Internationally acclaimed Hollywood film director, acting coach, casting director, author and actress Michelle Danner will be in South Africa during February 2013 to host the Hollywood 2 SA workshops.
Danner and her team have partnered with well known Sandton based talent agency Caitlin’s Castings (whose proceeds are donated to charity) owner Addi Lang, TV producer Wendy Leissner Machanik and IT specialist Elize van Herk, (aka “The AWEsome Team’), who are the official South African promoters of the workshops. They will assist Danner and her entourage during their stay to scout for “hidden gems’ throughout South Africa.
Workshops are Johannesburg-based only and designed for different target markets including professional actors, amateurs and beginners, parents, casting directors, assistants, agents, brand managers and advertising agencies. Students will learn to stamp their signatures on a character with unique psychological gestures as they explore film and televisions scripts of every genre, encompassing slapstick, dark, romantic, comedy, sitcom, film noir, soap opera, period, horror, drama, action/adventure, and more.
A Hollywood 2 SA Talent Contest will also be staged and is open to all performers across South Africa to showcase their talent to Hollywood’s finest.
Danner has coached the likes of Gerard Butler, Chris Rock, Penelope Cruz, Christian Slater, Salma Hayek, Jamie-Lynn Siegler, Michael Penn, Isla Fisher, James Franco, Marcia Cross, Catherine Bell, Zooey Deschanel, and Gabrielle Union, among others.
She has trained personally with Stella Adler, Uta Hagen and teaches on-going scene study classes at Edgemar Centre for the Arts. She was the acting coach expert on comedy on the WB show The Starlet and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Danner produced and acted in the award-winning short Dos Corazones. In 2006 she made her feature film-directing debut How to go Out on a Date in Queens, which won four LA Film Awards including best director. It starred Jason Alexander, Esai Morales, Ron Perlman, Kimberly Williams, Rob Estes and Alison Eastwood.
In November, 2009 Danner directed the theatrical production of Hello Herman by John Buffalo Mailer, which is now a feature film that opened the Hollywood Film Festival. It is a compelling drama produced by All In Films, an independent film production company with Michelle Danner and Alexandra Guarnieri at the helm.
Alongside Larry Moss, Danner is the founder and artistic director of the Edgemar Theatre Group, with donors who include Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kate Capshaw and Neil Simon. As an author Danner has written and published The Daily Ritual, The Golden Box and Most Asked Questions about Acting, which will be available in South Africa shortly.
