What They're Saying About Gary Austin

“Gary Austin will forever be considered one of the greats.  Always interested in producing work that is funny and moving, because it's true and utterly unique.  His work is always a treat to watch.”
HELEN HUNT (Actor, writer, producer/director)

"Gary's workshops for me are what spinach is for Popeye.  The process keeps me toned, skilled, honest and strong."
LILLIAS WHITE  (Actor, singer)

“Gary Austin is a master at seeing where you need work.  He creates a safe place where you can take chances and dare not to be in control”
JENNIFER GREY(Actor)

“Gary Austin is an inspired and liberating teacher.”
GEORGE HEARN (Actor)

"Gary taught me how to embody a character more than simply act like one.  I believe that it was the skills he gave me that helped me earn the role of Tick in EMPIRE FALLS."
DANIELLE PANABAKER  (Actor)

“Gary Austin’s Solo Exploration Workshop is the ultimate writer’s block remover.  Preconceptions disappear, plans drop away, fear of not knowing what to do or say has no room to exist.”
LIBBY SKALA (Actor/writer and internationally acclaimed solo artist)

"I would like to thank my acting teachers, Lurene Tuttle, Gordon Hunt, Larry Moss, GARY AUSTIN, for giving me a way to learn about myself and the world and a way to express myself."
HELEN HUNT (Oscar Acceptance Speech)

My work as a student with Gary Austin has been a delight, and a boon to my directorial work. It has given me a chance to remember performance, to drop into the present moment, to re-imagine collaborative possibilities.
JESSICA LEFKOW (Producer/Director in Washington DC)

“Gary’s teachings are pure and honest and he knows how to get the best out of you!”
Mindy Sterling (Actor)

“Gary Austin's classes were a freewheeling joy, that loosened and lightened up the years of acting classes I had taken.”
HELEN SLATER (Actor)

“Gary 's appreciative teaching seeks & sucks the silly out of us.  Long may he make us make him laugh!”
MELANIE CHARTOFF (Actor)

“Gary Austin is the only teacher I ever had who understood me.” 
RICHARD FRATTALI (Author)

"Happy Birthday to the best teacher I ever had and the one who taught me how!”  
JOAN BROOKER (Film producer/writer/director)

"Gary changed my work as an actor. He made me a better rehearser as well as a better actor. I was a very different actor after working with Gary."
HELEN HUNT

"Working with Gary Austin, he's made me aware of everything in my daily life; it's made me freer as a performer to take more chances." 
LILLIAS WHITE (as quoted in ACTING TEACHERS OF AMERICA by Ronald Rand)

“I cannot thank you enough for teaching me and being one of my mentors.  I hosted a charity event last week and couldn’t have done it without having had classes with you.”
MARK DACASCOS (Actor)

“Gary Austin is a generous, non-judging teacher.  No matter what level you’re at, how far you’ve come or still need to go, his commitment to you and to your individual process is stunning.”
HELEN SLATER (Actor)
(as quoted in THE ACTOR’S GUIDE TO QUALIFIED ACTING COACHES by Larry Silverberg - both the Los Angeles and New York guides)

“You are such a huge part of the artist I am today. I tell everyone about you and send people your way. I tell them you are one of the best teachers I have ever known and you invented the ability to teach without the words DON'T NOT and NO.”
VALERIE LANDSBURG (Actor, director and teacher)

"What knocked me out [about Gary Austin’s solo show OIL] is that while anyone can talk about these issues, Gary really lived it.  He talks about some weighty matters quite effectively, but it's laced with humor, and that's a great way to tell a story."
ED BEGLEY, JR. (Actor)