ABOUT US

THE STUDIO is an international film acting school co-founded by Petra Gallasch and Marcus Maria Jung. It is an upgrade of the famous Hollywood Acting Workshop (HAW) which Petra created in 1992.

 

The school aspires to be a 'green' company that focuses on living and working in harmony with nature. Most office furniture are built with recycled or reclaimed materials (designed and built by Marcus), the walls painted with non-toxic paint, papers and office supply used are recycled as much as possible. Paper transactions are kept at a minimum by scheduling and marketing via internet and email. For transportation such as airport pick-ups THE STUDIO uses a mercedes that runs on 100% vegetable waste-oil or hires eco limo hybrids. We offer 'green' alternatives for accommodation, rental cars and buying groceries to our students. Making people- and planet-friendly choices are a keystone of our daily business and personal life.

 

The company donates 5% of their profits after taxes to a number of charities. Some of our favorites are  www.ojaifoundation.org,  www.greenpeace.org,  www.savethechildren.org,  www.treeftf.org (trees for the future),  www.heiffer.org,  www.doctorwithoutborder.org,  www.youngsurvival.org and many others.

PETRA GALLASCH is an author, success coach, actress, producer and co-founder of THE STUDIO. She has worked with actors for more than 20 years.

 

While working with famous American coaches she was inspired and motivated to create her a teaching concept for international actors in 1990. What began as a 'school of creativity' eventually manifested into a school for film acting training, thus Hollywood Acting Workshop (HAW) was born in 1992. She sees herself as a pioneer as very few acting schools in Europe offered film acting training at that time. HAW has trained more than 1000 actors, also including directors and writers from all over the world and has enjoyed international co-operations (filmfund NRW, filmfund FFA, IFS Filmschool Cologne) exporting the know-how of American coaches to Europe.

 

In 1996 she co-founded a production company, Capture Film Inc., which became the west coast representative for German film. Petra took on the role of heading up development. She left the production company and HAW in 2003.

 

She was trained as an actress in Munich , Washington D.C. ( Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger), New York ( Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, The Actors Studio, Martha Graham Dance School , HB Studio) and Los Angeles (UCLA). She also studied screenwriting and journalism in L.A. (UCLA, AFI). Petra has worked in TV, Film and Theater since 1984.

As a writer she completed and published the book: "Close-up: Filmschauspiel" and "Lueza" in Querschnitt 2005, and has an assignment to write a new film acting book called "Tools of the Trade".  

 

In 2006 she walked the 777 km long "Camino de Santiago de Compostela" in 34 days in Spain. She is currently completing a book about her experience which is scheduled to be published at the end of 2007.

 

She has been a yoga and meditation practitioner for 17 years. She has also been involved in the Healing Arts for more than 20 years and is a Reiki Master. She offers council and also does emotional and trauma release work. As an adventuress she loves to travel experiencing different cultures, she aspires to enrich and open up her own horizons on a daily basis, and she hopes to contribute to a way of living that is more conscious and connected. Her passion is to inspire others to connect to their hopes, dreams and visions, as she listens to her own callings.

Marcus Maria Jung is an actor, sculptor, artist and co-founder of the STUDIO.
 

He has worked in TV and film, including independent feature films. He studied acting in Germany and has been trained by highly acclaimed teachers in Los Angeles.

 

In May 2007 he completed shooting “River” (a fantasy/psychological thriller), in which he was cast as the lead character. One of his first comments after coming back from shooting on location was:

 

“The ‘work’ that is being taught at The Studio does work! Even and especially when you’re about to do a take for a very complex and challenging dramatic scene, at 4 am in the morning, standing half naked in pouring (fake) rain. That’s when I was really grateful for the amazing teachers that I had and still have the honor to study with - and for the amazing techniques and tools they gave me.”

 

He completed his studies and apprenticeship as a carpenter in Germany, before he traveled to the Middle East to live and work in Israel from 1986-87. Back in Germany he joined a theater ensemble that kindled his passion for stage and acting. Although his initial form of creative expression was through sculpture and woodwork, and his work was shown in galleries in Germany and the Cote d’Azur, France, he was drawn to acting on stage and in film. He went back to school and university to study psychology. Soon he realized that his real passion and vision was to become an actor.

 

In 1998 he moved to Los Angeles and worked as an administrative manager for HAW and also assisted renowned American coaches teaching film acting seminars in Germany. 

 

In his work for THE STUDIO Marcus sees himself as guide and fellow actor for those who want to reach higher and take their talent and craft further. His motivation for his work is learning by doing, and to practice what is being taught.