A cast member from NBC’s “The Office” TV series returned to Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School on Dec. 2 after 35 years to teach a master class to a select group of students.
Brian Baumgartner, who portrayed Kevin Malone in the hit comedy, taught a master class for a small group of select Middle and Upper School students, according to a school spokesperson.
A native of Atlanta, Baumgartner graduated from the 8th grade prior to the addition of the Upper School.
The master class was purchased at the 2018 Heart for the Arts fundraiser by two HIES parents.
Baumgartner discussed the differences between live theater and film/TV, the power of improvisation (which occurred often during filming “The Office”), the documentary style in which the show was filmed and the strong relationships among the cast members, who still group-text today.
He invited students to participate in acting exercises and answered questions about his time on the show.
“A reason why the show succeeded is that nobody took it for granted,” he said, the spokesperson reported. “People had struggled in a lot of different ways in their careers, and everyone wanted it to succeed.”
