MFA, AEA 160 Schermerhorn St. Apt. 522 Brooklyn, NY 11201 (917) 763-8777 TEACHING EXPERIENCE Core Faculty, Voice and Speech, Tom Todoroff Conservatory, New York, NY 2013-Present Instructor for the two-year conservatory for first and second-year students, teaching Voice I and II and Speech I and II (including ESL). In Voice, students learn a thorough Voice warm-up utilizing Cis Berry/Andrew Wade exercises and the Chuck Jones warm-up, working to open up breath, release the vocal passageway, balance resonance, and increase range. Students present pieces in class working toward specific voice goals and are coached individually. Focus in the first year is on learning a comprehensive warm-up, developing a vocal practice outside of class, learning when and how to engage support, and connecting to one s authentic voice. Focus in the second year is on engaging with heightened text and navigating challenging vocal demands (laughing, screaming, crying, etc.). Speech is taught in small-group sessions using the Fletcher model. Focus for first-year students is on learning voice/speech anatomy, mastering the International Phonetic Alphabet, learning a comprehensive speech warm-up, how to reduce regionalisms when necessary, and rhetoric. Second-year students continue work on applying Speech work to more heightened texts and begin work on Dialects both American Regional and Foreign. Private tutorials are utilized throughout both years to identify individualized goals and strategies to achieve said goals. Adjunct Lecturer, Voice and Speech, Brooklyn College MFA Acting Program, Brooklyn, NY Fall 2016 and Spring 2018 Taught Speech for second-year students including a full IPA and Neutral American Dialect review and applying Speech work to heightened texts (Shakespeare) with rich imagery and complex thought. Will be re-joining the faculty as of March 20th, 2018 to teach Dialects with the current second-year class. Adjunct Lecturer, Voice and Speech, Pace University BFA Musical Theater Program, New York, NY Spring 2018 Joining the faculty as of March 23rd to teach in the pilot Voice and Speech program for students in the BFA Musical Theater Program. Will be introducing IPA and working on personalizing poetry with a deep sense of connection to the language of imagery.!1
Guest Lecturer in Voice, NYU Gallatin School, New York, NY Spring 2017 Taught a master class focusing on text and voice work in Greek drama, connecting the voice to the body in motion with special attention to uses of rhetoric. Guest Lecturer in Acting and Voice, Fordham University, New York, NY 2014-2015 Guest Artist in Acting for non-majors with Prof. Maria-Christina Oliveras. Focus was on scene study and script analysis (using Streetcar Named Desire as a common text): understanding given circumstances, objectives, actions, super objectives, and basic dramaturgy. Led additional master classes in Voice focusing on grounding, opening up the breath, vocal power, and release. Guest Lecturer in Voice, SUNY Purchase, Purchase, NY Fall 2014 Taught two sections of Voice in the BFA Acting Program. Led students through a warm-up utilizing basic Fitzmaurice floor work and the full Chuck Jones warm-up. Focus for first-year students was on learning the full warm-up, opening up the breath, understanding anatomy and how it relates to breath, vocal power, releasing the voice as opposed to holding or pushing, and using imagery. Students worked on contemporary prose pieces as well as imagistic poems. Focus for second-year students was on Shakespeare: mastering scansion, understanding poetic/ rhetorical devices, building thoughts, activating language. Students worked on monologues from Shakespeare s plays and investigated the text through various exercises/games (Berry, Wade, Rodenburg, Carroll, Linklater). Private tutorials were utilized throughout for both first- and second-years. Guest Artist, National Theater Institute, Waterford, CT Winter/Spring 2016 Taught master classes for musical theatre students in Stanislavsky-basesd acting technique. Coached all students on audition technique. Teaching Artist, Broadway Classroom, New York, NY Winter 2015 Led workshop for ESL high school students as a guest artist from Into the Woods. Modeled the rehearsal process, culminating in the performance of a number from the show. Visiting Artist, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA Summer 2014 Co-taught master classes in Shakespeare to local middle and high school students. Workshops focused on connecting breath to thought. Voice Instructor, The Acting Studio, New York, NY 2013-14 Instructor for the one-year conservatory program. Taught students the fundamentals of voice based in the work of Chuck Jones. Focus was on breath dynamics, vocal power and control, balance of resonators, alignment, and understanding of vocal anatomy and production. Students learned the entire Jones warm-up as well as text exercises (Rodenberg, Berry, Wade). Also provided supplemental support for the students' speech work and accent/regionalism reduction.!2
