“I went into our first class expecting to hate every single tick of my Rolex until 9:30 pm … but surprised the hell out of myself by wishing my very reliable watch was less reliable. I came home from class wired for hours. It happens every class.
When I started the class, I did not speak in public. But now I’m finding my voice and I’m less afraid of it.
When I started the class, I did not want to be seen. But now I’ve stood alone on a stage and I can’t wait to be standing on that stage again.
When I started the class, I couldn’t write. Not a word. It wasn’t writer’s block. I could not create … and creativity is everything. But now I’ve submitted two short fiction pieces. I float in that feeling of lost time and lovely words and running out of toner.
Acting feeds my need to create – it is addictive. I want to learn more. I want to do more.”
(N. Campbell, Monday Night Acting Lab participant.)
Hey there. . .
I love helping people stumble into confidence. I am also passionately curious about actors and actor training. Professionally, I work where these preoccupations converge… I am a theatre director, an acting coach, and I offer services as a life coach. Thank you for visiting, and welcome.
JEFFREY PUUKKA
ABOUT JEFFREY PUUKKA
Jeffrey Puukka is a theatre director and acting teacher living and working in the Pacific Northwest. Favorite projects from his directorial body of work over the last 20 years include Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Polly Teale’s Mermaid, David Adjmi’s Elective Affinities which opened in Portland OR, before touring the Edinburgh Fringe and Cambodia, as well as his own adaptations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Women of Troy after Euripides’ tragedies The Trojan Women and Hecuba.
Jeffrey is curious and passionate about actor training, and has mentored actors ranging eight to eighty years of age. Jeffrey initiated and facilitates The Monday Night Acting Lab, originally sponsored and hosted by Mt. Hood Community College, and has guest-lectured at Washington State University. Jeffrey collaborates regularly as an acting instructor for Metropolitan Performing Arts in Vancouver WA, and an interpretive speaking coach for Sam Barlow High School’s nationally recognized Speech and Debate program.
Jeffrey accepts 1:1 coaching for audition preparation, text analysis, Shakespeare, speaking, and more. You can reach out to inquire or book sessions via this website.
TESTIMONIALS
“Jeffrey Puukka has directed a gripping must-see theatre event. His cast poured their hearts, minds and bodies into this show and I’ve never heard the beauty of Tennessee’s words, nor felt the power of his anti-misogyny and anti-violence message as strongly before. This show does not shy away from brutal truths. This show magnifies the voices of two powerful sisters who endure pain, hardship and injustice. The love they feel for each other and the joy they spark is infectious. They are trying to make sense of the world and thrive. Their stories are 100% relevant today.”
(Heidi Hinshaw)
