JESSIE ON TEACHING:

I love working with actors. Helping them share themselves through the work is one of the greatest gifts of teaching. I tailor my process in order to serve each actor because each actor is unique. What are their needs? Their propensities and habits? Their strengths and fears when it comes to the work? My goal as a teacher is to facilitate a safe space where we can explore these questions together. Whether working on script analysis, moment to moment, relaxation, listening or all of the above my goal is to empower actors to share themselves freely and fearlessly.

TEACHING INFLUENCES:

Kevin Kuhlke (NYU), Tim Carroll (Royal Shakespeare Company), Kim Gillingham (Creative Dreamwork LA), filmmakers Nicole Holofcener and Lynn Shelton. Jerzy Grotowski, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg, Stanford Meisner, and Scene Study LA.

More about Jessie’s work here

Jessie Barr is a writer-director and Sundance fellow with a background in acting, independent film, and theater. Born in DC, raised by NYC, and currently in LA, her naturalistic approach to storytelling is intimate and deeply humanistic.

Jessie has worked as an actor, acting teacher, and coach for film, television, and theater for over a decade. She’s worked as a teaching advisor for Sundance Collab, taught 1:1 sessions as well as group workshops on auditioning, role preparation, and working with actors.

Jessie’s critically acclaimed, award-winning feature debut, "Sophie Jones" premiered in competition at the 2020 Deauville Film Festival and was released by Oscilloscope Laboratories in 2021. The film holds a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes and is streaming on Showtime. Jessie won Best Director at the 2022 Lost Weekend Film Festival (Alamo Drafthouse, Winchester). The film won Best Feature Film (NEXT) at the Americana Film Festival 2022 (Barcelona, Spain).

Variety hailed the film as a “fully realized portrait of grief that’s universal in its texture.” “Superb,” says Roger Ebert. The Playlist called it, “Coming-of-age at its best. A quiet, brilliant film.”

Jessie was a 2021 Sundance Episodic Lab fellow. The series she co-created went on to be developed with Warner Brothers Television and Tall Baby Productions. She’s shadowed numerous TV directors including Leslye Headland, Stuart McDonald, and her first mentor, the late Lynn Shelton.

Jessie’s short, "Too Long at the Fair" (2018), premiered on Short of the Week and won NoBudge’s Short Film of the Year. Her original series, "Om City" (2015), premiered at Tribeca, was a New York Times TV Critic’s pick, Vimeo Staff Pick, voted Best Web Series by Decider, and “Web to Watch” by USA Today. She is a PEN America Writer's Grant Recipient (2020), an Oregon Made Film Grant Recipient (2019), and has been featured by the National Board of Review. Jessie holds a BFA from NYU Tisch where she double majored in Drama and English and American lit.