We’d love to help you get to know our incredible TBG teaching artists a little bit better, so we got Belinda Mello to answer a few questions! Check out our interview with her below…
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What is your favorite class to teach at TBG and why?
BM: I love whenever I can teach Alexander Technique at The Barrow Group! Recently, I’ve been loving the opportunity that we have in my AT II class to break down really difficult questions. My students come to me with big problems like, “How do I relax while still meeting the intensity of a performance?” or “How do I handle the stress of this competitive business and still experience the joy of this work?” and Alexander Technique provides a unique perspective and practical process we can use to take these big problems and break them down into something that can be worked on and practiced. We have the time to unpack and play in an embodied way, and it’s an absolute joy to experience the shift with my students.
What is something you recently learned or were reminded of in the world of acting, writing, or directing?
BM: I was really moved by the Oscar-nominated short documentary Instruments of a Beating Heart. It follows young children in a Japanese school as they learn the power of practice and showing up for their community. Their teachers are both firm and supportive, creating a balance of pressure and care to help them grow.
Watching it, I felt the connection to theater so clearly – not just in my mind, but in my body. The children’s journey mirrors what we go through in rehearsals: the nervous energy of auditions, the emotional ups and downs of practice, the sharp focus of performance, and the deep exhale afterward. It was a powerful reminder of how the artistic process shapes us, both individually and as a community – something I see every day at The Barrow Group.
What is a recent, current, or upcoming project that you’d like folks to know about?
BM: My upcoming “project” is becoming a grandmother for the first time!
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To take a class with Belinda…check out Alexander Technique for the Actor II starting 4/14, or Alexander Technique for the Actor I starting 4/18!