children relatives parents birth_date spouse yearsactive article_title name occupation
peter thomasin davida gordon harcourt -lrb- brother -rrb- kate harcourt 1962 stuart mckenzie 1982 -- present miranda harcourt
 miranda harcourt actress , acting coach
miranda harcourt

miranda catherine millais harcourt -lrb- born 1962 -rrb- is a new zealand actress and acting coach .
she is the daughter of actress dame kate harcourt .
harcourt 's acting career began playing boy character on radio new zealand in the early 1970s .
she is best known for her role as `` gemma '' in the 1980s tv drama series `` gloss '' .
harcourt spent three years acting on the show , and her character was so despicable that people spat at and insulted harcourt in public .
harcourt received a nomination in the 1989 film and tv awards for best actress for the role .
harcourt has starred in countless productions across new zealand and in australia .
the exhaustive and comprehensive list can be found at theatre aotearoa database .
education .
miranda graduated toi whakaari , new zealand drama school , in 1984 .
in 1990 , a sponsored year at london 's central school of speech and drama led to an exploration of drama therapy in psychiatric institutions , with the deaf , and in prisons - the latter inspiring her collaboration with writer william brandt for the solo play verbatim , where harcourt acted , solo , portraying nine characters , inmates ' families and as the families of victims .
verbatim theatre .
miranda harcourt was also a pioneer of verbatim theatre in new zealand , in creating `` verbatim '' -lrb- 1993 -rrb- , in collaboration with william brandt and `` portraits '' -lrb- 1997 -rrb- in collaboration with stuart mckenzie .
performed in front of people convicted of violent crimes , harcourt says `` verbatim '' `` was a reflection back at the people on the inside ; what their mothers , their sisters and their children had said about them '' .
the show was well received in new zealand theatres and at the edinburgh fringe festival , and from the inmates themselves .
miranda recollects one inmate , a year after the show , asking her where the other actresses were who had starred , having remembered the distinct characters that miranda portrayed solo so distinctly that he remembered them as separate , individual women .
the sunday star-times described `` verbatim '' as `` a small miracle of dramatic theatre '' .
and the nz times said miranda 's performance was `` frightening in its stamina and emotional range '' .
in the guardian , renowned reviewer michael billington praised verbatim as `` a remarkable solo show about violence . ''
miranda and her mother , kate harcourt , acted together in `` flowers from my mother 's garden '' , a collection of shared anecdotes , reminiscences and stories centred around their relationship and family , and co-written by miranda and her husband , stuart mckenzie .
the play was commissioned by 1998 international festival of the arts and has since been staged in auckland , dunedin and christchurch .
directing .
miranda 's first short film as a director , `` voiceover '' , written and produced by stuart mckenzie , won best short film at the 1997 nz film and television awards , and her first play as a director won a slew of awards at the chapman tripp theatre awards including best actor and best set design .
sound .
boy -lrb- adr voice coach -rrb- , 2010 .
awards .
as an actress miranda has twice been awarded best actress at the chapman tripp theatre awards -lrb- a doll 's house and biography of my skin -rrb- .
she received a nz suffrage medal in 1993 .
miranda was awarded an onzm for her services to theatre and the community in 2004 .
she has won nz film and tv awards best short film -lrb- voice over -rrb- and was a finalist as best actress -lrb- act of murder and gloss -rrb- and as best supporting actress -lrb- duggan and for good -rrb- .
she has received the media peace prize -lrb- verbatim -rrb- and the nz suffrage medal .
miranda was nominated best supporting actress , a film award , `` for good '' in 2003 .
nominated best performance by a supporting actress , a general tv award , tangiwai in 2011 .
teaching and coaching .
miranda is currently an featuring acting and technique coach for the actors programme , auckland , new zealand .
she was the head of acting at toi whakaari , new zealand drama school , for seven years , and is widely acknolwedged for her contributions to the school .
as well as coaching nz actors and casts , harcourt has grown her professional scope to include overseas actors in australia and america , including anna sophia robb and carrie underwood .
she both travels to and skype coaches international actors requiring her expertise .
as part of her role on the board of film new zealand , she also helps to market kiwi actors to overseas film-makers .
miranda was the acting coach on a number of international and local feature films bridge to terabithia -lrb- best actress 2008 young artist awards as well as best ensemble cast -rrb- directed by gabor csupo .
rehearsal coach for bright star directed by jane campion -lrb- in competition for the 2009 palme d'or -rrb- .
coach for the two new zealand actresses in the lovely bones -lrb- peter jackson -rrb- .
audition coach for melanie lynskey in peter jackson 's oscar-winning heavenly creatures .
on-set cast coach for under the mountain directed by jonathan king -lrb- best foreign actress china 's golden lion -rrb- .
acting coach for home by christmas directed by gaylene preston -lrb- london film festival 2010 -rrb- .
cast - on-set coach for 13 part tv series kaitangata twitch directed by yvonne mackay -lrb- finalist for the 2010 prix de jeunesse , platinum winner worldfest houston -rrb- .
adr coach for kaitangata twitch and also for taika waititi cohen 's boy -lrb- sundance 2010 , winner best film nzftv awards 2010 -rrb- .
miranda also teaches professional level - teen acting for stage and screen , as the head tutor at scots college creative and performing arts school .
production .
harcourt is a partner in the company map film productions , alongside mckenzie and producer/director neil pardington .
she has appeared in short films directed by each , including pardington 's the dig -lrb- which was invited to cannes as part of a special nz showcase -rrb- and mckenzie 's darkly comic ends meat .
miranda also produced a&e -lrb- accident & eternity -rrb- -lrb- short -rrb- -lrb- executive producer -rrb- , 2006 , and for good -lrb- co-producer -rrb- , 2003 .
access and representation .
as well as her past work in prisons and institutions , miranda also volunteers with disabled and deaf communities .
