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Seven Lessons From The MC² Actors Studio Masterclass

1. “One of the biggest secrets the artist holds is all the hard work invested in creating something that appears so simple and easy.”

2. “The imagination gives us wings to take flight and journey into the many different colorful worlds that stretch beyond the limiting boundaries adopted by routine civilian everyday ‘normal’ life.”

3. “When you endow the givens so much so that they are deliciously carbonating within your entire being…all your focus-concentration-attention is held within that imaginary world…time and space stops…and you can authentically live in the sweet gap of the unknown of each and every moment.”

4. “True vulnerability is one’s willingness and commitment to really go after wants and needs despite the possible success or failure of those wants and needs being met. When you truly go after something with all your grit, glory, blood sweat and tears, that kind of vulnerability is as powerfully congruent to the most fierce lion in the jungle. That kind vulnerability is pure focused-concentrated strength and courage.”

5. “There is one language we can all understand that surpasses any and all language barriers…and that is the universal language energetically expressed through a broken heart.” 

6. “At the end of the day, it is not your technique or your expertise that makes the difference…it is your humanity. It’s the humanity that you bring to the work that is THE essential ingredient. It’s YOUR HUMANITY that is crucial and necessary in order to interpret the most profound ideas within a given text and then breathe walking authentic active life into them. All roads of our craft and technique lead to that destination. Pure, unapologetic, raw, authentic, messy, unfiltered human life revealed through story…and that kind of work is not for the faint of heart. It is for the full of heart.”

7. “It is not your job to dim your light just because it may be too bright for other people’s eyes. Tell ‘em to wear a pair of sunglasses. You just keep on living your truth and shining brightly. Know like you know like you know that you shine as bright as the most illuminating lighthouse in a storm and that big bright star way up high in the vast sky!”

~Mario A. Campanaro 
Master Teacher 
MC² Actors Studio 
Los Angeles | New York City | London


The Worthiness To Be Witnessed

“One of the greatest tools an actor (or any artists/human for that matter) can possess is his or her compassion and empathy. 

The ability to have an open heart and a willingness to dive into the depths of the human condition is the very foundation for our work and the ability to live moment to unknown moment within extraordinary circumstances. 

We have to be willing to see, hear, feel, taste, understand and experience more than just our own small circle of experiences in order to live the vast highly complex life of characters in unimaginable pain, great struggle and overall high stake circumstances. 

This is ultimately the ‘in’ to every character we will ever play/reveal/live. 

Everyone has struggled.

Everyone has suffered.

Everyone has had trials and tribulations.

Everyone has a story.

Every story has a history that formulates who we are and how we move and function in life and what we strive to get, achieve, be and experience. 

We have to understand that at our very core, we function from survival love received and love unreceived. 

From there, our story unfolds based on what life throws at us. 

This is not just about our technique. 

This is about humanity. 

It is about our humanity  

And every human’s story has within it the worthiness to be witnessed simply because it is part of the essential fabric of this thing we all call ‘Life’.

And this pertains to your own personal story as well.

Sometimes, you may have to walk through your very own Hades in order to get to your very own Utopia.

You may endure a lot. 

You may even find yourself suffering at times. 

But if you keep persevering…

If you keep sight of what you want…

If you keep on believing in what you are doing…

If you simply do not give up…

You might very well find that all that hardship pays it forward by bringing something profoundly fulfilling into your Life. 

You may want to cry at times because it hurts so bad…

And then you may want to laugh until it hurts simply because you got through it when you never thought you would or could. 

And once you make it out of that fire, you will finally see all the beauty hidden within the ashes. 

Each of us has our very own story of strife and struggle. 

And each of us has the potential for our very own deserving and awe-inspiring victory. 

I truly believe that we are way more powerful than we have been led to believe. 

The only way to lose sight of the dream is by simply giving up on it. 

So…

No matter what obstacles show up at our door, all I can say is…

Do. Not. Give. Up!

What you crave is your calling…

What you miss is your mission…

And what you are tested by will inevitably be your greatest personal, artistic and creative testimony.” 

