testimonials: Florida
Just had to write a little about the exercise tonight. It's amazing what can happen with words when you give them very specific actions. When we first received that piece, I must say I was like what in the world is this. I know Sam Shepard wrote it, but still it seemed a bit out there for an acting class! I have to thank you though, because it really proved to me that words are just words (or like your mentor said, "those are just words on paper") until they are given an action. Then as I progressed in the exercise, what you said about the more specific you can make it the more real it will become, really became valid. Well, during the exercise, you had me pretty specific and I think that there were definitely parts that were real! Thank you for helping me get there!
Christy Lee Taylor - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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You inspire me beyond words. When you speak of acting you make me feel what cannot be explained.
Kris Karis - Miami, FL
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I would like to take the opportunity to thank you. I must admit I had some preconceived notions about what this class and it's students might be like. It was and is a challenge. I was definitely a bit intimidated the first day. I didn't think it would be so hard. I have taken several acting classes, including those I took for a double major at a nearby university, and never once did anyone ask me to really look inside of myself. I knew about the "Magic IF" and all, but never have I been approached in the manner in which you presented. Thank you for making me look deeper within myself and for re-emphasizing what I had previously learned. Thanks for making me "fold laundry!" I'm just starting, but I hope to continue and one day move past Physical Destination and Fourth Side.
Suzette Mayobre - Miami, FL
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I can't wait for class to start again! Thank you for your passion and thank you for being so dedicated to teaching and passing on your craft. I feel very lucky to have found your class.
Janet Weakley - Miami, FL
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I'm so grateful to you for teaching and being here...you have set me on a course, starting with Ms. Hagen. Where were you when I was studying at the Dallas Theatre Center and had a lecture from Charles Laughton? Where were you when I needed your teaching in NYC, a starving actor without a clue, living on MacDougal St. and daily passing HB Studios totally oblivious. Somehow, I did have sense enough to do 2 seasons at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, take a course from Michael Shurtleff and do a couple of years of soaps, but totally without a philosophy. So often, I have seen actors sell out for a laugh and it was wonderful to hear your convictions that true and honest work may not bring a spontaneous reaction but makes a lasting impression that may actually change lives. Thank you again for being a teacher-director.
Gary La Vigne - Naples, FL
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I look forward to working with you in depth this fall. I had a really great audition for Saturn (General Motors) on Monday, and I think it stemmed from all the exploring that you have pointed me towards. Thanks. See you in class.
Sandy Ives – AEA/SAG - Miami, FL
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Thanks for being a role model for me. Your passion and energy surpass all!
Melanie Stallard - Miami, FL
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As always, class was fantastic last night...Here's the info on the film I booked: it's a full-length indie feature called "Hunting for Herschell."
They had an open call a few weeks back, and were absolutely swamped with people (I believe they said they had over 70 attend). By the time I got there, they had resorted to bringing people in to audition in groups of 4. We were each asked tell them (and the camera) why we wanted to audition for a horror film, then were given only 4 lines to read with another actor, completely cold. I had to quickly process the (Hagen) 6 steps and put myself there with the other actor. In any case, it seems to have worked, because I was cast in the film!
Thanks for all of your enthusiasm, Marc- it really is contagious! I'm looking forward to the next 6 week session.
Erynn Dalton - Miami, FL
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Just wanted to write to let you (and others) know how much Domenic and I enjoyed your 6 week class in Naples. You are a gifted and inspiring (not to mention quite entertaining) teacher; and we were lucky to have the opportunity and experience of learning from you.
We both wish the class could have been longer, as the more we studied, the more we wanted to learn. Having studied in New York, it was so great to have someone with as much experience, knowledge, and joy for the craft of acting here in Naples! You have no idea how long we've been hoping for someone like yourself to come our way.
You have inspired both Domenic and me to not give up on our very first dream of becoming good actors, even though we are doing something else for now. Hope that you will not forget about us over here on the west coast---Please come back soon! We look forward to working with, and learning from you again in the future!
Domenic and Michelle Costantini - Naples, FL
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Learning all the knowledge you have to give us, absorbing every word and exercise there is in your class, and applying it to my work is just the process I am willing to go through step by step. Tuesday night was a breakthough I needed in my life as an actor.
I was separated from what I love the most in my life, "acting", for two months, and I was being pulled away from my eagerness to get there, to be a respectful actress, to love my work and be proud of it, which you could only be if you work hard. I knew I needed Marc's class to find my way again. And I am not talking about, "oh, I need approval, I need to listen complements..." or anything like that, I am talking about knowing I am learning step by step a process I'm sure will get me where I want to be, which is to be a truthful actress.
