VISCERAL REACTION
Visceral Reaction follows an on-going four-week curriculum designed to challenge a different part of the actor’s process each week. From short-form cold reads to working with a moving camera, every class asks actors to react truthfully under a new set of circumstances.
WEEK ONE
Short form
Two scripts. Two pages each. One read-through.
Actors work through two short-form cold reads designed to expose instinct, behavior and the small choices that often disappear when we begin to overthink the work.
Each performance is filmed and projected in 8K, turning the classroom into a screening room. Seeing the work at this scale makes everything visible—the smallest hesitation, an unnecessary movement, a genuine reaction. Actors learn to recognize what the camera sees and refine their awareness without sacrificing spontaneity.
WEEK TWO
Long form + instrument
One longer script. One sustained experience.
Actors take the Visceral Reaction approach into a three-to-four-page cold read, learning to remain present and instinctive as the circumstances, relationships and emotional life of a scene continue to develop.
This night also places a deeper emphasis on the actor’s instrument. Instrument work begins every Visceral Reaction class, but Week Two dedicates twice the normal time to warming up and reconnecting the body, voice and impulses before approaching the text.
Dustin works alongside the class demonstrating and participating in the instrumental work.
WEEK THREE
Watch + reconnect
Perform. Observe. Reconnect.
Actors return to short-form cold reads, but this time the room becomes part of the process. After an actor performs, classmates may step into the scene and explore the same material through their own instincts and interpretation.
The goal isn't imitation. It's discovery—seeing possibilities you couldn't see while standing inside the scene.
WEEK FOUR
Marks + movement
Truth doesn't stop when the camera moves.
Actors work with marks, blocking and real production equipment while maintaining the emotional life of the scene. Depending on the exercise, Dustin may bring sliders, jibs, gimbals or other camera systems into the classroom to create the physical demands of a working set.
Actors are expected to hit their marks, adjust to camera movement and emotionally justify why their character moves - rather than simply moving because production requires it.
Week Four also introduces Visceral Reaction Improv, removing the script entirely and asking actors to apply the same instinctive approach to unscripted circumstances.