Acting coach to give free lecture Sunday at Kim’s Academy of Dance

Special to the Progress

March 23, 2006 12:15 pm

— What do “The O.C.’s” Mischa Barton, “Home Improvement’s” Zachery Ty Bryan, “Full House’s” Lori Loughlin, “NYPD Blue’s” Rick Schroder, “Sex & the City’s” Sarah Jessica Parker, “Legally Blonde’s” Reese Witherspoon and Ricki Lake all have in common? Acting coach Peter Sklar.
Sklar, who has coached, directed or discovered all of the above young stars and hundreds of others, is offering a complimentary lecture, titled: “So You Want To Be A Performer … the Realities of Success” at 7 p.m. Sunday at Kim’s Academy of Dance, 1720 Quevado St. in Jacksonville. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 903-586-8898.
The free talk will provide insights into the relationship between self-esteem, health and professional success, with a behind-the-scenes look at the causes of eating disorders, stage mothers, industry scams, and the role of talent agents and casting directors.
The lecture will be followed by personal interviews with young members of the audience.
The recipient of a master’s degree in education from Harvard University, Sklar is the producer of the upcoming Broadway musical, “The Kid Who Played the Palace,” directed by Bill Martin, (Broadway’s “The Lieutenant,” five-time Tony Award Nominee).
In 1984, Mr. Sklar founded the famed Beginnings Workshop in upstate New York. His publication, “Winning Monologues from the Beginnings Workshop,” (Samuel French/Baker’s Plays), is a standard text in many high school and college theater departments, as well as a resource for numerous talent agencies and casting directors.
A nationally known expert in the fields of child development and the entertainment field, his work was featured in five articles in The New York Times, along with numerous articles in the Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Star, Atlanta Journal Constitution and dozens of others, as well as on Donahue, The Bravo Channel, Good Morning America, and numerous local and national news and entertainment programs.
Children under age 18 must be accompanied by one of their own parents; nobody under age 6 will be admitted.