~Mario A. Campanaro 
Master Teacher 
MC² Actors Studio 
Los Angeles | New York City | London


The Resilience Of The Human Spirit

“If there is one thing we must always be aware of as actors, it is the unquestionable resilience of the human spirit and the relentless pursuit toward improved personal circumstances. 

When we begin to understand that, we begin to understand the origin of the true nature of personal wants and needs…

And when we begin to understand the origin of the true nature of personal wants and needs, we also begin to understand the profound weight obstacles hold as they stand in the way of those wants and needs…

And once we begin to understand the profound weight obstacles hold standing in the way of wants and needs, we then begin to understand the motivation behind the true nature of actions taken to overcome all of the obstacles standing in the way of wants and needs…

And once we begin to truly understand how all actions hold the intention to overcome obstacles standing in the way of wants and needs, we then begin to understand the true nature of human listening and how it is always being filtered in mind, body and spirit, by if we are or are not fulfilling our wants and needs by the actions taken to overcome all the obstacles standing in the way of our wants and needs… 

And when we begin to understand all this about human nature, we begin to understand the true nature of authentic moment to moment impulse, reaction, response and emotion (MC²=Energy In Motion) that naturally occurs from the equal endowment of objective and obstacle and the success or failure of our wants and needs being met or not.

At the end of the day, the human spirit is driven by love received, love unreceived and survival…

Everything else branches off from those three roots.

When all this is put into words, it seems very equational…

So, as always, look for it in Life…

Life is the actor’s infinite masterclass…

To put it all a bit more simply…

Look at Life…You will begin to understand the Craft of Acting.”

~Mario A. Campanaro 
Master Teacher 
MC² Actors Studio 
Los Angeles | New York City | London


Impatient-Patience & Sweet Surrender

“Your greatest successes will inevitably come when your active intention marries your sweet surrender all the while maintaining your overall peace without clutching onto what an end result looks like. 

When you plant the seed of your heart’s intention, and you nurture that intention with passion, joy, active dedication, tenacity, hard-work, accountability, responsibility, skill, impatient-patience, a healthy amount of sweat-equity, trust, perseverance, faith, more joy and that sweet surrender, the universe unfailingly pays it forward by rewarding you with the fruits of your purposeful mission popping up all around you. 

There may be struggles along the way…

But the artist warrior in you knows not to give up.

The master craftsperson in you knows never to give up.

Admit the struggle.

Confront the struggle.

Don’t walk/run away, around, over or under the struggle.

Walk through it.

The actor warrior in you knows deep down that on the other side of the struggle is something well worth its weight in gold.

And for that, we persevere.

We work…

We work hard with the intention of getting the dream out of the dream-state…

And making it our own personal fulfilling reality.”

~Mario A. Campanaro 
Master Teacher 
MC² Actors Studio 
Los Angeles | New York City | London


That’s What Craft Does!

“When we truly begin to understand the craft of acting in a visceral, practical, tangible, executable, HUMAN way…

And how it mirrors the way we humans live in this beautifully complex thing we can LIFE

We begin to experience the delicious breath of freedom it provides. 

Craft is meant to free the actor so he, she, they can truly live moment to unknown moment circumstantially

The craft of acting provides the ability to be CONSISTENT in the work.

That consistency supports the actor’s ability to truly listen through the filter of the character’s wants and needs and therefore have stimulatedjustifiedcircumstantial, responses, reactions, instincts, impulses and spontaneity within the gap of the moment.

Craft allows for the actor’s talent to be married to skill.

The actor’s skill makes it possible for his, her, their instrument to experience the freedom of living the character’s life as it unfolds moment to unknown moment…

As oppose to their hope white knuckling onto luck that it will all go well and the magic might happen.

The craft of acting provides the backbone of confidence for the actor to know like they know like they know that it will go well each and every night or each and every take…

Because the actor’s endowed skill fully supports the work and provides the security that the actor can truly live moment unknown moment as a given story and its circumstances unfold.

