So. I rarely get personal on this little bloggy-thingy, but this is something that I’ve been dealing with for a while now, so I thought I would talk about it a bit.

Jen Krater, my acting teacher/coach/mentor/support system has officially moved to LA where she will be opening her own studio, and bringing her amazing brand of acting training to the West Coast. I, for one, am obviously devastated.

It’s difficult for me to articulate exactly what Jen has meant to me over the past three years. I came into her class directly from a traditional acting conservatory, where my training was in a variety of disciplines, and was given to me by a wide array of teachers. Were some of them good? Absolutely. Were some of them bad? Absolutely. Hands down though, no teacher ever took the time to get to know me on the level that Jen did. From day one when I walked into her class, this woman had an intuitive sense for where I was coming from, what I needed, and what my obstacles were. She could see what was inside me, and she knew how to draw it out.

For three years, Jen and I worked tirelessly to develop the raw talent, emotion, and volatility that was inside me. I always knew that I was capable of more than what I had accomplished in any acting class prior to meeting her, and Jen helped me to realize as much of my potential as I could in my time with her.

Now though, she is gone. For the first time in over seven years, I am not in an acting class of some kind. It is a strange and surreal feeling. At the moment I’m coming up against all sorts of issues about whether I need more class, want more class, and just what I want from a class in the future. Issues and questions that I will, no doubt, continue to grapple with until I find my next mentor.

Losing a mentor is hard. It’s super hard. And it sucks. But that being said, if you’re on the west coast, and looking for the best acting training of your life, I encourage you to get in touch with Jen Krater. And tell her I said hi.