My parents profess I came out of the womb taking a bow, so I know I wanted to be an actor from my very first breath.

But as a young student, I didn’t excel in my acting classes.

I was told what I wasn’t doing well, but the feedback seemed vague.

I didn’t understand what it meant that my acting didn’t seem honest.

Or that I didn’t seem vulnerable.

Or it felt as though I wasn’t listening.

I don’t think I could have been more honest in my effort to improve.

And showing up time and time again to these classes definitely made me feel vulnerable.

And, I was listening!

Most confusing was not being given a concrete way to work on my weaknesses.

I found that trying to earn the praise of others as some metric as to whether or not I was improving, left me feeling disempowered.

I saw that musicians, dancers, and even athletes had clearly articulated skill sets to practice, and I was hungry to have the same kind of clear and articulated path to follow.

Discovering what the practicable skill sets are of the actor set me on a journey across the country, through Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia.

I spent close to a decade traveling to see as many different kinds of theatre and trying as many different theatre practices as I could.

I absorbed and held onto everything that touched my soul.

I pushed myself hard but wasn’t knowledgeable enough to take care of my body.

At twenty-four, my knees hurt so bad I had to slide down stairs on my butt.

And undiagnosed scoliosis left me completely immobilized for over a year.

A year later, I was living in Montreal, flat on my back, and told I would never touch my toes or have full use of my body again.

Just as I refused to believe I didn’t have what it took to be a great actor, I definitely didn’t believe my body would give up on me.

So much of what Margolis Method’s physical approach to acting is today comes from the years of work I did to build the inner core strength and engaged muscles I needed to not only repair my injuries...

But to build a powerful actor instrument.

My path hasn’t hung a university diploma on my wall, but a full-time faculty position was created for me based on life experience, and I’ve been invited to dozens of universities as a guest artist and keynote speaker.

I’ve traveled the world as a teacher, lecturer, and performer.

I’ve always worked to maintain a studio in which to create and been surrounded by deeply devoted artists.

I’ve received scores of national awards and fellowships and created 18 evening-length productions.

And at 66, I feel I’m still at the beginning of something new to discover.

This journey has made me fierce.

Fierce in my belief that acting is a learnable skill.

That honing our craft can be a safe and supportive process.

And having a skill opens doors.

It creates economic options.

And most importantly—allows us to take control over our lives as artists.

Kari