William Esper

William Esper has been the head of his own studio in New York City since 1965, as well as director of the Professional Actor Training Programs at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University since their inception in 1977. He is a graduate of Western Reserve University as well as the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, where he was trained as a teacher and actor by Sanford Meisner, and with whom he worked closely as a teacher and director for 15 years.

Mr. Esper was on the staff of the Neighborhood Playhouse for 12 years and Associate Director of the Playhouse’s Acting Department from 1973 to 1976. He has been a Guest Artist Teacher at Canada’s Banff Festival of the Arts, Workshops in the Performing Arts in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as the National Theatre School of Canada, St. Nicholas Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois, and the Shauspiel Munchen Skool in Munich, Germany.

In 1975-76 he was Director of the Circle Repertory Theatre Company’s workshop in New York City. He has directed and acted both regionally as well as Off-Broadway and is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York.

Mr. Esper is profiled in the book The New Generation of Acting Teachers, published by Viking Press in 1987. He is a past member of the National Board of the National Association of Schools of Theatre and a former Vice-President and Board Member of the University Resident Theatre Association. He has lectured on acting at People’s Light and Theatre Company and the Screen Actors Guild Conservatory, New York City. SAG honored him with a Certificate of Achievement for his service to the profession. Among the professional actors with whom Mr. Esper has worked with include: Kim Bassinger, Jennifer Beals, Kristen Davis, Kim Delaney, Calista Flockhart, Peter Gallagher, Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Headley, Patricia Heaton, William Hurt, Christine Lahti, John Malkovich, Gretchen Mol, David Morse, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Shay, Paul Sorvino, Mary Steenburgen, Patricia Wetting, Richard Schiff, Dule Hill, Timothy Olyphant, Molly Price, Roger Bart, Tonya Pinkins, Dean Winters, Aaron Eckhart, Wendy Malik, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Suzanne Esper

Suzanne Esper is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre where she studied with Sanford Meisner and William Esper. Mrs. Esper has worked Off-Broadway, in Regional Theatre and Summer Stock. For the Rutgers Theatre Company she played leading roles in Waltz of the Toreadors by Jean Anouilh and the English language premiere of Pirandello’s Cap and Bells .

She understudied Olympia Dukakis as Madame Arkadina in Chekhov’s The Seagull and thereafter played the role herself for Mason Gross School of the Arts. Outside the New York area she has appeared in 1776 with John Raitt, H.M.S. Pinafore with Sir Martin Green and Camelot with Leonard Nimoy. She has also toured extensively throughout the United States in The Songs of Jacques Brel. She has taught at the Studio since 1979.

Terry Knickerbocker is a graduate of New York University’s Drama Program, Experimental Theatre Wing. Mr. Knickerbocker trained as an Actor and a teacher with William Esper. He teaches acting at New York University as well as the William Esper Studio. He has taught directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Yale University. In 1986, he was the recipient of the Drama League of New York’s directing award/fellowship for emerging directors. He is a former member of Circle Rep’s LAB. His directing credits include many new works as well as contemporary and classical plays such as: Measure for Measure, Tartuffe, The Normal Heart, Candida, All My Sons and David Rabe’s In the Boom Boom Room . Among the theatres at which he as worked are: Arena Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre, American Place Theatre, LaMaMa, E.T.C., The Mosaic Theatre/92nd Street Y, The Hangar Theatre (Ithaca, NY), Yale University, Circle Repertory Theatre Company’s LAB, West Bank Cafe Theatre Bar and the John Houseman Theatre.

Deborah Jackel

Trained as an actress and teacher with William Esper. She is a graduate of the Professional Actor Training Program at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. After graduation she began working in a talent agency. She worked as a junior agent in both the On-Camera Commercial and Commercial Voice-Over Departments at Don Buchwald and Associates. She also worked in the Legit (Theater/Film/TV) Department at Ambrosio/Mortimer and Associates, where she became a fully franchised agent. She next moved to Abrams Artists Agency while she continued to pursue a teaching career. She is now a staff member of the William Esper Studio, where she teaches acting along with specialized classes, “The Audition Experience”, and “Cold Reading”.

