Faculty of The New York Film Academy

FACULTY

JERRY SHERLOCK
President and Founder

Executive Producer, Hunt for Red October. Independent producer: Universal, EMI, Disney, Tristar, NBC, Paramount, United Artists. Produced Lolita on Broadway with Donald Sutherland.

MICHAEL J. YOUNG
Provost,
Director of Education

BA, Harvard University, magna cum laude; MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. Student Academy Award finalist. Award-winning film McJew screened at festivals internationally, including Oberhausen, Cinema Du Reel, Clermont-Ferrand, Tel-Aviv, Ann Arbor, et al. NEA grant.
Scorsese post-production award. Founding faculty of NYFA.

DAVID KLEIN
Senior Director

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of Arts. BS, Tufts University, magna cum laude. Awarded Tisch Excellence in Producing Award. Winner of Warner Bros. Production Award for To Dye For. Wrote and directed numerous other projects including the award-winning short film Gone With the Moon.

ELLI VENTOURAS
Academic Dean

MFA, Parsons School of Design. M.A., New York Institute of Technology - summa cum laude. Award winning film Voices screened internationally at Golden Gate Documentary Film Festival in San Francisco, Miami Short Film Festival, Barcelona Short Film Festival, and Festival Du Cinema de Bruxelles. Voices was also Semifinalist at Boston Motion Picture Awards.

MICHAEL BESMAN
Producing
Universal Studios

Executive Vice-President of Production, TriStar Pictures Division, Sony Pictures Entertainment: He supervised such films as: Sleepless in Seattle, Single White Female, Jumanji, Wings of Courage, Devil in a Blue Dress and As Good As It Gets. 1987 Vice President at Guber-Peters Entertainment: Batman 1983 Production Executive at Paramount Pictures: Witness, Bevery Hills Cop, Star Trek 4. As an independent producer he has produced: Seven Years in Tibet, About Schmidt, Bounce, The opposite of Sex, Careless, Georgia Rule.

DAN MACKLER
Directing
Universal Studios

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. BA, Dartmouth College. Russian film scholar, consulted on Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. Director, feature film The Karaoke King

GLENN KALISON
Chair of
Acting for Film Program

MFA, UC Irvine. Film credits include Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd; TV work includes supporting and co-starring roles on Law and Order, Law and Order: CI, as well as network pilots, soaps, and national commercials. Numerous Off-Broadway and regional theatre credits; founding member of New York theatre company, Coyote Rep.

ROBERT APPLETON
Animation

Art Director Bloomberg Europe 3-D Animator, Watchit.com et al.

KACIE STETSON
Acting for Film

BFA, Boston University & RADA in London. MA, Santa Monica University. Has starred in and professionally directed numerous plays & films around the world. Was the first female sword fight master in the country.

VALORIE HUBBARD
Acting for Film

Attended the Goodman School of Drama & “The Lab” in Poland. Recent Film & TV credits include; Resident Evil: Extinction, Hannah Montana Movie, Desperate Housewives & ER.

MELANIE ASHLEY
Scene Study, Monologues

MFA, University of North Carolina.

GEOFFRAY BARBIER
Director of Operations

Segment Line Producer HBO’s Addiction. Director, music videos for Shivaree and Elliot Murphy. Producer “Behind the Scenes” for Def Jam, NIKE, V2, and Universal.

BELA GRUSHKA
Acting for Film

B.A. Brooklyn College, H.B. Studio-Uta Hagen, National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts - PARIS. She has directed many plays in Paris and acted in numerous American and European films and television shows, including "2 Days in Paris", performing with Martin Sheen, James Gandolfini, Sam Waterston, David Straithairn, Jean Reno, Lee Remick...

PABLO BERGER
Directing

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of Arts Feature Film, Torremolinos 73%

LEA BRANDENBURG
Acting for Film

BA University of Illinois. Actor in films and theater including Julie Johnson with Lili Taylor and Earthy Possessions for HBO with Susan Sarandon.

ANNA M. CIANCIULLI
Acting for Film

Editor, Sanford Meisner’s On Acting, Italian Edition. Nominated Best Actress, International Festival of Cinema and Technology. Artistic Director of La Bottega dell’Arte. Numerous leading roles on New York stage and film.