When you experience the knowledge of a teacher like Marc Durso and believe in a process like the one he teaches (Hagen Object Exercises) you will never want to separate from it. You want to absorb, to extract everything from it. Marc's class is a challenge I can't live without.
Carla O. Sánchez - Miami, FL - http://www.carlasanchez.net/
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I had a breakthrough in identifying "Truth" and "Untruth" on the set of a corporate video shoot, in the principal role of a telemarketer for ATT. The challenges for me were to type at a computer terminal (and I am not a typist), carry on a phone conversation on a headphone in profile to the camera, and slowly turn to the lens while conversing for a close up. There were no lines, no sound, just the ACTION.
Sounds simple enough. I warmed up using the techniques you taught (Linklater Voice process), asked myself the Hagen questions, and proceeded to do such a truthful performance that the client reps and advertising execs were extremely happy. Then the monster of self-consciousness reared its ugly head. On the next take I knew everyone gathered around the monitor had expectations. My focus and concentration were interrupted. The obvious result was "UNTRUTH". I felt it and more importantly everyone watching did too. We all stopped and grimaced at one another. "That was terrible!", I blurted out. Fortunately, everyone laughed. I asked for a private moment did some deep breathing and proceeded to finish the job successfully.
Why do I consider this a breakthrough? 1. Because I felt the difference so clearly in the moment 2. The audience sensed the truth/untruth of a performance. Thanks for all you've taught and inspired in me in just one weekend workshop.
Mari Coscarelli - Orlando, FL
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I have gained so much understanding on acting from your first class. It was amazing. I didn't miss a moment and a word you said. I am glad that I called you.... I will continue the classes ... which I believe will definitely help me to better communicate with the actors on a movie set.... I will not be one of these directors who don't know a thing about acting but throw fancy words around just to pretend their inadequacy. I am a director who studies intensively on all aspects of film making and has an ambition to bring the true art of acting to the big screen and let it shine. So maybe one day you will be proud to have me as one of your students when I win an Oscar for the best director. Haaaaa! As for now, with the faith in the Creator, I am making my dreams come true MOMENT TO MOMENT TO MOMENT....
Chi Chi Zhang - Award Winning Director - Miami, FL
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I was recently cast for a lead part in a play... My character was a very well known celebrity and also had a British accent. I was thrilled and terrified to have such a challenging role. ...I was extremely stressed out and seriously considering why I was doing this role in the first place....The writer/director of the play was trying to direct the play for the first time and suggested that I find a coach for the role very close to the performance date.
Luckily two people suggested Marc Durso. I called Marc and audited his class. I didn't have time to learn this process! I asked Marc to coach me... During our 1st and only coaching session for that role he changed my acting forever. The number one thing that helped me, was when he said, "...what would she (the character) be thinking about, keep your mind filled with her thoughts..."
I received many many compliments on my performances to my own and the directors delight. Many people came up to me after our performance and said," I thought you were her, I really did"... "you made me cry"..."you were her".
I am glad to be back in your class, and this time instead of the pressures of performing a certain role, I can just relax and know it is working. I'm really excited about learning this process!
Thank You Marc! You are a lifesaver!
Jude Parker - Miami, FL
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I just wanted to tell you again I had a great time in class. I learned alot and I'm thrilled I had the experience. Thank you again.
Jamie Lee Jurbala - Orlando, FL
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...this is what you have been teaching us this whole time!!!!! Thought provokes behavior and thus a truthful Action which is Acting! When you talk to us in class, like you do, lightbulbs go off in my head like FIRECRACKERS on the 4th of July. I also learned during the Extraordinary Object excersize where we had to explain our own objects in our head that nothing is considered wrong if it is a truthful picture/thought in my head. When another actress in my group described her object, I thought that my image of a clear plastic bubble the size of a football field where you could jump around and float up to the sky where you could see city blocks for miles, where you could fly so high up above the clouds like a soaring bird in the sky just catching the next wind to take you to the next city block, was all wrong.
I instead passed my turn over to the next actress who explained a similar object conjured out of her imagination. That is what I call that little person on my shoulder saying, "Your wrong!" Never again will I sensor myself and never again will I use the word WRONG!
So you see, when you explain in between each person's exersize, listening to you talk to the person about their exersize I learn so much. I thank you for being the teacher you are!!!
Jennifer Sgambati - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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I thouroughly enjoyed your class and I feel confident that you can take me where I need to go in my magical journey of acting...Thank you.
Sarah Kellet - Miami, F
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