Visiting Artist, Marquette University, Marquette, WI Fall 2012 Co-taught master classes in Voice and Shakespeare as an artist-in-residence with Fiasco Theater. Introduced students to Berry/Wade text exercises and the Jones warm-up. Coached students on Shakespeare monologues with a focus on filling heightened language in a genuine and personal way. Also performed in Cymbeline and participated in a workshop of the new play The Vexed Question with students and local actors. Private Teacher of Acting, Voice, and Speech, New York, NY 2010-Present One-on-one instruction of students including graduate school audition preparation, professional audition coaching, and targeted individual voice and speech issues including accent reduction. Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company MFA Programs, Providence, RI 2009 Voice and Movement Coach for Jackie Sibblies Drury's play Mo'Reece and the Girls in the Brown New Plays Festival and Voice Coach for Christopher Windom's thesis production of Woyzeck. Private Special Education Tutor, New York, NY 2004-Present Tutor children on the autism spectrum with social/behavioral/communication/learning challenges in both the home and public environments, working on generalization of classroom skills and targeted speech, socialization, and behavior goals. Teaching Artist, Making Books Sing, New York, NY 2004-5 Taught dramatic writing, dramatic play, and performance skills in Early Childhood classrooms under a drama literacy model. Teaching Artist, ENACT, New York, NY 2004-5 Performed scenes of conflict based on pertinent classroom and social issues with a co-teacher and facilitated students replaying of the scenes in order to resolve the conflict. Special Education Teacher, Association for Metro-Area Autistic Children (AMAC), New York, NY 2001-4 Taught in a preschool program for children on the autism spectrum running programs (verbal, physical, demonstrative, and social skills) on an individual level using Discrete Trial Teaching methods under the Applied Behavior Analysis model (trained by Dr. Bobby Newman) and worked with children on social appropriateness in a group setting.!3
DIRECTING AND COACHING Directed and acted as voice and text coach for a solo performance based on the poem Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. One woman played all of the roles: storyteller, two sisters, and seven goblins. Collaborated with the performer and a choreographer to create distinct voices and patterns of movement for all of the characters. Performance was re-contextualized in the mountains of Appalachia and performed with a bluegrass score composed by musicians from Nashville, TN, hometown of the performer. New York and International: 59E59 (Goblin Market - JJewel Productions) Edinburgh International Fringe Festival (Goblin Market - JJewel Productions) PERFORMANCE WORK Extensive experience performing in repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary to musical theatre and opera. Frequent collaborator with Fiasco Theater. Complete acting resume available upon request. International: Menier Chocolate Factory (Into the Woods - Fiasco Theater) New York: Roundabout Theatre Company (Into the Woods - Fiasco Theater) La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (Bum Phillips All-American Opera - contemporary opera with a libretto by Kirk Lynn of The Rude Mechs) Happy Few Theatre Company (As You Like It - New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination) Barrow St. Theatre/Theatre for a New Audience (Cymbeline - Fiasco Theater) Theatre for a New Audience (Twelfth Night - reading, Julie Taymor, director) 54 Below (concert of the work of composer Michael Radi) Drama League (Immerwahr by Cat Miller and Caroline Prugh - workshop, Cat Miller, director) Lark Play Development Center (Blue Note Run by Edgar Mendoza - reading, Chay Yew, director) New Georges (Willow's One Night Stand by Alexandra Collier and Greta Gertler Gold - workshop, Daniella Topol, director) A Collection of Shiny Objects (queerspawn by Mallery Avidon - workshop, Jesse Geiger, director) NYU/Gallatin (The Vexed Question by Noah Brody - reading, Fiasco Theater) Member: The Actors Center www.theactorscenter.org!4
