Director-level coaching, one actor at a time. Private and group sessions available, from a director with over twenty years building performances from the inside out.
Private, one-on-one work with a director's eye, rooted in Uta Hagen's technique — grounded in human behavior. Before you can build a character, you have to know yourself — all of it, even the parts you haven't examined. From there, the work is about finding the overlap between your own lived experiences and the character's — so what comes through is something true, lived-in, not staged.
We work the way a director reads a scene before shooting it — breaking it into story beats and emotional beats. Underneath it all is observation, recognizing your own behavior and the behavior of the people around you. That's the work that builds a grounded, specific performance.
Mason RichardsDirector & Coach
"Talent alone is not enough. Character and ethics, a point of view about the world in which you live and an education, can and must be acquired and developed."
— Uta Hagen, Respect for Acting
It's the philosophy behind everything Mason does, from the classroom to the soundstage — equally at home in the theater and on the screen.
Focused, high-stakes prep before a callback or booking — the notes you'd get on set, before you're actually there.
Ongoing 1:1 training for actors who want a consistent creative partner, not a rotating classroom.
Established actors who want a trusted outside eye before stepping onto a new set.
One-on-one sessions on a working Hollywood sound stage. Scene work, audition prep, and camera-ready notes — delivered the way a director gives them.
Book In-PersonThe same process, over Zoom. Built for self-tape prep, ongoing scene work, and actors training from outside LA.
Book Online60 minutes, in-person or over Zoom.
Bring a scene, sides, or whatever you're working toward — we'll shape the session around it.
One-on-one, camera-ready notes, no observers.
On-set support for actors during production — direction, notes, and real-time coaching where the work actually happens.
InquireOccasional intensives with directors, casting professionals, and industry guests.
InquireA structured, multi-week one-on-one program for actors who want sustained, hands-on work — technique, audition prep, and camera-ready performance, built around your goals.
ApplySmall-group scene work for working actors, meeting regularly in LA or online. Advanced level; by invitation or referral.
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Mason RichardsOn Set — Mason Richards Studio
As a director, Mason's approach is rooted in his own path — early training as an actor, and the study of human behavior and identity at Vanderbilt. Over two decades, that's grown into work with hundreds of actors, from the classroom to the production, on stage and on screen. He teaches that throughline now at Emerson College Los Angeles, in Directing Actors for the Screen and Acting for Writers, a course he designed for the MFA residency program.
His short film THE SEAWALL, shot with a cast of non-actors, premiered at Cannes in 2011 and screened at LACMA — proof the notes hold up under real pressure, not just in theory. He earned his MFA in Film Directing at CalArts, was awarded the Sony Pictures Fellowship through Film Independent, and has led guest workshops and residencies at Ithaca College and other universities.
He's currently writing a book, DIRECTING THE ACTOR: A PRACTICE OF RESPECT, grounded in Uta Hagen's approach — built on the idea that the work starts with the person, not the performance.
Mason believes true craft begins with a commitment to oneself.
Sessions are available in Los Angeles and online. Choose a time that works for you.
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