Current Classes
All labs, workshops and/or classes are designed to equip participants with the necessary tools to actually work in the theater and film industry. There will also be a revolving door between lab/workshop/class students and the current feature film or play that is in the works at In The Pines Studio.
Acting
Ongoing Acting Intensive for Teens 13-18
An 8 class intensive in which actors will workshop scenes under the guidance and tutelage of experienced theater and screen actress, Winter Williams, and feature film director, Matthew A. Brown. Two of the classes will be focus on storytelling and acting for the camera.
Drawing from the Stanislavski-based method, Winter will focus on preparation for scene work and the necessary tools for actors to situate themselves fully in the present moment, while availing themselves to the imaginary circumstances of the scene. Matthew will bring an urgency to the scenes, working with the class on zoom in one of the virtual classes, as if they have a live on tape audition, preparing them for the demands of the current industry.
A core focus of the work will also involve honing in on each actor’s own idiosyncrasies, that which makes you unique, ensuring that when you meet with a casting director, director or agent, you will not be forgotten.
Cost: $205 per 8 class seasonal session
Spring/Summer Session: April 25th 4:30-5:30 (Icebreaker get to know you class)
Time Commitment: Every other Saturday starting May 10th
from 2-4 (May 24th will be virtual)
Place is limited
Winter Williams
Actress, Founder of In The Pines Studio
Winter (formally known as Ashley C. Williams) is an American film and theater actress known for her award winning, breakout performance in revenge thriller Julia, crime drama Albanian Gangster and the cult horror film The Human Centipede (First Sequence). Growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia, she was exposed to the growing art scene, and given the freedom to develop a passion for acting and the arts at the young age of 10.
After starring in several community theater shows as a young teen, including Annie, Anne Frank and The Grapes of Wrath, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where she received the highest honor (The Charles Jehlenger Award) and a scholarship to join their Rep Company. After graduating AADA Rep with an advanced Associates degree in Acting, she frequented the off broadway stages of NYC, including The Ellen Stewart Theater and 59E59 Theater, playing lead roles in new and experimental plays.
Before heading out to Hollywood with a couple breakout films, she co-founded Mind The Art Entertainment, a theater production company in NYC where she produced, co-wrote and acted in numerous off and off-off broadway productions, including in The Intl. Fringe Fest, with numerous positive accolades in the press.
Matthew A. Brown
Writer, Director, Producer
Matthew A. Brown’s feature film directorial debut, Julia, was released theatrically in the US in AMC cinemas in October 2015 after winning multiple awards at the world’s leading genre film festivals and selling to over forty international territories. His sophomore feature, Albanian Gangster, was released in theaters via AMC Independent in October 2020, and he is currently in post on his third feature, Illyrian Blood, a sequel to Albanian Gangster.
His next project, Killdeer, now in prep, is a crime drama series set against an oilfield boom and bust in the badlands of North Dakota’s Bakken oilfield. Prior to directing, he wrote and sold a number of feature film scripts, one of which, Leaving the Cape, was a 2008 semifinalist at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.
He has written and directed multiple short films, including Crush, which qualified for the 2012 Academy Awards. Prior to directing, he worked as an actor, playing lead roles in a number of successful American independent features, including God's Army (2000) and Brigham City (2021).
He has masters degrees in Screenwriting & Directing from the Binger Film Institute in Amsterdam and a BA in English Lit from UC Santa Barbara. As an actor, he trained at The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute, NY. Brown is currently completing his MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Carlow University.
Contact: Winter@InThePinesStudio.com for more information.