Chance Family Lives and Loves Onstage

Richie Chance was unaware that he had become part of an involuntary improv scene.

It took his mother to literally slap some sense into him.

"People have always tried to get us to do reality shows about the family and the acting studio," said Richie, beaming as he recalls the fight he never saw coming. "So we’re doing interviews with each other for this reality show pitch tape and my mom says, ‘We do a lot of improv in our family, right Richie?’"

"Then she just cold-cocked me."

Bobbie Chance is the founder of Expressions Unlimited acting studio in Sherman Oaks, and her son, Richie, is one of the driving forces behind what has become a popular acting hub in the city of Los Angeles over the past two decades.

Having found their common ground, teaching the art of acting to young up-and-comers, mother and son have created a bond that they cherish more with each passing scene.

Bobbie's Beginnings

Bobbie began her acting career in the early 60’s and became a staple in the American International Pictures beach party films that catered towards teenage viewers throughout the 1960s.

However, having traveled the country producing these films for the better part of seven years, Bobbie decided to cut her career short in order to pursue her dreams of directing.

"They were grooming me to be a big star and I decided I didn’t want to do that," Bobbie said. "I wanted to make art films, which are known as independent films today."

Throughout her career, Bobbie has maintained that she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and around the right people.

Little did she know that one of her children’s grade school teachers, for the wrong reasons, was the right person to push her to become an acting instructor. 

"My sister, Allison, was in an art class at the Country School and the art teacher asked my sister to paint an elephant," Richie explained. "My sister painted it purple and the teacher reprimanded her and said it had to be grey. My mom heard about this and flipped out. She interfered with my sister’s artistic expression.

"So when this woman wasn’t letting my sister be herself, my mom stepped in and wanted to raise hell," Richie continued. "The principal of the school then told my mom that since she’s an actress and wants the kids to express themselves, she should start up an acting group with the kids."

Bobbie ran with the advice and in the early 1980s began giving acting lessons to students at the school.

Included in that bunch of young students were current Hollywood mainstays Drew Barrymore, Stephen Dorff and Breckin Meyer, as well as the late River Phoenix.

As Bobbie’s classes began to gain more public attention, with adult actors and their agents venturing to her daughter's elementary school to seek out Bobbie's expertise, she decided to open an official studio in a Ventura Boulevard shopping center in Sherman Oaks.

Richie Grabs the Spotlight

Richie’s trek into the acting field was slightly less direct than his mother’s, as his original childhood aspirations were to play professional sports.

In fact, Richie turned down what could have been his big acting break at the tender age of 5.

Having tagged along with his mother and her young actors to an audition at Disney Studios, Richie found himself in the sights of the Disney directors.

"My mom walked out with the casting director and the executive producer, and they felt the kids she brought were too recognizable at that point in their careers," Richie said. "Meanwhile, I’m sitting there drawing on their white carpet with a red marker. And they wanted me."

"I asked Richie if he wanted to be an actor, and told him it could be fun, and he said, ‘No, Mom, I’m not ready,’" Bobbie said. "And that was the end of it."

Already being scouted by Major League Baseball teams when he was in middle school, Richie slowly gravitated toward pursuing his dream of becoming a professional baseball player.

However, that dream fell apart once Richie broke his mother’s cardinal rule:

"My mom has two rules that she shares with people: Always be yourself and don’t get hurt physically," Richie said. "Well, I got hurt."

Mom and Pop (and Son) Acting Studio

After being sidelined from the baseball field at age 17 due to a leg injury, and with the help of Bobbie, Richie decided to pursue the family business of acting full-time.

"Here I am at 17, onstage at the studio, teaching professional actors how to act," Richie said. "But that’s what I grew up in. Drew (Barrymore), Stephen (Dorff) ... those were my babysitters. I was just in it."

Today, Richie is 28 and has acted in several films and appeared on popular television shows such as Fox’s "House." He also teaches at Expressions Unlimited with Bobbie on a weekly basis.

"It’s amazing, because who gets to have that kind of relationship with their parents," Richie said of working with his mother.

Now, the acting studio that is operated by mother and supported by son has trained some of the most recognizable names in Hollywood today, including Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Jennifer Aniston, all of whom have stopped by to speak and act with students. 

In addition, Bobbie appeared on an episode of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," as sisters Khloe and Kourtney paid a visit to Bobbie's Thursday night acting workshop.

"A lot of people come into our studio because they know there is no paparazzi and they’re going to a place where it’s pure," Bobbie said. "It’s about the work. It’s not about who you are."

"This is a mom and pop and son acting studio, and we really care about our actors."

Remarkably enough, Bobbie, who has assisted close to 100,000 actors since the 80’s, has never advertised for Expressions Unlimited and only raised her prices on one occasion.

"We’re really fortunate because we’ve never advertised," Bobbie said. "We’re just the local, Valley acting studio. And our prices have been the same for years."

"Actors don’t have any money, so we charge by the class," she said. “They’re waiters and waitresses. What are we going to do, make them pay $500 for classes?"

"No way."