MARK SAWICKI
Visual Effects

Mark Sawicki: DP, artist, and actor. Won an Emmy certificate for his contribution to the television series Star Trek while working for Illusion Arts. Has over 80 feature film credits including "Tropic Thunder", "Premonition", and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

LIZ FOLEY
Producing

MFA Columbia University with Honors. BA Smith College Director, Writer and or Producer of numerous film and television productions including Funny Peculiar, Ode to Joy, and The It Factor.

SETH MICHAEL DONSKY
Writing, Directing

MFA, Columbia University. Award Winning Feature Film Twisted (1997). Recipient of the 2002 Hallmark Development Grant for the short film Loopy.

JOSH KLAUSNER
Screenwriting

BA. NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Wrote and produced Wonderland, starring Val Kilmer and Factory Girl, starring Guy Pearce and Sienna Miller. Has also written for Lions Gate, the Weinstein Company and Warner Brothers.

LONNIE D. HALOUSKA
Producing

Entertainment and telecommunications lawyer, negotiator and business manager. Major studio and Network background. Master's Degree, USC School Of Cinematic Arts and commercial production.

DYLAN KIDD
Directing

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. Writer/Director, Roger Dodger, Ian's Ghost. Winner Bronze Award, Houston Worldfest. Finalist Award, USA fest. Artistic Achievement in Short Film Award Huntington Int'l Film Festival.

CLAUDE KERVEN
Director

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. BA, University of Buffalo. Directed over 25 shorts for Saturday Night Live. Director for Afterschool Specials, Birthday Boy, Candy Store, and the David Brenner Show. Co-wrote Mortal Thoughts, starring Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Harvey Keitel.

ZENON KRUSZELNICKI
Acting / Directing

MFA in Acting from National Academy of Drama in Poland and MFA in Directing from New School for Social Research in New York City. He is a member of SSDC, The Actors Studio, FIA, ZASP and SAG. In 2004 he professionally coached Willem Dafoe. He also received an artistic grant from the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts in 1998-2000.

MATTHEW KOHNEN
Directing, Cinematography

MFA, USC. His work has been seen in film festivals such as Sundance, Slamdance, Cannes, Screamfest and various European film festivals, winning awards and garnering praise. DP on numerous commercials and TV shows. Recently directed the award-winning horror/comedy "Wasting Away."

LARRY LEAHY
Directing

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. Wrote and directed the feature film Confessions of a Hitman. Has worked with Director’s such as Sam Mendes, Robert Zemeckis and James L. Brooks

MICHAEL LAIBSON
Acting for Film

BA, UCLA. Executive Producer of soaps including Guiding Light, Another World and As the World Turns.

HENG-TATT LIM
Directing, Cinematography

MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. Awarded Excellence in Filmmaking at NYU’s First Run Festival, 1991. Wien Scholar, Brandeis University. Worked on over fifty films.

RUSTY LEMORANDE
Producing

Executive producer, Caddyshack. Producer, the Academy-Award-winning musical, Yentl. Writer and producer for various projects at Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros, Turner and MGM for stars including Madonna, Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand, Francis Coppola and George Lucas..

BEN MARANISS
Screenwriting

MFA University of Southern California.

DANA LUSTIG
Producing

Graduate, AFI. Directed and produced 16 feature films. Her latest film, Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber, Oxygen Network, stars Jennifer Love Hewitt. Co-produced Brick and Dancing at the Blue Iguana..

ALAN METTER
Directing

BA, University of Arizona. Student Academy Award finalist. Directed Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Back To School, and Police Academy 5: Mission To Moscow. Wrote, produced, and directed music videos for George Harrison, Donna Summer, and Chicago.

CAROL MAYES
Directing

MFA, AFI; BA, Princeton University Writer/Director of award winning films including, Commitments, Rituals, and Tendrils. Student Oscar Finalist, CINE Golden Eagle Winner, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Award for Best Short Film.

BENJAMIN MORGAN
9th Year Director High School Program at Universal Studios

BAHonors USC, MFA, magna cum laude. Thesis film has appeared in festivals worldwide and on cable television..

ADAM NIMOY
Directing

Director, NYPD Blue, The Practice and The Gilmore Girls. Co-wrote, directed and performed in Art of the Brain.

SOL NEGRIN ASC
Advanced Camera and
Lighting

Instructor, New York University. President, New York Cinematography Union. Some of his credits include: Robocop, Superman, Coming to America, The Kojak TV Series

MELANIE WILLIAMS ORAM
Directing, Writing

MFA, Columbia University B.A., Harvard University, cum laude Peabody Award, HBO 90-minute documentary, Dare To Compete. Emmy Award, HBO series Real Sports.

