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"With OTOA you cannot betray yourself." -Tony Naumovski, Actor

What is OTOA Performance Technique & Training (PTT)?

OTOA PTT is a method for creating a vivid, engaged and dynamic life on stage or screen.

OTOA PTT identifies incremental components of thought as specific moments of physical action.

OTOA PTT brings specificity, versatility and dynamic physical vitality to the stage

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Who Can Benefit from OTOA PTT?

OTOA PTT benefits performing artists, stage & film directors, singers, collaborators, theater makers, public speakers, teachers, storytellers and more...

“It is magical when the shape leads into the next thought.” - Jordan Schachter, Writer/Director

“I have taken part in the OTOA workshop, and find Gia's teaching and OTOA's philosophy refreshingly practical and rooted towards achieving a visceral authenticity… Gia spoke to everything I believe. I am going to continue to encourage all of my students investigate this work."

- Vicki Shaghoian, Assistant Professor of Acting, Yale School of Drama

What Does OTOA PTT Offer?

*A clear approach for a more liberating, physically connected, and moment-to-moment life on stage

*Tools for crafting visually engaging storytelling

*A method for a more confident stage presence

*A useful vocabulary between performer and director

OTOA PTT Addresses Performance Obstacles, Such as:

*Generalization

*Lack of variety

*Physical detachment

OTOA as a reliable technique

OTOA can be used in its pure form or incorporated to work in tandem with other performance-based methods or public speaking systems.

OTOA PTT Increases

*Specificity

*Versatility

*Dynamic Physical Vitality

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“OTOA forces the actor to “think” from the body.” – Katrina Foy, Actor

CLASS PARTICIPATION includes individual and group exercises and observation.

EXERCISES are followed by class discussion and exchange.

ALL WORKSHOPS are led by OTOA Founder, Master Teacher and Theater Artist, Gia Forakis.

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Click here to view WORKSHOP SCHEDULES


Click here to view VIDEO: INTRODUCTION TO OTOA PTT

PTT Workshops Include:

  • The identification of increments of thought

  • An exploration of space & time through action

  • An introduction to shape as a component of action

  • An introduction to Storytelling

  • How thought informs physical action

  • An exploration of form & content as shape & thought

  • Engaging the text

  • The physical memorization technique

Exercises Include:

  • Walking the text

  • Locomotive tableau

  • Movement with Music

  • Compositions with Shape

  • Tableau Improvisations

  • Shape Scenarios

Additional Study Topics Include:

  • Craft vs. Style

  • Style vs. Technique

  • Discipline & Craftsmanship

  • Thought & Action

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“One of the most useful things I came away with from this workshop was how much physical variety is actually possible in even a short monologue.” - James Chen, Actor

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“My past experience has often been one of helpless, hopeless prayer to access the character through some vague emotional/ psychological process. I was startled to find that OTOa gave me a deeper & clearer understanding of the character and his motivation by methodically identifying the separate thoughts in the text... ”

- Kerry Milliron, Actor

CLICK HERE: OTOA WORKSHOP SCHEDULES

CLICK HERE: INFORMATION ON THE OTOA TECHNIQUE

CLICK HERE: AN INTERVIEW WITH GIA FORAKIS

In the international journal The Theatre Times


"I do not teach acting. I teach One-Thought-One-Action: a formalization and exploration of the intuitive mind-body connection, a method, theory and technique for performance, a tool for stage & film directing and collaboration, and a creative life practice."

~ Gia Forakis, OTOA Founder & Master Teacher

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All photos on this page by Danika Walch

The Development of OTOA PTT

"OTOA arose out of a personal and professional imperative as a theater artist, to get more detailed, specific, and physically dynamic performances from the actors I was working with.

It was this desire that forced me to consider more deeply what it was I found the most satisfying and compelling when watching a performance of any kind.

It became clear that what engages me the most is the physical expression of the performers thinking process. It is through this type of physical expression that I gain entrance into a production, it is what pulls me in, and what enables me to invest more fully in the production.

It is the specific visualization of thought into action that distinguishes the stage’s capacity for expression from that of radio or literature, thereby providing a more visceral event for the audience. And it was this observation that became the primary motivation in the development of OTOA as a performance technique and training".

~ Gia Forakis,

OTOA Founder, Master Teacher

& Theater Artist

Actor, Ümit Celebi describes OTOA PTT

Thank You Ümit
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS VIEWING THIS VIDEO CLICK HERE

The OTOA Technique can also be applied as a guiding principle for clarifying goals, and bringing balance and focus into our multitasking life style through

OTOA Creative Life Practice (CLP)™

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON OTOA CLP


Photos on this page by Danika Walch