Bio &

Eric Stone

Eric Stone founded the Eric Stone Studio in 1989, which later was renamed Hollywood Actors Studio, a safe and creative environment for artistic discoveries, growth and talent development.

"Coaching and directing came at a very important time in my life when I was not only searching for new venues to express myself, but needed to redefine myself in relationship to being an actor and performer. The truth is that I never intended to teach acting. It pursued me and revealed to me that I had an enormous commitment to people being self-expressed and reach their potential. It was an extraordinary discovery! I wanted other people to succeed as well."

In the late 90's, parallel to coaching and directing professional actors and performers, I was creatively ignited once again as I began an unexpected journey in art.

Eric also known as Artist Benichou formally studied with well-known art educator and sculptor Francis Coelho in San Francisco, CA. "I graduated from his Mill Valley Art Institute program in 2002."

Exhibitions of his work have taken place worldwide in more than nine countries including those at MOCA Museum of Computer Art in New York and his paintings are found in many public and private collections in the U.S. and around the world. He is the recipient of several awards and mentions for his artistic merit. He continues to study art as it relates to self-knowledge, individual empowerment and the healing potential of color.

In 2003 he founded "Speakers & Artists International, Inc.", a California Corporation delivering training programs and strategic consulting in the arenas of Communication, Public Speaking, Media Appearances, Performance and Personal Growth & Development. The turning point to commit to empowering public speakers and business professionals was the realization early on that business people, public speakers and communicators thrive on performance skills and professional direction.

"Speaking as a committed empowerment coach and talent developer, helping and encouraging individuals to get in touch with their true potential has become a passion and an essential part of my life. It has led me onto transformational paths and journeys unimaginable had I not stayed focused in that direction."

Eric began his journey in France. His mother, Arlette Oger, was an artist and Beaux-Arts professor who influenced him greatly; so did his uncle, André Benichou, who was a stage actor and director running a national theatre company. "Watching my uncle direct and perform in countless classical and contemporary French, English and American plays was one of my favorite pastimes and completely revolutionized my childhood. He was my first role model."

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now!" Goethe

Eric moved to New York City in 1978 at the age of 20. "I became a student of Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen and I was made an honorary member of the famous Actors Studio in 1981, which gave me the opportunity to observe and work with Lee Strasberg and other studio members. I was accepted by Arthur Penn and Shelley Winters, it was an amazing experience for me at the time." "During that period and later in Hollywood, I also studied the Meisner Technique, Michael Chekhov and other important 20th century techniques and with exceptional teachers and actors such as William Hickey, Judith Unland, Tony Allen, Gary Patterson, and Bob McAndrew. Their impact on my growth and development was extraordinary and I am deeply grateful for their generosity."

Eric began to work in the New York theater and television. In 1980, he became the national and regular "on-the-air" host for TELEFRANCE USA, a national cable network show devoted to French cultural programming. It had close to 10 million viewers, which at the time was a big deal. It paved the way to doing commercial and voice-over work for Disney and joining Screen Actors Guild. He also attended New York University film school and started coaching and directing. He also studied Shakespeare with dialect coach Alice Hermes to master the English language, which landed him several roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway for the Public Theater, run by producer Joseph Papp. He moved to California in the late 80's after landing a role on PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ, a pilot for CBS. It opened the way to various starring roles in soaps, series, and he made a few appearances in movies like No Man's Land with Charlie Sheen. "I enjoyed TV work and movies but it never was my medium of choice; live theater and voice work on cartoons is so much more satisfying to me."

My favorite quote: "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too."

"There's an actor and an artist in each and every human being; hence, through self-knowledge and self-discovery, every person can design and create who they are meant to be no matter what the current environment allows or seems to dictate. By focusing primarily on design and creative issues and through self-knowledge, we can literally generate for ourselves a new freedom to be and gracefully claim both our power and vision. Emotional and intuitive awareness have been at the core of my development as an artist and a teacher. It is a privilege to be able to share it!"

"I offer a step by step tangible and thorough approach which helps develop not only gifted and creative professionals but happier and freer individuals."

Bridging the Gap to an Extraordinary Life!

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A Soldier's Tale Stravinsky

See on Youtube or Listen on Spotify

Eric Stone performs Stravinsky. The St. Bart's Music Festival invited several international artists to Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society to re-enact Stravinsky’s masterpiece entitled: L’ Histoire du Soldat (A Soldier's Tale). The story is a gripping Faustian fable about a deserting soldier desperate to return home only to meet the Devil, who swaps the soldier's fiddle for a book that foretells the future and turns the Soldier into a rich man. The Soldier's violin becomes a symbol of both the soldier's soul and the Devil's artful deceit to steal the Soldier’s soul.

A Soldier's Tale Program