All coaches have been trained extensively by Michael Woolson and are proficient in the technique taught at Michael Woolson Studio.
Michael Woolson has become one of the most prominent and respected acting coaches in Los Angeles having worked with a number of Academy Award nominees and winners. He is recognized for his unique ability to cultivate depth and authenticity from his students in an environment that is nurturing and inspiring. Woolson has worked with thousands of actors from talented up-and-comers to award-winning celebrities with successful careers. He is the author of several books on acting: The Work of an Actor and Emotion on Demand: An Actor’s Workbook for Mastering Emotional Triggers which are currently being adopted for use as textbooks in many colleges and universities across the country.
Michael Woolson has a deep-seated interest in architecture and resides in a historical landmark home built in the early 1930s in the South Carthay neighborhood of Los Angeles. Married to holistic nutritionist, Rachel Avalon, he believes firmly in the principles of clean and sustainable energy.
He toured Great Britain and appeared in the West End playing Jean in Strinberg’s Miss Julie. In London he played Lord Byron in Bloody Poetry, Konstantin in The Seagull , Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Pirelli in Sweeney Todd.
Here in Los Angeles he is a Resident Artist at A Noise Within Theatre Company in Pasadena where he has played numerous roles including Tartuffe in Tartuffe, Cassius in Julus Caesar, Edmund in King Lear, Richmond in Richard III, Nandor in The Guardsman, Sidney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities,Bernard Nightingale in Arcadia and Hamlet in Hamlet.
He has worked with The Independent Shakespeare Company playing Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bollingbrook in Richard II, Jaques in As You Like it as well as Crab the Dog in Two Gentlemen of Verona.
He has worked extensively in Film and TV currently starring in Empty Space on Amazon Prime.
Other credits include The Last Tycoon, The Odyssey, Keen Eddie, Trail of Tears, Queen of the East, The Delivery, Alive and Kicking, El Cartel, The Chief, The Bill, Dreaming of Joseph Lees, The Geeks, Romeo and Juliet.
Recent episodic credits include the modern Western series “Bring on the Dancing Horses,” from Michael Polish and starring Kate Bosworth; and Steven Soderbergh’s limited series for HBO Max “Full Circle,” opposite Dennis Quaid and Claire Danes. Happy’s prior television work includes recurring roles on “Mindhunter” (Netflix), “The Knick” (Cinemax), “Gotham” (Fox), “Snowpiercer” (TNT) and “The Blacklist” (NBC). He also appeared on “The Deuce” (HBO) and “Quarry” (Cinemax), among many others.
Happy also has numerous regional, on and off-Broadway theatrical credits including Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino. Having recently relocated to Los Angeles, Happy was one of New York City’s most sought after audition coaches for over 15 years!