Divine White's Introduction to Hollywood

- Season 1

(2011)

Without feelings, an actor is just a puppet. Barely, even, a muppet. An actor must be able to access their emotional vocabulary at all times. That is why Divine White feels that the most important step in her program is to delve into the heart and ensure there are no 'blockages'. What could cause a blockage? Unresolved issues. Painful memories that still burn in your soul. Things you'd rather not re-visit. Perhaps that time you weren't picked for the team at school, or the joke Valentine you thought was real. Or when Michael Jackson died. Either way, an actor must ...

An actor isn't just a voice or a face. Oh no. They are an entire vessel of expression. The second step in Divine White's program explores the 'physical manifestation of self', revealing how external stimuli, such banging your elbow or cutting your finger , can transform you and the way you respond to the world. Would your life have been different if you had stubbed your toe at a crucial turning point in your development? Would Hamlet still be Hamlet with a cleft lip?

How does sound reveal the soul? Divine unleashes one of her most innovative exercises to help each actor connect to their full and true voice, with astounding results. Despite the love of the British accent in LA, it is also time for the students to learn how to produce a standard American accent in order to be versatile, which, in an American accent, is pronounced, 'versadil'.

Sexuality isn't just about orientation. It's about how you respond and how you approach. This week, Divine strips the actors down to their core inner-animal, one which represents their sexual nature. Are you a predator? Are you prey? Do you instinctively default to a woodland creature? Find out who is the deadly wolf and who is the bunny rabbit in the fourth step of Divine's innovative self-development class.

Self promotion is the name of the game in the US. But how do the British overcome their ornate talent for under-selling themselves? Hollywood's Mister Marketing doesn't pull any punches in laying down the law for our naturally modest five. And perhaps Dawn can teach them a thing or two.

It's finally time to get out there and start making those contacts. Meet Caleb McCoy, the cutting edge of the LA networking scene, as he explains the rules of social-mixer combat. The actors get ready to employ their newly learned skills and reflect on the 6 step program, as well as their guru, Divine White. But does Dawn finally have something she'd like to say?