Margie Haber is one of the most inspiring women I have ever had the honour to meet.
Margie is a very successful acting coach in West Hollywood who specialises in Audition Technique for TV and film. She was voted Winner of the 2009 Backstage Readers' Choice Award for Favourite Audition and Cold Reading Workshop. I have taken numerous classes and courses at her studios, and have learnt so much from training with her and her equally talented colleagues.
Here is a clip of Margie introducing herself and telling us a little bit about where she comes from and what she's about.
Margie teaches you to "Live the Life" instead of trying to "act". She talks about what makes a scene work - it's the chemistry between the people in the scene; it's all the little moments in between the lines where people are just "being" themselves and are not "pushing" or trying too hard.
We, as human beings, are intrigued by other human behaviour. We love to people-watch; we love to relate to other people's experiences. When you watch a film - the character you enjoy watching the most is the one who can communicate exactly what he/she is feeling and make you empathise with them - not just sympathise with them. Everyone has the ability to know when someone is being truthful and when the are "faking it". You could watch someone do nothing for hours if they do it truthfully and naturally, however you would struggle to watch a movie - no matter how interesting - if the actors were "acting" and not "living the lives". Margie summarises this perfectly when she says, "Actors impress. Human beings express."
Margie's energy is contagious, her enthusiasm is inspiring, and she creates an environment where everyone feels like they can contribute something. Her class allows for us (as students) to recognize our strengths, and to capitalize on our opportunities for improvement. Students who have taken her class, including me, always end up leaving her workshops with the feeling that Margie not only cares about how good of actors we are, but how good of people we are too. I consider Margie a great teacher, a "second mom", and an excellent mentor. She has become a big part of my industry life and I highly recommend anyone to seize any opportunity to take a class with her!
And if you can't make it to her actual class, Margie has also written a fantastic book explaining her work and techniques called How To Get The Part Without Falling Apart. This is a MUST read for any actor interested in improving their audition technique and wanting to make their work more truthful!
Visit Margie's website - she is amazing!
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