Lynette Sheldon
These past few months, I once again got the privilege of working with the amazing and inspiring acting teacher, Lynette Sheldon. Previously, she has worked with well-known Australian stars such as Zoe Ventoura (Packed To The Rafters) and Dichen Lachman (Hawaii Five-O, Dollhouse). When I heard she was returning to Sydney from New York, I couldn’t wait to sign up for her classes. It was really exciting to get back to working with her and to see how the work I’d previously done with her had developed and also to learn and grow further.
Lynette is an inspiration. She truly lives and breathes acting and theatre. Her passion and generosity are infectious. Over the period of a class, she gives 100% of herself 100% of the time. The time she takes with each student and the way she seems, as if by some divine intervention, to know exactly what to say or give each individual student at any given time is truly remarkable.
Lynette has given me so many gifts as an actor. I’ve learnt the value of imagination, to be curious about all things, to find the joy in all things big and small, to have a sense of play, to risk and to stretch myself, to trust my instincts as an actor, to trust my body, to go with what excites me, that acting is a journey and a process and to enjoy and relish that, to appreciate all moments, I’ve learnt more empathy and to celebrate all that we are as humans and the power and wonder of the human condition. And it is in saying all this that I believe lies the greatest gift that Lynette gives her students. That gift is that so many of the lessons she teaches us as actors are so appropriate to apply to our lives in general, and it is through this that we work on ourselves as humans and greater appreciate our lives and our humanity.
Since beginning work with Lynette last year, I’ve experienced so much growth as an actor and a person. I feel so much more confident in my work. I feel like my work has so much more depth and colour. I have so many new tools and new ways of approaching the work which all help to gain a greater understanding of the character and the text. I am so grateful for the work I’ve done with her and I’m excited to continue on this journey.
Lynette is currently still teaching in Australia and if you ever get the chance to work with her, I can’t stress enough how thankful you’ll be.