Patrick Russell is a professional actor, director, and educator in the Bay Area, as well as a continuing Acting & Movement lecturer for the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies. Patrick brings years of experience both onscreen and onstage and is the co-founder of The Actors Space SF, a professional actor training and performance center. He holds a B.F.A. in acting from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.F.A. in acting from American Conservatory Theater, where he has since taught as an instructor and led workshops nationwide.
As part of our faculty Q&A series, we spoke with Patrick about directing, teaching movement, and the values we take from acting. To see more information on his work and recent credits, check out his TDPS profile
Have you had a role that has significantly shaped the way you approach acting? How has it stuck with you?
Growing up, I was inspired and influenced most by actors who transformed and disappeared into their roles - every nuance of their physicality and behavior in service to the role they were playing. I’ve been lucky to have played so many interesting, fun, and challenging characters in my life so it’s hard to single out only one that has significantly shifted my approach - but I can think of a few that are clear in my mind as points in my career where I felt that ‘click’ or light bulb moment of my training and my inherent love of acting merge. One role was as Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost where I truly felt connected to the music of Shakespeare’s poetry; the play Noises Off, which instilled in me that comedy comes from serious commitment to the given circumstances; and the play Red Velvet, which stuck with me the significance of my job as an actor to tell stories of urgent social relevance.
With your background in both mediums, what are the most striking contrasts between film and stage acting, and how do they complement each other?
I definitely believe that some of the best film actors are classically trained, in the sense of having had theater training. Yes, it is a very different medium, but all the same elements should be there. The difference is your awareness of the space in which you are existing. It’s important to realize that stage acting is not ‘overemphasizing’ and film acting isn’t ‘downplaying’ , but rather, you are instead harnessing energy in different ways and adapting your movements and modes of expression to different formats. The beauty of film is that your eyes can draw us in in ways that the stage can’t as much. And on stage, we can be invited, in real time, to experience something happening right in front of us in which there is a sense of danger or wonder, I guess you can call it, that you are witnessing a creation happen before your eyes and mistakes or discoveries are always possible. At the end of the day, though, character objectives, tactics, the inner life of the character in conflict with the outer life, and playing spontaneity - those are all theater training skills utilized in film, just with an awareness of how to adapt effectively to each format.
What draws you to focus on movement in acting?
Movement is a subject that covers a lot of subjects, methodologies and topics. And all of them are essential for every actor and why the focus of movement has always been a deep love of mine as an actor and teacher. For one, movement training is what helped me to really understand what it means to organically listen and respond, to find ways to engage with presence, to trust instincts. It’s essential for every acting student to understand that the body and mind are connected and oftentimes the necessary analytical work of characters can render our bodies passive. Movement work is so exciting on so many levels - both as an artist myself and as a teacher - because the exploration of how one embodies circumstances or the character in a play or film offer endless possibilities and no two actors will approach this exactly the same way. It’s also so empowering as an actor to know that your body can convey so much, that there are infinite choices to be made with so much nuance and detail. And it’s what lends creativity and individuality to the work.
It’s safe to say, too, that we live in a time when we are much more susceptible to disconnection from our bodies with so much technology at our disposal. But the beauty of movement work is how it reminds one to be present in every moment - on stage, in front of the camera - to find intention and meaning in even the simplest or most mundane activities. And that also kind of hits on a deeper level of what it means to exist in our everyday lives: if you are stuck in your head thinking about the moment before or the moments to come, then you aren’t fully engaged in the present moment. And movement work reminds us to be engaged in what’s happening right now.
How would you characterize your teaching style? What do you want students to carry with them beyond the classroom?
I really try, first and foremost, to create a space that is free, open, playful, energetic, and devoid of judgment. I emphasize that fear is energy that can be harnessed for productivity and good; I strongly promote the notion that acting truly, at its core, exists to teach and foster empathy and compassion. Many of my students don’t necessarily plan to go off into the world as actors, but I strongly emphasize how the work we do in class is tied to what it means to practice empathy in all facets of life and that the concept of courage is understood by its root definition of vulnerability. These qualities should exist in us all, I believe. It’s what keeps us human. Acting reminds us of this.
When directing traditional pieces, how do you preserve their authenticity while ensuring they feel alive and meaningful in a modern context?
I’m a very big fan of Michael Chekhov Technique (a methodology that is very much about the body-mind connection). Chekhov’s incredible approach to acting and directing really courses through and informs all my teaching and acting, and I feel heavily influenced by his concepts when I direct. In short, Chekhov really emphasizes HOW you embody the WHAT of the script - whether as an actor or director. Yes, we must serve and honor what the playwright has given us, but how I conceptualize a particular moment can also come from my own creative spirit and individuality, my own current existence in the modern world. That is to say, I am reminded when I direct that I have my own unique brushes, made from my own current existence, to paint the landscape the playwright has shown me.