Joel Rooks

JJoel Rooks trained as a teacher and actor with William Esper and has been a member of the Studio Faculty for over 20 years. He has also worked in the theater department of the Hogeschool in Eindhoven, Holland as a guest teacher. His Broadway acting credits include Say Goodnight Gracie, Taller Than A Dwarf, The Tenth Man, and The Sisters Rosensweig. Off-Broadway credits include The Secret Order, Rocket to the Moon, Iron, Comic Potential, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Richard II, School for Scandal, After the Rain and the New York Theater Workshop‚'s Obie award winning production of More Stately Mansions. Regional theater appearances include Yale Rep, Williamstown Theater Festival, Long Wharf Theater, George Street Playhouse, The Vineyard Playhouse, Penguin Rep and Arena Stage. Films include It Runs In The Family, The Sightseer, Why George?, On The Run, American Blue Note, The Gig and His and Hers. TV Credits include Copshop, Ed, The Beat, Winchell, various daytime dramas and many appearances on Law & Order. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theater, Circle East and New River Dramatists.

Barbara Marchant

Barbara Marchant (Head of BFA Acting and Director of the Rutgers Conservatory Training Program at Shakespeare’s Globe) is the recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award by Rutgers University and is the co-founder and director of the Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare’s Globe in London England. Barbara was trained by William Esper and, for the past twenty three years, has taught at the William Esper Studio. Her acting credits include numerous productions in New York both on Broadway and Off Broadway, US regional theatres and on network daytime television. She is a professional coach with experience in theater, film, and prime time television both in the U.S and the U.K.. Her work with Black and Blue resulted in a coveted Tony Award in New York and internationally, France’s prestigious Moliere Award as well as a nomination for England’s Oliver Award. Barbara is profiled in the Who’s Who of American Educators and is the author of “A Young Actors Scenebook: A Training Tool”, published by Rowan and Littlefield.

Clark Middleton

Patricia Fletcher

Patricia Fletcher, winner of the 2008 Backstage Readers Choice award for Best Dialect Coach, earned her Masters of Arts in Voice and Speech from Antioch University and is designated by Kristin Linklater as a Linklater Voice Instructor. In addition to her work at the William Esper Studio, she has taught Voice, Speech, Dialects and Accent Reduction in the MFA Programs at: Rutgers University/Mason Gross School of the Arts, The New School for Drama, New School University, the Actors Studio Drama School, Brooklyn College, and also at the New Actors Workshop.

Ms. Fletcher, who recently traveled to Singapore as guest panelist for the Dürrenmatt Festival, works as Voice, Speech and Dialect Coach for actors on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in feature films, television series and commercials with a long list of recognizable clients including Harvey Keitel, Lynne Redgrave, Jean Reno, Drea De Matteo, Elias Koteas, Gina Gershon. Her work was the subject of an article published in the May 2007 edition of MORE Magazine entitled: The Sound of Experience. The recently published 2nd edition of her textbook/CD entitled Classically Speaking, Dialects for Actors (June 2008), is fast becoming an industry standard. For a more detailed bio, book reviews, selections from the book and CD, visit: www.patriciafletcher.com

Nancy Mayans

Nancy Mayans has been teaching, performing, and directing for over twenty-five years. She has also coached numerous actors on their auditions and roles for television, film and stage. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa) and a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from Yale, she went on to teach at Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Trinity Repertory Conservatory, NYU, Columbia University, and several New York acting studios. Since 1990 she has been teaching at the William Esper Studio, specializing in voice, speech, and classical text. She also spent over 12 years teaching MFA's with Mr. Esper in the Professional Actor Training Program at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.

Ms. Mayans has served as acting/speech coach for HBO, MTV, and two PBS children’s television series. She has been a dialogue coach on feature films starring such actors as Gretchen Mol, Tom Conti, Jorge Sanz, Stephen Rea, and Alfred Molina. As a director, she has worked at the Riverside Shakespeare Company, the Millbrook Playhouse, Carnegie Mellon, and numerous showcase houses. As an actor/singer Ms. Mayans has performed around the world with Julie Taymor’s award-winning Juan Darien. She has also acted with the Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Yale Repertory Theatre, and the American Repertory Theatre in Boston where she is a founding member.

