TEACHER BIOS
SCOTT FREEMAN, Studio Head
For over thirty years, Studio Head, Scott Freeman, has taught at many of the nation's premiere actor training programs and is recognized as one of the leading acting teachers in the country. Mr. Freeman was a member of the founding faculty of The Actors Center in New York City, where he taught throughout the eleven years of its existence. In addition, he enjoyed a long association with The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco as a core faculty member of its MFA program and a member of its acting company. He also served as the founding Head of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program. He has also taught at Rutgers University, NYU, SUNY Purchase, The Atlantic Theatre Company, and The Stella Adler School of Acting.
As an actor, theatres he has worked at include The American Conservatory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, Mark Taper Forum, The Magic Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare, San Jose Repertory, Cincinnati Playhouse, and St. Louis Repertory. In addition, he has several film and television roles to his credit.
ANTHONY ARKIN
Anthony Arkin is an actor and award-winning filmmaker whose work has shown at festivals all over the world, including Sundance, Berlin, Santa Fe, Anthology Film Archive, Telluride, White Sands, Fantasia, Frightfest and many others. His 2nd feature film, SENDER, was released in 2021.
TV credits include a six season recurring role on The Americans (2019 SAG Award nominee for Best Ensemble Cast) and guest appearances on Succession, Madoff, Sneaky Pete, Person of Interest, Blue Bloods, Elementary, The Late Show and 100 Centre Street, among others. Films include “Two Family House”, “Neal Cassady”, “Hollywood Ending”, “Pipe Dream”, “Glass Chin”, “Anything Else”.
In theatre, most notably, Anthony appeared in two original Kenneth Lonergan productions (Waverly Gallery & Medieval Play ); the last Broadway tour of Herb Gardner’s I’m Not Rappaport, and the long-running hit Power Plays (with Elaine May & Alan Arkin). He has also worked at Signature, MTC, The Atlantic, Cherry Lane, Williamstown, O’Neill Theater Center, NY Stage & Film, ACT and The Papermill Playhouse.
Anthony and his partner, Amelia Campbell, have taught on-camera acting and filmmaking at PACE University, ESPA / Primary Stages, HB Studios, Florida State Thespian Festival, Matthew Corozine Studios, The Taperoom, Wagner College and Soundance Studios, BK.
LISA ARRINDELL
Lisa Arrindell's long and varied acting career include Films: Tyler Perry’s Medea’s Family Reunion, HBO’s A Lesson Before Dying, Disappearing Acts, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Sin Seer, Having Our Say:The Delany Sisters, etc. Television: Bull, Elementary, Madam Secretary, Law and Order SVU, Saints & Sinners, The Quad and Notorious, etc. Theatre: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof [Broadway], Jubilee [Arena Stage], Reparations [The Billie Holiday Theatre] Richard III [NY Shakespeare Theater] Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage, etc. Her starring film credits include, First Hundred years, Christmas Wedding Baby, First Impression, and A Christmas Blessing.
Her work as an acting coach and teacher include private clients and as an Artist in Residence at the Harlem School of the Arts, as well as masterclasses for high school and college theatre students.
She received her BFA from The Juilliard School.
REED BIRNEY
Reed Birney has been an actor since 1974, making his Broadway debut at 21 in Albert Innaurato’s comedy smash, Gemini. He made an auspicious film debut in 1981 in Arthur Penn and Steve Tesich’s Four Friends. His work in the theater has been highly lauded, having nominated for two Tony Awards and winning once. He has won three OBIE Awards and a Drama Desk Award honoring his career. On television, he is best known as Vice President Donald Blythe in House of Cards. Other theater credits include Ian in the New York debut of Sarah Kane’s Blasted, Tony Blair in Stuff Happens, Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina, the original production of Circle Mirror Transformation. He can currently be seen in Lost Girls on Netflix, the Universal/Blumhouse film The Hunt, directed by Craig Zobel, and season one of the Apple TV+ series, Home Before Dark. Upcoming film projects include Mass, written and directed by Fran Kranz, costarring with Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs and The 40 Year Old Version, Radha Blank’s Sundance award-winning film which debuts this fall on Netflix.
Reed's extensive acting experience in theatre, film & television, has enabled him with a unique and valuable method for helping actors possess a greater understanding of the craft of acting.
