Leverage Camp Update

So, last week I told you all about an acting camp that was going on down here in Portland for the show Leverage. That camp was this past weekend and all we are hearing is glowing reports about how well it went! In fact even the Oregonian paper was reporting about the action!

Leverage Boot Camp was a weekend long event that held classes teaching people about acting and how to get parts. There were specific camps focusing on the different acting parts, there was a Thug camp, a kids camp, teen camp, a behind the scenes camp, and a beginner camp. Each of these camps featured classes that were specific to the group. These classes included lessons, improv, Q and A’s, and so much more. It was truly an experience for anyone interested in acting. The biggest advantage to it was that it was actual movie makers and actors teaching these classes, so they knew what they were talking about and when they gave direction, you listened.

The camp was not just about having fun acting though, it was chance to grow more actors in our community. Lana Veenker, local casting director and organizer for the camp expressed her concerns in this quote from the Oregonian

“My worst fear,” Veenker says, “is that one day we find we’ve used up all the good actors in Portland.”

So they spend the weekend training acting hopefuls, and pushing them to there limit. I loved this story from a camper, Joe Chouinard 34 from Forest Grove, OR

In a Saturday afternoon session, acting coach Robert Blanche worked on a brief scene with Chouinard playing a detective who’s visiting a psychic.

The line was, “I’m embarrassed to be here,” and Chouinard sounded self-conscious saying it. Blanche asked whether the line felt authentic to him.

“I am embarrassed to be here,” Chouinard said. He’s nervous getting up in front of crowds, he said. “I thought I was going to be a thug, so I could come in and mug somebody.”

The others in the room laughed.

“You can use that,” Blanche said. “Use the fact you’re embarrassed about being here.”

Afterward, Chouinard said, “I did not expect to be acting at all. I just thought you had to come and be big and mean-looking.” A competitive bodybuilder, Chouinard is plenty big. But his large brown eyes are gentle, not mean.

“I have no delusions of grandeur,” he said. “I’m not going to replace Tim Hutton. But I could stand in the background, looking menacing.”

There are many more stories just like this one, but they all have the same conclusion, Leverage Boot Camp was more then successful, it was an experience they will never forget.