When we really experience that kind of freedom in the work…

That initial passion, love, inner joy and smile that attracted all of us to this glorious art form…

The Craft Of Acting…

 Inevitably grows stronger and brighter.

That’s what craft does.

But it is a craft.

It is a skill. 

It is a profession.

One that demands constant learning, exploration, discovery, experience, growth and evolution…

Just as this beautifully complex thing we call LIFE does.” 

~Mario Campanaro
Master Teacher
MC² Actors Studio
Los Angeles | New York City | London


The Foundation Of Story(living)telling

“The ability to have an open heart and a willingness to dive into the depths of the human condition is the very foundation for our work and our ability to live moment to unknown moment within extraordinary circumstances.

We have to be willing to see, hear, feel, taste, understand and experience more than just our own small circle of experiences in order to live the vast highly complex life of characters in unimaginable pain, great struggle and overall high stake circumstances.

This is ultimately the ‘in’ to every character we will ever play/reveal/live.

Everyone has struggled.

Everyone has suffered.

Everyone has had trials and tribulations.

Everyone has a story.

Every story has a history that formulates who we are and how we move and function in life and what we strive to get, achieve, be and experience.

We have to understand that at our very core, we function from survival, love received, and love unreceived.

From there our story unfolds based on what life throws at us.

This is not just about our technique.

This is about humanity.

It is about our humanity.

And every human’s story has within it the worthiness to be witnessed simply because it is part of the essential fabric of this thing we all call ‘Life’.”

~Mario Campanaro
Master Teacher
MC² Actors Studio
Los Angeles | New York City | London


Upholding The Professional Standard

“When we enter a professionalactingstudio, we must always hold the intention of training, studying, exercising and doing the work with the same accountability, commitment, work-ethic, investment, responsibility, respect, professionalism, standard, skill, consistency and demand that the professional world expects and demands.

There is no point in training, studying, exercising and doing the work unless what is being learned, exercised and cultivated is applicable for the professional actor to do professional work for when professional opportunities arise. 

We cannot train, study and exercise for the sake of the studio itself. 

We have to endow the studio and use it to train, study and cultivate a craft for the professional world.

For the job!

For the profession!

In other words…

If the actor is studying and training as a professional, but there is no work or preparation involved, something is amiss.

That is when the work becomes a hobby, not a profession.

There are not many professional acting jobs that I know of where the actor is not expected to come in well-prepared to do the work they were hired and getting paid to do.

So why in the world would a professional actor ever train without the intent of those same professional demands? 

Talent is a very precious gift that can take you only as far as you are willing to cultivate it, nurture it, invest in it, and put it to good use. 

Your talent can only take you as far as the professional accountability you maintain to do something with it. 

Remain accountable. Remain responsible.

Remain dependable. Remain open.

Remain mindful. Remain creative.

Remain as strong as a gladiator.

Remain as vulnerable as a child. 

Remain hungry for your craft. Remain driven for your work.

Remain a student of Life. Remain on-purpose.

Remain focused. Remain conscious.

Remain questioning. Remain aware.

Remain on time (early). Remain present.

Remain hard-working. Remain free of unnecessary tension. 

Remain business savvy. Remain an artist.

Remain professional. Remain respectful.

Remain compassionate. Remain understanding.

Remain empathic. Remain self-nurturing. 

Remain perseverant. Remain patiently impatient.

Stay on the path toward all the dreams that your heart and soul intend to experience.”

~Mario A. Campanaro
Master Teacher
MC² Actors Studio
Los Angeles | New York City | London


Commitment To The Craft

“It is so important for the actor to consistently exploreexercise and cultivate the craft of acting. 

The craft of acting takes work

Plain and simple. 

It takes discipline

It takes commitment

It takes accountability

It takes consistency

And most of all, it takes dedication

We have to understand that our craft will only support us as much as we have it ingrained in our being as a second muscle easily accessible for the demands of our work. 

It is not going to be there to fully support us unless it is exercised

It cannot just live in ‘theory‘. 