In addition to his association with The Freeman Studio, he has taught at Columbia University, Primary Stages and HB Studio.
AMELIA CAMPBELL
Amelia was most recently in the Lucille Lortel nominated Coal Country at The Cherry Lane Theater. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her first Broadway play Our Country’s Good in 1991. Additional select theater: Broadway: A Small Family Business; Translations; The Herbal Bed; Waiting in the Wings; A Streetcar Named Desire. Off B’way: Middle of the Night(Keen Company); Taking Care of Baby(MTC); The Exonerated(Culture Project); The Fall to Earth(59E59); Philip Roth in Khartoum(LAByrinth); The Misanthrope(NYTW); Tryst(Promenade); Love, Janis(Village Theater). Regional: A Midsummer Nights Dream; The Night of the Iguana; Desire Under the Elms.
Film&T.V. includes: Anthony Arkin’s “Sender”; “Things Like This”(upcoming); “I Am Michael”; “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors”; “Coming Up Roses”; “Leaves of Grass”; “The Paper”; “Bull”; “Mindhunter”; “The O.A.”; “Alpha House”; “Third Watch”; “Law&Order”/“Law&Order Criminal Intent”; “A Dog Year”(HBO) “My Louisiana Sky”(Showtime).
Amelia has been an acting coach since 2005. She co-created the audition workshop “What’s Stopping You?” with Jack Doulin at HB Studios. She also co-created the groundbreaking on-set/on camera workshop “Being On Camera” with Anthony Arkin, which they have been teaching together since 2012. They currently teach their workshops at Primary Stages school ESPA.
Amelia teaches at Pace University in their FTVC B.F.A. Acting program.
MARIA DIZZIA
Maria Dizzia has taught at the University of California at San Diego and master classes at the Penghao Theater in Beijing and the Sichuan People's Art Theater in Chengdu, China. She is currently a Beinecke Fellow at Yale School of Drama. She is also a 2011 recipient of the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship.
As a much sought-after actress, her Broadway credits include: In The Next Room by Sarah Ruhl (Tony nomination Featured Actress; Lincoln Center). Recent theater credits include If I Forget by Steven Levenson (Roundabount Theater Company), Belleville by Amy Herzog (Drama Desk Nomination; New York Theater Workshop, Yale Rep), Uncle Vanya (Soho Rep), Drunken City by Adam Bock (Playwrights Horizons), and Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl (Second Stage, Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep). Outside of the United States, Maria has performed at The Gate Theater in London and at the Garasjen theater in Norway.
Television credits include: a recurring role on Louis C.K.'s Horace and Pete, recurring role on Orange Is the New Black, Louie, Master of None, Newsroom, Elementary, and The Blacklist. Among her film roles are: Martha Marcy May Marlene (Gotham Film Award nomination, Best Ensemble), While We're Young, and Margin Call.
ANDREW DOLAN
Andrew Dolan has taught at the Stella Adler Studio, The American Conservatory Theater, AMDA and the American Academy of Dramatic Art. Acting credits include American Daughter (Broadway), Strictly Dishonorable (Vineyard), Pink, Ted Kaczynski (SPF), What Then (Clubbed Thumb), Tree House (NY Stage & Film), Measure for Measure (Target Margin) UK: Edmond (National Theatre). The Woods (National Studio), Boy from the Book (English Touring Theatre). Regional: Mamba’s Daughters (Spoleto Festival), Burn This, Marco Millions, Cyrano, 12th Night, Hapgood (ACT), Substance of Fire. Savage/Love (Magic Theatre), Loot, Amadeus (Arizona Theatre Co.), Road to Nirvana, Down the Road, Boy’s Life, Coming Attractions (Encore Theatre). TV/Film: Handsome Harry (Tribeca ’09) Unstoppable, Partners in Crime, 28 Days, Ash Tuesday, Deal Breakers (Sundance ’07), Elementary, House of Cards, Bull, Blue Bloods, Good Wife, The Americans, Person of Interest, Good Cop, The Tick, Blacklist , Being Human, David Letterman, all Law & Orders, Conviction, Return of Jezebel James, Guiding Light, Crash Life. As a writer, Andrew's plays have been developed and performed at EST West, Road Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Playwrights Horizons, Barrington Stage, Marin Theatre Company, Mile Square Theatre. Training: Bowdoin College, MFA: American Conservatory Theatre.
