acting is an empty space. It’s an empty space that we fill with our imagination, with our technique, with our philosophy, with our poetry, with our passion, with our fears, with our insecurity. This empty space becomes the platform for storytelling because that’s what we do. We tell stories.

The class then moves into more fundamental techniques about how to portray human behavior like surprise, physical pain, and being drunk. This section of the class also does a great job of talking about how to master on-camera techniques in order to really be able to have the freedom to have moments of inspiration. The class even goes further into this theme by talking about a wide variety of aspects about acting on a film set, including how to learn your lines, characterizing the set, props, and how to work with writers and directors.

Final Thoughts Helen Mirren’s MasterClass

This class is really detailed and inspiring! Helen Mirren has created a great class that inspires viewers to find their own unique acting process through understanding fundamental techniques and how to develop your character. If you are looking for a class that really outlines the entire acting process, this is the class for you!

What do you think of this MasterClass?

Visit MasterClass to subscribe or find out more!

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *