“Everything I know about how to be a decent human being; an empathetic, conscious, brave artist; an actor, I have learned from Michèle Lonsdale - Smith. Everything I know about how to persevere through hardship and pain, I have learned from Michèle. I found the courage to come out as a gay man at 47 years old because of the safety and integrity of her space.
The understanding and insight that have gotten me through losing both of my parents in the last 22 months while still getting to the best acting of my life, was taught to me by Michèle. She has helped me. In every way. At every turn. I will never not be grateful for her mentorship, her leadership, her friendship and her artistry.”
STEPHEN PARK
“ I met Michèle over twenty years ago as a young actress filled to the brim with entitlement and false confidence. I was cute. I moved away to London to be famous. It didn't work out, so I had kids instead. When I came to realize the abandonment of my artistry was rapidly killing me and my family, I returned to the studio and was welcomed with open and loving arms. I am now in the Master Class, a Gracemoon Company member, the Managing Director of LS&CO Acting Studios, an international teacher of actors from Brooklyn to Rome, an actress again, and my family is thriving.”
MITZI JONES
“I’ve spent most of my life desperately fighting for, and addicted to power. Seeking the validation of other men as a way to feel adequate. Competition to be the most wanted, have the most money, sleep with the most women, being the best artist, was all driven by this hunger for power. I trampled anything and anyone in my path.
Over the past 23 years, Michèle, this work, and this community have paved the inroads of my understanding of my behaviour in the world, as well as helping me to separate it from the limitless depth of love I have for women, nature, beauty and creativity. Michèle, who has been my creative partner for as long as I have known her, has stuck by me, lovingly holding my hand, helping me to peel back the layers of my misogyny, shame of sexual desire, aggression, superiority complex, and entitlement to reveal a talented Jewish man who’s bleeding heart is as big as they come.
I have seen Michèle’s bravery and genius unlock the artist in hundreds of people over the decades. As a result, I now have a capacity as an artist that I never thought possible and now see is limitless. I have loving collaborations with artists, mostly women. I am on the path to becoming the empathetic leader and mentor I was meant to be, and I belive men now desperately need. A leader of the heart. A leader in service. A leader from love.”
RANDALL ROSS
“As a mixed race woman, I was told by one agent that I was “One Drop Down”, and by others that I needed to make myself look more white or more Black, depending on the day. I was misunderstood and misrepresented as a Black-Jewish actress. The mentorship I received from Michèle at Gracemoon empowered me to reclaim my self-expression and define myself on my own terms. I have learned to be myself as I am, not an idea of myself prescribed by others. I now work as an actor and creator across film, television, and theatre, using my unique perspectives as a mixed race woman to tell complex, personalized stories in all the work I do.”
LEAH DOZ
“Performing has been my only career for almost twenty years. As a Black, Bermu- dian-Canadian father, husband, son and actor, I've been asked to sing, dance, fight, weep, die, fly and love on live stages and sets across the globe. Michèle has coached, mentored and guided me to push for the deepest truth in every role for the better part of those twenty years. The world I live in seems to have a concise list of the things I should and shouldn't be allowed to say and do, and show business is no different. Because of the training I regu- larly do with Michèle, and the many passionate artists who also practice with us, I am able to dig through imbed- ded habits, fears and made-up rules to risk saying and doing what others may not want to say but need to see and hear. Because of Michèle's commitment to truth, I have found a way to face my fears, as an artist and a man, and make my voice heard.”
DAREN HERBERT
“ At 44 years of age, I have never looked better. I lead with this statement because my appearance has been all I cared about. It ran the show. Favoring my “good side” in front of the camera. Holding my mouth a certain way so as not to add any more creases or wrinkles on my face when filming self tapes. The maintenance of my face and ultimately the stress of the constant worrying about how I looked was and is exhausting. I am not saying I’m over it. But through years of working with Michèle and by witnessing the other courageous women in this company work through their own vanities, my “face” is no longer holding me, my actress or my artist back. For the first time I stand by that statement. I am a great actress. By virtue of hard work. Of dedicated work. Of goddamn struggle after struggle. And, it has all been worth it. Michèle is my coach. She is the toughest coach an actor will find. Athletes, I am certain, feel the same way about their coaches who demand the most out of them. Hard work. Discipline. And Love. It’s a simple equation.”
KRISTA MORIN
“As a Canadian playing African-American roles on American shows, I feel like an imposter. This has been futher fueled by people in the industry who support the same idea. Michèle has encouraged me to be bold enough to break those constructs within the Industry. Firstly, by insisting I acknowledge the Black and Brown African American actresses who have paved the way before me. As well as encouraged me to love and celebrate my universal Blackness, connection to my ancestry, and to put my humanity on camera above everything else.”
