C.O.R.E.  A.C.T.I.N.G. is an acting class for all acting skill levels, ages 14 and up. Small group classes and private, one-on-one coaching are also available. C.O.R.E. is the perfect class for any new actor, as well as for experienced actors looking for a fresh start and raw challenge, and an engagement of the senses!

Founder of C.O.R.E. Acting Method, Mike Messier creates and provides materials to educate new and seasoned actors for both film and stage. Both group and private classes focus on individual instruction through script analysis and breakdown, character development, on-set protocol, visualization, and relaxation techniques. Private coaching is also available.

The name represents the tenets of Character Origin Response Environment Audience Choice Training Instinct Need Greatness. In every class, C.O.R.E. values will come to life through study and active participation.

• New A.C.T.O.R.s – who need guidance, confidence and encouragement in just getting started.
• Intermediates -who seek insight in character development and audition techniques.
• Advanced – who really want to take their careers to the highest of levels.

Select success stories include Dustin Teuber at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting, David Graziano with over 20 acting credits to his name, and Jose Guns Alves, recently featured in television series with CBS, Showtime, and Netflix.

“Some want to be involved in community theater and student films. Some aspire to have their own one-person shows or star in feature films. I’m open to working with anyone who takes Acting seriously. I encourage all to return to form. To be yourself. To not be denied.” Mike uses a Career and Life Career Path worksheets with many of his new students that he feels helps guide and focus their work together.

The Story Behind The C.O.R.E.

Workshop founder and acting coach Mike Messier has worked both behind, and in front of, the camera, with such talents as Meryl Streep and Elisabeth Shue (in Hope Springs), Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, and Cybill Shepherd (in Hard Luck). Mike has won numerous awards in film and television, including a Regional Associated Press Award, and a Regional Emmy Nomination.

Mike’s own acting class mentor, character actor Barry Primus (Cagney and Lacey), inspired Mike to teach acting courses of his own. Over time, Mike has developed his principles into a program he called C.O.R.E. Acting, a unique hybrid of scene study, audition techniques, and monologue work, and in 2009 he began sharing his methods with aspiring and established actors. Influenced by Mike’s own experiences and his personal study of the methods of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and Michael Shurtleff, the tenets of C.O.R.E. are character, origin, response, and environment.

In 2010, Mike was nominated as Actor in Residence at Maine Media Workshops, where he learned acting on a deeper level through Barry Primus’ class Acting Techniques for Directors. Mike learned much from Barry’s intensive class in how to work with and cultivate the very best performances from both himself and other actors. Mike has also attended Improvisation classes with Jeff Butterworth, in addition to Screenwriting with Christopher Mensel. Mike was also the Manager of a workshop on Unit Production Management, instructed by Tom Kane (Kramer vs. Kramer). Mike has also had great conversations with contemporaries like Richard C. Bailey and Tim Hillman, working Acting Coaches in New England who also seek the best from their students.

Tenets of Greatness

“C.O.R.E. is where the Heavens meet the Earth. It’s not so much about ‘playing as someone else’ as it is about ‘being yourself.’  The vase doesn’t Act as the vase. The vase IS the vase.”

Much of the work of the actor is done on one’s own, such as learning your lines and doing research on the character. Meanwhile, even more, comes from work with a scene partner, insightful direction from a good director, and from discussion with informed peers. The C.O.R.E. Acting program is a ruthless approach to acting – without apologies.

Let’s examine the tenet of Greatness. Your own greatness as a person is magnified, identified, and celebrated in your A.C.T.I.N.G. Please don’t downplay or minimize your own A.C.T.I.N.G. or acting in general. Acting has a great history, thousands of years old, and in most civilized cultures is a respected vocation.

Don’t be discouraged by a lack of encouragement from your supposed friends and family, if that is the hand you are dealt. Don’t waste time arguing with the doubters about your talents and passions. Find support
from your fellow actors and those who recognize your greatness. Your greatness? Yes, you are GREAT, capable of GREAT things.

The Tenet of Training. Take C.O.R.E. A.C.T.I.N.G. Read books. You never stop learning! C.O.R.E. A.C.T.O.R.’s = Creators Of Raw Experiences that Are Creating Their Own Road. You will study and work with C.O.R.E. A.C.T.I.N.G. scenes in every class. You will act in every class.

C.O.R.E. A.C.T.I.N.G. continues to evolve with each session.