BRYAN NORTON
Directing

BA, Sarah Lawrence MFA, NYU, Tisch School of the Arts.

ROBERT PIETRI
Directing, Editing

NYU Graduate Film BFA, Carnegie-Mellon Fox Searchlab New Directors program.

REBECCA PETERS
Directing and Camera

BA, University of Westminster with high honors, Camera Credits on feature films such as Goldeneye, The Saint, Entrapment and Eyes Wide Shut.

PAUL WARNER
Directing

BA, Harvard University; MFA, American Film Institute. Princess Grace Award, Ashley Amulis Fellowship for directing. Feature film, Fall Time, Winner of the Cine Golden Eagle.

TASSOS RIGOPOULOS
Directing

MFA, UT Austin Writer/Director/Editor of Features, Shorts, Documentaries, TV Series, Commercials, and Corporate Videos.
Student Emmy Award Winner.

JOHN HENRY RICHARDSON
Acting for Film

BA, The University of Los Angeles Has starred in dozens of television shows and feature films.

MICHAEL SANDOVAL
Director of NYFA for
the Dalton Program

MFA, NYU and University of Michigan BA, Brown magna cum laude. Ang Lee Fellowship, NYU. Writer, Director of short film, The Good Son, screened in competition at Berlin.

CRICKETT RUMLEY
Writing

MFA, Columbia University. Studied under screenwriting legend William Goldman.

RICHARD SHORE ASC
Director’s Vision, Cinematography

Winner of three Emmies M.A. in Cinema from U.S.C. His credits include: Bang the Drum Slowly, In the American Grain Night of the Dark Shadows, The Responsive Eye, and Three Women Alone. He has also been Director of Photography on hundreds of commercials, documentaries, educational and scientific films.

SHIRA-LEE SHALIT
Acting for Film,
Directing Actors

MFA, Film, Columbia University. BFA, Drama, NYU. Student Academy Award finalist for short film, Full Cycle. Winner, Presidential Scholar of the Arts for Acting. Winner, Acting Award, National Foundation of the Arts.

JAMES PRICE
Meisner Technique

Indiana University; Neighborhood Playhouse; Trinity Rep Conservatory; is founding director of The Acting Studio, Inc. & Chelsea Repertory Company in New York for over 25 years. Mr. Price was a protege of Sanford Meisner. He teaches and coaches actors, acts in theatre and film, directs and produces plays in New York City.

NORA STONE
Scene Study,
Directing Actors

BA, University of California at Santa Barbara. Acted for numerous film, television and theater projects, including several recurring roles on Days of Our Lives.

NICK SIVAKUMARAN
Directing

MFA, USC. Director, Diwali, Director's Guild of America Student Film Award, Kodak's Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the 2002 Cannes International Film Festival.

JOHN TERREY
Chair of Filmmaking,
Universal Studios

MFA in directing from AFI. Produced Panavision New Filmmaker Grant recipient feature film "Five Spices". Worked extensively on independent films with actors such as Rose McGowen, Sean Astin, Stacey Keach, Moira Kelly and Danny Wahlberg.

RON STACKER THOMPSON
Screenwriting

Producer, A Rage In Harlem, Deep Cover, The Cemetery Club, Sister Act 2 and Hoodlum. Has worked with Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Ellen Burstyn, Danny Glover, Christina Ricci, Jeff Goldblum and Andy Garcia.

ANITA TOVICH
Producing

BFA Carnegie-Mellon University. Producer, Emmy Award Winning Nick News. Segment Director for Dr. Phil show.

SAM TURICH
Acting for Film

BA Columbia University. Wrote and stared in The Box. TV appearances include Law & Order & Blind Spot on NBC.

MICHAEL UNGER
Directing,
Chair of Filmmaking Program

MFA, Columbia University, BA, Brown University. Writer and Director of numerous Shorts and Music Videos. Awards: "Best of the Festival" NYIIF Festival, 2001. Directed and Produced Kidz Show and Directed Off-Broadway. Editor of Documentaries and Music Videos appearing on PBS, MTV, MOMA, and THE BOX. He has just finished his latest film, GRAVITY. Program Director for NYFA workshops in Paris, London, Tokyo, Porto, and Bilbao.

MICHAEL URBAN
Screenwriting

MFA, American Film Institute Wrote the screenplay for Saved! starring Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin.

