• Master Teacher of the Stanislavsky System and Active Analysis

• Author of the ground-breaking book, Stanislavsky in Focus

• Director, Actor, Dancer

• Award Winning Translator of Chekhov’s Plays

• Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Southern California’s School of Theatre (Los Angeles)

• Director, The Stanislavsky Institute for the Twenty-First Century

Sharon Marie Carnicke is an internationally known expert on the Stanislavsky System for actor training and on film acting. Her books include Stanislavsky In Focus: An Acting Master for the Twenty-First Century (Second Edition), The Theatrical Instinct: Nikolai Evreinov and the Russian Theatre of the Early Twentieth Century, and the co-authored Reframing Screen Performance. Her translations of Anton Chekhov’s plays have been produced nationally, with her Seagull winning a Kennedy Center award. Her translations are published as Chekhov: 4 Plays and 3 Jokes (nominated for the National Translation Award).

In addition to teaching at the University of Southern California, she has founded the Stanislavsky Institute for the Twenty-First Century and conducts an on-going laboratory workshop for acting in LA. She has taught master classes on Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis throughout the US and globally, including intensives for Italy’s Metodifestival, in Finland and Puerto Rico, and at the National Institute for Dramatic Arts in Australia.

Sharon began acting at the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Stratford Connecticut at age twelve, and later appeared as an actor and dancer in New York on and off Broadway. She has directed theatrical productions in New York, Los Angeles, and Moscow. Her direction of The Locked Room at New York’s Lincoln Center was a finalist for the Samuel French New Play award.

Recent Activities:

• Master Classes in Active Analysis, Metodifestival, Italy, October 2011.

• Keynote Speaker on Stanislavsky for the 2010 conference Australasian Dramatic Studies Association.

• Master Classes in Directing and Acting at the National Institute for Dramatic Arts (NIDA), Australia, June 2009 and 2010.

• Speaker for the 2010 International Symposium on Film Acting, Potsdam Germany.

• Director, Acting in the Translations of Anton Chekhov, for the American Literary Translators Association, Philadelphia, October, 2010.

• Director, The Motion Capture Company, performing exclusively in cinematic motion capture; the company was created with funding from the National Science Foundation at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School (2009-11).

Endorsements:

“If every aspiring actor were able to study with Sharon Carnicke, the worlds of theatre and film would be brimming with artists. It is an honor to call Sharon Carnicke a colleague and friend.” Mary Joan Negro, graduate of Julliard, founding member of John Houseman’s The Acting Company, and Associate Professor of Theatre Practice at the University of Southern California.

”Sharon Carnicke has the kind of clarity that actors dream about. A very accessible collection of tools that lead to dynamic actor choices. In an overcrowded field, she stands far above the rest.” Milton Justice, Academy Award Winner and Director of Curriculum at the Stella Adler Academy in Hollywood.

“Sharon Carnicke is everything one would need in an acting teacher. She is smart, concise, and caring. But most of all, she is clear.” Baron Kelly, Actor, Los Angeles.

“Sharon Carnicke’s master class with our directing students was one of the highlights of our year. Her incisive and comprehensive understanding of all things Stanislavsky and Active Analysis in particular, proved a great boon for the students and the development of their own rehearsal methodology.” Egil Kipste, Head of Directing, The National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney Australia, formerly international casting director for Disney.

“Sharon Carnicke's technique of Active Analysis opened my eyes as an actor. Since studying with her, I have discovered things about myself and acting that genuinely allow me to live truthfully while on stage, something I have been struggling with my whole career. She guides and pushes the actor out of their comfort zones and into a living breathing connection, allowing them to truly open up and listen. Dr. Carnicke is a breath of fresh air in a world of method madness, and she is paving the way to a powerful future of acting.”
Teena Pugliese, Actor and member of the A/ACT Workshop, Los Angeles.

“Sharon Marie Carnicke is right up there with Stanislavsky. She is the smartest, most compassionate, and wisest teacher of theatre disciplines I have ever met or studied with, and I know a few. I have watched her in action with absolute admiration as she pulls from each student, no matter the level of preparation, more than anyone might expect. I think her unspoken motto must be something like, ‘Think! Prepare! Act it!.... Again!...” Joan Johnson, Award Winning Playwright.