What Cindy’s Students Say

HomeWhat Cindy’s Students Say

“Cindy Tanas is, in every sense of the word, a teacher. This goes beyond the realm of acting. I don’t only recommend her as an acting teacher, but as a life teacher. Whatever blocks you have as an actor, you inevitably have as a person. Whether in an online acting class or in person, Cindy releases these actor blocks and creates within you the power to go deeper and be more truthful and freer in your acting than you knew was possible. She does not simply refine you as an actor, she propels you into new levels. Cindy works with all levels, and I have witnessed already brilliant actors have breakthroughs of such dramatic proportions that I could not believe it. Every acting class is so rich, that there is never a time you aren’t feeling yourself grow. “Intense” is the word that comes to mind. There is an energy in her acting studio that nurtures and protects while simultaneously exposing you in a state of such raw truth that it is nothing short of beautiful. I cannot imagine anyone in any creative field not benefitting from her online acting classes or her in person acting classes. They are an investment in your life, one that pays out long term, both personally and professionally. Having studied with many other acting teachers and acting coaches I can honestly say that I had never experienced anything like her acting classes, her acting approach is unique, her passion contagious. If you want to be a great actor, this is for you, if you want to be a great writer, this is for you, if you want to be a great dancer, this is for you, if you want to be great, period, this is for you! I wish everyone I knew could take just one of her classes. They are not just acting classes, they are personal awakenings. Anyone who has benefited from taking Cindy Tanas’ acting class will have an edge to their work that will separate them from the rest, that is certain.”

Laura Lee Lawrence

Actor , Improv Theatre / Toronto Musical Improv Festival

“As far as I know Cindy Tanas is the only Canadian artist in Toronto who teaches Archetype work as an acting technique effectively. I have always been fascinated by this technique and Cindy not only taught me how to use this technique as part of an acting preparation, she taught us how to discover the nature of our own emotions and embrace all sub-personalities within us, whilst enhancing our empathetic understanding of others. I am grateful to have been associated with her and her influence on my understanding of the conscious and the unconscious that exist within me. Constant reminders of her principles have enabled me to ground myself and stay connected to the moment, in my professional life and my personal life. Thank you Cindy. Wishing success and happiness to you and yours…”

Thet Win

Actor, Plan Z (2020), Diamond in the Rough (2018)

“If there’s one word to describe Cindy Tanas Actors Studio space, the word is sacred. You walk into an acting class one way and you leave with a better understanding of the world and yourself. Not only did I feel like an acting student but I also felt like a student of life; learning to trust and nurture the instincts instilled in me as well as realizing that what I needed to become a full actor was not outside, but within myself. Breathing life into the acting work while continuously building compassion for others as well my truth and not being ashamed; but using these truths as a tool to fuel my acting. These are valuable lessons that I learned while studying here. I see the work through different eyes after studying here. Thank you for spreading your gifts of teaching acting with humanity.”

Malubé Uhindu Gingala

Actor/Filmmaker/Writer, Active on Toronto stages since 2005 and film since 2011; with a variation of classical, contemporary, collective creations, directing and producing under her belt.

“Two quotes I recently read sum up Cindy’s teaching for me. “True leaders create more leaders, not followers”, and “the meaning of life is to give away your gifts”. Cindy Tanas role models these two approaches at her acting studio. As an acting teacher she empowers you to own your talent and your work and become your own teacher eventually, to listen and trust yourself so you can give yourself what you need to do your work. She gives you countless acting tools to use that if you don’t know how (like me when I started here). Cindy gives so much of herself to every acting student, in every acting class, and everyone in her class knows they are privileged to be receiving all that she gives as an acting teacher. So, they step up to bat. They’re able to go to places inside they haven’t been before, because of the safety and holding Cindy creates in class. I became an actor through the process of working in this space with this acting teacher and I am forever grateful for everything Cindy Tanas and her acting studio have given me and her continuing presence in my life as a teacher, guide, and wise one. I am indebted to her for her generosity to me and her support of my desire to fulfill my potential. I’m filled with love and respect for Cindy Tanas and her acting studio. After years of searching in a fog, I finally found the acting teacher who was right for me. Thank you for taking me in to your acting studio Cindy, it changed my life for the better. Thank you thank you thank you.”