ANDREA SWIFT
Chair of
Documentary Program

MFA, Columbia University. Directed, Executive Produced PBS documentary newsmagazine series, In the Life (two time Telly-winner, three-time Emmy-nominee). Writer of the original pilot, CATCH (Scriptapalooza TV Award winner). Writer, Director of the short film, Company (Raindance Best of Festival Selection). Director, Producer, Editor of the internationally-aired documentary DEAFSMITH a nuclear folktale (featured at the United Nations Earth Summit, multi-festival award winner including the Silver at the Chicago International Film Festival and 2nd prize at the American Film and Video Festival. Associate Producer of the short film The Killers (winner DGA award, Best Short Film Panorama Award at Berlin, New Directors/New Films.)

Randall Dottin
Directing, Screenwriting

MFA, Columbia University Writer/Director of Student Academy and DGA winning film A-Alike, Writer/Director Fox Searchlab film Lifted, Director of Sloan Feature Film Grant recipient, Indelible.

JEANNE LASALA
Acting for Film

MFA, UC Irvine, BA, University of Virginia, BADA, Oxford. TV: Guiding Light, All My Children, Sex and the City. Film: One Day in January, Ashes, 7:42. Numerous theatrical credits. Jeanne is a founding member and the Artistic Director of Coyote REP.

ANDREA CABAN
Acting for Film

MFA, UC Irvine. Winner, NY Innovative Theatre Award Outstanding Solo Performance for her show, You Got Questions? I Got Answers! (Best Short Script and Performance Art Noms). Medici grant recipient for study of Balinese art and culture.

DONNETTA LAVINIA GRAYS
Acting for Film

MFA: UC, Irvine. BA: College of Charleston. Television/Film credits include The Sopranos, Law and Order: CI, Law and Order: SVU (4 year recurring role) and Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke. Theater credits include Broadway (Well) and numerous Off-Broadway and Regional Theater productions. National on-camera and voice over commercial work for Coca-Cola, Value-City, Nickelodeon, BET and others. Founding member of Coyote REP Theatre Company.

DAVID BROOKS
Acting for Film

Studied and performed in several plays at The Actors Studio. Has numerous film and TV credits including; Cast Away, Red Dragon, Dodgeball & Nighthawks. CSI, ER, Melrose Place.

MARIA GOBETTI
Acting for Film

BA & MA, UCLA Theatre. Co-founder of The Victory Theatre Center, where she has starred in, directed & produced numerous Award winning plays. Member of the D.G.A., Maria has coached & directed at numerous major studios.

HEIDI TOKHEIM
Acting for Film

Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts (PCPA Theaterfest), Neighborhood Playhouse, B.A. Whitman College. Actor and writer. Numerous Off-Broadway and regional theatre credits.

ALAN MURAOKA
Directing

Art director on award winning films, Little Miss Sunshine, Liberty Heights, Ghost World and Washington Square.

JAMES ROWE
Directing

MFA from AFI. Wrote and directed the feature film Blue Ridge Fall.

MARK DEVENDORF
New Media

MA in Film, Television and New Media, San Diego State University (winner, award for Best Director); BA in Film and Television, UCSC. Worked for Roger Corman's New Horizon and producer of "Piranha". Sketch comic with the Groundlings and ACME Comedy Theatre. Has made dozens of award winning films and documentaries, including "Cassandra," which was nominated for a student Academy Award.

MICHAEL R. MILLER
Editing

A.C.E. Edited Miller's Crossing, Raising Arizona, Ghost World, and Patty Hearst. Assistant editor for Woody Allen on Manhattan and Stardust Memories.

MARSHALL LEWY
Directing

MFA from Columbia- Wrote and directed his debut feature film Blue State, starring Academy Award winner Anna Paquin and Breckin Meyer. Blue State premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and is being distributed worldwide by MGM.

LEAH KEITH
Producing

Former Senior Motion Picture Development and Production Executive at Dream Works SKG and Vice President of Production at Walt Disney Television. Currently producing a feature film in partnership with Dreamworks and Christine Vachon’s Killer Films.

DENISE CARLSON
Producing

20 years of experience in television, film and the agency world. Former Director of Original Movies at Disney Channel, responsible for development and production of 47 television movies, including "High School Musical." Currently an executive producer on the features "The Schwa Was Here", "Deadline" and "Floating Bridge" and is developing the series "Fast Friends" with Simmons Lathan Media Group

TOM HAMMOCK
Producing

BA, UC Berkeley Landscape Architecture and MFA, AFI Production Design. Production designer of 10 features and graphic novel writer.