GABRIELLE GRAHAM
“ I started studying with Michèle when I was seventeen years old. I was deeply unhappy, closeted and in desperate need of art and self-expression. Over thirteen years of working in this process my life has completely changed. I developed the courage to come out as a gay man and to share the parts of myself I previously thought were unlovable, unwanted and unacceptable; in my art and in my life. I am learning to love myself and others at a depth I never thought possible. As a direct result, my work is deepening and I’m building a burgeoning international acting and filmmaking career in an authentic way. Gracemoon will forever be my artistic home, where the bravest artists I know explore the truths that make us all human and in so doing, make us feel less alone.”
DANIEL CHICHAGOV
“My artistry came second to my desperation to be desired by men. This is what I lead with when walking in my life and into the audition room. I was contorting myself into what I believed would give me the best chance at success. This lead me down a path of self-harm, eating disorders and self-exploitation.
My self-loathing was in direct conflict with my creative spirit. I was searching for an artistic purpose but unsure how to find it. When I found Gracemoon Arts, Michèle nurtured the artist within me by encouraging me to see beauty in my uniqueness, broken heart, and vulnerability. Through her mentorship, I began to see that I could be far more than what I decided I was and was desperate to be. I learned that practicing gratitude, patience, and love for myself is required for true artistic exploration. She taught me to use myself as the instrument for creation. The act of consciously sharing my brokeness is what continues to heal me, and liberate my artistic spirit from the necessity for male validation. It is with her love and support that I have the courage to live my artistic life, and have the confidence to achieve the dream of myself.”
BRENNA STEWART
“As a child, my voice was loud. However, after time in the acting industry, I perfected how to make my voice quiet and sound “white”, desperate to be hired, or just liked. I was scared to be seen as the “angry black woman” or other black stereotypes, which led me to hide who I really was as an actor. Throughout the years, Michèle has taught me to embrace my powerful voice, all the things that make me human - specifically as a black woman, and helped me integrate them into my acting. Now, I walk onto sets and stages knowing that my voice will be authentic and uniquely my own.”
ANDREA CARTER
“After working in the industry for many years the craft of acting had started to lose its excitement for me. I could feel myself getting stuck in my habits and bored with my approach. Luckily I met Michèle, and with her mentorship and the community of Gracemoon, I have regained the love of acting I had when I was a kid. I practice my craft with joy again, excited to play and discover and to be a vessel for the artistic muses waiting to visit me. Working with Michèle has prepared me to welcome artistic challenges at the highest level. My process is my own again. Approaching work and life with integrity, grace, and love, I no longer feel reliant on the industry to give me validation to be the artist I am designed to be. I feel closer every day to being the actor and human I am capable of being and have always longed for.”
KRISTOPHER TURNER
The work I’ve done with Michèle over the last 5 years has made me a better actor and a better person. When I walked back into Michèle’s class, after studying with her 13 yrs prior, I told her that I thought I wasn’t courageous enough as an actor. I knew I was holding back and I wanted out. I wanted to be given the time to make a mess, make mistakes, to learn and to really work hard. She has given me all of that and way way more. I am profoundly grateful to her for her steadfast guidance, unwavering support, deep honesty, and the love she’s showed me over the last 5 yrs of consistent study. I’ve booked the best jobs of my life because of the work Michèle has done with me. More importantly, I’m having fun again and I’m more in love with being an actor than I’ve ever been.
JORIS JARSKY
“Nowhere else have I had such constant encouragement that my identity as a Brown, Muslim Actor and my love of my faith is integral to the art I wish to make in this world. That it is something to preserve, value, and cherish. Over the last 11 years, Michèle has not only coached me through the acting but also helped me fight for equal pay, creative freedom, and artistic integrity which I've exercised not only as the lead of a network series, but on sets all over the world for various demographics in 4 different languages.”
HAMZA HAQ
“ I never knew the depths of exploration, of true artistry, of the commitment to craft, to community, to living and loving with all of my being, until I met Michèle in 2008. She unlocked my creativity, my true voice, always asking me to dig deeper, always encouraging, nurturing and believing in the impossible. Michèle made a career possible, she taught me what it meant to live a life in the arts, what it meant to walk with integrity and dance with all the colours of my soul, beyond the superficial qualities, beyond the illusory status, to defend the story, the character and my heart.”
DAMON RUNYAN
In an industry that can be so cold, isolating, and uninspiring, working with Michèle and Gracemoon has given me the encouragement and the practice to persevere and thrive. I’ve not only developed in my career as an actor, but holistically as an artist and a human. I make my own work, I’m encouraged to admit the height of my dreams and I’m supported in the requisite work to live them. With the help of Michèle and this incredible community she’s developed, I’ve never been happier, more fulfilled, and more grounded in an integral sense of who I am.
AUGUSTUS OICLE