By: Aisha Brown
Tasha Smith’s Actor’s Boot camp was held Thursday and Friday at Fisk University’s Little Theatre. The Boot camp transformed people by forcing them to take off their masks and “just be” instead of just acting. Tasha Smith unveiled the hidden treasures of these aspiring actors. Through these actors she revealed the beauty of the human experience and how one’s pain can be used to inspire and heal others.
“The International Black Film Festival Boot camp was awesome, it allowed me to tap into areas, I had no idea were in me. By my husband and I working on screenplays and stage plays, it empowered us to take what we learned back to Memphis and take H2D entertainment to the next level,” said Constance McCracklin, actress, Co-Founder and CFO of H2D entertainment.
Many people came from all over to have this Boot camp experience. Tasha Smith is no stranger to Nashville, earlier this year she held an acting workshop at Tennessee State University.
Ms. Smith began her class with an exercise called “Dumping” in which participants take all the things that they’ve bottled up inside and direct them at the person they need to say it to. At first the actors seemed self conscious about what they were saying. The atmosphere grew even more tense as Ms. Smith started singling people out to dump and expose their true selves in front of everyone. The audience and the participants learned quickly that Ms. Smith doesn’t play when it comes to her craft. She pushed the actors to remove their limitations and when one pushed back by unintentionally resisting her guidance, he was told to leave the stage.
As more people began dumping about their personal issues, one could feel a community bond being formed. Everyone became familiar with each other as they recognized their issues in one another and that while the next person may appear perfect he/she has got just as much buildup crap going on as the next person. By the end of the workshop people were a lot more relaxed and uninhibited, you could literally see a load being lifted from their shoulders as they released. Even the people who appeared to be the most timid left the workshop more aggressive and determined to win not only in acting but in life.
“It was an enriching experience. She was good, very powerful and emotive,” said Kamal Angelo Bolden, actor. “She knows how to bring things out of you that you didn’t know you had,” said Bolden.
Tasha Smith’s workshop attracted actors from many levels of the craft from student actors, working actors to an actress who had a PhD in Theatre. The students were receptive and willing to learn from the veteran actress who has appeared in films such as “Why Did I Get Married” and “Daddy’s Little Girls” as well as television series like “The Corner”.
“It’s always affirming to have someone on Tasha Smith’s level to come in and not only spend time with us but to come in and work with us individually and give us insight on what we need to do to get to the next level,” said Michael Diallo McLendon, actor and filmmaker.
Last year the International Black Film festival held an acting workshop with Mykelti Williamson, who is known for his captivating roles in “Forest Gump” and “Waiting to Exhale”.
“Being present at this festival is crucial for anyone in this region who is serious about acting and the film industry,” said McLendon.