SEAN MULLIN
Producing

MFA, Columbia University and BS, The U.S. Military Academy at West Point; Writer/Director/Producer; Short film "Sadiq" was nominated for an MTV Movie Award. Hired to write screenplays for Oscar-nominated director Henry-Alex Rubin as well as pop star Britney Spears. Writer/Producer on commercials for award-winning Smuggler Productions.

DEVON GREGGORY
Screenwriting

MFA in Writing/Directing, USC; Director of Development, Magic Johnson Entertainment; Screenwriter, "Hair Show" and "Sacred Is The Flesh"; TV writer, "Shark"; Director, "LOL Live and Magic Cash" national ad campaign.

DAVID O’LEARY
Screenwriting

BA, Vassar College. Film development at Industry Entertainment, Warner Bros., Rogue Pictures, Kopelson Entertainment and Valhalla Motion Pictures. Freelance story analyst.

ANDREW ZINNES
Documentary Filmmaking

BA, George Washington University, MA American University. Produced various documentary features. Author of The Documentary Filmmakers Handbook.

SONNY CALDERON
Screenwriting

MFA, USC. received the Creative Artists Agency Diversity Scholarship Award. He has had several projects in development at major studios, and his Web-based branded entertainment short films have won several awards.

JERRY SHANDY
Screenwriting

Jerry Shandy holds an MFA from USC's Graduate Screenwriting Program. He's worked for such companies as Warner Bros., Miramax, Lawrence Bender/Quentin Tarantino's A Band Apart, and Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet. Currently, he is the writer/producer of a new television crime series, Dirty Work, in development with Universal Cable and USA Network.

LYDIA CEDRONE
Chair, Producing Program
Universal Studios

MBA, New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business and BA in Economics, Boston College. Oversaw company operations for acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann, as well as production operations for the film "Ali." At The Walt Disney Co., Trimark Pictures and Savoy Pictures, managed production spending on more than two dozen studio films. Developed and produced two feature films, including the 2009 MGM film "The Betrayed."

ERIC CONNER
Screenwriting

MFA, USC School of Cinema and Television, BA, U. of Pennsylvania. Writer, "Just Enough", Sloan Award Winner and selected for Hamptons' Writers Conference. Writer/Director, "Tito Stern" aired On Demand Cable and Production Manager, "The Cutting Edge: The Story of Cinema Editing" aired on Starz Encore, Time Warner Home Video.

MIKE CONNORS
Producing, Screenwriting

B.A. Harvard University, MFA Columbia University Film Division. His films have one awards worldwide including The National Board of Motion Pictures and Imax Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking awards. Currently has projects in development with Disney-ABC.

PAUL LINGAS
Filmmaking

MFA, USC. Award winning film "Wide Awake in Nothing" has screened at numerous festivals worldwide and can be seen on the Independent Film Channel. Has been hired to write screenplays by production companies in Los Angeles and New York, and continues to develop writing and directing projects.

JASON ROBINSON
Producing, Directing

MFA in Film and Video Production, University of Southern California. Thesis film "Susanna" was an official selection at numerous film festivals, including the Palm Springs and Seattle Film Festivals. Feature film "Here We Go Again" was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Producing "Two Million Stupid Women", currently in development.

COBEY MANDARINO
Acting

TV work includes "Law & Order", "Six Degrees", "Saturday Night Live". Worked with Alec Baldwin in "Mister Roberts" and in Roundabout’s "Streamers" with J.D. Williams. MFA, DePaul University.

ADAM MOORE
Screenwriting

BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. MFA Screenwriting, American Film Institute Conservatory. Co-founder of FAIRTRADE FILMS, an intellectual property and content creation company known for innovative and visionary concepts for comic books, video games, film and television.

JIA LIM
Director

MPS Tisch Shool of Arts NYU . MFA D.A.A.P. UC.
Directing documentary, reality TV, experimental video and application media. Produced Keyvin Aucoin documentary, Korean Immigration documentary for TV. Video and Animation Exhibition at White Box and Cue foundation, Chelsea in 2007. Also worked as an art director in several Korean feature films.

