Actor and model Chris Habash is
a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, where he found his passion for acting. Chris
minored in Theater and Performance Studies and was involved in several
productions and student films in his last three semesters at Cal. After
graduating in 2015, he performed at the ACT Costume Shop and found success
modeling for such agencies as Mana Media Group.
Chris has lived in the Bay Area for more than half his life,
having migrated to America from Israel at a young age. Throughout elementary,
middle and high school, performing was nothing that had even crossed Chris’s
mind. Excelling in school and spending time with family and friends was his
main objective, but one thing was certain. Chris had a love for movies and television
– specifically, observing human interaction and understanding the human
condition. Coming to America without knowledge of the English language or its
culture, movies were a way for Chris to learn just that.
It was during his third year at UC Berkeley that Chris
decided to explore his passion for performing. He enrolled in his first acting
class and was cast as naive Benji Tucker in his first play, a revisit of
notable American playwright Philip Kan Gotanda’s “After the War,” (performed at
ACT) brought to UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Playhouse in March of 2014 as “After
the War Blues.” Directed by the Lorraine Hansberry Theater’s Artistic Director
Steven Anthony Jones, ATWB was Chris’s first taste for the magic of theater,
and it proved insatiable.
The next semester Chris was quick to declare his minor for
theater, in addition to his environmental science major. He became involved
with numerous student films for Berkeley’s Film Department and participated in
Campus Movie Fest. Continuing to enroll in acting classes, Chris learned under
notable Bay Area actors and directors including Domenique Lozano and Lisa Anne
Porter.
Venturing outside of his campus setting and dramatic work,
Chris performed at Live Oak Theater’s original production of the new farce
“Madame Gufay’s Free Speech Lovelutionaries,” written by Norah Foster and
directed by Alan Barkan as part of the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley (AEofB). He
learned the importance of props and how to work with a minimal set, which
helped for his next project.
After graduating in the spring of 2015, Chris was cast in
the lead role of Aldous/Lewis in Bay Area actor/director Josiah Polhemus’
original sci-fi mystery “Dark and Deep,” which premiered at the ACT Costume
Shop. Chris was proud to perform in the notable black box venue with Equity
actors and received positive reviews. The same year, Chris was signed by BOOM!
Models and Talent Agency, which gave him the opportunity to model for Mana
Media Group, a Production and Content Creation Agency.
On November 22, 2015 Chris performed a collection of scenes from John Patrick Shanley's Welcome to the Moon and Other Plays in the Berkeley City Club in a one night-special.
Chris continues to explore his passion for acting in the Bay
Area with an open mind and happy thoughts.