Marvin Karon | Actor

Marvin Karon is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Education and the Ontario Institute for Studies In Education (OISE). He has appeared in numerous theatrical, film and television productions here in Canada and the United States, including:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and Lost In Yonkers for the Manitoba Theatre Centre; The Philadelphia Story for the Grand Theatre in London; Fire Sale at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal and Jitters for Theatre Aquarius in his hometown of Hamilton Ontario. On television he has been seen Headmaster Killerby in the Fox Family Channel/YTV series, The Zack Files…a series on which he also served as acting coach.

He has also appeared in: Knight Rider on NBC; Due South and Air Wolf for CBS; The Rescuers and Missing for Showtime in the United States; Soul Food for BET; Goosebumps for the Fox Family Channel; Doc and three episodes of Paradise Falls for the Showcase network; Kung Fu, The11th Hour, The Associates andDegrassi: The Next Generation for CTV; on the Comedy Network’s Puppets Who Kill; the Global TV series Blue Murderand Wild Card;  the CBC series The Newsroom; MVP; The Border and This Is Wonderland.

He was seen on movie screens in Charlie Bartlett; Blindness and The Rocker and has most recently been seen in the hit ABC/Global series Rookie Blue and the CBS/CTV series The Bridge.

Marvin Karon | Teacher

In addition to his acting career, Marvin also has extensive training and experience as an educator. He has been teaching with the Toronto District School Board since 1991 and has also delivered on camera classes to the graduating students of Humber College for the past couple of years.

He offers a popular camera acting class out of Central Studios in Toronto and visits England regularly where he teaches at the Actors Centre, the professional development wing of the British actors' union. He has taught Additional Qualification courses at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Education, OISE/UT, for York University; Goldsmith's College in London, England as well as for ETAI (The English Teachers' Association of Israel). He has delivered workshops for the Toronto District School Board, the York Region District School Board; the Peel District and the Halton Catholic District School Board; the CODE (Council of Drama Educators) conference and Centennial College.

He is the Executive Director of Shakespearience Performing Arts, an interactive workshop which, since 1998, has been going into more than a hundred schools every year all over the GTA, the UK and, most recently, Israel, with more than two hundred and fifty of this country's finest actors, empowering kids between the ages of eight and eighteen with the possibilities of the English language by demystifying the language of Shakespeare's plays for students in Grades 3 to 12 as well as for young offenders in Wakefiled and Leeds. He directs the Shakespearience Summer Experience productions every July, which are staged at the Berkeley Street Theatre courtesy of the Canadian Stage Company as well as the Shakespearience after Hours ElseWhere Experience with students from the Malvern district in a presentation of scenes from the canon tied together by a theme, staged at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in April.

Marvin also works as an educational consultant for REEL CANADA which has been visiting schools since 2005, aiming to raise awareness of this country's feature film industry among students all across the country in an effort to enhance young people's appreciation of our national culture.

Details

• Appearances

• Television
• Film & Theatre

Demo Reel

Please access my demo reel below to review my extensive body of work.

Television

Film

Theatre

Acting for the Camera

All of the on-camera workshops Marvin Karon has been teaching since 1998 here in Canada and in England out of the Actors Centre, the professional development wing of the British actors’ union, are geared to committed but perhaps inexperienced young artists who are actively pursuing a professional acting career and looking to move up from the actor level or small principal roles to larger parts.

Part theory, part improvisation, part practical exercises, the course mainly focuses on the shooting of classic and contemporary film and television scenes which are then broken down and analyzed to provide the student with the basics that are essential to working imaginatively, authentically and successfully in front of a camera.

Part I: Classes Designed to Help You Get The Role

Class Content includes:

• How to prepare by breaking down sides
• How to start once “action” is called
• What to do before, during and after the camera rolls
• How to find beats, objectives and transitions
• How to be your best in the room
• Business related issues such as standard picture and resume protocol, breakdowns, the basics of securing representation, how the casting process works, unions (ACTRA, SAG), working permits and related applications pertaining to the Canadian and U.S. markets will also be explored.

Part II: Advanced Audition Technique

Class Content includes

• How to score a scene
• How to find the connections between beats
• How to adapt to different acting styles demanded by a script
• How to be your best in a multi-camera or a single camera situation
• Exploring the notion of “falling” into a scene
• How to expand your actor’s toolkit and find more resources to draw upon
• Dealing with the pressure of the audition situation

Part III: Audition Technique: Callbacks

Class content includes:

• Purposeful preparation
• What you want to do differently
• What you don't want to do differently
• Detailed text analysis
• Character development
• Establishing relationships
• Creating the illusion of spontaneity and immediacy

Scene Study Fundamentals

Students will work on scenes designed to help them find the key to being spontaneous and alive in front of the camera; explore techniques which will facilitate their ability to work moment-to-moment; enhance listening skills to make responses authentic and imaginative; clarify objectives; utilize tried and true methods designed to enable one to be present and totally "there" right off the top of a scene. This class will also focus on scene analysis and teach aspiring professionals how to make interesting, compelling choices to enhance the effectiveness of their work.

Advanced Scene Study

Building on the tools explored in the Scene Study Fundamentals class, this workshop is designed for the more experienced actor with at least some professional credits on their resume. The emphasis of this class is on the practical and creative application of the actor's technique through advanced scene work involving more challenging material from contemporary feature films and television shows. Students will explore ways to make their work richer and more watchable, how to solve acting problems as they arise on a set and how to unlock the pathways that propel a character into dynamic action.