VP BOYLE
Chair of Musical Theatre Conservatory

VP Boyle is one of the most sought after Broadway audition coaches for professionals in New York City and works with actors at every level across the country to spread his irreverent approach to theatrical wellness. He wears many hats in the Broadway community on both sides of the table and is most known in the theatrical casting world for creating The Musical Theatre Forum, a professional casting workshop with every major Broadway casting agency. He is the author of Audition Freedom: The Irreverent Wellness Guide for Theatre People. He currently has three new musicals in development and is at work on his next book, Audition Juice: 100 Ways to Love Your Life as an Actor. He lives with his French Bulldog, Violet and has more professional union cards and guild affiliations than any one person should really have. Live who you are. Love what you do.

DEIDRE GOODWIN
Jazz & Theatre Dance

Deidre Goodwin has been in eight Broadway shows. Shows include A Chorus Line (Sheila Bryant), Chicago (Velma Kelly), Nine (Our Lady of the Spa), The Boys from Syracuse, Jesus Christ Superstar (Soul Girl) and The Rocky Horror Show. She also appeared in the original productions of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life and created therole of Velma in Never Gonna Dance. Films include the Oscar winning Chicago as Merry Murderess June, Half Nelson and Across the Universe. Upcoming films include It’s Complicated, Fair Game and Rabbit Hole. She is currently featured in the film Every Little Step that documents the history of the musical A Chorus Line and the audition process for the 2006 revival. She appeared as DeBORah, winner of the MILF Island episode of 30 Rock. Television credits include Law & Order SVU, Rescue Me, Life on Mars, Dancing with the Stars, Conan O’Brien and more.

MICHELLE POTTERF
Jazz & Theatre Dance

Michelle earned a BFA in Dance from Missouri State University. She recently completed a 9-year run in Chicago the Musical on Broadway as Go-to-Hell Kitty and the understudy for Roxie Hart. She was also chosen to work side by side with Ann Reinking as the Dance Captain for Chicago. Michelle has also had the privilege of constructing and overseeing a special one night performance by the incredible Chita Rivera at the Hotel Pierre. For over 15 years, Michelle has danced professionally in Musical Theater in such productions as Crazy For You (International tour), The Will Rogers Follies (National Tour), Beauty and the Beast (Walt Disney World.) She has been a featured dancer in the new Stepford Wives movie, and many TV and film appearances. Currently, Michelle is also teaching dance in the NYC Public school system through The National Dance Institute under the direction of the legendary Jacques d’Amboise.

ERICK BUCKLEY
Voice

Erick will be returning to Broadway in the spring 2010 with The Addams Family. He was the first person in the world to perform both the roles of Marius and Jean Valjean in the Broadway production of Les Miserables. He has appeared nationally and on Broadway as Dave in The Full Monty, Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera, Gangster #1 in Kiss Me, Kate and Roger in Grease!. He has appeared at theaters around the country as Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys & Dolls and the Padre in Man of La Mancha.. He has also toured as a featured soloist in concerts from Tampa to Tokyo and Barbados to Berlin. Erick has been teaching voice at NYU Tisch School for the Arts and The Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.

ANDREW GERLE
Music Theory

Andrew Gerle is an award-winning composer and pianist whose works for the theater have earned him three Richard Rodgers Awards, a Jonathan Larson Award, and the Burton Lane Fellowship from the Theater Hall of Fame. With lyricist Eddie Sugarman, he wrote the musical MEET JOHN DOE, which had its world premiere at the Ford’s Theatre in DC in 2007 and was nominated for seven Helen Hayes Awards. He has been a Fellow at the MacDowell Artists’ Colony and a writer-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation and the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theater Conference. As a musical director, he has accompanied such artists as John Raitt, Kitty Carlisle, Jennifer Holliday, Leslie Uggams, Michael Rupert and Mary Testa, and has conducted Off-Broadway, regional and touring productions around the country. He is currently visiting lecturer in musical theater composition at Yale University.

DENIS LAMBERT
Ballet & Jazz

Denis appeared on Broadway as Roy in A Chorus Line (Al, Bobby, Greg, Mike u/s perf.) and originated the role of Greg in the revival’s First National Tour. He appeared in The Producers (Toronto, First National US Tour and Los Angeles with Jason Alexander and Martin Short. Off-Broadway: Zorba (York Theatre), Finian’s Rainbow (City Center Encores!). Regional: Carnival! (Kennedy Center) Hello, Dolly! (Paper Mill Playhouse) and White Christmas (Ordway Center). A proud Canadian, his credits north of the border include Anne of Green Gables, Emily, West Side Story and My Fair Lady. Film: Coming Home. Most recently, Denis starred in Christopher Shinn’s Dying City at the TBG Theatre. He is the co-founder of OceanPeak Productions and received his BFA in Musical Theatre from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Upcoming: Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Syracuse Stage.

