Award-winning producer, actress and activist Alfre Woodard conducted a masterclass about her journey as an actress, the importance of storytelling and representation in Hollywood on Thursday.
The event was hosted by the “Realizing the Dream Committee” for part of a slate of events to commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The audience was easily able to follow Woodard and her lessons as she talked throughout the masterclass. Students filled the room, leaving standing room only for others who listened outside the doors of the studio.
Students from Stillman College as well as Shelton State Community College were able to attend the event as well, held in the Digital Media Center inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Students engaged with Woodard alongside faculty from various communication departments. Landon Palmer, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media, facilitated the conversation and the Q&A session that followed.
“Having an actor of her stature, with her decades of experience in filmmaking and television, just brought a lot of wisdom for our students who are interested in creative media, both in front of them and behind the camera,” Palmer said.
Students of different majors were also able to gain insight from Woodard with lessons on how to approach life, mistakes in their youth and balancing their social life and professional career. The actress portrayed these lessons through her experience in the acting field, ultimately bringing the point back to her audience in a way they could understand and relate to.
“Nothing any of us does anywhere on the planet is without repercussions,” Woodard said when discussing being intentional with one’s actions, emphasizing how actions make a difference in the long run, not just in acting, but in life.
Students also received advice about the acting scene and the importance of representation in storytelling through acting. Elhan Shabani, a graduate student in women’s studies, discovered that in acting, representation comes with authenticity, a point Woodard made about representing Black women.
“When someone has a story to tell, they fit into the character even more with some kind of authenticity,” Shabani said.
Throughout the conversation, Woodard emphasized the significance of being a storyteller in a time of great social change, a message that matches the Realizing the Dream Committee’s theme for the year: “Realizing the Dream Through Faith and Action.”
“The storyteller is holding that mirror up to the community so they can have whatever emotion. But it’s reflective, the way society sees itself, then figuring out how individually or collectively they want to move,” Woodard said.
Faculty from the University also received advice from the conversation, including how imperative it is for students to learn more about the storytelling side of acting, not just the acting itself.
“I appreciated how she spoke so much about storytelling. She didn’t even talk about acting or producing as much as she talked about telling stories, which ultimately is what every C&IS student is here to learn to do,” said Randi Hamm, director of college academic programs for the College of Communication and Information Sciences. “There was so much students could have gained from the conversation, but the lesson I hope they took away was the one about being your truest.”
The message of storytelling resonated within many students and faculty along with the message of how Woodard approaches characters that face political and societal issues and how she internalizes that when cameras aren’t rolling.
“It’s a character on the page, and your job as a director, as an actor, is to stand up as that person as we call it, fleshing out, so they are human,” Woodard said.
“It’s so important to be able to preserve those stories and the importance of storytelling,” said Camille Myhand, a sophomore studying African American studies. “I feel like she touched on the importance of showing stories and finding the person in statistics.”
Along with telling students how to deliver and incorporate storytelling, Woodard made it her mission to remind the audience that being a student is never-ending, along with making mistakes.
“The purpose of telling a story is having your viewer understand something about somebody. It doesn’t mean you suddenly will be that person or act like that person, but you get in the habit of looking for the human being in everybody,” Woodard said.
