About Ariana Fort
Acting has been Ariana’s passion since she was six years old and she has been performing in both local and professional productions ever since. Ariana holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from California Institute of the Arts and continues to take classes in order to refine her skills.
In addition to her degree, Ariana has done Master classes in Commedia dell’arte (Foundation of Comedy and Mask Work), Shakespeare, Solo Performance and Acting for the Camera (Elias Mirage). Over the years, she has been lucky enough to work closely with Tony Award winner Stew (Passing Strange), Ellen Greene (Audrey in Little Shop Of Horrors) Roger S.H Shulman (writer of Shrek, creator of the Jonas Brothers TV show and writer of the screenplay for the animated feature film Balto). She has also worked with playwrights Susan-Lori-Parks and James Lecesne. Ariana has an intensive background in the classics of theatre, voice and language techniques, speech and dialect work as well as musical theater and on-camera acting. She has performed off-Broadway and continues to audition and act professionally. Ariana is the head of the Acting Program at Whitehouse Prep School in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey where she teaches conflict resolution through acting. She also stages shows with her pre-school and kindergarten level students.
“Ariana is a great speech & vocal coach. My son and I both really enjoy working with her and she is very professional! Knowledgeable about the business and GREAT local resource to tap into. We’ve referred her to several of our industry friends too.”
- Theresa West, Mother of working actor Dane West
I am well-versed in many acting styles but also encourage my students to find their own style and the path that works best for them in any given role or situation.
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Classical Acting
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The Chekhov Acting Technique
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Method Acting
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Meisner Acting Technique
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Practical Aesthetics Acting Technique
I have always pictured an actor as a wind instrument: we use and engage our breath to create sound that travels out for our audience. Because of this I emphasize creating a foundation based on breath, voice and body work. I feel our access to our emotions, so primary for acting, is often blocked by tension we hold in our bodies. As we release those tensions, our access to our natural voice and emotions are freed up. So, in all of my lessons we start with learning to touch sound, connect to our breath and our body and then bring that awareness into all the other work we do. I teach how to harness nervous energy and transform it into a positive force that will help us get through any audition and secure our ability to get up on that stage or in front of the camera and feel confident in what we are putting out into the world.
What don’t I love! I would not be me without having acting in my life. It gives me so much as a person besides just preparing me for a role. I love the confidence it gives and the way it can help us communicate on and off the stage. I love teaching about all aspects of theater and seeing my students find success in getting cast, being accept into colleges and seeing their passion for acting take off.
When you have me as your teacher, you have me as a friend. I accept and encourage texts and emails with questions about the work we are doing and also assign plays, lesson breakdowns and homework to help you take our lessons out into the real world of acting.
I am dedicated to my students and their individual goals. In my private lessons I create very specific teaching plans to ensure that all of the goals of the student (or the parent of the student) are met. I work closely to improve confidence in those who are new to this craft as well as challenge and broaden the work skills of those who are seasoned performers. My lessons not only help students book that next job, but encourage them to take what they learn with me and use it in their everyday life, whether it’s on stage, at a job interview or just connecting with other people. I believe in working on all aspects of theater in our lessons, starting with the body and breath work and working our way into character analysis, script analysis…and more.
I have a particular skill and love for working with children already in the profession as well as those new to acting or aspiring to become professionals. With young actors I often teach in short intervals adhering to new scientific studies that indicate the brain takes in fifteen minutes of consecutive information before it starts to doze off. With this unique approach I find that children can work hard and have time to integrate, absorb and retain the acting lesson. Children need to have their lesson remain fun and exciting, so I work hard to keep everything at a level they can understand and then execute with success!