Master Class

The Master Class is designed for students who have previously worked with Marvin in his audition and scene study workshops. The emphasis will be less on theory and shall attempt to more accurately reflect and simulate the pressure of working on a professional set, finding spontaneity and freshness in performance after repeated takes until "Print it" can be called as well as explore whatever issues might arise to prevent the participant from being their best when "action " is called.

Private Coaching

Private coaching consists of one hour of instruction and is geared to meet the student's needs in terms of preparing for an audition, working up a monologue to present to an agent for the purpose of securing representation or career advice.

Scheduling

Most courses are rotated on a four week cycle with a minimum of three hours per class. Anyone who is interested is advised to contact Marvin Karon at marvinkaron.com or by phone at 416-845-1407 for further information about when they might enrol for the next scheduled session.

Auditing

Auditors are welcome to sit in for free but need to notify the instructor in advance of their intention to attend a class.

Acting for the Camera - Registration Form

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Testimonials

• Marvin is an incredible teacher - smart, caring, patient and tough. He has such a wealth of knowledge from theatre to film acting, and brings to class a great combination of acting insight and business know-how. His on-camera acting classes completely changed the way I approached that medium, and made me infinitely more confident to go out and audition. Ten years and multiple Broadway credits later, I still call on the techniques Marvin taught me. Thank you, Marvin!!!

  — Caissie Levy, star of Broadway's Wicked and Hair

• "Marvin provides actors with a tool kit they can refer to when in front of the camera and they need something to fall back on. He offers a comprehensive approach to the craft of acting which folks will find really practical and useful."

  — Aidan Devine, Gemini Award-Winning Actor

• "Marvin really knows what he's talking about and vividly communicates the fun and challenge of refining and practicing a good acting technique. Highly recommended."

  — Ron Lea, Star of Doc; This is Wonderland

• "I have done several workshops with Marvin and have found him to be an engaging, compelling teacher who always manages to hold the attention of all of the students in the room. He is a gifted instructor with much to offer and there are many useful skills to be learned from him"

  — Dion Johnstone, Stratford Shakespeare Festival Star

• I attended your On Camera Auditions Course at The Actor's Centre last and just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you. It was truly an extremely valuable and inspiring experience and I was on a high for the rest of the weekend as a result. …I would love to attend a "follow up" course with and I would be delighted if you would let me know when such a course is being organised.

  — Abigail Francis, The Actors Centre, London England

• You have taken the fear factor out of TV and film acting for me. I really feel that I have learned so much and am beginning to really make progress within the safety of your workshops. I will definitely be attending your next session.

  — Stella Marney, The Actors Centre, London England

• I really want to thank you for all the help you've given me through your on camera acting sessions. I recently got booked for a Principle Actor role on a motion picture being produced by Alliance Atlantis. I start shooting on Saturday. I am so excited. I feel that your courses have given me the skills and confidence that I need to get started in the business. So thank you so much for that. I definitely want to come back for another one of your sessions in the future.

  — Wei Cheng

• This workshop was one of the most enlightening courses I have ever taken. Marvin's honest approach to teaching and his constructive criticism helped me to easily access my emotions and communicate to a variety of audiences. Even when I'm working on stage or in an opera, the skills I learned from Marvin's knowledge of the industry, are tools that I always benefit from. I highly recommend these classes to anyone who is serious about being an actor.

  — Natasha Negovanlis

• "It was clear that the course was painstakingly planned. It was incredibly thorough, unbelievably detailed…. Thank you for asking so much of us and making us aware of how good some film acting can be"

  — Ben Warwick, The Actors Centre, London England

• I've been meaning to write you to tell you how much I am enjoying your class. This is my first actual experience in front of the camera, so I am a bit intimidated, but I feel like I take away sooo much after the three hours. The way that you break down our performance is really helpful.

  — Kristin Ellsley

• I wanted to thank you deeply for the class. I thought you were fantastic and I know that the other students really enjoyed your class, too. I only heard amazing things from them about you.

  — Valentin Miros

• I told Phil, my agent, about how great your class was! He said that he likes to recommend you because you are a certified teacher which helps students to really understand and "catch" the info they need to get better at their craft.

  — Leyda Aleyli

• Just wanted to say thanks. I feel I got a lot out of the class. You've give me a lot of things for me to think about. And now that I know you do half an hour coaching sessions, I'm going to be calling you when I get that audition for sure.

  — Daniel Cosentino

• Marianna and I met with Marvin Karon yesterday for a coaching session for Tuesday's self tape (Dolly Parton audition). He was just incredible. He is so experienced and very professional. He was fantastic with Marianna . He allowed me to stay for a couple of minutes to observe his technique in breaking down step by step what Marianna needed to do. He also explained how directors/casting agents work, how they make their decisions, and how the industry is. I really hope to get Marianna in with him in an upcoming workshop he will be offering soon.

  — Email to an agent from the parent of a younger actor

• I understand that Mitchell was really great... He's gotten way stronger since the last time I saw him. He was really well prepared and made good choices for the character. He's definitely starting to be a contender for leading parts [Agent Feedback after a coaching session with Marvin]

  — Kelly Lazar

Marvin Karon

• Acting for the Camera

• 10 Muirhead Road, Suite 1410
• Toronto, Ontario,
• M2J 4P9, Canada

• Phone: 416-845-1407
• Fax:      416-502-9970
• Email: mkaron@marvinkaron.com
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