The Westin Jackson and The Dean West Acting Studio team up!
About a week or so ago The Dean West Acting Studio joined up with The Westin Jackson in Mississippi. We thought it would be a great fit since they were named after us.
Which is documented somewhere 🙂
The Dean West Acting Studio workshop took place Saturday, January 27th! The Westin Jackson was wonderful enough to host the event in a conference room in their brand new hotel in downtown Jackson and it was a
B E A utiful hotel!
Arriving to the Westin
As soon as we pulled up to this amazing hotel already boasting a cool wine bar and spa , we were greeted by two smiling faces at valet. Both of the young gentlemen that helped us with the car and brought all of our luggage and gear up to the room, were amazingly nice and informative about the area and had a wonderful energy about them. Now, let me rewind for a second because at the front desk we met two human beings who helped us through the weekend and we made friends so quickly that we are now social media homies! 🙂 You can see them in the video below! 🙂
The decor around the hotel was very modern and sleek. My favorite was in the lobby, where they had a showcase of the actual guitars of Prince, BB King, Elvis Presley, Muddy Water, and a few others. If we are Instagram friends, you may have seen my stories featuring them where I was pretty impressed. Mich may have actually lost me for a few while I was deep in admiration in the guitar corner. I got sucked in a few times.
The rooms were very comfy and homey. It was perfect for both a work and a vaca weekend. The bathroom was really cool. The shower was very spacious and had the rainfall spout and a little handheld sprayer as well. Mich definitely made it clear to me that it was shower goals for our remodel. Ladies reading this, she was also obsessed with the makeup mirror in the bathroom. I will admit, the bathroom had great lighting, as you can see our mirror selfie above was in that mirror. Makes the eyes pop.
We were bummed we didn’t have time for the spa (Soul Spa); but, we are going to go back because we found out about the Ultimate Indulgence, where you basically get a four hour spa treatment, dessert, champagne, and goodies to take home. Sounds like a killer date night weekend. If you live in or around the area, I highly recommend checking this place out. They have some killer deals and offers on their brochure.
I also really enjoyed the workout center. It was very clean and the equipment was all brand new. Throw a little Tony Robbins and get after it! Adjacent to the workout room, is a wonderful indoor pool, which was great because it was chilly in Jackson that weekend.
PHOTOS!
Michelle and I took some great photos, which you can see below, while we were there!
Acting Workshop
Now, as for the workshop, it went amazing! It was held in the Biloxi Board Room, which was in a hallway of lots of other conference rooms and ballrooms. It had advanced technology beneficial for anything from a business meeting to a presentation! These rooms are great for anything business, fundraisers, weddings, etc.
In the workshop, we started off with some fun introductions of everyone along with their favorite curse word! You know, I really like to get to know a person :). We, then, did some warm-ups and stepped right into a meditation. Meditation is amazing for actors on so many levels!
Meditation
Meditation helps us focus, helps our body and mind relax and distress; and, for actors, we need both! To stay in the relaxed state you get to in meditation is like muscle
memory. You have to connect to your breath and allow yourself to let go of worry. When we start a scene, we have to first make space and allow ourselves to deal with the “character’s” set of circumstances that we are about to deal with. In other words, we have to make space, or get some of our own bullshit out of the way. Please make sure that you are using this wonderful tool in your acting and everyday life! To be able to take down the stress and anxiety at any moment during your day is a life saver. If you haven’t subscribed to the blog yet, do so. I will be emailing out a free guided meditation next week! If you are reading this at a later date, subscribe and it will be your free gift!
Thank you guys, thank you Westin Jackson; and, if you guys are ever in Jackson, please stop by and check out the hotel, spa, and the restaurant & bar! They have a wonderful Moscow Mule and the food was tasty!
I so enjoyed the workshop with you two! You guys are so inspiring and motivating! I made changes at my home after the workshop which have turned out to be so positive! I cannot Wait to work with you again!
See you soon!
Jo