It cannot just live in our ‘head‘ or an ‘idea space‘. 

We have to know what we are doinghow to get there, and why we use certain tools to fulfill specific aspects of the life of the text

We have to be in the known so we can live in the unknown of the moment

And it all has to be practical

It has to be tangible.

It has to be useable and executable

It has to make human-sense“.

And for that to happen, it needs to be exercised and exercised and exercised no matter where we are in our career or however long we have been doing it. 

It asks of us to consistently exercise/explore/discover all the myriad of physical, psychological, behavioral and emotional muscles that we do not really tap into within our everyday civilian lives…

(Not to mention all textual detective work, the art of actively listening through filtered wants and needs, pursuing, overcoming and executing the true nature of action)

And then have the tools, awareness and ability to utilize our instrument to reallybe able “to do” and reveal the extraordinarily complex human experience within the work. 

And let’s be honest, most do not have the privilege of doing this work or working in this manner everyday. 

And depending on an audition to test out/try to do the work is not going to do the trick. 

That is a whole other set of muscles that our craft needs to support us in, so our work can fulfill the text with truth, authenticity, and uniqueness in the room or on tape. 

Just like holding off going to the gym, if we do not work out those muscles, they, unfortunately, become weak and do not have the stamina/know-how to fulfill the task at hand. 

We live in a day and age where everyone seems to want the easy road. 

Why wouldn’t we, right? 

Insta-fame is the new norm, expectation and desire. 

It is natural for us to want to pursue the easy way when we see the way social media presents notoriety. 

However, when we choose this path as actors, as artists, we have to be honest and understand there is nothing easy about the journey. 

We cannot be lazy in the pursuit of our work. 

We have to be responsible. 

We have to reveal the complexities of the human condition. 

We have to go to places within ourselves that are complicated, vulnerable, and uncomfortable and then be generous enough in mind, body, and spirit to share a piece of ourselves in service of the text, for the purpose of art and in honor of the human condition. 

And as we exercise those muscles, we may have to go through growing pains many times as we explore the full color wheel of the human condition. 

And we have to explore all that in a safe yet challenging professional creative environment. 

It is through those difficult times and the exploration of them, that will come our greatest inspirations for our work. 

On the job‘ is not the place to experiment and find our craft. 

We are there, paid, with the expectation to deliver…

To already know what we are doing so we can do the job at hand. 

We have to keep our instrument awake as we do our part in understanding the fullness of life in the text that gives birth to the text and what is between it. 

And then we have to have the toolbox that we can depend on that will support us in going to those places within our instrument that are necessary to live the full spectrum of the life of the text. 

And studying the craft, going to a responsible studio dedicated to the learning…to the exercising…to the challenges within the work…to honesty…to accountability…to responsibility…to the demand of the industry…to caring about growth…to exploration…to discovery…to support…to collaboration… and to the tools that individually offer each and every actor the opportunity to experience all of the above is essential.

So do it for yourself and do it for your dreams…

Stay in the learning!

Remain a student of life…

But do it as professional actor/artist in your approach of the learning.

As long as we are alive, we will have to continue to study the craft because life itself is an endless unpredictable complex lesson…

And so will every piece of text that is presented to us.”

Much Love,

Mario Campanaro
Master Teacher
MC² Actors Studio
Los Angeles | New York City | London


