Ivana Chubbuck Studio

HALLE BERRY

“Ivana Chubbuck is the premiere acting coach of the twenty-first century. Her astute knowledge of the human condition, coupled with her ability to translate that insight to her students, is remarkable. Ivana’s innovative methods of teaching both complements and rival those of the great teachers of the past. Her philosophy transcends what we once knew about the art, and forces actors through their own catharsis to discover authentic ways of bringing the complexity of life to the screen and stage. Under Ivana’s tutelage, the course of my career and depth of my work have changed dramatically.”

CHARLIZE THERON

“I finally went to a class in Los Angeles with this wonderful teacher, Ivana Chubbuck. Ivana taught me how to take my emotions and take everything that has happened in my life, and use it to make me an effective actor. The stakes have to be high – so it was really an interesting place for me to stand on my feet and fall on my face many times.”

-Quote from Charlize Theron on “The Actor’s Studio”

SYLVESTER STALLONE

“She just began to break me down, and I went, “Wow.” Because it’s almost as if certain acting habits become calcified and, before you know it, you’re like a piano player with one finger. You keep hitting that same note over and over again. She right away got into really subliminal, exploratory personal chambers that I wanted to keep closed. Like my son’s death. I said, ‘I really don’t want to go there, I really don’t want to talk about that. She said, ‘Well, that’s what needs to come out. You need to express that. This is what this character is dealing with, that kind of loss, that kind of grief.”

-Quote from Sylvester Stallone on NPR

EVA MENDES

“I believe Ivana’s technique could be boiled down to, ‘take the pain in your life and find the most effective way to accomplish a goal with it.’ The most interesting aspect of the Chubbuck Technique is that it helps you to understand humanity. What drives someone to do what they do, good or bad. That even someone who seems outwardly evil to the outside world, has a righteous reason to be who they are, and do what they do. It’s not painful, actually the process of each movie I’ve done has been cathartic.”

JUDITH LIGHT – 2 TIME TONY AWARD WINNER

“Ivana has taken my work up to another level. The clarity and depth from which she guides me to creating a character is simple. direct, loving and powerful. She understands human dynamics and has a profound knowledge of psychology, so I am always going deeper and never working on the surface.

For me, what is most important in my work, is that I am helping to illuminate the writer’s creation and giving the audience a powerful experience of the human condition, helping them to see themselves in whatever character I am portraying and recognizing the humanity in all of us. Ivana’s gifts as a teacher help me do this. She has deepened me not just as an artist but also as a person. I treasure her wisdom and her support.”

TASHA SMITH

“Ivana taught me fearlessness and freedom as an artist. I used to be ashamed of my pain and my past but she taught me how to use my pain in my art, which made me realize it is the very things that gave me shame, that empowered me as an artist and as a human being.”

TRAVIS FIMMEL

“Ivana has taught me that a character’s intentions are best revealed within behavior, that behavior can contain the layers and richness of their pain, desperation, and need. Because, words can lie, behavior tells the truth.”

ISLA FISHER

“Ivana enables me to grow as an artist, because I believe that an actor should never stop learning. Ivana Chubbuck’s book The Power Of The Actor: The Chubbuck Technique is the bible of acting.”

KATE BOSWORTH

“Ivana Chubbuck is a master who empowers through her teachings. The will to win is realized in every moment of each scene, thus creating a multi-dimensional, always interesting character. She not only teaches us how to act fearlessly, but to live fearlessly. Ivana is the only person I can be completely honest with, without the fear of feeling like a complete cunt, and to ultimately use this personal information to truly expose the darkness of any character.”

DAVID BOREANAZ

“I always say, ‘We’re back!’ before I begin every session with Ivana.  ‘We’re back’ doesn’t mean we ever left, it means that even after so many years of working with Ivana, there’s so much more to explore, examine, and grow from the point of view of the science of being a human being.  As my characters change and evolve, so do I.  I can play the same character for years, and still I am excited by the notion that there’s a wealth of discoveries to come regarding our script analysis. So I say again – To The Power of the Actor, and Ivana Chubbuck, ‘We’re back!’”

-David Boreanaz

JESSICA BIEL

“The guesswork is gone. Finally, a book ‘The Power of the Actor’ that provides the nuts and bolts to acting, that shows me how to always be present, how to always have something going on behind my eyes and ultimately, that provides a concrete path for me to really discover and live a role.”

BEYONCE KNOWLES

“… playing Etta James for a movie called, ‘Cadillac Records’. She was a heroin addict, which I felt would be difficult for me because I’ve never done any kind of drugs. But Ivana has an exercise that she’s developed that makes you feel like you’re actually on heroin. We worked on one of the scenes that Etta has to be very stoned on heroin, and not only did I feel organically high, but it brought up emotions that made sense to someone who needed to take a drug such as this – something to eliminate emotional pain. My emotions were very raw, yet I felt high. It was a unique experience, for sure.”

ELIZABETH SHUE

“She is a brilliant, insightful teacher whose work has transformed my understanding of the art of acting.”

