Hollywood's Chubbuck Acting Technique with Director Rahyan Carlos

"Learning is a never-ending process."

The only Filipino representative who learned firsthand Hollywood's secret to exceptional acting performance, Star Magic director-writer-acting coach Rahyan Carlos shared his experience under the renowned acting trainer Ivana Chubbuck, author of the book "The Power of the Actor" to media and bloggers last February 6.

Direk Rahyan also shared the intensity of the training under Ivana Chubbuck as he worked with other famous Hollywood artists and mastered the Chubbuck Technique that was used by some of the Academy award winners and nominees like Jim Carrey, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt and Halle Berry.

"It was an honor to be able to learn the Chubbuck Technique firsthand and I am truly glad that I can teach this to our fellow artists in the Star Magic Workshop we will launch this summer," Direk Rahyan added.

He also shared how artists in Hollywood train intensively and prepare way ahead of time to master the technique, and how they are eager to learn that compared to most Filipino artists during workshops who are still shy to try a technique, Hollywood artists would always volunteer and compete with everyone in the workshop.

Chubbuck Technique is what Direk Rahyan basically dubs as karga in Filipino. Before the execution of the scene the artist must first be able to connect himself with the story line and correlate it to a similar experience; in other words, the artist must have a karga or an emotional load that reflects the scene to be able to execute an authentic acting performance. He added that the technique is never easy and needs to be mastered to be able to produce an outstanding performance we often see in Hollywood films.

Some of the bloggers were also invited to be mentored by Direk Rahyan and were given lines from certain Filipino movies to act out while applying the Chubbuck Technique. I saw how difficult it was to first internalize the dramatic atmosphere of the scene and correlate it with your own experience.

He also shared that such technique can be mastered by anyone interested to improve their skills. I truly learned a lot from Direk Rahyan and was inspired by his message that there is no limit to learning because he believes that whatever field we take--acting and singing performances, teaching, research--the learning never stops and we should continue to accept, evaluate and discover new things to improve our skills and knowledge.

Direk Rahyan Carlos will offer the Star Magic workshop in three categories: the Introductory, Advanced and Master Classes to both amateurs and professionals for the first time. Registration is on March 16 and 17 with limited slots. For inquiries you may call the ABS-CBN Star Magic Acting Studio at 415-3828 or 41502272 local 5142 or 5244. You may also email them at starmagicworkshops@abs-cbn.com.