Erica Michelle, star of ’The Quad‘, to host actors workshops

EL DORADO — Local actors who aspire to break into the entertainment industry will have an opportunity to get hands-on experience with the upcoming The Actors Workshop, offered by Erica Michelle, TV and film actress and 2004 graduate El Dorado High School.

The four-, on-camera workshop will begin on June 10 at the Southern Belles Dance Company Studio/South Arkansas Performing Arts Academy, 2710 N. West Ave.

The course is open to those age 16 and up, and the class size is limited to 15 participants.

The cost of the workshop is $300. A $100 deposit upon registration, and the rest may be paid in $100 installments throughout the duration of the course. The deadline to register is June 3.

Those who are interested may sign up at www.theactorsplayhouse.com

Only students who are serious about pursuing a career in acting and learning the craft need apply, Michelle advised.

“I would say to those taking the workshop to come into my room with your walls down and be ready to feel something,” Michelle said.

She said the course will offer four weeks of intensive training that is designed to give familiarize participants with all of the rigors that come with being a professional actor, particularly of TV and screen.

“It’s intense, so no egos. Just coming as a blank slate and be ready to learn,” Michelle continued.

Michelle knows firsthand the amount of work it takes to make it in the entertainment industry.

Coming off a successful first season of the BET series, “The Quad,” Michelle is gearing up for season two of the show and landed a role in the upcoming feature film “Katrina.”

The film takes a fictional look into the lives that were affected by Hurricane Katrina, as well as the social and environmental impact of the hurricane, which devastated New Orleans and a large swath of the Gulf Coast.

Katrina will be shot in New Orleans and is set to be directed by Ava Duvernay.

Michelle will play “Keisha Wilson”, a homeless mother who was displaced by Katrina and is looking for a fresh start.

“I will have the opportunity to work with singer Estelle on this project, and I am very excited about this because, not only is it a great script, but it’s a different character for me to tackle,” Michelle said.

Shooting begins in the fall for season two of “The Quad.” In the series, Michelle plays “Ebonie Weaver,” a student at the fictitious Georgia A&M University, a historically black university.

Weaver is a member of the Mighty Marching Mountain Cats Band, and in the first season, the character landed in the hospital with severe injuries after being hazed by upper-classmen in the band.

In the midst of a hectic work schedule, Michelle wanted to return to El Dorado to help others jump-start their acting careers.

She hosted the first The Actors Workshop in El Dorado in 2014.

Michelle said she felt the time was right to offer another workshop in El Dorado.

“A lot of people reach out to me on Facebook and want to know how to get into acting,” she said.

The eight-week workshop was capped off with a Red Carpet Finale and talent showcase.

She said the four-week workshop will be structured similarly, except that it will consist of eight classes held twice a week, tentatively from 6 until 8 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday.

“It’s called ‘Four Weeks to Greatness,” and I’ve found it to be so much more effective and efficient because it’s continuous learning,” Michelle explained.

The workshop will lay out a step-by-step blueprint of what it takes to become a professional actor, and students taking the course will learn that the process is often not a sprint, but a marathon, she said.

Along with the training, students will be able to take professional headshots, compile an audition/film reel, an actor’s resume and other class materials — all items they will need to audition for TV and film roles.

As a talent agent, Michelle will also offer a six-month agency contract to participants in the El Dorado class.

She notes that while the contract does not guarantee acting work, students will be afforded the opportunity to audition for TV shows and feature films and be packaged as ready-to-go talent with as much direct assistance from Michelle as possible.

“That’s what you’re getting for $300. A lot of people don’t know that headshots start at $300,” Michelle stressed. “The opportunities they’ll get will be real.”

The 2014 workshop drew participants from El Dorado, Camden, Little Rock and Conway, and some members of the group have been cast in several movies and TV shows, including “Queen Sugar,” “Underground,” “Power,” “Shots Fired,” “Green Leaf,” and the Academy-Award nominated “Hidden Figures.”

Michelle is encouraging older actors to sign up for the class, noting there is a shortage in Hollywood of actors for specific parts, such as parents.

“It’s hard to find older actresses to fill those ‘mother’ roles, your Octavia Spencers and Viola Davises,” she said. “These are people who also had the aspiration to do it, but never had the tools or the resources to get there.”

Students from the 2014 workshop have shared their testimonies in a video titled, “The Actors Workshop in (El Dorado), AR,” which can be viewed on YouTube.

Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.

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