GARY SHANDLING

“Ivana Chubbuck…can’t live with her, can’t act without her!”

IAN SOMERHALDER

“There are defining moments in our lives in which shape us; that help plot our course. Reading “The Power of the Actor”, meeting Ivana Chubbuck and working in her class was one of the most profound and life changing for me. Using her technique, she taught me to pull from my life experiences past,present and future, infusing into the work in a most profound yet effective way. This creates depth,coupled with the will to always win thus giving an actor a tried and true “formula” that always works. That in and of itself changed my entire career path and understanding of the actual craft and art of acting. She taught me how to understand humanity as well as to understand, that each and every one of us have a righteous reason for doing every single thing that we do in life whether in be deemed good or evil. Iwork with her every week searching and digging out of my life, the most connective tissue to infuse into the work that’s always cathartic and fulfilling.”

CAMILLA BELLE

“Ivana Chubbuck and her book, ‘The Power of the Actor’, have been of great value to me. I’ve found that using her technique has not only helped me understand more about the details of life experience, and the depth of what drives a character to do what she does, — but it also has helped to understand who I am. This has facilitated, for me, a better comprehension of the human condition. I am now able to establish a character who is less defined by what I ‘think’ the character does, but more from a place of what a person ‘really’ does.”

ERIQ LA SALLE

“This technique empowers the actor. There is no room for self – indulgence, which usually manifests itself as emotional victimization. I found this proactive approach to be extremely powerful not just in acting, but also in writing and directing.”

AUBREY PLAZA

“Judd Apatow introduced me to Ivana [for the movie Funny People] and I’ve worked with her on every role since. She has always encouraged me to take risks and push boundaries with my work. She has taught me that my fears, insecurities, neurosis and generally all those things that make me one screwed up human being — are actually the elements that make the substance and journey of the characters we create together — unique and special.”

KAT GRAHAM

“The Chubbuck Technique taught me that acting isn’t just about what I feel, but about channeling the energy of those feelings to drive me forward actively and effectively on the path to achieving my character’s OBJECTIVES in a way that is both impactful and empowering.”

REYNALDO GIANNECHINI

“A minha experiencia com Ivana Chubbuck foi sem duvida de grande desenvolvimento e aprendizado da arte de interpretar. Foi a primeira vez que alguem me propos um metodo e me mostrou quais os passos pra se alcancar um resultado mais palpavel e estar em cena mais seguro, dependendo menos do instinto e me apoiando numa tecnica coesa. Ivana e surpreendente na capacidade de entender o ser humano e trazer todas as nuances que o personagem deve apresentar. Busca sempre a criatividade e o frescor que o ator deve ter no seu oficio. Seu livro e de grande ajuda pra nos e sintetiza bem o seu trabalho.”

DAVID AYER – DIRECTOR/WRITER

Training Day (Oscar nomiation), Suicide Squad, End of Watch (starring Jake Gyllenhaal), and Fury (Starring Brad Pitt)

“The worst moment a director can experience is when a scene isn’t working and the actors and crew are staring at you for answers — and you don’t have any. The Chubbuck method has helped me to never be at a loss for words on set. Not just words, but the right words. Ivana has given me a practical set of tools, not only to troubleshoot problematic scenes, but to help my actors prepare for their roles. Directing without a workable method is like going to war without a gun. Thank you Ivana!”

FINA TORRES – WRITER/DIRECTOR

Woman on Top (starring Penelope Cruz, Alma Award), From Prada to Nada (Alma Award), Oriana (Cannes film Fest)

“I had a unique experience with Ivana. Working with her as writer/director made me realize how important is, when you want to communicate to an audience what seems essential to you, to have some underlying message that brings hope and solution to them, even in the darkest stories. The real impact of a film is not in the storytelling, but in taking the viewer on a journey of discovery and revelation on every possible level. This is the base nature of Ivana’s technique, to inspire discovery that is straightforward elegant and powerful. And it’s universal: it’s for acting but also, and very successfully, one can apply it on writing and directing. Writing a script and directing actors has become for me more enthralling then ever; easier just because with these tools you can fearlessly dive in deeper: You use the pain and trauma of the characters, not to self-destruct, but rather to overcome and evolve! Therefore creating an environment of possibilities and answers for both the characters and the audience. The result: a compelling emotional connection between all.. ”

DAVID MARCONI – WRITER/DIRECTOR

Enemy of the State (starring Will Smith), Diehard 2 (starring Bruce Willis)

“Writing for me is a process where the characters slowly reveal themselves during the course of your relationship with them. Ivana’s technique provides an invaluable tool, a road-map if you will, for that journey of discovery. Whether it’s a lawyer facing down big government, or a serial killer on the loose, the tools her techniques provide are indispensable in the analysis, motivation and breakdown of the character. Having studied with Ivana over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work-shop many of my scripts in her class and I’m always amazed by the character nuances that her work reveals. I highly recommend her technique for any writer or director seeking to gain greater command of their characters as well as insights into the actor’s mind and process.”