TARA GIORDANO
Tara Giordano is a New York-based actor, teacher, and director. A Helen Hayes Award nominee, her acting credits include roles at Arena Stage (Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge, Christmas Carol 1941), Shakespeare Theatre (As You Like It), Folger Theatre (Conference of the Birds, Twelfth Night),Two River Theater (The Underpants, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Year with Frog and Toad), Olney Theatre (Anna Karenina, Blithe Spirit, Is He Dead?), Studio Theatre (Batboy: the Musical); 15 seasons with Off-Broadway Theatre company PTP/NYC, and new play developments at New York Theatre Workshop, Primary Stages, New Victory Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth. Her work can also be seen & heard in national commercials (AT&T, CVS), independent films (YellowBrickRoad, Ex-Girlfriends), and over 40 audiobook narrations (Marvel’s The Death of Captain America). She was a co-producer on the feature film The Witch in the Window and a co-developer of the original musical The Village of Vale at Lincoln Center. As a teacher and director, Ms. Giordano has worked with actors at Boston University, Shakespeare Theatre Company, American University and various studios in NYC. She holds a BA in Theatre and English from Middlebury College and an MFA from The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University.
ELLEN NOVACK
Ellen Novack has had a long and varied career with one consistent theme: working with and helping actors. She is currently teaching at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, where she’s been preparing students to both audition and work in film and TV for 18 years. She has also taught on-camera auditioning at The Juilliard School, American Conservatory Theatre, The New School, New York University, Rutgers University, Columbia University, and the National Theatre Institute. Over the years, her students have included Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Mamoudou Athie, Molly Bernard, Brett Dalton, Winston Duke, Corey Hawkins, Brian Tyree Henry, Aja Naomi King, Lupita Nyong’o, and Allison Williams among many others.
Ellen was a casting director for over 25 years working in TV, film and theatre. She gave early jobs to Nathan Fillion, Anne Heche, Ryan Phillippe, and Hayden Panettiere (when she was 4!). She was a casting director at the NY Shakespeare Festival, casting the original NY productions of Top Girls and Fen, as well as Plenty and Mystery of Edwin Drood, both of which went to Broadway. She directed, co-produced and co- wrote two short films, which were Official Selections at many festivals throughout the country and won several awards. She was Managing Director for Classic Stage Company (CSC) in New York, and also cast plays for them with such actors as John Turturro, Tony Shalhoub, David Strathairn, Jean Stapleton, and Joe Morton. She cast the soap operas As the World Turns, Another World and One Life to Live, which she went on to produce as well. She is the winner of two Artios Awards for Casting.
To support actors who are new to the business or whose careers have stalled, Ellen started ActorLaunch, a one-on-one consulting service. For four years, she was also a consultant to Authentic Talent and Literary Managers. She’s so happy to be back at the Freeman Studio!
ANDREW POLK
Andrew Polk has recently finished three films currently in production: Armageddon Time (w/ Anthony Hopkins), Untitled Cabrini Film (w/ John Lithgow) and Space Oddity (w/ Kevin Bacon) and is starting another feature, Peas and Carrots, at the beginning of 2022. Other films include: The Week Of (w/ Adam Sandler), Three Generations (w/Susan Sarandon), and Rebel in the Rye (w/Kevin Spacey), Love Is Strange, The Humbling (with Al Pacino), and Shelter.
He has also appeared extensively on television, most recently in Dopesick. He is known for his many recurring appearances, including Fred in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (SAG award winner), Freddie Eisen in Billions, Harry Marshall in House of Cards, Instinct, City On A Hill and New Amsterdam. Other television includes The Plot Against America, Law and Order SVU, Bull, The Punisher, The Good Wife, Madame Secretary, Hell On Wheels, Blue Bloods, Persons of Interest, 30 Rock, The Blacklist, The Closer.
In theater, Andrew was featured in The Band’s Visit on Broadway (winner 10 Tony Awards – Andy received a Daytime Emmy Award). Other theater: Burning, Mouth To Mouth and The Accomplices (Drama Desk Nomination, The New Group), Flight (Lortel), Vick's Boy (Rattlestick), The Homecoming, Speed-The-Plow (A.C.T.) among many others.
