As we approach the summer season, we want to take a moment to recognize some outstanding acting students who embody the TK Studio spirit. Our TKS Faculty has named a select group of students who have shown exceptional passion, commitment, and excellence in their work.
Please extend a warm congratulations to our Spring 2024 Exceptional Students of the Season: Jody Whittle-Wyeth, Roxanne Van der Westhuizen, Lorenz Alexander, Gabrielle Kniery, Zak Henri, Yinka Olagbegi, Alia Rusu-Tahir, Aixa Mastrangelo, and Vika Kalandia.These students have stood out in their classes with their dedication and hard work, and we’re proud to have them as part of our community!
After notifying these students of their nominations, we asked them to share some insights on their time at TK Studio with the following prompts:
How has your training here at TKS supported your understanding and pursuit of artistic excellence?
What does being a part of the TKS community mean to you?
Those recognized continually bring the utmost courage, joy and authenticity to the room day in and day out. We’re so grateful to honor their hard work and dedication over their time with us! Help us send them some much-deserved love and congratulations!
Jody Whittle-Wyeth
Before I started training with TKS, I thought I was very good at controlling my emotions – this is something I had worked on within myself, but now, as I have become more knowledgeable with the training, I realise that I’ve just become good at ignoring my feelings. This has been a seismic revelation for me and has shifted my perspective on almost every relationship in my life. This was unanticipated.
Roxanne Van der Westhuizen
Studying here helped me to realize that this work is rich and impactful when i give myself permission to discard my preconceived notion of who I am and my limitations. These people have inspired me to take up space and make creative, brave choices. Because of that, I am so inspired to reach for moments where I’m unrecognizable.
Lorenz Alexander
Being at TKS has cultivated two things within me stronger than ever: consistency and clarity. I think we as actors, especially me at times, can get caught up in pressuring ourselves to always go beyond our limits. I love that, but I don’t want to miss the simple stuff. Since starting at TKS in my second year, I’ve focused on strengthening my foundation a little bit each day- raising the bar from the ground up. That’s where the juicy stuff is for me: an experience assembled from simple, meaningful, continuous truth.
Gabrielle Kniery
My training at TKS, has revitalized my entire life. It has shaped me in such powerful ways I never knew were possible. I have a deeper love for the Art of acting as well as loving the pieces of me, I always feared to show the world. Acting has called upon me to be vulnerable, and fall deeply in love with the messy pieces of me, and leverage the good, the crazy, the magical sides of myself and embed those details about me into my work. My gratitude goes to my teacher Celestine Rae. The way she collaborates with her students has helped me in ways I’ll never truly be able to explain unless you are simply inside the classroom. TKS has given me purpose and made me feel that my dreams are so close to being within reach if I continue to do the work.
Zak Henri
The training at TKS has given me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of what it means to do truthfully under imaginary circumstances and to be in relationship with myself and my fellow actors. To really embrace a spirit of play and the art of self exposure. It’s a gift to be a part of a space that values learning so highly, and allows you the freedom to make mistakes and be curious in the pursuit of excellence. The love for the work and the care in creating passionate and dedicated artists is palpably felt by the teachers who give themselves fully to the cultivation of the craft and your personal growth. I’m grateful that I’m here, and I look forward to continuing on this journey.
Yinka Olagbegi
TKS has provided a playground for me to play around with tools to live and do truthfully under imaginary circumstances while allowing my impulses to lead as I find the truth in my work as an actor. This has enabled me to become obsessed with the pursuit of artistic excellence. [TKS is] my artistic family, my artistic home!
Alia Rusu-Tahir
I’m so grateful for the work we do. Since starting class, I feel more prepared and empowered to approach my work as art rather than a product.
I remember the first time it felt like things were clicking—I was sitting on the subway on the way to a summer intensive class and daydreaming to prepare myself for an exercise. Right there, with a dozen people around me, I shed real tears purely using an imaginary circumstance I’d created. A first for me.
That evening, I called my partner at home and told her that I had to come back to New York for the full conservatory.
Aixa Mastrangelo
Every single day I walk away [from class] in awe. I have notebooks filled with gems Terry causally drops during feedback. I debrief with classmates after class for hours sometimes. We’re all in an incredibly expansive time in our lives artistically and there’s just so much to say. This work has clarified things for me I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out for years. It has cracked me open in a myriad of ways. But most importantly, it has pushed me to hold myself to a higher standard–and even create my own standard that’s not dependent on others’ opinions, but on what I find interesting. Striving for excellence has become a way of life, especially in my second year. I’m so so grateful.
Vika Kalandia
Being part of the TKS community is like stepping into a world brimming with raw talent, passion, and boundless creativity. The atmosphere here is electric—every corner of the studio inspires you to dream bigger and dig deeper. My classmates are some of the most talented, driven, and inspiring people I’ve ever met. I truly believe I’m surrounded by future superstars, and just being in their orbit pushes me to elevate my own craft.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Onye, Matthew, Natalie and Mackian, as each of them is truly exceptional and inspiring. In such a short time, they have taught me more than I could have ever imagined. If you’re ready to take your craft seriously and immerse yourself in a space that inspires greatness, TKS is the place to be.
