the project
The Great Divide is a uniquely collaborative endeavor, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera.
The film was conceived as a project for the Thursday morning students at The Actor's Lab in Portland, OR. This diverse group of actors is so talented and committed and genuine that writer/director John Skipp, himself a student in the class, found himself thinking, "We need to make a movie where every single one of them is written a dream role that truly showcases their talent. And it needs to be a real movie, with real production value, so that people can see them. And in the end, they’ll have great footage for their reels, and legit feature starring credits on IMdB.”
And the more Skipp worked with them, the more he realized that they had a phenomenal ensemble. Twenty actors, ranging in age from 23 to 67. All unique. All gifted. All incredibly sweet and open, with a palpable chemistry.
So Skipp decided to write a feature for the full ensemble, giving every single actor a role built entirely to their strengths, with at least one scene they could totally own, and put on their showcase reel. And it needed to be a well-made, professional film, so that people could actually find it, and watch it, and love it. Over the course of the next six weeks, Skipp met with the Thursday morning actors, collaborating with each of them on their characters, while the story took shape. Then he spent another two weeks writing the script, which totally accomplished its mission.
The result is The Great Divide, a black comedy/social satire about wealth inequality, America’s robber baron history, dysfunctional families, and the meaning of life. It’s also a working template for other creative communities to make art that sustains them and brings them joy, and then share that joy with others.
the class
Every Thursday morning, a group of 20 (give or take) actors, ranging in age from 23 to 67, gather at a small theater in North Portland to hone their craft and “learn how to human,“ as their beloved coach Kristina Haddad likes to say. They are passionate about exploring the depths of their emotions and collaborating to make great art. They gather to play, to learn, to experiment, to fail, and to grow in the safe and nurturing space Kristina has created for them.
This cohort of The Actor’s Lab, one of the top acting schools in America, have become a family of sorts, sharing their most vulnerable moments together each week as they work on their craft through improvisation, emotional preparation exercises, cold reading, and in-depth scene study under Kristina’s supportive and encouraging guidance.
The Actor’s Lab was established in Los Angeles in 1990 by Actor/Director J.D. Lewis and is known for coaching actors, writers, and directors in Hollywood and across the nation, with studios in Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and Portland.