Actor Trainer

“The professor really gave all of his passion and energy into this class, and that passion really rubbed off on all of the students. He was somebody who trusted our own creative potential, and that belief really gave us the confidence that all of us so desperately wanted at the start of the semester, especially me […] This acting class, like Acting itself, is built upon a foundation of trust and cooperation between yourself and your partners. I found that very evident throughout the whole of this class. The professor really created a warm, welcoming environment […] that led into opening up new creative outlets and forms of expression that I never thought possible before.”

Anonymous teaching evaluation, December, 2014

“I just wanted to say thank you Roger. You really have turned my view of who I am and what acting is upside down. You have taught me so much about this craft and made me believe in myself more than any other teacher I have had."

Actor personal reflection December, 2014

Education/Training

PhD - Goldsmiths College, University of London

MFA (Directing) - University of California, Irvine

BEd (Multicultural Studies) - University of Central England

Certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework

Trained in Viewpoints with Mary Overlie, and Anne Bogart and the SITI Company

Trained in Suzuki with Ellen Lauren and the SITI Company

Trained in Contact Improvisation with Annie Louie, University of California, Irvine

Professional Experience*

Professional League of Resident Theatres (LORT) Theatre

Director of Education & Training, Court Theatre, Chicago

University/Drama School Appointments

Teaching Acting and Directing or Voice and Acting

The University of Northampton, England; West Virginia University; Millikin University; Oklahoma State University; University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Birmingham School of Speech and Drama (now Birmingham School of Acting).

Guest Lecturer or Workshop Leader

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA); Institut del Teatre, Barcelona; University of Chicago, IL; Columbia College, IL; Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, IL; Meredith College, NC; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Professional Acting Studios

Acting Studio Chicago; Piven Theatre Workshop (Evanston, IL)

* I am a dual UK/US citizen

Actor feedback >>

My practice-based PhD dissertation, Towards the Potential Space: Addressing the influences that hamper and occlude an actor’s potency and their remediation through psychophysical approaches to learning, was awarded by the University of London (Goldsmiths College).

Achieving optimal levels of creativity and authenticity in co-regulated relationships between actors-in-role, can be achieved through a process of stripping away an actor’s blocks. Such a process is often characterized by patterns of resistance that can be traced to: reified beliefs regarding the hierarchical bifurcation of body and mind; the nature and function of emotion; an actor’s familial history; the degree to which an actor perceives deep transformative learning as threatening; and the climate in which the learning process takes place.

Transformative learning spaces are learner-centered rather than teacher-centered; dialogic rather than didactic; cooperative rather than competitive; and compassionate rather than coercive. Such spaces place an emphasis on learning through the relationship between actor and trainer, and between the actors themselves. Transformative learning spaces foster learning through cycles of experience and reflection. In so doing, transformational learning diminishes social comparisons, competition, perfectionism and anxiety, and promotes mutual trust and responsibility, risk-taking, and a capacity to tolerate the uncertainty inherent in an improvisatory approach to co-regulated relationships between on-stage characters.

