Sandra Seacat

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Sandra Seacat
Born Sandra Diane Seacat
(1936-10-02) October 2, 1936 (age 88)
Greensburg, Kansas, U.S.
Other names Credited as Sandra Kaufman, her then-married name, before 1969
Occupation Acting teacher, actor, director
Years active 1962–present
Spouse(s) Michael Ebert (? - Jan 26, 1978; divorced)[1][2]
Thurn Hoffman (? - present)
Children Greta B. Kaufman (aka Greta Seacat)

Sandra Diane Seacat (born October 2, 1936)[3] is an American actress, director and acting coach best known for teaching stage-style method acting. Professionally known as Sandra Kaufman[4] before 1969,[4][lower-alpha 1] she was the first of three daughters born to Russell Henry and Lois Marion Seacat in Greensburg, Kansas.[3][7][8]

Career

Seacat began acting in theater in the early 1960s. After a summer-stock production of Leonid Andreyev's play The Waltz of the Dogs, The Village Voice described her as "destined to bring many future stages alive."[9]

She moved to New York and studied acting with Michael Howard, later becoming a member of the Actors Studio, where she studied method acting under Lee Strasberg, the studio's director.[10]

In the early 1970s, she taught at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, City College of New York's Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts, as a member of the Actors Studio, and she taught privately. Among her clients were Steve Railsback[11] and Mickey Rourke, who told New York Magazine that Seacat mentored him for six years.[12]

Seacat worked in both New York and Los Angeles,[13] coaching actors such as Jessica Lange as Lange prepared for her role in the 1982 film Frances.[10][14][15] According to The New York Times, she helped pioneer the practice of dream work, where actors study and play characters from their dreams. She also taught the method to her daughter, Greta Seacat, who also became an acting coach. Seacat's clients Melanie Griffith and Gina Gershon publicly credited Seacat's use of the dream method with improving their craft.[16][17]

Acting teacher Alex Cole Taylor in 2010 told Backstage that he learned compassion for his students from Seacat.[18] CNN's Todd Leopold, in an article about acting coach Elizabeth Kemp, coupled Seacat with Lee Strasberg as "legendary acting coaches."[19]

Seacat was a faculty member of the 2012 Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum at the University of Arkansas's Winthrop Rockefeller Institute atop Petit Jean Mountain.[20]

She has commented over the years about actors she has trained, including Laura Dern, who thanked Seacat when she accepted a best actress award at the January 2012 Golden Globe Awards presentation.[21][22]

Actors who have studied under Seacat include Chris Pine,[23] Marlo Thomas,[24] Lance Henriksen,[25] Harvey Keitel, Isabella Rossellini,[26][27] Rachel Ward,[15][28][29] Treat Williams,[30] Meg Ryan,[31] Michelle Pfeiffer,[32] Mikhail Baryshnikov,[33][34] Peter Falk[35] and Lynda Carter.[36]

Directing

Seacat directed one movie, 1990's In the Spirit. In reviewing the film starring Marlo Thomas and Elaine May, The New York Times called it "a nervous new-age comedy more notable for good intentions than good luck."[37] The Boston Globe described the movie as "An Endearing Mess,"[38] The Washington Post headlined it a "Grand and Goofy Comedy,"[39] and the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Spirit Loses Its Comic Flair Halfway Through."[40] Variety, however, described the actors in the leading roles a "memorable screen odd couple."[41]

While In the Spirit was filming, the Los Angeles Times's Cinefile column covered Seacat's directorial debut, calling her an "acting guru."[42][43] Liz Smith wrote about the film in her gossip column.[44]

In August 2007, Seacat, with Jamie Wollrab, directed her daughter, Greta Seacat, along with others in Elizabeth Meriwether's play The Mistakes Madeline Made in Boulder, at Colorado's Dairy Center for the Arts, starring Shannon Woodward, Justin Chatwin and Johnny Lewis.[45][46]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1975 Night Moves Voice
1979 The Rose Reporter
1980 The Kidnapping of the President Henrietta Cown
1980 Jane Austen in Manhattan Thriftshop Lady
1982 Frances Drama Teacher
1983 The Golden Seal Gladys
1984 Country Louise Brewer
1987 Promised Land Mrs Rivers
1988 Wildfire Sissy
1990 In the Spirit Director
1993 Born Yesterday Thanks
1994 The New Age Mary Netter
1996 The Destiny of Marty Fine Woman on Beach
1998 The Baby Dance Doreen
1999 Crazy in Alabama Meemaw
2001 The Want Doctor
2001 Nailed Sandra the Midwife
2001 Daddy and Them Elbe
2003 Prey for Rock & Roll Mother
2003 In the Cut Creative consultant
2003 A Little Crazy Delphine
2004 In the Land of Milk and Money Mrs. Trevors
2004 Illusion The Boarding House Lady
2007 Fade Woman
2007 Tattered Angel Louise
2010 Sympathy for Delicious Mrs. Matilda
2010 You Don't Know Jack Janet Adkins
2012 Shale (short subject) Sheila
2012 The Time Being Annette
2013 Palo Alto Tanya
2014 Alex of Venice Sandra
2015 The Scarecrow (short subject) Janine

Television

Year Title Role
1966 Directions '66 (TV series; one episode - 1966, 5 June) Not available (as Sandra Kaufman)
1976 First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson (TV movie) Helen
1978 "Fame" (Hallmark) (TV movie) Bess
1986 Nobody's Child (TV movie) Barbara
1991 Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story (TV movie) NA
1994 Reunion (TV movie) NA
1999 Mickey Rourke: The E! True Hollywood Story (TV documentary) Herself
2000 Intimate Portrait: Laura Dern (TV series documentary) Herself
2001 Biography: Jessica Lange, On Her Own Terms (TV series documentary) Herself
2008 The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan: Mickey Rourke (TV series documentary) Herself
2011 Enlightened (TV series; two episodes - 2011, 10 and 17 October) Patricia
2013 Enlightened (One episode - 2013, 27 January) Patricia

Notes

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References

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Further reading

External links


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