NYC MASK SCENE STUDY WORKSHOP

Transformative Actor Training and Scene Study: Embodying the Imagination with Masks

April 9 to 11 and April 16 to 18, 2027

Mercury Store, Brooklyn, NY

36 Training Hours

$1,800 USD

The Workshop

Join us for an immersive experience in transformative actor training, where the mask becomes the focal point for deep embodiment of a role and for scene study.

In this workshop you will experience the visceral awareness of character transformation. The training covers the fundamentals of the actor's movement, improvisation, physical awareness, ensemble training, character embodiment, and spiritual practice, offering a grounded and enriching approach to elevate your craft.

Key Components

Practical Embodiment. Gain practical insight into what it truly means to embody a character. This workshop gives you hands on experience of the transformative power of character exploration, felt directly in the body.

Holistic Training. Work through the essential elements of actor training, from movement and improvisation to physical awareness and ensemble work, and develop a well rounded skill set with real depth.

A Safe Space to Create. Create within a safe space built on trust, where you release judgment, guilt, shame, and fear of punishment. This environment invites you to explore and express with full freedom and fosters genuine artistic and spiritual growth.

Unlocking Taksu

Balinese Wisdom. Explore the Balinese concept of taksu, a performance energy marking the divine moment of manifestation. Discover its universal presence across cultures and make it a source of inspiration for your craft.

Mask Work. Masks reveal the essential connection between body, voice, and embodiment. The Latin word persona means mask, and the persona was an image projected sonically through the voice. Training in masks calls on the internal power of our most creative selves. Masks unlock the deep knowledge of the physical, emotional, and intuitive body, which interacts directly with taksu. Activating taksu opens and frees the imagination to move beyond the linear experience of everyday thought rooted in personality and ego. Many of the ensemble exercises draw on the work of Michael Chekhov, who developed his techniques from the philosophical and spiritual practices of the East. This is a unique opportunity to train in Budi's mask pedagogy.

Scene Study. This rigorous workshop invites you to work from the intersection of your own culture, with a strong emphasis on scene study. Drawing on ancient and modern approaches to acting, including Balinese Performing Arts Training, the program provides a rich foundation for delving into character and narrative. Working as an ensemble, actors discover renewed energy in their performances through dynamic movement, expressive mask work, and the powerful experience of performing scenes from plays from around the world. This fusion of techniques and traditions lets actors explore and celebrate their cultural heritage while honing their craft and creating original, impactful work.

Why Masks Matter

Masks are a tangible gateway to character embodiment. Through them you reach a deeper understanding of your craft, break through limitations, and refine your skills with a seriousness that reflects your commitment to the art.

This is an engaging and purposeful exploration of actor training with masks, and a disciplined journey into the heart of your craft.

Your Teachers

Dr. Budi Miller: Grounded Expertise. More than twenty years of dedicated research and development in Budi Miller Taksu Training (BMTT) and Balinese Performing Arts Training (BPAT) stand behind this work. His teaching has freed imaginations and shaped theatre and on camera performances around the world.

Dr. Budi Miller: Spiritual Artistry. This workshop is designed for actors committed to spiritual and artistic development. Budi's methods offer a thoughtful and measured approach focused on the nuanced dimensions of the actor's craft.

Dr. Taylor Barfield: Script Vault. Over ten years as a new play dramaturg, scholar, and teacher, Dr. Barfield has assembled a vast international library of scripts for training actors. His dramaturgical research methods allow him to locate plays suited to each specific workshop cohort.

Dr. Taylor Barfield: Dramaturgical Collaboration. Taylor works with Dr. Budi Miller to identify scenes that push each actor in their training, chosen for cultural nuance and dramatic challenge.

Schedule

Friday, April 9, 2027: 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Saturday, April 10, 2027: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Sunday, April 11, 2027: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Friday, April 16, 2027: 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Saturday, April 17, 2027: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Sunday, April 18, 2027: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

36 Training Hours | Mercury Store, New York City | $1,800 USD

Enroll now to commit to serious actor training with a focus on skill refinement, scene study, and artistic growth.

About the Teachers

DR. BUDI MILLER trains actors to reach taksu, the Balinese state of radiant, inspired presence that turns a skilled performance into an unforgettable one. His students work on Broadway, in major studio films, and at the top of the Indian film and television industry. He is visiting faculty at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and Juilliard. He is the former Head of Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, and the first Black person to hold that position at one of Australia's three leading drama schools.

His method is BMTT (Budi Miller Taksu Training), a rigorous pedagogy built from more than 25 years of research and practice. BMTT draws on Balinese Performing Arts Training (BPAT) and mask work, Fitzmaurice Voicework, Michael Chekhov, Clown, Viewpoints, Grotowski, and Bioenergetic Healing. Actors who train with him develop a free and resonant voice, a body alive to impulse, and an imagination they can trust completely under pressure.

He coached Michelle Williams for her performance in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, nominated for the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Award. He coached Jonathan Majors across Lovecraft Country (HBO), The Harder They Fall (Netflix), Ant-Man III (Marvel), Creed III (MGM), and Magazine Dreams (Tall Street Productions). He works extensively with Julian Elijah Martinez (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Hulu). He also coached Yao for Ryan Coogler's Sinners (Warner Bros. Discovery) and Ang Lee's Gold Mountain (Likely Story, Fifth Season, The Ink Factory). He has had the privilege of coaching and inspiring actors on Broadway and in film and television for HBO, Marvel, Netflix, and Showtime, as well as in major international film markets and theatres around the world.

He has served on the faculties of the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne (2017 to 2023), the Chautauqua Theater Company (2004 to 2018), and LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore (2009 to 2017). He has taught at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, Juilliard, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, The Actors Center, Wayne State University (MFA), The New School (MFA), UC Irvine (MFA), the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, SUNY Purchase College, USC, The Bill Esper Studio, Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts, The National Theatre Institute, Howard University, Western Michigan University, the National University of Singapore, Queensland Theatre Company (Brisbane), Curtin University (Perth), and the Michael Chekhov Conference 2002.

Published Work

"Artist Text," GABAN (in process video still), 2022, Brook Andrew, The National 4: Australian Art Now, 2023

"Whose body is dis: taksu, ase, Black queer intersections, and the awakening of the actor's spiritual practice," Miller, B. (2023), in Stages of Reckoning: Antiracist and Decolonial Actor Training, Amy Ginther (ed.)

"The Lion and the Breath: Combining Kalaripayattu and Fitzmaurice Voicework Techniques Towards a New Cross Cultural Methodology for Actor Training," de Roza, E., and Miller, B. (2018), Journal of Embodied Research, 1(1), 1 (20:41)

Documentary video: Robert Wilson and Budi Miller in conversation, 23 August 2019, part of the In Conversation series at the Victorian College of the Arts, recorded while Budi served as Head of Acting

DR. TAYLOR BARFIELD is a dramaturg, writer, and theater artist from Baltimore, MD. He served as Acting Literary Manager at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT, and Literary Manager at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. He currently works as a freelance dramaturg and consultant with organizations including the Guthrie, BMG, Portland Center Stage, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, and Yale Repertory Theatre.

Taylor received his B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and English Literature from Johns Hopkins University and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where he earned his M.F.A. and D.F.A. in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. His scholarly work explores how contemporary Black American playwrights reimagine and restage Black theater history. His writing has appeared in Vulture, TDF Stages, and the Marginalia Review of Books. He is an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch. taylorjamalbarfield.com