Activating Character: Impulse to Action with Heidi Carlsen

Tuition: $715.00 Full tuition is due at the time of registration for all classes

Winter 2026 Schedule

The Marsh SF Studio Tuesdays | Jan 20 – March 24 | 6:15 pm to 9:00 pm

Class Description

Activating Character: Impulse to Action is a class for those who have had some acting experience to those who are professional.

My intuitive body centered approach attracts students seeking to enrich their acting career and personal lives. We will look at how Inner motivations manifest in external physical expressions. Students will learn a ‘swinging’ physical warm up, will improvise, create short sketches, but primarily focus on scenework – how to analyze a script and embody a character. Skills to be learned include: listening, spontaneity, freedom, trust and discovering transformation.

10 Sessions Total.

About Heidi Carlsen

Heidi Carlsen is an experimental theater artist, actor and director. She integrates her diverse dance and performance training into her 25 years of teaching and creating movement stories. Local artists she has trained with include Joe Goode and Ruth Zaporah. Over the years she has been invited to create performances in New York, Oregon, up and down the California coast, Scandinavia, Poland and Berlin. Highlighted performance experiences include: (in New York) The New School, Ontological-Hysteric, HERE, BAX, NYTW, Judson Church; (and in Los Angeles) Highways Performance Space, REDCAT; (in Portland) Echo Theater, the Winningstad, (and in the Bay Area) Waterfront, Cutting Ball, SAFEhouse Arts, Shawl Anderson and ODC. Her Teaching experience includes San Francisco State University, A.C.T. since 2017, and many colleges. Carlsen received a Fulbright Scholarship to Poland where she created a new dance/opera. She has an MFA in Theater Directing from CalArts and integrates this with being a Feldenkrais Practitioner. Currently, she is studying for a Masters in Performance at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.

Student Testimonials

“I wanted to express my profound gratitude for the invaluable experience I gained in your Acting class. For years, decades even, I’ve known I’d eventually find my way back, and landing in your class proved to be an exceptionally fantastic reintroduction. Even when I felt, and often was, completely out of my depth, your guidance was transformative. Your passionate and rightful emphasis on the body-mind connection, as the bedrock of acting, was not only extremely helpful but revelatory in the way you fleshed it out. This wasn’t just applicable to the craft; it illuminated a more expansive way of living, experiencing, and contributing. I consider myself very fortunate if I’m blessed to continue learning from artists as inspiring as yourself.” -Jo P.
“I enrolled in the course aiming to be more expressive, and Heidi brilliantly guided me to be present both on and off the stage. Her methods, which have helped me refine my tone, presentation, and movement, have been invaluable in crafting dynamic stage characters. Impressively, I’ve also found her teachings beneficial in my athletic pursuits, public speaking, and entrepreneurial ventures.” -Ibis M.

“I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you once again for what was a very meaningful Acting experience. It felt courageous to accept your invitation to learn by doing, by being. I’ve never felt more alive and I have you to thank for opening up this channel.” -Isabella C.

“I really appreciate you helping me develop myself as an actor. I wouldn’t value theatre arts as much as I do now if I hadn’t taken your classes. The Laban Movements were especially interesting to me. After all of our exercises and scene work, for some reason while going over my final scene with you and Richard after class, something in my mind clicked and it felt like a whole world opened up to me in that moment. I have a new deeper appreciation for acting. I think it’s easier for me to have fun with it now.” -Erik K

“I truly enjoyed every session and appreciated the way you nurtured a space that encouraged both risk-taking and deep connection. Your guidance, especially around emotional openness and physical freedom, really stuck with me and served me well during my recent audition for C&B. I’m excited to share that I got a callback for the role — and I think it went really well! Your advice on allowing the five senses to affect me and finding truth beneath the surface made all the difference.” -Rhett B.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel before the first session, you will be refunded any tuition amount over $50 that you have paid. Service fees are non-refundable. If you cancel after the first session, you will be refunded half the tuition. If you cancel any time after the second session, you will receive no refund. Cancellations must be made with a Marsh staff person by calling 415-282-3055