Andrew was Artistic Director of The Cape Cod Theatre Project where he developed 60 plays, of which over half were later produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway and around the world.
In addition to The Freeman Studio, he has taught at The American Conservatory Theatre, NYU and AADA.
KATE GELLER
A NY-based Casting Director, current projects include: BARRON'S COVE (with Garrett Hedlund), BOB TREVINO LIKES IT (with Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo), THE GOOD HALF (with Nick Jonas, Tribeca 2023), CORA BORA (with Meg Stalter, SXSW 2023), MOLLI AND MAX IN THE FUTURE (SXSW 2023), SOMEWHERE QUIET (Tribeca 2023), THE FRONT ROOM (A24), DRUGSTORE JUNE (with Esther Povitsky), THE SECRET ART OF HUMAN FLIGHT (Tribeca 2023), WILDER THAN HER (with Sunita Mani and Danny Deferrari) and many more upcoming films.
Recent projects include: SHIVA BABY, OMNI LOOP, THE LIST, THE LAST THING MARY SAW, BRAZEN (Netflix), CANVAS, HOME FREE, THE GYMNAST, PUDDYSTICKS, MY GUY DIED (podcast), SORRY CHARLIE MILLER (podcast).
Past projects include: MATERNA, NINE DAYS (Sundance 2020), JUST CHICKEN, LONG WEEKEND, BLOOD TIES S1, S2, + S3 (Podcast), GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY, OUT OF ORDER!, OMNIBOAT, JOHN WICK + JOHN WICK 2, THE SUNLIT NIGHT, DIETLAND (AMC), OTHERHOOD, LOST TRANSMISSIONS, KINGFISH, numerous shorts, CHAINED FOR LIFE, THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES, LIZZIE (with Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart, Sundance 2018), DON'T THINK TWICE, JONATHAN, SOLLERS POINT, AMATEUR, TULLY, THE SCOTTISH PLAY, THE GIANT, 18 TO PARTY, DETECTIVE CHINATOWN II, THE AMARANTH, MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON, DEMOLITION, PEOPLE PLACES THINGS, OBVIOUS CHILD, JACQUELINE: ARGENTINE, and many more.
NILAJA SUN
Nilaja Sun (No Child…) is an actor, playwright and teaching artist. No Child… was directed by Hal Brooks, originally commissioned and produced by Epic Theatre Ensemble and received an Off Broadway run at the Barrow St. Theatre. For her creation and performance of No Child... and its subsequent international tour, Nilaja garnered 21 awards including: an Obie Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Outer Critics Circle Awards including the John Gassner Playwriting Award for Outstanding New American Play, a Theatre World Award, the Helen Hayes Award, two NAACP Theatre Awards, and was awarded the soloNOVA Award for Artist of the Year by terraNOVA Collective.
Her latest solo piece Pike St., directed by Ron Russell and originally commissioned and produced by Epic, had its world premiere at the Abrons Arts Center in the Lower East Side, which was followed by an international tour at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Pillsbury House, Detroit Public Theatre, Northampton’s Academy of Music and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, as well as Melbourne, Australia, Dublin, Ireland and Edinburgh, Scotland where it won the Edinburgh Award.
Other theatre credits include: The Cook (Intar), The Commons of Pensacola (Manhattan Theatre Club) and Public Enemy (Pearl Theatre).
TV/FILM: Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, BrainDead, 30 Rock, Law & Order: SVU, Unforgettable, Louie, The International, Youth in Oregon and Rubicon.
A native of the Lower East Side, she is a Princess Grace Award recipient, and has taught drama, playwriting and solo performance in high schools and colleges in New York, New Jersey, Hartford and Bridgeport, CT, Detroit, MI, Washington D.C, Oakland, CA, and Tanzania, Africa for 20 years.
WELKER WHITE
Welker White has worked as an actor and educator for over 30 years. Welker has performed on and off-Broadway, as well as at noted regional theaters. Numerous film and television credits include work with directors Peter Weir, Nora Ephron, Chris Rock, and Ryan Murphy. Welker was recently seen in her third Martin Scorsese movie, The Irishman, playing Josephine Hoffa opposite Al Pacino’s Jimmy Hoffa; in the Emmy-winning Bad Education opposite Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney on HBO; and, on Netflix in Radha Blank’s acclaimed The 40-Year Old Version.