DAN JOHNSON
Survey of Musical Theatre

Daniel Johnson's performing and teaching credits include work at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco (MFA), New York University’s CAP21, Hartnell College and Solano College in California. Dan Is currently on staff at Hunter College. Dan has worked regionally at the Eureka Theatre, Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts (PCPA), Pioneer Theatre Company and at the Harkness Summer Music Festival with the New Haven Symphony. Dan was voice and text coach for Russell Simmons Tony Award winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway and HBO. Favorite performances include High Society, The Secret Garden (DramaLogue Award), CYcles with Cy Coleman (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award), and Tune the Grand Up with Jerry Herman (DramaLogue Award) Film work includes "Blackout" and "But Enough About Me..." with Missy Pyle.

KRISTY CATES
Musical Theatre Performance

Kristy Cates starred as Elphaba in the first National Tour and Chicago productions of Wicked after being a part of the original Broadway cast. Off Broadway: Jerry Springer the Opera at Carnegie Hall, Click Clack Moo at the Lucille Lortel, Boobs! The Music of Ruth Wallis at the Triad, Princess Ida for NY Gilbert and Sullivan Players. Regional: The World Premier of Unbeatable (Phoenix Theatre/Houston Stages) Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots (Human Race Theatre), St. Louis MUNY, The Lucille Lortel White Barn Theatre , North Bay Opera, The Playhouse on the Green, The Eugene O’Neill Conference and the NY Fringe Festival in the upcoming – For the Love of Christ! She is a proud National Anthem soloist for several Professional sports teams and is also professional voice-over artist. BFA: Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music where she was the first recipient of the Laurie Beechman Scholarship Award.

KIM STERN
Vocal Technique

Kim Stern has taught voice lessons and classes to individuals and groups around the world. Kim’s students have been seen working on Broadway, National Tours, Off-Broadway, Regionally and as recording artists. She began her study of the voice as a young professional and received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Ithaca College and continued her development of technique through extensive work with other accredited professionals and personal exploration. Kim has been working professionally since age five. She has performed on Broadway, on National tours, in film and television and has done commercial and voiceover work. She has also sung at Carnegie Hall with Bruce Springsteen and in world concert, Live-Aid. Other career highlights include working with legends such as Hal Prince, Jule Styne, Comden & Green, Martha Raye, Martin Charnin and Danny Kaye

TIM SMITH
Jazz, Tap & Theatre Dance

Timothy Smith graduated James Madison University with a B.S. in Telecommunications Television and Radio Broadcasting. He has been performing on Broadway for the past 12 years. Timothy has been part of 6 original Broadway companies; two of which hold Grammy Awards. His credits include: Grease, Annie Get Your Gun w/ Bernadette Peters, Elton John’s Aida, Dream, Brooklyn and the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity, in which Timothy played opposite Christina Applegate. He was last seen in the Broadway hit Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Timothy was cast as Leonard in Motel Films’ feature film Philene Says Sorry, which won awards in both the Nederlands and Berlin Film festivals. Additionally he has developed television and film for Sony Pictures Television and is the co-creator of an exciting new play, Mother of Mine by Erin Leigh Peck, which will go into production in the Spring 2010.

JENN COLELLA
Musical Theatre Performance

Jenn Colella has starred on Broadway in High Fidelity and Urban Cowboy (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, Outstanding Leading Actress). Off-Broadway, she played the title role in Beebo Brinker Chronicles (Lily Tomlin-producer). Other Off-Broadway credits include the improvisation show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, and Slut. Favorite regional credits: Georgie Bukatinsky, The Full Monty (Paper Mill-with Elaine Stritch), Annie Oakley, Annie Get Your Gun (PCLO), Cleo, The Times, They Are A-Changin’ (Old Globe), Peter Pan, Peter Pan (Sondheim PAC), Daisy Hilton, Sideshow (Kennedy Center). Television: Can You Tell, Cashmere Mafia, and Rescue Me. Film: Lay It Down For Good, Uncertainty. Before journeying to NYC in 2003, she was a comedienne at the world famous Laugh Factory and at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Jenn holds an MFA in Acting from UC Irvine.

