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Wednesday, Aug. 05, 2009

Actress sets up studio to encourage others to take to the stage

When Sarah Goodwin found out about a Macon Mall program that offers vacant stores to artists at a discounted rate, she said she’d “just have to jump at that.”

Jump she did. Goodwin has opened her own space at the mall called The Actor’s Workshop, where she started teaching acting classes this past Saturday.

“The art scene around here is amazing. There is so much theater here,” she said.

Goodwin, who was born in Perry and raised in South Carolina, has been acting since she was 3.

As a kid, she acted out stories at workshops held at Wesleyan College. Her mother is a drama teacher and was Goodwin’s first director.

After high school, Goodwin spent more than two years in Los Angeles at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

The school is competitive. Actors have to be invited to return for their second year because their spots are not guaranteed. The academy has graduated actors such as Robert Redford, Kim Cattrall and Grace Kelly, according to its Web site.

Life in Los Angeles was different from the South, Goodwin said.

“The politics, backstabbing made me lose my passion for acting,” she said.

After graduating from the academy, she auditioned for six months and decided the Los Angeles lifestyle wasn’t for her.

“Doing it for fun is a lot more fun than making it as a big-time actress,” Goodwin said.

The distance also had something to do with it. Goodwin is a self-professed daddy’s girl and didn’t want to live thousands of miles away. She now lives in Warner Robins with her father.

Goodwin currently takes classes at Wesleyan, working toward a bachelor’s degree in theater. She also substitutes as a drama teacher at the Montessori of Macon school.

Goodwin said she never thought she’d be teaching or directing.

“I was so used to being an actor,” she said.

But her adviser at Wesleyan convinced her to take a directing class, and she fell in love.

“Seeing the whole picture, your vision comes to life,” she said.

Directing led Goodwin to teaching. She said she hopes The Actor’s Workshop will give everyone a chance to try acting. The classes are for ages 3 and up, adults included.

As for Goodwin, her dreams of being a star are a little closer to home.

“I don’t need to be famous, I just want to act,” she said.

To contact writer Angela Woolen, call 923-5650.