Shadi Shahkhalili

Actor, Taken (2018), Some Kind of Life (2017), To Our White Bright Heats (2016)

“Toronto acting teacher Cindy Tanas changed my life. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer than that. Her unique ability to somehow reach the core of a human being is, in a word, staggering Those who know me, remarked on the visible change. When I first met Cindy, I mentioned to her at my interview in the summer of 2008 that “I’m a writer. I don’t know if I even have any desire to be an actor.” She laughed, in her Cindy laugh way, and assured me that her class was full of people who were not actors: “We have writers, directors, singers, dancers…” It was this that drew me to her Actor’s Instrument classes, Scene Study classes, Workshops, private lessons, Play Scene Studies, on-camera work… All in all, I spent four amazing years with Cindy – years I would never, ever, take back. When I “left the nest” in 2012, I was able to enter the world of acting and filmmaking thanks to the wonderful wisdom she imparted. Since then I’ve had parts in over 30 short films, several feature films, a role on a TV series, acted opposite some of Cindy’s students (who were one-time classmates), dove back into my First Love (Writing), am in post-production on “Taking Possession” – the sixth film for my production company, Spiced Reality Productions – and am continuing forward. At the heart of it all, what I learned at Cindy Tanas Actors Studio helped immensely in all those aspects. It’s, as she often said, “taking what you learn out into the world and applying it”. Thank you Cindy. Truly.”

Peter Campbell

Actor / Producer, Producer: Spiced Reality Productions, Actor: Family (2020) Sam (2019) Bicherman’s Grove (2015)

“Acting teacher Cindy Tanas has a quote, “If you want to work on your art, work on your life” at the end of each of each email she sends me. I have been working with Cindy for several years, and have seen this idea alive in her teaching since the beginning. The acting studio she has created is filled with inspiration and beauty. To be a part of any acting class is to be a part of something magical. The learning that takes place is both very practical and cathartic…she teaches how to reveal truth and so creates a space where real art is in the making regardless of experience. Risks can be taken, trust and confidence is organic and nurtured, and the focus is always on the greater picture of the creative process. Beginner actor or experienced actor, the students get the sense that in her studio we learn from one another. The acting work becomes of primary importance and in my experience, has brought to my consciousness why we as human beings need to act, express and story tell. I have learned almost everything I know about acting from Cindy Tanas. I have never left an acting class without feeling filled with her very unique teaching and healing. Even if the goal is just to work on myself, this acting class provides a space for that but, ultimately, I always find there is another lesson or two snuck in. Thank you Cindy Tanas for the heart and soul you put into teaching each class.”

Eva Hayes

Actor, Real Gangsters (2013)

“Cindy Tanas Actors Studio just doesn’t share lessons with you on how to become a better actor. Learning the craft of acting is just one benefit of what participating in the acting classes at Cindy’s studio offers. Cindy creates a safe space within her studio walls and invites you to join her on a creative journey. Due to the non-judgemental environment Cindy Tanas cultivates, I learned how to open up and be completely vulnerable. Being in this shared safe place allowed me to confront, reveal, and explore aspects of myself that I suppressed or just did not know were there within me. Cindy Tanas is committed to developing and nurturing actors. She invests in every acting student that walks through her doors. Cindy taps into the truth that connects us, and wants to speak through us, but has been blocked or censored along our way. She has not given up or skipped steps with me when I had an acting block. Instead she took the time to work with me, helped me identify where I was at, and enabled me to move to the next step. I’m not going to lie, its hard work, but well worth it. When you work with Cindy Tanas, her commitment to truth, continual care, and boundless passion come shining through. Cindy talks with you, not at you. Rather than telling you to achieve a result, she invites you to share yourself with the class. In her acting class, I have learned about opening my heart up to a stranger and finding the humanity in everyday moments. I have learned how to listen, really listen. Not only to my surroundings and others, but to myself and my thoughts, feelings, and impulses. I discovered the confidence that here and now I am enough. I know why people are so passionate about the arts now, I know why people can’t stop once they have the acting bug. There is an ineffable magic that underlies the process of acting. The creative process that Cindy Tanas Actors Studio offers brings that magic.”

