| Howard Fine | |
| Birth Place: | Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Acting teacher, theater director, author |
Howard Fine (born November 28, 1958) is an American acting teacher, celebrity acting coach, Broadway theater director, and author. He is the founder of the Howard Fine Acting Studio in Hollywood and in Melbourne, Australia.
Fine was born in Providence, Rhode Island, he is the youngest of five children. His parents, Max, an American GI, and Nelly, a Holocaust survivor, were married in Shanghai before returning to the U.S. Due to a fluke scheduling conflict between French and German classes, Fine ended up taking his first theater class in high school. Fine's drama teacher spotted his directing talent and entrusted him with his first play to direct, Edward Albee's The Sandbox, at the age of 16. He was first introduced to the work of his mentor, Uta Hagen, while in high school. Fine's high school drama teacher taught from Hagen's first book, Respect for Acting, and would eventually take his class to New York City to watch classes at Hagen's studio. Howard never studied with Uta as an actor, and by the time they met they were each established teachers in their field. Their mutual love of teaching led to a close friendship between them which lasted until Hagen's death in 2004.
Fine completed his BA in Communication/Theater at Rhode Island College. After completing graduate school in Boston, Fine moved to New York City, where he landed his first teaching job at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. After one semester of teaching, he was promoted to head of the Acting Department at the age of 24, making him the youngest head in the studio's history. It was here that he developed a year-long training program known as "The Foundation", a version of which he still teaches at his studios in Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia.
In 1985, Fine moved to Los Angeles with his best friend, Voice coach David Coury. Fine began his career in Los Angeles by privately coaching students in his living room, but in 1988, he had to expand to accommodate his growing classes. His studio has relocated several times since this 1980's before occupying its present location, 1320 N Highland Ave, at Fountain.[1] Fine received national recognition for his teaching in 2006 when named "Best Acting Teacher in Los Angeles" in Back Stage West "Best of Los Angeles" issue.[2] Fine is still a full-time acting teacher and coach, and throughout the year he teaches his 9-week Foundation course, as well as several sections of ongoing scene study. His techniques are mostly derivative of Uta Hagen's teachings, and offer actors a practical approach of working in all media: whereas most acting schools focus on either imagination or hyper-realism, Fine believes actors need both. The Howard Fine Acting Studio is home to a unique Speech & Singing for Actors program, various intensives for actors of all experience levels, and a monthly series of entertainment industry talks made available to the public. He also offers annual masterclasses in Sydney, Australia, and at his studio in Melbourne, Australia. Howard is an adjunct faculty member for the University of Texas Austin's Theater & Dance Department,[3] and teaches students visiting from various college/conservatory programs at his Los Angeles studio. Fine has a list of students spanning decades which include working actors, celebrity singers, professional athletes, and artists who have gone on to win Tony, Emmy, and Academy Awards.[4]
In addition to being an acting coach, Fine is also an accomplished theater director. His sole Broadway credit is for directing Michael Chiklis when he replaced Rob Becker in Defending the Caveman. The Internet Broadway Data Base and Playbill records of this production are incomplete. However, this credit has been verified by other sources including Backstage Magazine.[5] Chiklis details the experience in the foreword of Howard's book, and physical copies of the original playbill credit Howard Fine as the director.[6] Other credits include directing Elizabeth Berkley, Aasif Mandvi, Ally Sheedy, and Rachel Dratch in David Lindsay-Abaire's That Other Person as part of the best of the 24-hour plays on Broadway. Howard is credited in the published version of the play.[7] He won a Drama-logue award and received an Ovation Award nomination[8] for his direction of Billy Campbell in Fortinbras.[9]
Fine is the author of Fine on Acting: A Vision of the Craft, from Havenhurst Books. In his book, Fine offers specifics on his technique as well as practical exercises designed to help actors in all levels of the industry. The book features a foreword by actor Michael Chiklis who writes, "His philosophy and approach to the craft of acting are the most helpful, encouraging and practically applicable I’ve ever encountered."[10] Fine also occasionally contributes to a blog containing teaching insights, expanded thoughts from topics covered in his book, and new thoughts for actors in the ever-changing landscape of show business.
For years, Fine has been asked by the Los Angeles Times to analyze the acting of the Oscar nominees.[11] His Oscar commentary has been featured on Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Access Hollywood, E, Sky TV, BBC, and CNN. In addition to the Los Angeles Times, Fine has been quoted in The Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today Weekend, and has spoken on numerous radio shows in both the US and overseas.[12] [13] Fine has also contributed to the Huffington Post with commentary on current events.[14]
Fine's favorite charity is Project Angel Food. He directed 10 consecutive years of the critically acclaimed benefit Divas Simply Singing, which featured such artists as Roberta Flack, Tina Arena, Melissa Manchester, The Pussycat Dolls, Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone. He, along with Producer Paul Papile, created In Concert, which benefits Project Angel Food and has featured such artists as Deborah Gibson, Michael Chiklis, James Belushi, Sam Harris, and Tisha Campbell-Martin. Each year as part of their holiday celebration, Fine's Los Angeles studio holds a toy drive benefiting the Toys for Tots organization, and gives back to those in need.