An American actor who played the main role of Captain James Cook  in the popular television series Captain Cook: Obsession and Discovery is doing acting classes in the country.

Massachusetts native Matt Young spends much of his time in Fiji where he coaches actors, runs workshops, and fosters the developing talent of the local acting industry.

“Anything to do with providing professional training for Fiji actors is through my Tukuna Acting club,” Mr Young said.

Mr Young who is the director of Matt Young Company which was established in 2015, has a passion for acting which has brought him to Fiji.

He focuses on training in acting, public speaking, and media for the arts sector and acting for business for the corporate sector.

He is bringing something new to Fiji known as “sketch comedy” for people who are passionate about the art and writing. Such comedy is very popular abroad.

Sketch comedy comprises a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called “sketches”, commonly between one and 10 minutes long.

“Fijian people love to laugh so the inspiration comes from that so the idea is taking a funny situation and making it funnier to the extreme,” Mr Young said.

“Anything to do with providing professional training for Fiji actors is through my Tukuna Acting club.”

He said a lot of young people he had worked with like to do comedy and the great thing about sketch comedy was you get to make extreme characters in very strange situations.

“I hope through such workshops we can develop a group of writers and actors to do sketch comedy so we can put on performances now and then around Fiji,” said Mr Young.

The interest from locals of all ages has been very positive so far. A workshop was held yesterday afternoon at the Fiji Arts clubs, Suva.

Background:

Matt Young is an internationally known actor with credits in film, television, and the stage.

A former Broadway dancer, he transitioned into television portraying James Cook in the multi-award winning mini-series Captain Cook:  Obsession and Discovery.

Mr Young is also a sought after acting and American accent coach, with students in Hollywood, Australian film and television, and the West End.

He spends much of his time in Fiji where he coaches actors, runs workshops, and fosters the developing talent of the local acting industry.

He has recently returned from Los Angeles, where he filmed a role in XYXY by Dances with Films director Weiyang Li. He splits his time between Sydney, Los Angles, and Suva.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

Feedback:  mere.satakala@fijisun.com.fj