Brad Heller

Brad Heller is an American acting teacher, and founder of The Heller Approach acting studio in Los Angeles, CA. He is also an actor, writer, and director. Heller was mentored by original Group Theatre member Don Richardson, who was the only group member to say, "The Method isn't what acting is about." The technique Heller developed, known as The Heller Approach, is primarily based on Muscle memory. The Approach is quite different from Method Acting, which requires you to delve into your personal emotions. Heller's technique uses the same philosophy as that of an athlete. Heller's acting technique also helps actors deal with Stage Fright and Performance Anxiety.^[1]

Early life

Brad Heller was born in Denver, Colorado, by parents Sue and Marshall. His father is a retired ophthalmologist, and his mother is a retired personal trainer. Heller's parents are currently together and live in Los Gatos – a town in Northern California. Heller has one brother, Greg, a photographer currently residing in Hawaii. Brad Heller attended University of California, San Diego as a Pre-med major prior to transferring and graduating from the Theatre Arts program at Boston University. After graduating from Boston University, Heller did comedy before moving to Los Angeles to enter the entertainment industry. He has been artistically involved all of his life, playing guitar, banjo, the harmonica, and singing since age 11.

Career as an Acting Teacher

Brad Heller was introduced to Don Richardson through one of his students, who passed on Richardson's book, Acting Without Agony: An Alternative to the Method.^[2] At the time, Heller had ceased acting because he did not find it fun anymore. In 1993, Heller began studying with Professor Richardson at UCLA, and soon after was invited to partake in his Masters Class, which completely revamped Heller's passion to act one more. He also began studying with Dr. Eda Gorbis, a world-renowned authority on the treatment and research for anxiety disorders.^[3] For nearly a decade, Dr. Gorbis mentored Heller, teaching him coping mechanisms for fear and anxiety, in order for him to absorb Richardson's acting lessons. It was Dr. Gorbis whom which Heller accredits to teaching him the tools necessary to be able to act at potential and not be bombarded by anxiety. Academy award winning writer and director, Seth Winston, whose Session Man won Best Short Subject in 1992, also mentored Heller.^[4] Winston's influence has been incorporated into The Heller Approach in the areas of scene and character analysis. Winston currently teaches screenwriting at American Film Institute.

After Don Richardson's passing, Brad felt compelled to continue Don's legacy and teachings, and began educating and coaching this revolutionary non-method acting technique at UCLA as Professor of Acting for 5 years, beginning in 1994. Like Richardson, he also had his own Masters Class, which was his own separate workshop open to students by invitation only. Soon after, he opened his own private acting school, currently known as The Heller Approach Acting Studio (formerly The Acting Without Agony Academy). As of 2012, Heller has had students who have been studying with him for 15 years. Students include Judge Reinhold, Mary Gilbert, David A. R. White, Masi Oka, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Joelle James (recording artist – recently signed with Interscope Records and has duet with rapper Chris Brown on his Boy in Detention album).

References

1. Heller, Brad. "Leave the Agony Behind". Back Stage. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
2. Richardson, Don. "Acting Without Agony: An Alternative to the Method". Allyn & Bacon. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
3. Gorbis, Eda. "About Dr. Eda Gorbis". Retrieved July 12, 2012.
4. "New York Times: Session Man". NY Times. Retrieved July 12, 2012.