Welker teaches screen acting at noted training programs across the country including Brown/Trinity, NYU Grad Acting, A.C.T., FSU/Asolo, SMU, Atlantic, Brooklyn College MFA Acting, and many others. She has been awarded a Fulbright Specialist Designation for her teaching.
Past Teachers
VANCE BARBER
In addition to his teaching at The Freeman Studio, Vance Barber has been associated with noted acting coach and teacher, Bob Krakower since 2012. Vance enjoys a noted reputation as an acting coach. His clients include many successful actors in film and television, who rely on him for their audition preparation. Vance teaches several ongoing acting classes throughout the city. In 2012, Vance started Let's Get Reel, an audition and edit studio he ran out of his guest room in Astoria. From 2013-2018, he was the head on-camera audition teacher at Stonestreet Studio, the Film and TV Conservatory of NYU's Tisch School Drama Department.
Visit his website for more information www.vancebarber.com
ARMANDO RIESCO
Armando Riesco is a versatile and highly regarded NYC based actor with credits in film, TV, and the stage. He graduated from Northwestern University and works consistently in multiple genres with some of the best directors in the business including Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Steven Soderbergh, and others.
He has appeared in over a dozen films (Garden State, Adult World, Bella, World Trade Center etc.), and regular, recurring, and guest starring spots on television ("The Chi", "Queen of the South"). He has voiced and done motion capture for video games, including the "Grand Theft Auto" series and "Just Cause 3". His voice can also be heard in national and international publicity campaigns for major companies such as Macy's, Chase, Garnier, McDonalds, and many others.
On stage he was most notably the title character in the Elliot Trilogy, which includes the Pulitzer Prize winning "Water by the Spoonful" by Quiara Hudes, for which he received a Lucille Lortel nomination for outstanding lead actor in a play. As a writer/producer, his 1st short "Remember" was an official selection at LA Shorts, HBO NYLFFl, LALIFF, and the Soho Film Festival.. His 1st feature film "Seneca", which he also stars in, has won awards at the HBO Latino Film Festival, Woodstock FF, Film Fest Tucson, Phoenix FF and Tide FF and was picked up by HBO.
JOSÉ JOAQUÍN PÉREZ
José Joaquín Pérez is an actor and acting coach originally from South Texas who now resides in Brooklyn with his beautiful wife, son and malti-poo.
As an actor he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for My Mañana Comes. The play was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Play, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play and the John Gassner Outer Critics Circle Award for New American Play. He has been nominated for multiple Helen Hayes Awards including the Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2019 he was awarded the Charles Bowden Actor Award by New Dramatists recognizing his contribution to the creation of new works by New Dramatists writers. José Joaquín appeared in multiple off-Broadway and regional productions and is deeply entrenched in the latinx theater world. On-camera he has appeared in scenes with Tilda Swinton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and worked with Asante Blackk and Ava DuVernay in the Mini-Series When They See Us for Netflix along with Guest Stars for shows on NBC & CBS.
As an acting coach, his clients can be seen in supporting roles in films including Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead for Netflix, Cassandro (across Gael Garcia Bernal) for Amazon, Cha Cha Real Smooth, The Kill Room (with Joe Manganiello, Samuel Jackson, and Uma Thurman), A24’s The Inspection, Miguel Wants to Fight for Hulu, playing Muhammad Ali in the upcoming George Foreman Biopic for Sony, A24’s False Positive, Hustlers (with Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, and Madeline Brewer), The Day Long Brothers, amongst many more.
Clients can be seen on television in Dear Edward for Apple TV, Inventing Anna for Netflix, Atlanta, Power Book II: Ghost for Starz, Murdoch Mysteries for the CBC, Pose, The Endgame for NBC, Fleishman is in Trouble for FX, Harlem for Amazon, Olga Dies Dreaming for Hulu, The Gilded Age for HBO, The Time Traveler’s Wife for HBO, New Amsterdam on NBC, Godfather of Harlem for EPIX, Blue Bloods, Law & Order SVU, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, Bull, High Maintenance, Law & Order SVU, High Fidelity, Manifest, among many others.
