On June 1st, the Theatre Arts Drama program welcomed Emmy Winner and well known film and television actor Michael Imperioli. Michael performed on the Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti, as well as in numerous well known films and TV series such as Goodfellas, Jungle Fever, White Lotus, Summer of Sam, This Fool and many others.
Michael volunteered his time and came to speak to High Tech performers, in order to offer advice and inspiration to our young aspiring artists trying to navigate the uncertainty of our times.
The presentation was open to all Performing Arts actors studying in the Drama and Musical theatre divisions, and was held in our beloved Black Box.
Michael talked about what was the beginning of his acting career, about his training at the Lee Strasberg’s Institute in NYC, about working with amazing directors such as Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and others, about working odd jobs waiting for the big break and about the many things he has learned along the way. For instance, he shared that a real good acting teacher said to him: “As an actor, you need to educate yourself, other arts forms such as Poetry and Literature etc”, and emphasized the importance of being a well rounded individual, as this will make you a better actor.
The students got to ask questions as well, which ranged from creating a character, dealing with the distractions on the film set, the differences between film/TV acting and theatre acting and finding good meaningful work.
Michael highlighted the importance of being in the moment, creating truth in performance, and the importance of being private on stage, talked about exercises that continue to help him, as well as dealing with uncertainties, rejection, and ultimately judgment as an actor.
The students are forever grateful for the opportunity to meet with Michael and learn from his incredible career.
