I not only know Mel Shrawder from his acting work, I know him personally. He was my acting professor for the last Spring semester, and nowhere have I learned more about the art of acting than from Mel Shrawder.
When I first met Mel, I didn't know what his deal was. He would take us out of our comfort zones in exercises designed by Michael Chekhov to build feelings of form, ease, beauty, and wholeness. Often this would involve psychological gestures and constant streams of thought deriving from key phrases (and a lot of swearing!). I decided to hang in there with him and was rewarded when I experimented with what he taught me. I'm still putting the concepts he taught me to good use.
Amazing actor, teacher, and man.moreless