Regional: Golden Gate (SF), Center Theatre Group (LA Drama Critics Circle Award Nomination), Winspear Opera House (Dallas) (Into the Woods National Tour - Fiasco Theater) Friends of Good Music, Olean, NY (commissioned to create an evening of stories and song detailing my journey from growing up in a small town in Wester NY State to performing in New York and internationally, created in collaboration with pianist Adam Marks) National Music Theatre Conference, Eugene O Neill Theater Center (musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse Five) The Old Globe (Into the Woods - Fiasco Theater) McCarter Theatre (Into the Woods - Fiasco Theater) Guthrie Theater (Chain of Fools - original devised piece, co-author) Trinity Repertory Company (Cabaret - Curt Columbus, director; Importance of Being Earnest - Beth F. Milles, director) Marquette University (Cymbeline and workshop of The Vexed Question by Noah Brody - Fiasco Theater) Brown University/Trinity Repertory MFA Program (developed work with playwrights Jackie Sibblies Drury, Mallery Avidon, and Joe Waechter and directors Liesl Tommy, Christopher Windom, and Rachel Walshe) EDUCATION Actors Center, Continuing Education, New York, NY 2016-Present Member of the Actors Center Company which offers continued training in all areas (scene study, voice, movement, improv, Shakespeare, etc.) for professional actors in New York (selection is by invitation) as well as opportunities to observe fellow teachers in action. Have studied with master teachers Ron Van Lieu, Chris Bayes, John Tucker, Jessica Wolf, Evan Yionoulis, and Marcia DeBonis. Kathryn Armour Studio, Continuing Education, New York, NY 2011-Present Study Singing and Alexander Technique with Master Teacher Kathryn Armour. Marishka Wierzbicki, Continuing Education, New York, NY Fall 2017 Private singing lessons focusing on navigating contemporary and pop material with a classically trained voice. Fiasco Theater's Free Training Initiative, New York, NY Fall 2013 Observership with Fiasco Artistic Directors Jessie Austrian and Noah Brody. Worked with professional working actors on rehearsal techniques for verse monologues/scenes and table work for classical and contemporary plays.!5
Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company Masters of Fine Arts in Acting, 2010 Studied Acting with Brian McEleney; Voice & Speech with Thom Jones (Chuck Jones technique, Skinner, Rodenberg, Berry, et al.); Movement with Stephen Buescher and Daniel Stein; Clown with Jane Nichols; Collaboration with Curt Columbus; Directing with Liesl Tommy, Laura Kepley, and Beth F. Milles; Alexander Technique with Carol Gill and Christine Stevens; Playwriting with Dan LeFranc; Dance and Yoga with Laura Munoz; Guest Artist Workshops with Leigh Fondakowski, Lisa D Amour, Jason Alexander, Laura Linney, Phil Soltanoff, et al. Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training, Minneapolis, MN, Summer 2009 Invited to be part of the summer company at the Guthrie Theater. Studied Voice and Shakespeare with Andrew Wade; Acting with Ken Washington; Movement with Marcela Lorca. Culminated in a devised piece performed in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio. Actors Center School, Continuing Education, New York, NY 2002-5 Studied Fitzmaurice Technique with Grace Zandarski; Mask with Per Brahe; Acting with Ron Van Lieu, Earle Gister, Janet Zarish, and Scott Freeman. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, Bachelor of Arts in Theater and English, 2001 Studied Acting with Paul Moser and Jane Armitage; Musical Theater with Mirla Criste; Movement with Michael Early. Awarded Highest Honors in Theater for thesis production and essay on the Performance of Identity in Patrick Marber s Closer. Member of Phi Beta Kappa. Moscow Art Theatre, Moscow, Russia, Semester Abroad, Spring 2000 Three-month conservatory program in Acting with classes in Performance, Michael Chekhov Technique, Dance, Singing, Russian Theatre History, and Russian Language.!6