Seven Pillars Acting

Cutting-edge, comprehensive and effective, Seven Pillars Acting empowers the actor to transform into character with ease and authenticity. Drawing from the great acting teachers of the last century, Seven Pillars Acting is a modern method that provides a structured set of tools and a dependable process to access and cultivate talent. With many students of the technique now working in the industry, Seven Pillars Acting is changing the way actors approach the craft. Each Pillar focuses in on a different aspect of acting; when added up together, they give the actor the skills to book a callback, land the part and deliver a performance that is both effortless and true. Young actors and seasoned performers alike not only gain a clear concept of acting but also begin or reenergize their professional acting careers in film, television and theatre.

It is the goal of Seven Pillars Acting to instill in actors a technique that they can practice for a lifetime, without needing a teacher or guru to handhold the artist. The first comprehensive technique in the past thirty years, Seven Pillars Acting is for the serious actor who seeks a personal, dependable and thrilling approach to crafting character.

Sonya Cooke is the creator and CEO of Seven Pillars Acting, with branches in Los Angeles and Orange County, namely The Actor’s Studio of Orange County and Seven Pillars Acting Studio in North Hollywood. Her teaching career began when she started coaching actors in New York in 2008 and launched a blog on acting technique. In addition, she has worked with many institutions all over the country as a teacher, curriculum writer and program developer, such as The Relativity School in Downtown LA, University of California at Irvine, The Guthrie Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and more. She is an international private acting coach via Skype and coaches locally in Los Angeles and Orange County. Sonya's article, titled “Circumstance in The Seven Pillars Acting Technique,” was published in The International Journal of Arts Education in 2016.

Sonya designs the Seven Pillars Acting curriculum, runs the certification process for teaching Seven Pillars Acting, and is the master teacher at both schools. Originally from Texas, she has acted in TV, film, New York and regional theatre, as well as commercials, print, and voice-over mediums. Sonya is a working actress and director in Los Angeles, and career highlights include Louie by Louie C.K. on FX, working at The Guthrie Theatre, playing the title role in feature film, Lily Grace: A Witch Story. She trained at UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts where she achieved an MFA in Acting, and previously she studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she received a BFA in Drama. She is passionate about acting technique and loves helping her students discover their talents.