NC-born actress Sharon Lawrence leads NC Wesleyan students in improv workshop

North Carolina-born actress Sharon Lawrence led drama students at NC Wesleyan University in Rocky Mount in an improv workshop as part of the university's Resident Expert Program.

Lawrence is known for her work in TV shows like NYPD Blue and Shameless.

During the masterclass, students participated in both group and one-on-one onstage exercises with the actress.

"Theater, or film and television is not a solo sport, you have to be engaged," Lawrence told WRAL News. "You have to learn to trust yourself to take risks, and to trust each other to form a community and to form real connection."

Lawrence said the exercises focused on crucial communication skills for actors onstage, including how to listen and react to one another in a production.

She also spoke about her career and gave advice to students who were interested in pursuing the arts professionally.

But Lawrence said the workshop wasn't just geared towards future actors.

"These skills that they’re learning, and the doors that we were opening today, can be useful at any point in their lives, and with all kinds of different endeavors and relationships," she told WRAL News.

Lawrence's father, Tom Lawrence, was a longtime reporter for WRAL News.