Welcome to our website!
My name is Ernest Goodman. I am a Los Angeles-based director and screenwriter, and the founder of Goodman Directing & Acting Studio. In addition to my work at the studio, I serve as an instructor at UCLA Extension.
My philosophy of directing and first priority is directing actors (According Stanislavsky, Michael Chekhov, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner and other methods). I understand how truthful performance of actors makes movie memorable.
Any classic stories are immortal, can be set anywhere in the world. My film set in the U.S.
The Bear is an adaptation of the brilliant work of one of the world’s most famously clever playwrights and dramatist of the 19th Century, Anton Chekhov. We are taking this classic Russian play and giving it a western spin for the US audience. Taking place in California in the mid 1920’s, The Bear is a Romantic comedy and grand dispute between a grieving widow and a misogynistic land owner that brings love, tears and an epic duel. As a play, The Bear has been extremely popular for more than 100 years in over 60 countries.
Synopsis:
The story takes place in the drawing room of Helen’s estate on the one year anniversary of her husband’s death. Since her husband died, Helen has locked herself in the house in mourning. Her footman,
Luka (Helen’s aged footman), begins the play by begging Helen to stop mourning and step outside the estate. She ignores him, saying that she made a promise to her husband to remain forever faithful to his memory. Their conversation is interrupted when Greg arrives and wishes to see the Helen to collect money that her husband owed to him before he dies. She refuses to pay.
Greg decides that he will not leave the estate until his debts are paid off, even if that means waiting until the day after tomorrow. He and Helen get into another argument when he starts yelling at the footman to bring him water or food. The argument turns into a debate about true love according to the different genders. Greg argues that women are incapable of loving “anybody except a lapdog,” to which Helen argues that she wholeheartedly loved her husband although he cheated on her and disrespected her. The argument deteriorates into another shouting match about paying back the debt.
Greg, being insulted, calls for a duel, not caring that Helen is a woman. Upon end you will see how this story will be ended.
The Bear play had its first English language theater premiere in London in 1911. The United States theater premiere was in New York in 1915.
Feel free to check out my other websites as well:
(1) Goodman Directing and Acting studio website – www.ernestgoodmanstudio.com
(2) The Man in a Case film website – www.themaninacase.com
Best of luck to you.
Ernest Goodman