JESSICA CUMMINGS
Jessica Cummings is a NYC-based acting teacher and coach. In addition to her teaching, she is also an actor, director, and award-winning film producer. As an actor, she has performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally, as well as in major television shows and films. Most recently, Jessica was seen in Therese Raquin on Broadway (starring Kiera Knightley) and can be seen in the films Astraea and Gold (starring Matthew McConaughey).
Jessica has been associated with noted acting coach and teacher, Bob Krakower for the past six years.
JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON
John Douglas Thompson is the recipient of a Lucille Lortel Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, two Drama Desk Awards and two Obie Awards, as well as being nominated for a Tony Award.
The New York Times critic Ben Brantley described Thompson as "one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation".
He can currently be heard in The Public Theater / WNYC's radio production of Richard II.
His Broadway credits include Carousel, Jitney (Tony Award nomination), A Time to Kill, and Cyrano de Bergerac. Off Broadway credits include The Iceman Cometh (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award; BAM); A Doll’s House, The Father, Macbeth, Othello (Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award); Tamburlaine the Great (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award) (Theatre for a New Audience), Satchmo at the Waldorf (Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and NAACP Theatre Award), The Emperor Jones (Irish Repertory Theatre), and Hedda Gabler (New York Theatre Workshop). Regional credits include Hamlet (American Conservatory Theater), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Ovation Award, Center Theatre Group), Richard III and Red Velvet (Shakespeare and Company), Othello (Trinity Repertory Company), Mother Courage (American Repertory Theater), and Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Barrymore Award,Wilma Theater). Film and television credits include The Bourne Legacy, Glass Chin, Michael Clayton, Wolves, Bull, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Law & Order: SVU, Madam Secretary, and Person of Interest.
JACK DOULIN
Jack Doulin is one the most respected Casting Directors in the country. He is currently the resident casting Director for Theatre for a New Audience, for which he has cast An Octoroon, The Winter's Tale and the current production of Julius Caesar. Among other NY shows he has cast are: Peter and the Starcatcher, Tony Kushner’s Homebody / Kabul, Caryl Churchill’s Far Away, A Number (w/ Sam Shepard) and Love and Information; Ivo von Hove’s productions of Hedda Gabler, The Misanthrope, The Little Foxes; Sarah Kane's 4:48 Psychosis and Blasted; The Master Builder, The Persians, Edgewise, Jack’s Precious Moment, Creature, Beebo Brinker, Dark Yellow, Living Room in Africa, Orange Flower Water. And two notable productions of Uncle Vanya: Andre Gregory’s production (with Julianne Moore and Wallace Shawn) and Sam Gold's production of Annie Baker's adaptation (with Reed Birney, Maria Dizzia and Michael Shannon.)
Regional credits include productions at Arena Stage, Long Wharf, The Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, The American Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep, The Chautauqua Theatre Company, Pig Iron Theatre, The Philadelphian Theatre Company, The Studio Theatre (Washington, DC) and the Wilma Theatre and Two River Theater. His film work includes Vanya on 42nd Street, A Master Builder, New Orleans, Mon Amour and What the Night Can Do.
In addition to his involvement with The Freeman Studio, he teaches at The Juilliard School.
KATIE FLAHIVE
Katie is a well-trained and very versatile actor/ troublemaker. She has built a career that continues to surprise even her wildest expectations. As a teacher, she works privately as an on-set coach with clients in NYC and LA while maintaining her own private classes. In addition to this, she has curated a third year acting program with a heavy focus of on camera performance and the business aspect of TV/Film, which she teaches at TK Studios. Katie has been on faculty at Pace University, Atlantic (NYU Tisch) and Stone Street Studios (NYU Tisch). She has worked as an artist in residence for Broadway Stages as well as Stages on the Sound, both organizations that focus on bringing theater to younger audiences. She is a passionate educator who values the art of collaboration and creative autonomy. Constantly working on her own craft, she is a member of The Actors Center and works across theater, tv and film. Select TV: The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim), The Affair (Showtime) Looming Tower (Hulu), Law and Order: SUV (NBC), Chicago PD (NBC), Nurse Jackie (Showtime), Glow (Netflix), Feed the Beast (AMC). Select theater: Public, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Northlight, Remy Bumppo. When she’s not teaching or acting, Katie takes time to travel and work with The Campfire Project, a group of theater artists working to bring attention to the refugee crisis that continues to grow globally. She’s also a proud volunteer of The 52nd Street Project.
