“I love Company of Rogues and the work you do. Being a graduate of sorts I can attest first hand to the quality of training you provide. I’m always happy to refer students to you. I feel our vision for growing a community of performers is very much the same and we work toward a common goal.” – Rhonda Fisekci, Casting Director (Principal & Commercial Casting)
Joe’s acting classes were among the most enjoyable, and most beneficial, of all the classes I’ve taken – acting and otherwise. He makes it easy and safe for actors learning the craft to grow, to make mistakes and to move forward. It was certainly the case for me, and I’m eternally grateful for the space and the challenges he gave me, and the knowledge he shared. He is a generous, trusting, discerning soul with a heart as big as Manhattan. Thanks Joe. Paraphrasing your words – “Every day you get to act is a great day.” – Larry Hoffman, Calgary based Actor, Rogues Alumnus
“I’ve always felt that the training I received with you guys was second to none and a great foundation to go to NY with, so I suppose it should be no surprise the studio is still doing well.” – Ryan Cowie, Graduate, Neighborhood Playhouse (NYC), Vancouver based Actor
“I am thrilled to sing the praises of Company of Rogues. As an agent, it is part of my job to seek out and foster new talent as well as support the professional development of my actors and frankly, all the actors that are part of our community here in Calgary. By presenting a skilled talent pool, we raise the chances of growing our industry and keeping productions coming back to Alberta. This behooves us all. Company of Rogues is an upstanding educational pillar within our arts community. Joe and Christiane conduct themselves with the utmost of professionalism and I hold them in the highest regard. I respect their commitment to running a well maintained business and remaining long term mentors within our industry. I am always happy to recommend Rogues to clients or potential talent, be it as a commencement of their training or a continual updating of their craft. Thank you Joe and Christiane, for everything you do.” – Roxanne Ellison, Dagaz Talent
“I am and will always be in debt to The Rogues Actor’s Studio. After moving here from Regina and taking classes at the studio, it quickly became a home and a safe haven for me to explore the craft of acting. Not only the acting though, over the past two years that I studied there I have grown more as a person; mentally, emotionally and spiritually than I ever have in my entire life. Both Joe and Christiane have instilled in me a respect for the craft and a work ethic that has helped me reach my goals in the professional world. The passion they bring to the studio every day is inspiring and the tools they pass on through their teaching is what I truly believe are the essentials to real, potent, honest, stimulating acting. Their approach is pure; devoid of any of the tricks or superficial techniques that plague our craft. They believe in the importance of the role of the actor in today’s society and they promote the art as not only an art, but as a way of life, an attitude, an ethos. I truly believe that the Studio helped me to discover my true self and to realize my true aspirations in life.” – Alexander Arsenault, Rogues Alumnus
“There isn’t a doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t have been prepared for theatre school in New York City without the prior training at Company of Rogues. The teachers at Rogues are by far some of the best I’ve ever had, they’re experience and knowledge is indisputable. Their talent for working with each actor in a different way is exceptional; they understand the process and difficulties an actor experiences when developing their craft. I am forever grateful for the teachers at Rogues.” -Candace Bryant, Rogues Alumnus, HB Studio, New York based Actor
“My experiences with Joe and Christiane helped influence my decision to come to New York and pursue my acting. I think of Joe and Christiane as my mentors that exposed me to the type of truthful acting that great actors are made of. The education I received at Rogues is the next best thing to being in New York, which in my opinion is the Mecca for Acting.” – Jeff Todesco, Circle in the Square (NYC), New York based Actor, Locus Theatre
“Working with Christiane Hirt is among the wisest moves I have made as an actor. I had, more or less, fiddled around with my career up until I was cast as Don Cherry in the CBC TV Movie, Keep Your Head up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story. I had no direction. I had spent five years concerning myself with peripheral aspects of acting and my performance suffered as I continually failed to make intelligent, concrete choices. Christiane introduced me to The Hero’s Journey. This method helped me to understand the script/story better, develop a character arc and to better understand the material. Christiane also walked me through Emotional Connection and this helped me to draw parallel’s between what the character was going through and what I had experienced in my own life. This was an area I had previously found to be intimidating, as it is not always easy to look back on certain times in your life. That said, I feel fortunate to have turned over those rocks with Christiane. Acting classes and personal coaching can be rough terrain. Insecurities are brought to the surface, moulds are broken and egos are shattered. Change is a scary thing, in general, for actors.
Why put myself through the stress when I’ve already got it all figured out? I thank you, Christiane, for the gentle, enlightening message: you don’t.” – Jared Keeso, Vancouver based Actor
“I had the privilege of taking Christiane Hirt’s Meisner On Film in Toronto recently. Christiane’s understanding and teachings the hierarchical development of true and real emotions were like no other I’ve experienced in a workshop specific to film and television. Her language was clear and concise and it made absolute sense. Much like the teachings of Meisner, it took the difficult process of finding a true emotional connection within a character’s performance and made it simple, yet not simplistic.
From a personal level, I felt and saw this process manifest the behavior within my performance to convey the true emotion and subtext of the scenes I worked on in front of the camera. Throughout the course, I saw this emotional openness and truth happen with every single actor that committed to this process. As an audience it made for incredibly engaging performances that were often seamless from the beginning of the scene to the end. When the actors gave themselves to this process, every ‘take’ in each scene became unique and new because they (the actors) were living the experience instead of emoting a performance.
As an actor, I’ve taken countless courses from various instructors over the years; and this is the first course and method that I’ve felt I can truly trust on all levels to commit my performances to. The proof was truly in seeing the difference of each actor as they committed to this process through Christiane’s guidance.
I would encourage any actor committed to bringing truth and compelling performances to the screen to take Christiane’s workshops at some point in their career. Their only regret would be that they hadn’t taken them earlier.” – Michael Murray Scratch, Toronto based Actor