ART OF LIVING TRUTHFULLY

The conversation you are about to have with Jeremy Kruse is not a skit. It could be, but it’s not. The interview (let’s pretend you’re writer on deadline) is all about delving into his life story (starting in Lincolnshire, where he was born) and finding out exactly how this seasoned Method actor (resume includes the famous Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in New York … check) not only landed in Lake Forest (his parents live here too … and he acted in one of Vince Vaughn’s summer films) but is now running the Gorton Drama Studio as Artistic Director. It’s a lively tale filled with heart, a passion for the craft, and Kruse’s signature wit. “I offer a free 30-minute introductory session in which prospective students can try a fun acting lesson called the ‘open-ended scene exercise’,” he might say. “Are you interested in coming in to try it? A cashier at Jewel is coming in next Tuesday at 5 p.m. How’s 5:30 for you?” Quickly you will figure out that within that creative brain are myriad characters, stories, and seeds for skits (yes, real ones this time) and plays that have yet to be written. “As an actor, my goal is to ‘live truthfully’ on the stage and in front of the camera and my goal as a teacher is to inspire my students to ‘live truthfully,” Kruse will tell you, explaining that he taught at the venerable Strasberg Theater and Film Institute and worked alongside other teachers who had studied “the Method” with Strasberg himself. “Their mission was to carry on his work, his legacy. From the time I arrived there, I was obsessed with the quest to deeply understand what it takes to be a great actor—to be an artist.” Dig a little deeper into that and he’ll happily (and very thoroughly) explain the difference between Method acting and other types of acting like presentational acting or personality acting. “To put it really simply, Method acting is reality acting,” he’ll tell you. “Instead of pretending to experience what the character is going through, the actor uses his imagination to create the character’s behavior.” It’s a more immersive version of the art form, one loaded with emotion that can draw on real-life triumphs, or trauma. Take one of his classes at Gorton Drama Studio and you’ll get a combo of traditional Strasberg-style Method exercises and a few Kruse used during his time studying (and performing) improv at The Second City and The Groundlings. “Improvisation is a fantastic amendment to acting training, much like compost is a great amendment to soil,” he’ll explain, then joke: “I just turned 50 so I make obligatory gardening references now.” As for the original assignment of finding out how such an accomplished acting teacher and writer (in addition to plays he writes for students to perform at Gorton, he is also author of The Young Actor’s Handbook) ended up here in Lake Forest, it’s an answer much less complicated than the explanation of Method acting. “I was living in Brooklyn when the pandemic hit. Long story short, my wife, 8-year-old daughter, and I came to Lake Forest to stay with my parents and get out of New York City … get some air,” Kruse will tell you, explaining that he taught a few classes at Gorton before being hired to create a drama program for aspiring actors of all ages. “It’s the first time in my life, having lived the actor’s life—auditioning and working survival jobs—that I’ve ever been on a salary and I love it. I get to be creative, make decisions, and inspire students. And best of all, unlike some of the actor survival jobs I’ve had in the past, I don’t have to wear a hair net!”

For more information about the Gorton Drama Studio, visit gortoncenter.org/about/gorton-drama-studio.