William McNamara studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and privately with esteemed acting coaches Harold Guskin and Kim Stanley, and has since notched up over one hundred and sixty-five film and TV appearances… and you can study with him in Los Angeles.

Visit the Tao of Acting website:

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Or check back for an upcoming SEMINAR with WILLIAM MCNAMARA

HOW TO STOP ACTING and TRANSFORM YOUR DREAM INTO SOMETHING TANGIBLE AND ACHIEVABLE:


Sample Schedule

10 AM – 12 noon – workshop
12 noon – lunch for 1 hour
1-4 PM – workshop
4-4:30 PM – break
4:30-7 PM – workshop

The primary focus of the seminar will be on the craft of acting utilizing two techniques that Billy was fortunate enough to have experienced during his extensive acting education and training. These techniques are from two different teachers, HAROLD GUSKIN and KIM STANLEY, that seemingly are diametrically opposed. But Billy has taken the best from both of these esteemed acting teachers from a bygone era!

{Please ask Billy how to transform a dream into something real and tangible}

The title, HOW TO STOP ACTING, is based on his teacher’s book, by Harold Guskin (RIP). At the end of Guskin’s career, he was charging $475 an hour for private coaching and there was a 1-month waiting list. Billy McNamara worked with him for ten years, not only in private but he was Billy’s on-set coach.

Guskin’s book title, “How To Stop Acting” underlies much of Billy McNamara’s teaching, concepts Billy learned very early on from a co-star in one of his first films, STEALING HOME. Jodie Foster constantly pointed out Billy’s sometimes habit of “acting”. She would say, “Hey, watch out, I see you acting again”. While this was meant to be good-natured teasing, she also helped Billy break the habit of “acting”. You don’t want to see an actor, act. And, BTW, Harold Guskin coached him on his STEALING HOME screen test. Nearly every role that Harold coached Billy on, Billy got!

Drawing from years of working as a professional actor with truly great actors such as Jodie Foster, Holly Hunter, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Philippe, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsly, Al Pacino, Jeff Bridges, Patricia Arquette, Tom Sizemore, Bette Midler and the list goes on, as well as studying with great teachers such as Harold Guskin, Kim Stanley and many more, Billy McNamara brings a level of work and experience to acting training that not many others have.

For advance preparation, Billy recommends you read Malcolm Gladwell’s book OUTLIERS and Robert Kiyosaki’s book FAKE. OUTLIERS focuses on people who have had huge success and the why and how of it. FAKE focuses on how to find a real teacher in that real teachers not only teach but also do what it is that they teach. Great teachers have years of experience doing what they teach. If you’re going to be a fighter pilot you should learn from a retired or active fighter pilot. And the third book Billy recommends is Harold Guskin’s HOW TO STOP ACTING.

As an “acting doctor”, Guskin’s clients included Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, James Gandolfini, Bridget Fonda, and dozens more, including William “Billy” McNamara. This one-day seminar will feature a single basic and fundamental technique that Guskin taught Billy as well as a few other supporting techniques. Billy had an unbelievable audition booking rate when he coached with Harold, literally 50% of the auditions he booked. In fact, Billy brought Harold an audition for a major movie; he read the material, and said, “You’re not right for this part, but let’s get it for you anyway”. Billy did the get the part!

The second technique will be based on Billy’s LA teacher (Harold was his NYC teacher), KIM STANLEY. This technique is simple in concept but requires maximum concentration in order to execute. The technique is called THE NEED EXERCISE. Participants will do the NEED EXERCISE incorporated into IMPROVING scenes.

Both these techniques are extremely effective and reliable for the audition process as well as your overall work as an actor (stage, screen, TV, and commercials). As a bonus, Billy will also teach and demonstrate a fantastic audition technique that is controversial. Because the seminar is all day, Billy will be able to impart a solid foundation in these techniques. Billy will also start the seminar by sharing some grounding and breathing exercises which have been INSTRUMENTAL in preparation for not only auditions but for his on-set work. These techniques are based on Grotowski, Yoga and other physical activities, and you will use these techniques for the rest of your career. An emerging TV showrunner, writer and director, William McNamara just wrote and directed his first feature film which recently was optioned as a TV series. He and his cast and crew just finished shooting 10 episodes.

Check out the classic Billy McNamara reel above.

View audition tapes + movies & TV scenes and more on Billy’s Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/williammcnamara