STEPHANIE KURTZUBA
Performance Lab

Stephanie Kurtzuba is a Broadway performer, Musical Theatre coach and full time mom living and working in NYC. Currently she appears as Lesley in the Tony nominated original cast of Billy Elliot. She has also been in the original Broadway casts of The Boy From Oz (starring Hugh Jackman) and Mary Poppins. She’s appeared Off Broadway in the critically acclaimed productions of Bat Boy, Newsical, and A Mother, A Daughter And A Gun starring Olympia Dukakis. Her regional credits include venues such as The Alley Theatre, The Goodspeed Opera House and Northshore Music Theatre. She has appeared on film in Sam Mendes’ Away We Go, Flushed, Knots, and Parting Words; for which she received best actress nominations at the Hoboken and Long Island Film Festivals. Television work includes Love, Sex and Lies (Lifetime Television), Related, Law & Order and Num3ers.

LISA MANDEL
Jazz & Theatre Dance

Lisa Mandel is a native Nevadan and began her theatrical studies as a charter member at one of the nationally renown youth theatres in America, The Rainbow Company. Lisa proudly held the coveted title of “Miss Arizona” for the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. Favorite credits include The Will Rogers Follies starring Keith Carradine, Barry Manilow’s Copacabana and the global smash hit, Mamma Mia! starring as dynamo,"Tanya". She made her Broadway debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, understudied the role of “Ulla” in The Producers and portrayed the evil (misunderstood) nurse, Hilda Schmitt on As the World Turns. She has taught many Universities across the United States and Canada including Vermont’s, Northern Stage Theatre Company and past director on the National Board for the University of Arizona’s Alumni Association.

MICHOLE BIANCOSINO
Acting

Michole Biancosino is a Meisner-trained actor and director. She is the co-Founder and Artistic Director of the critically-acclaimed Project Y Theatre Company in New York City. She has worked at various theatres throughout the country, including D.C.’s Source Theatre, Crossroads Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood Series, 59E59 Theaters, NY Fringe Festival, New Orleans’ Fine Arts Center and New Orleans Fringe, Milesquare Theatre, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She was the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Sir John Gielgud Fellowship in Directing through the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. She holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she returns regularly as a Guest Artist.

ADAM LAIRD
Music Direction

Adam Laird has as much time on stage as he has at the keys with performing credits that include My Fair Lady (National Tour), Carnival! (The Kennedy Center), Anne of Green Gables (Lucille Lortel), and Plain & Fancy (The York Theatre). His musical direction includes The Last Five Years (Cincinnati Conservatory), I’m Just Over Here Selling It! (The Triad NYC), and Nab-A-Date: The World’s First Dating Musical (Reprise Room). Asst. Music Direction: Carousel (Barrington Stages), 42nd Street and Funny Girl (Westchester Broadway Theatre), and The Hudsucker Proxy (Hilton Theatre Studios).

DAVE CLEMMONS
Program Advisor,
Musical Theatre

Dave Clemmons is the founder/owner of Dave Clemmons Casting, currently casting the new Frank Wildhorn musical Wonderland, 101 Dalmatians (dir Jerry Zaks) and the national tour of The Wizard of Oz. Dave Clemmons Casting has cast Broadway shows including Ring of Fire, In My Life, The Boy From Oz, Dracula, The Civil War, Brooklyn, and Cinderella starring Eartha Kitt. Off-Broadway: Bare, Bat Boy, Altar Boyz, Zanna Don't!, the 2000 revival of Godspell and the National Tours of Cinderella, Evita, Millie, Cats, Fosse, Jekyll & Hyde, Chicago, Joseph and Saturday Night Fever, and Moving Out. Dave Clemmons is also casting director and artistic associate for Casa Manana Theatre in Ft. Worth. He began his career as a performer in Broadway roles in Les Miserables (Valjean), The Civil War, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Jekyll and Hyde and Whistle Down the Wind.

LANRE OLABISI
Screenwriting, Directing

BA University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor; MFA City College of New York. Writer/Director of the award winning debut feature August the First, which screened at 30 film festivals around the globe, including The South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) and The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Recently won The Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition with his newest screenplay -- Highway to Nowhere.

ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

NEW YORK CITY
ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, CALIFORNIA
ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

NEW YORK CITYACTING & FILM SCHOOL

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, CALIFORNIAACTING & FILM SCHOOL

NEW YORK CITY
ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, CALIFORNIA
ACTING & FILM SCHOOL