Papers & Workshops

Smart, R. (2019). A Practical Exploration of Active Analysis through a Synthesis of Viewpoints and Quilting the Text. Workshop presented at The Actor and Characters International Conference, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre; Vilnius, Lithuania: 6-8 September, 2019
Smart, R. (2019). Expanding the notion of what constitutes an actor’s lived experience to encompass emotionally laden research/resources, allied to harnessing memory’s propensity for distortions and manipulation, can serve as a foundation for creating personally significant, authentic characters, which are grounded in the dramatic text. Paper presented at The Actor and Characters International Conference, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre; Vilnius, Lithuania: 6-8 September, 2019
Smart, R. (2019). In what manner does an actor’s relational history, resultant attachment style and self-efficacy beliefs mediate their training, and how might such legacies be remediated by person-centered pedagogies that foreground learning through relationships. Paper presented at the The Makings of the Actor: Towards Contemporary Acting Techniques, Practices & Methodologies International Conference, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation; Athens, Greece: 17-26 July, 2019
Smart, R. (2019) Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis as Seen Through the Lens of Contemporary Research in Emotion, Memory, Embodied Cognition and Social Neuroscience. Paper presented at the The S Word: Stanislavsky in Context Symposium; University of Malta, Valetta, Malta: 5-7 April, 2019
Smart, R. (2019). A Practical Exploration of Active Analysis through a Synthesis of Viewpoints and Quilting the Text. Workshop presented at the The S Word: Stanislavsky in Context Symposium; University of Malta, Valetta, Malta: 5-7 April, 2019
Gentzler, A. DeLong, K. & Smart, R. (2018) Does Practice Make Perfect (or Better)? Investigating Actors and Non-Actors in their Temperament and Emotion Beliefs, Awareness, Regulation, and Perception. Psychology of the Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Smart (2017) Relational Trauma and Actor Training. Paper presented at the Research (with) Difficult Feelings Conference, Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre; London: 14-15 December, 2017
Fitzmaurice, C. & Smart R. (2013) Fitzmaurice Voicework Certification Program. Assistant Instructor, Royal Central School of Speech & Drama; London; 12-20 August 2013
Fitzmaurice, C. & Smart, R. (2013) Two-day Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop. Assistant Instructor, Royal Central School of Speech & Drama; London: 26/7 July 2013
Smart, R. (2010) The Potential Space: workshop in Fitzmaurice Voicework, Viewpoints and Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA); London: September 17-19, 2010
Smart, R. (2010) The Threatening Body as an Impediment to the Training of Actors. Paper presented at the TaPRA 2010 Conference (Theatre & Performance Research Association); Cardiff, Wales: 9-11 September, 2010
Gruzelier, Inuoe, Smart and Steed (2010) Acting performance and flow state enhanced with sensory-motor rhythm feedback comparing ecologically valid immersive VR and training screen scenarios. Neuroscience Letters
Fitzmaurice, C. & Smart, R. (2010, January 18-22) Fitzmaurice Voicework Certification Program. Assistant Instructor; Los Angeles, CA.: 18-22 January, 2010
Smart, R. (2010) Fitzmaurice Voicework workshops. Workshop Leader Life Force Arts Center; Chicago, IL: on-going weekly workshops, January - August, 2009
Smart, R. (2009/2010) The Potential Space: workshops in Fitzmaurice Voicework, Viewpoints and Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis. Workshop Leader. Goldsmiths College, London University; November 2009; January 2010; June 2010 (Weekend workshops)
Smart R. (2009) Theatre Noise: The Sound of Performance Symposium. Panel Member, Central School of Speech & Drama; London: 25 April 2009
Smart, R. (2008) Viewpoints/Active Analysis Workshop. Workshop Leader, Punchdrunk Theatre Company; London: 22 November, 2008
Smart, R. (2008) Two-evening Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop for teachers of Voice & Acting. Workshop Leader, Institut del Teatra; Barcelona, Spain: 8-10 October, 2008
Smart, R. (2008) Four-day Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop for Graduate Actors. Workshop Leader, Institut del Teatra, Barcelona; Spain: 6-10 October, 2008
Fitzmaurice, C. & Smart, R. (2008) Five-day Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop. Assistant Instructor, Arts Ed College; London: 14-18 July, 2008
Smart, R. (2006) The Potential Space: breath and inspiration. Paper presented at Giving Voice 2008 Centre for Performance Research; Aberystwyth: 6 April, 2008
Smart, R. (2006) Five-day Fitzmaurice Voicework. Workshop presented at Giving Voice 2008, Centre for Performance Research; Aberystwyth: 28 March - 1 April, 2008
Smart, R. (2008) Viewpoints/Active Analysis Workshop. Workshop Leader, The Pinter Centre; London: 18 March, 2008
Smart, R. (2008) Two-day Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop. Workshop Leader London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; London: 12 January, 2008
Fitzmaurice, C. & Smart, R. (2007) Five-day Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop. Assistant Instructor, Arts Ed College; London: 16-21 July, 2007
Fitzmaurice, C. & Smart, R. (2007) Fitzmaurice Voicework. Workshop presented at Performance Breath: An Essential Exploration of Body, Voice and Word. Assistant Instructor, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; London: 4 January, 2007
Smart, R. (2005) Viewpoints: Practice and Theory. Paper and workshop presented at the North Carolina Theatre Conference; Greensboro NC: 4 November, 2005
Smart, R. (2005) Uniting Body and Voice: An Introduction to a Psycho-physical Approach to Actor Training. Paper presented at the Educational Theatre Association Annual Conference; Atlanta, GA: 15 September, 2005.
Smart, R. (2005) Uniting Actor, Body and Voice. Paper presented at Southeastern Theatre Conference; Greensboro NC: 14 March, 2005.
Smart, R. (2004) In Depth With Franc Chamberlain: Michael Chekhov in Context. Acting Now Magazine, 2004

Full academic Curriculum Vitae available on request

CONTACT >>