Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Mathes.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
That’s such a great question. It’s funny when someone asks me about my story, I immediately go to the things I’ve done–how many shows I’ve been in, how many universities I’ve taught at, how many books I’ve written, or movies I’ve produced, or how many students I’ve reached… I go to the things that “qualify” me to the world. But, that’s not my story. The truth is, I believe that the greatest work of art we ever create is the life we are living now. I didn’t feel like I was living that work of art. I was just following the rules, drawing the map to success, and trying my best to follow it. I was working too much and living too little, so my work had no life in it, and my life had no joy in it.
Pretty soon, it led me into personal and professional ruin. My marriage ended, and I found myself in a very dark place. One night, I broke down outside a liquor store–just before I went in to buy another drink. Literally, curled up in a ball sitting in my car, I broke down. I was so tired of it all. I was tired of the old way of doing things–old acting techniques, tired approaches to life as an actor, the powerlessness of the pursuit. I was tired of the person I’d become trying to “make my dreams come true”. It seemed like the more I became an actor, the less I became a person.
How could this beautiful thing, acting, make me a worse human being? But it had. I was impatient, disloyal, and starved for someone else definition of success. And it broke me. So, I decided that something had to change. Out of a broken marriage, professional confusion, and a personal revolution, I created Urban Confessional: A Free Listening Project and Crash Acting. One, a grassroots service project that has reached over 75 countries, and the other a proclamation that there can be a new way to develop a life and career as an actor.
I guess that’s my story–or some of it, anyway. I’m on a mission to restore the significance of every actor I meet. To approach acting the same way we approach living–as a practice, as a mess, and using what we have to create what we can become. I believe if service isn’t at the core of your acting, you’re never operating at your fullest potential. I believe we should live in a constant reevaluation of our work, how we teach our work, and how we practice it. I’m inspired by the greats who have taught me, and I’m driven to push the craft forward. That’s my story. And I’m sticking to it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No road worth traveling is smooth. There have been many obstacles on this journey. But, most of them are superficial–things not worth sharing, really. Creative challenges, financial challenges, people challenges… I guess there is one struggle I face on a daily basis that continues to challenge me–am I worthy. More than I like to admit, this haunts me. I know I’m not alone in that–maybe it’s our core struggle.
Maybe that’s what really unifies us all. Anyway, yea. That’s the struggle that can paralyze me if I’m not careful. That’s the struggle that shapes my work the most. When I feel that question the most, it means I’m on the right track. That’s the struggle that makes it all worth it. Good thing I’m not alone.
Crash Acting – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Crash Acting is a guerrilla approach to acting for those seeking a more fulfilling and sustainable way to work as an actor in today’s industry. We’re a scene study class, but we’re different than other classes. Instead of strictly adhering to a specific technique or teacher’s influence, we apply the timeless and true practices of personal risk, acceptance, detachment, and self-sacrifice to the practice of acting. As a ‘student-first’ creative community, we deeply explore the blocks of each actor and work tirelessly to align the actor with their trust, most creative self. We believe that acting is rooted in offering and generosity.
That when our work is positioned as a generous discipline, we regain control and operate at a new potential. The joy in the work returns and actors craft a process that will serve them for a lifetime. Students vary in experience from award-winning actors with their own tv shows and actors with a prestigious conservatory or graduate degrees to new actors and championship athletes looking to become actors. Our students are active in the community and work tirelessly to help each other. They meet in small career groups, writing groups, and regularly work together on self-taped auditions.
We also run a weekly fitness boot camp that is open and free to all actors in the city (its called Crash Camp and it’s awesome!). Last year, we partnered with a studio in Dublin, Ireland, and offer opportunities for our students to work in Ireland with Irish actors. In April, we’re running a surfing and acting workshop outside of Cork… it’s gonna be amazing!! I’m most proud to say we are the only acting studio in the city to have created a worldwide service movement in Urban Confessional, and the only studio to commit 10% of our monthly tuition to a charity of the student’s choice. We practice what we teach, and are working to shift the way we relate to an industry that needs what we have to offer.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’m proud of the many actors who book their dream roles and arrive at their dreams with a foundation of a process that allows them to flourish in the roles they book. I’m proud of the actors who spend time Free Listening to their communities and bring that level of dedication to our studio every week. I’m proud that others come to our studio and tell me, “I heard this place was different. I heard I can be myself here.”
I’m proud of the questions actors ask in class, of the risks they take, and the support they offer. Then, last year, something hit me hard and reminded me what its really all about. I got a call from an actress I hadn’t heard from in about 4 years. When I met her, she was struggling after about 20 years of constant work. We worked together for a while, then she disappeared… until I heard from her last summer. She told me she’d had a stroke and been in the hospital for years. She lost contact with so many people and had not been able to reach me, but she finally found me on Google.
She was just regaining her ability to be active but wanted to let me know that while she was in recovery, she dreamed of becoming an actor again and rejoining the Crash Acting community. She said the energy and creativity inspired her to keep going during her lowest points. It brought me to tears to know that we impacted someone in their deepest time of need. It was humbling to hear that Crash Acting helped her through the hardest role she’s ever play. I’m proud to say that she’s rejoined class, and she is a constant inspiration to me and the actors she works with.
Pricing:
- 225 a month, plus a 225 deposit to join the class
Contact Info:
- Address: 5233 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood 91601
- Website: www.crashacting.com
- Instagram: Crash Acting
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crashacting/
- Twitter: @crashacting
- Other: www.urbanconfessional.org
Image Credit:
Alisha Chandler
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