Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Laskin.
Michael, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been a professional actor for over 40 years, having had significant experience in almost all facets of our business: theatre, film, and television at the highest levels… About ten years ago, at the encouragement of my friend Jeffrey Tambor, I began to teach – something I was reluctant to enter into unless I felt I had something new to add to the conversation.
I don’t like most acting classes, so I decided to try and create a kind of training experience that I would like and feel might be actually useful. These thoughts coalesced in the publication of my book, “The Authentic Actor – the Art and Business of Being Yourself”. I also was honored to present a Ted Ex Talk about this around the same time that my book was published. Teaching has been a tremendously addictive experience to my life – as an actor and human being. I also coach a great number of auditions for film and TV projects, and many of my clients have had real success in series television and films. I recently taught a Master Class at Queens College at Cambridge University in the UK. And I continue to act, having recently guest-starred on BIG LITTLE LIES and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, my acting life was never a smooth road. I was always searching for the next job and striving to move my career forward and upward. And there are so many variables that enter into that success (or lack of success) – many of which are completely out of your control. I have worked consistently for 40 years as an actor, so that is its own success. And it also depends on how one defines success. There’s always someone doing better, so “keeping score” is a fool’s errand. But I’m also married and a dad and have had a stable a rewarding family life, which makes the professional life better and puts it in perspective.
The obstacles and challenges surrounding teaching center around the fact that are so many who teach acting and (in my opinion) not very many who are good. Often they have very little to add that is original, and in many cases, have had scant success themselves. I always say, study with an actor, and one that’s had some real success. That person has walked the path you’re beginning to navigate. The acting part is relatively easy. It’s managing the mental approach to acting, and to the life of an artist that is the consistent challenge.
Please tell us about The Michael Laskin Studio.
The Michael Laskin Studio is a boutique acting studio, which is a weekly forum for the working professional actor. We offer three ongoing classes, and I also have a significant coaching business involving audition prep for film and television opportunities. We are relatively small by design. I don’t want a lot of overhead. I don’t want eight people teaching under me. If you study at my Studio, you study with me. Even in the two other classes, we offer besides mine, I am a presence as often as I can be. I don’t teach acting to kids, or run cold-reading workshops, etc. There are many others who do that, and some who do that well. But my business model is based on a personal holistic approach that is challenging and affirming and focused on your growth… Acting studios can be a bit cult-like, and I try very hard to keep it real and treat my community as adults and professionals. We are well known among elite agents and managers in the industry as a place where actors achieve significant growth. It’s a non-dogmatic, personal approach that has created a lot of success for my students and clients.
What sets us apart from other studios is also what I’m most proud of. We have built a very strong community of artists who hang out, work together, and create projects together even they’re not currently in class. So many remarkable projects have emanated from our Studio community. We’re a creative petri dish, based on shared artistry, and a very tight sense of community.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Big question! As an actor, I would have liked to have known just how significant luck and chance are. Talent is only a small (but significant) part of the equation. I’ve come to believe that (specifically) film acting is a personal identity art form. By that, I mean that point-of-view, personality, and indelibility often overrule talent. At the professional level, essentially everyone is talented – or they wouldn’t have come that far. Success is about your talent mated to your indelible self. It took me a long time to figure that one out.
As a teacher, I wouldn’t have done much differently. My status has grown organically. I prefer to be regarded as an inside the industry kind of “secret” – which I kind of am. I’ve never advertised. I’m not good at promoting to be honest. But I am good at what I do, and the growth that has come from that is significant. Word-of-mouth has been my best friend. I engage in the work personally. My job is not to layer on a methodology to your work but rather to help you discover how you instinctively go about your work and help you build a solid reliable technique that you can work with and live with.
Pricing:
- Personal coaching is $100 per session
- Classes are $300 for 6 weeks
Contact Info:
- Address: 13014 Woodbridge Street
Studio City, CA 91604 - Website: www.michaellaskinstudio.com
- Phone: 3107482859
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaellaskinstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Michaellaskinstudio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaellaskin
Image Credit:
Jackson Davis Photography
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