Walking The Walk Of Artistic Greatness

“Why in the world would you ever aim for ‘normal’ when you’re already extraordinary? Why in the world would you ever aim to ‘fit in’ when you’re magnificence already makes you stand out? Why in the world would you ever aim to ‘dim your light’ when it’s already lighting up all of your surroundings? Why in the world would you ever settle for ‘ok’ when excellence already lives within your nature? You have to have the courage to go on the journey of greatness. And you have to not be afraid of the path that takes you there. Because sometimes that path is scary. And sometimes it’s scary because it takes a hell of a lot of hard work. And sometimes all of that hard work takes sacrifice. And sometimes that sacrifice is lonely. And sometimes that loneliness is exhausting. And sometimes that exhaustion is discouraging. But if you truly believe within your heart of hearts that the intent in which you’re walking that path is attainable, all of that sweat-equity will pay it forward by bearing the fruits of your labor at the precise moment it is meant to happen. So I ask you again: Why in the world would you ever aim for ‘normal’ when you’re already extraordinary? The last time I checked, the entire world is constantly looking up in the sky for extraterrestrials. So why the heck wouldn’t you want to be a little different and shine like the stars you are?! Never ever dim your light just because it may be too bright for other people’s eyes. Simply tell them to wear a pair of sunglasses and keep on walking the path toward your individual artistic and creative magnificence.”
~Mario A. Campanaro
Master Teacher
MC² Actors Studio
Los Angeles | New York City | London


THE CREATIVE TRIBE (The Meaning Of Ensemble)

“You will always ‘know’ your creative tribe…
When you can live your most authentic genuine Self in each other’s presence.
You will never feel alone.
And never walk away feeling lonely.
There will always be a willing generosity of Spirit.
There will always be an undeniable human to human connection. 
There will always be a wanting to share something deep and real.
There are many factors that magnetize us to that creative tribe:

There is THE LOVE OF ART. 
There is THE GIFT AND BLESSING OF TALENT.
There is THE JOY OF CREATION.
There is THE HUNGER FOR EXPLORATION.
There is THE FEARLESSNESS OF STRUGGLE.
There is THE EXCITEMENT OF DISCOVERY.
There is THE PASSION FOR REVEALING.
There is THE OPENNESS FOR EXPRESSION.
There is THE DESIRE FOR INVESTIGATION THAT STIMULATES UNDERSTANDING, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION.
There is THE UNQUENCHED THIRST OF  UNCEASING CURIOSITY.
And there is THE DELICIOUS APPETITE FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL STORY(living)TELLING.
And we have to understand…
It is sometimes through the darkest of moments…
And most inexplicable of circumstances…
That guide us…
Or lead us…
To that creative tribe.
Those same circumstances…
That we may think are causing us to crumble…
And break our heart and Spirit…
Are the same circumstances…
That actually break our heart open…
And allow our Spirit…
To be In-Spirited (inspired)…
Opening our Mind, Body & Soul…
And awakening us to something greater than we could have ever imagined.
Those same circumstances very often pave the path to our greatest purpose…
Our greatest potential…
All human beings at some point…
Will own some story of hardship.
That is part of the human experience.
But within hardship also lives an individual story…
A universal story…
Of how hardship paved an unexpected path to perseverance, growth, inner-strength, compassion, insight, understanding, creative inspiration and connection with others who can gather with each other and say:
Yes, I know. Me as well. I see you. I understand. Let’s not let it be in vain. Let’s do something remarkable with it all!‘.
And so we find our tribe.
Or our tribe finds us.
A tribe that meets through the most unlikely…
And yet, likely, of circumstances.
A tribe that is generous in knowledge, creativity, heart, compassion, passion, love, support, kinship, responsibility, accountability, creativity, talent & Spirit.
And because of those circumstances…
We RECOGNIZE each other.
We SEE each other.
We UNDERSTAND each other.
We CARE about each other.
We SUPPORT each other.
And, yes…
We LOVE each other…
From one artist to another…
From one actor to another…
From one human to another.
That is the magic of an ENSEMBLE!
Together we LEARN.
Together we EXPLORE.
Together we DISCOVER.
Together we GROW.
Together we EXPAND.
Together we STRUGGLE.
Together we BREAK-THROUGH.
Together we SUCCEED.
Together we SHARE.
Together we GIVE.
Together we MAKE ART.
Together we TELL & LIVE STORIES.
Together we REVEAL THE HUMAN CONDITION.
And TOGETHER we hold onto the fact…
That once we make it out of the fire…
There will be…
And is…
BEAUTY WITHIN THE ASHES…
That result in our life’s greatest contributions!” 
~Mario A. Campanaro 
Master Teacher 
MC² Actors Studio
Los Angeles | New York City | London 


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