Rob Horvath

“I don’t know that I’ll ever find a teacher who will impact me as much as Cindy Tanas has. Cindy and her acting studio have inspired so much growth in me that I can’t quite wrap my head around it. She teaches from a place of such understanding, love, empathy, and drive. She truly wants all of her acting students to succeed, not so they will provide a great performance, but so that they will be healing and expressing themselves fully (which conveniently provides for a great performance). The environment she creates in the acting studio is one of such safety, so students are encouraged to be fully and utterly themselves. My ego takes a back seat and my soul feels at home enough to come out and play. I have matured astronomically at Cindy’s actor’s studio, both emotionally, intellectually, kinaesthetically, and in other ways I couldn’t put into words. The more I learn acting here, the more I find I don’t know, which is an exciting and daunting fact. I look forward to coming back to the studio whenever possible, much like coming back home! There is no better place for an artist, or in fact for a human being.”

Shadan Raharbi

“The Actors Instrument class has been an incredible experience for me. Every in person acting class has been an opportunity to explore who I am, face it, and embrace it. I know how to “get out of my head” and “into my body”. I’ve learned to listen with my whole body…and I now apply it to my everyday life. Thank you Cindy.”

Jsin Sasha

Actor, ClaireVoyant (2018), Designated Survivor (2016), Killjoys (2015)

“Online acting teacher Cindy Tanas has an uncanny ability to make an online acting class feel as though you are right there with her in the classroom. She knows how to make you feel safe so you can be vulnerable. I’ve attended her classes at the studio and I feel I am gaining just as much of her wisdom, generosity and unparalleled teaching style from her online acting classes. Cindy gives, really gives. I was skeptical about taking an online acting class, but with Cindy’s approach it just works differently from other classes I’ve tried online. Thank you Cindy, for your commitment to quality and your dedication to integrity.”

Pujaa Panday

Actor

“Cindy Tanas has been a constant source of inspiration to me both in my acting/filmmaking career as well as in my personal and other business life in the over 10-years. I have been lucky enough to train with her. Her teaching and training has been so profoundly grounded and at the same time expanding, exciting and enlightening. I have grown in confidence both as an actor and as a human being. I have taken on bigger roles and gone to places that I never knew I could go or reach — willing to take the risks knowing I had the tools, skills and craft. Cindy has guided me along this path in both acting classes and private coaching…and I have been the better for it. She is priceless, one-of-a-kind acting teacher & human. She brings the goods every single time and with compassion, love and zero ego. I highly recommend her and her Toronto Studio to anybody looking to be better actors, or people.”

Shawn Venasse

Producer, In the House of Gaudet (2012), La Piscina (2012), Blonde Shell (2012), Sex, Lies and Celebrity Recipes (2002)

“The most outstanding thing about Cindy’s method is her immaculate preparation…Each aspect of her teaching revolves around her leadership in setting an example to her students…and she demands the same from the people she mentors…even beyond the attention to detail to each and every aspect of the craft of acting…Cindy is instinctive and intuitive…she is sensitive to individual character traits…and like any good coach knows how to caress and cajole…to challenge and demand…all in the name of pulling to the surface every ounce of a person’s abilities…everyone who works with her leaves her classes feeling like they ran a marathon…exhausted yet exhilarated as the creative endorphins continue to flow long after the lights in the studio have dimmed…My experience has been transformative…and while exaggeration may be naturally occurring in the DNA of the cadaver known as the “tale”…there is no one that I have known who can interpret a tale and an actor’s ability to deliver it better than Cindy Tanas…”

Vaclovas Verikaitis

Writer/ Producer/ Director, Owner of KEO Entertainment, worked on production for Olympic Games, Formula One Racing, and World Cup of Soccer