Earlier this week, 30 Gonzaga students had their first foray into the world of cinema. This group of potential future actors, who are taking an acting-for-film class, had a most unique opportunity. They were set upon the stage of a high budget movie, placed amongst platinum level actors, and given their first Hollywood film-acting experience right here in Spokane.
On Sunday, the students of Dr. Nike Imoru's Acting for Film class, a 300 level theatre-arts credit, were taken onto the set of the upcoming film, "Hit List."
"I think this is absolutely a unique, an incredibly unique opportunity for these student," Imoru said.
Having worked and performed around the world, both as an actress and in her current capacity as a casting director, Imoru has strong sense of the value and the art involved in film.
"It is unique for students to be learning about acting for the camera, and then be on set," she said. "This is a thankful and dynamic relationship."
Brigid Carey, a senior theater major in the class, notes the passion Imoru has for film.
"She's an actual casting director, and she's worked in film," she said, noting the unique perspective an active job in the film industry brings to the classroom. "It gives us more motivation to learn about this class."
Though not given a speaking capacity as actors but rather cast as extras, a series of travelers, to be precise, all these students were required to perform an audition.
"Each prepared a character," Imoru said, and were required to present this character before being allowed onto the set. This was also an valuable experience, according to Imoru.
"They are on a real, feature movie set with A-list actors," she said.
The class itself is designed specifically for film and camera, as opposed to theatre. Imoru notes that acting for film is a process.
"They don't act, they learn how to be," she said.
Carey notes the way Imoru helps shape the class.
"Imoru is an outside talent and an outside intellect that helps us grow as actors," she said.
Although the class is a college course, Imoru teaches them as if they were professionals. She takes the process of learning to act, particularly for the camera, to be extremely serious. "[It's] a discipline, it's not a set of games," she said.
To this end, Imoru was able to help secure the appearance of her students on the set. Though college students, and not paid professional actors, they were working with and amongst professionals, drafted into the film less as a group of college students out for an experience and more as legitimate actors.
"They were actually working for real," Imoru said.
She also mentions the advantage of taking such a film-acting class and having such a unique experience when one is preparing to go into film-acting. She asks how many arts departments are actually able to get their students directly to the field in which they will be working.
"How many literature students get to meet and work with actual authors," she said.
Imoru further states how the art of acting for film is distinctly different from acting for the stage. While the purpose of both is to "allow the audience to touch," she said, the methods by which this touch is generated have distinction. Stage acting is in a live context, forcing the actor to personally reach every person present, right to the back row. Acting for the screen, however, allows a more personal experience.
"The protagonist ultimately is the camera," Imoru said, "and the process becomes more intimate."
Another blessing noted by Imoru of this class is the presence of the director of "Hit List," William Kaufman on set. Kaufman will also be visiting their class this Monday. Noting the experience given the students by this venture to the set, Imoru said "the presence of the director, it just adds to all that." The opportunity to see a director at work with his actors, and indeed to see the actors themselves at work, cannot have its value overstated.
Ultimately, this Acting for Film class has generated a valuable opportunity not only for those who are preparing to go into film professionally, but also for everyone in the class, regardless of motive. Carey notes that not everyone in the class is a theatre major, some are taking it as an elective.
"With film acting, you're learning to handle your emotions and you're learning a deeper insight into yourself, " Carey said. Imoru notes the immense privilege it was to have such a unique experience like this on any university campus. Of this distinctive occurrence, she says, "I don't know where an opportunity like this would exist outside Gonzaga.
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