MARIN IRELAND
Marin Ireland is one of our most noted and sought-after actors. She was nominated for a Tony Award, and won a Theatre World Award, for her role in Reasons To Be Pretty. She is also the recipient of an Obie Award for her role in Cyclone, and has been nominated for the Drama Desk, Lortel, Outer Critics, and Drama League Awards.
She also appeared on Broadway in After Miss Julie, and The Big Knife. Recent Off-Broadway roles include Ironbound, Kill Floor, Marie Antoinette, Blasted, and A Lie of the Mind. She has acted at many of New York's prestigious theatre companies - among them are: Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, The Public, Rattlestick, The New Group, Signature, and The New York Theatre Workshop.
Her notable work in television includes Homeland, Girls, The Slap, Masters of Sex, and three seasons of Sneaky Pete on Amazon.
Her film work includes: Hell or High Water, Flint, Light From Light, 28 Hotel Rooms, The Irishman, and Glass Chin (Independent Spirit Award nomination).
ALEXANDRA NEIL
Alexandra Neil has taught Scene Study at the Freeman Studio for the past six years. She was a core member of the faculty at Michael Howard Studios. In addition, she has taught at NYU/Tisch, National Theater Institute, the MFA Acting Program at Brooklyn College and the Williams College Summer Theatre Lab.
As an actor, she appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard's Rock'n'Roll and Stephen Belber’s Match. Her film credits include Listen Up Philip, The Longest Week, Simon Killer, Afterschool, Twelve, Something’s Gotta Give, Pretty Happy, among others. Television roles include Madoff, Blue Bloods, Blacklist, Prodigal Son, all the Law and Order, Madigan Men, The Sopranos, Ed, Dudley, and five contract roles on daytime drama.
Off-Broadway, Alex appeared last fall in Reparations at the Billy Holiday Theatre. Other credits include Lincoln Center Theater, Barrow Street Theater, EST, SoHo Rep, Theater at St. Clements, and LaMama, ETC, among others. Regionally she has worked at The Huntington Theatre, The Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, CATF, The Alley Theater, Syracuse Stage, Actors Theater of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia Theater Company, and others.
She is a proud member of the Actors Center, and a graduate of Williams College and the National Theatre Institute.
Visit her website for more information www.AlexandraNeil.com
AMANDA QUAID
Amanda Quaid works extensively with heightened language, accents and dialects as an actor and in her work as an educator, she teaches dialects and verse skills to performers from around the world. She was selected by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs to be a 2012 artist-in-residence with SPARC: Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide, placing her in NYC senior centers to lead workshops in Shakespeare. Actors are drawn to her unique and holistic approach, rooted in her performance background, which places emphasis on the speaker finding his or her individual voice within a dialect.
Her acting credits are diverse and substantial. Broadway: Equus. Off-Broadway: U.S. premiere of Cock directed by James Macdonald, Luck of the Irish (Lincoln Center/LCT3, Lucille Lortel nomination), Thomas Kilroy’s Irish adaptation of The Seagull directed by Max Stafford-Clark (Culture Project), A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney (Soho Rep), Galileo opposite F. Murray Abraham (CSC), The Illusion dir. Michael Mayer (Signature), The Witch of Edmonton (Red Bull); Banished Children of Eve (world premiere), W.B. Yeats’ A Full Moon in March and other plays in The Yeats Project (Irish Repertory Theatre); world premiere of Christopher Durang’s Not a Creature Was Stirring (The Flea).
Regional: Vivie in Mrs. Warren's Profession opposite Elizabeth Ashley (Shakespeare Theatre), Rosalind in As You Like It (Folger Shakespeare Theatre), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). Film/TV: Non-Stop with Liam Neeson, Law and Order: SVU opposite Patricia Arquette.
Film and television work includes: Masters of Sex and the upcoming I'm Dying Up Here.
Raised in Greenwich Village, Amanda received her B.A. in English from Vassar College and trained with Scott Freeman post graduation.