Ted Morin

Master Teacher, Movement Specialist, Physical Training for Actors and Period Style.Ted Morin has been working in the teaching profession since 1985. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Education Degree with a major in Secondary English and minor in Religious and Moral Education. He proceeded to teach English Literature to High School seniors for five years. During this time, Ted studied with The American College of Sports Medicine and became a certified personal trainer and has been working one on one with clients since 1990. Ted was a competitive aerobics champion winning both a Canadian Championship and a North American Championship in 1990. He represented Canada in the first World Cup Aerobics Championship in Tokyo in 1991.In 1992, Ted moved to New York to study acting with William Esper at The William Esper Studio and movement with Loyd Williamson at The Actor's Movement Studio, Inc. In his second year of training, Mr. Williamson invited Ted to apprentice to teach the technique. Under the mentorship of Mr. Williamson, he trained to instruct all levels of The Williamson Technique and began teaching in the fall of 2003 at the Actor's Movement Studio and at Rutgers University - Mason Gross School of the Arts in the MFA and BFA acting programs. He spent seven years teaching at Rutgers and continues to teach at The Actor's Movement Studio where he is acknowledged as a master teacher of The Williamson Technique and also trains new teachers who are interested in learning to teach the work. In addition Ted taught the Williamson Technique in the Meisner Extension Studio at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU in collaboration with master acting teacher Vicky Hart. He has also been on faculty with NYSSSA (New York State Summer School of the Arts), a summer acting conservatory for high school students. He studied Shakespeare with John Basil of The American Globe Theatre, New York, NY and has performed most recently in Measure for Measure (Duke), Hamlet (Claudius), Comedy of Errors (Dr. Pinch/Duke), Richard III, Macbeth, Richard II and As You Like It. Most recently, Ted co-directed Top Girls with Vikki Hart at NYU.

Judith Grodowitz

Ms. Grodowitz coaches many performers via the Alexander Technique – including coaching 2004 Tony Award nominee (Best Actress) Lisa Kron for her role in the B’way production of Well. She has presented classes for performers at the New York Theater Workshop and at Dia Center for the Arts, NYC.

In addition to her work with performers, Ms. Grodowitz has tailored Alexander presentations and workshops in a wide variety of settings for diverse populations, including: corporate, medical, visual arts, massage therapy, Pilates fitness trainers.

Judith brings 28 years of involvement with the study and performance of movement arts to her teaching. She originated leading roles as a longtime member of the Obie-Award winning company (Best New American Play), Skyfish Ensemble, directed by Lee Nagrin. Judith trained at ACAT, NYC certifying in 1987. In 2003, she completed a year long advanced training certification in The Art of Breathing led by Jessica Wolf. She has studied with many leaders in the international Alexander community. Judith has trained extensively in a variety of contemporary movement and dance forms (technical and improvisational). Many years studying the Bartenieff Fundamentals make this an abiding element in her teaching.

A lifetime of involvement with visual arts, language, and movement inspires her teaching. B.A, U. of MD. Certified member, AmSAT.

M.Z. Ribalow

M.Z. Ribalow has had twenty of his plays receive 150 productions worldwide. Author of four optioned screenplays, he has won a BMI Award for musical lyrics and has recently been commissioned to write the book for a Broadway musical. He was Artistic Director of the American Repertory Company for its two acclaimed seasons in London and was for several years Joseph Papp's Production Associate at the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he coordinated new play development. A graduate of Princeton University, he is currently an Artist in Residence at Fordham University where he has taught screenwriting, film and writing courses for the last decade. He has been a script consultant for Columbia Pictures, United Artists, Orion Films, Paramount Pictures and CBS Theatrical Films. He has worked on play development for Circle-in-the-Square, Craig Anderson Productions and the American Jewish Theatre.

Per Brahe

Born in Aarhus, Denmark, Mr. Brahe has been professionally directing, writing, acting and teaching for over twenty-five years. He is a Master Teacher of the Michael Checkov Technique and an expert in Balinese Mask. Mr. Brahe has worked at Gifts in Moscow, taught at the International Summer School in Irkusk, Siberia, and has been an invited Master Teacher at the Moscow Art Theatre. Having taught and directed throughout Europe and Asia for 14 years, he recently discovered a new understanding of the mask work, which has been put to use in his productions and special Master Classes. He is a founding member of the International Michael Chekov Association. He holds faculty positions at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, The Actor’s Center, Purchase College, and the National Theatre Institute. He has been a visiting professor at Yale University, The Actor’s Studio, Boston College, the University of Minnesota, the William Esper Studio, CAP 21, Brandeis University, Fordham, and the Stella Adler Academy (Los Angeles). In 2000, Mr. Brahe was the Artistic Driector for the Michael Chekov Conference in Siberia.