Deb's final exercise was physical.

She asked the class to form a circle, which they did eagerly, and instructed them to walk following each other in a large circle taking their steps first heel-to-toe, then toe-to-heel, then on the outsides of their feet toward the inside.

As her students walked in curious fashion around the room (something none of them would have done in public a half-hour earlier), Deb offered thoughts to consider while they did it.

"How is your body positioned? What are your arms doing? What are your hips doing?" Her prompting encouraged them to explore and remember all the different facets of their bodies' position, form, and movement.

Once she had finished, Deb asked the students to combine three aspects of the their experience into a single "walk." The students walked around the room trying different arm movements and fashions of stepping until they had all settled into their own distinct style. She then asked them to consider: "How old would a person who walks like this be? What would they do for a living? What does this person look like?"

Once the exercise was complete and the students all returned to their seats, Deb asked if any had "found a walk?" They had, and a number of them eagerly got to their feet to demonstrate their new walk. While they were walking Deb asked them, "Who walks like that?" Amazingly all had very coherent and clear visions of this new character.

So how does any of this relate to anime or voice acting?

In a very short time Deb was able to take a room of complete strangers, many of whom came into the workshop "just to see," with no special interest in improv or acting, and leave them capable of determining all sorts of personality facets and character traits based simply on a walk. For a voice actor than to watch a short clip of a character without any sound and instantly build an entire persona, complete with accents and inflection, using only physical action as a guide is an invaluable skill.

Additionally, the class learned to accept what they see or hear as simply being true and interact easily and naturally with that reality.

Finally, students learned to accept and execute simple directions.

Combine these skills and you have the greatest first time acting class. Deb introduced what is needed not only to become a voice actor but also the tools to create any character type, anime and beyond.

When the hour-long workshop had completed I couldn't help but overhear people leaving the room and discussing their intentions to continue their new-found passion for acting.

If you ever have a chance to see one of Angora Deb's "Improv Workshops," do yourself a favor: just stop in to see what it is. You stand a strong chance to leave with a lot more than when you went in. And even if you don't participate, you will have seen the most unexpected, off the wall show of the Con.

Also read Gerry's Ohayocon report.