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The Actors Center provides actors with extraordinary creative opportunities designed to advance their artistic development, spark innovation, and cultivate transcendent works of art on stage, on screen, and in communities throughout the United States.

Through our creative residency programs, artist development workshops, advanced training opportunities, and mentorship, we are a leading advocate for the highest levels of excellence in the craft of acting and the theatre, film, and television industries.

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Meet our Resident Company of 300 Actors
Leaders Who Work Throughout Theater, Film, and Television

Our National Reach Over The Past 5 Years

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New York Theater Companies
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Broadway Shows
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Major Feature Films
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Universities and Schools
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States Across the U.S.

Working with almost every major non-profit theatre in NYC, including the Public Theater, Roundabout, Vineyard, Signature, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Company, Classic Stage Company.

Including Mother Play, Purlie Victorious, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Between Riverside and Crazy, Fat Ham, Life of Pi, Leopoldstadt, Funny Girl, The Piano Lesson, A Beautiful Noise, A Strange Loop,  Slave Play, and many more.

Including top shows from every network, such as Abbott Elementary, Succession, Ozark, Black Bird, Atlanta, Dear Edward, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Handmaid’s Tale, Billions, and The Walking Dead.

Including Dune, The Irishman, The Report, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Big Sick, The Greatest Showman, Black Panther, Boston Strangler, working with directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorcese, Spike Lee, Ava Duvernay, and Denzel Washington.

Teaching at training programs across the country including Juilliard, Yale, NYU, Brown, Columbia, USC, A.C.T., Purchase, among others, as well as independent studios and public school programs.

Working at regional theaters and national tours in 40 of 50 states including at the Guthrie, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Arena Stage, Yale Rep, Trinity Rep, Seattle Rep, La Jolla, Cincinnati Playhouse.

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Recent News & Company Projects

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Company member Wayne Duvall stars in the new musical Swept Away on Broadway. With music and lyrics from the chart-topping folk-rock band The Avett Brothers, book by John Logan, and direction by Michael Mayer, Swept Away follows four survivors of an 1884 shipwreck off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts. As they struggle to stay alive, they must question whether or not they can live with the consequences of their actions, and discover how tragedy can lead to forgiveness. With a cast that includes Adrian Blake Enscoe, John Gallagher, Jr., and Stark Sands, the show is currently in previews at the Longacre Theatre and opens on November 19. Read the New York Times feature ‘How the Tale of a Brutal Shipwreck Became a Broadway Musical’

Company members Crystal Dickinson and Lynette R. Freeman are in The Blood Quilt, now playing at Lincoln Center Theater. In this eloquent and moving family story by Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, four sisters gather at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia for their annual reunion. They are creating a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. But when their reunion turns into a reading of their mother’s will, everyone must grapple with a troubling inheritance. Stitched with history, ritual, laughter and tears, will their “blood quilt” bind the family together or tear them apart forever? Crystal plays the role of Clementine and Lynnette is an understudy for two roles. Performances run through December 29.

Company member Mel House is in Thistles written by Cyndy A. Marion and directed by Dev Bondarin, presented at 59E59 by White Horse Theater Company in association with Anthony W. Lopez. After fleeing New York City for the countryside during a global calamity, Rebecca finds herself alone in her family’s neglected farmhouse. She must do her best to manage the anxieties and expectations of her aging relatives as they clash over whether to sell the old house, all while surrounded by doorknobs and relationships that are in desperate need of repair. Thistles keenly explores family secrets, queerness, and the desperate desire to be accepted. Tragedy lurks as emotions are buried under ancestral floorboards. Performances run through December 1.

Company member Stephen McKinley Henderson will be honored for his lifetime of contributions to the American Theater as an inductee to The Theater Hall of Fame on November 18 at the Gershwin Theatre. Stephen is a two-time Tony nominee, having received a nomination in 2010 for his featured turn in Fences and his leading role in 2022’s Between Riverside and Crazy. In 2023, he received lifetime achievement awards from both the Drama Desks and the Lucille Lortels. This year’s honorees also include Donna Murphy, Boyd Gaines, Charles Busch, William Finn, Elizabeth Ashley, David Rabe, and Todd Haimes. The Hall of Fame was founded in 1970 by James M. Nederlander, Earl Blackwell and Gerard Oestreicher. Eight honorees are selected annually by over 200 theater critics and past inductees. To be eligible, each individual must have worked in professional theater for over 25 years.

Company member Irene Sofia Lucio is in The Civilian’s Sex Variants of 1941, A Study of Homosexual Patterns. Co-conceived by writer/director Steve Cosson, James La Bella, and multimedia artist Jessica Mitrani, Sex Variants of 1941 is a kaleidoscopic fantasia adapted from a medical study of queer sexuality. Drawing on the study’s explicit interviews, pseudoscientific analysis, “medical” diagrams, and glossary of era-specific slang, the company uses scenes, songs, and visuals to celebrate an undersung community—and subvert the pathologizing gaze of the medical establishment. Featuring original songs by Martha Redbone, Stephen Trask, the late Michael Friedman, and others, this unabashedly queer, unabashedly screwball show paints a radically candid portrait of queer America in the 1930s—racy bits and all. Performances run through November 24.

Company member Vivienne Benesch directs Summer, 1976, written by David Auburn at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. It’s midsummer in the mid-seventies—the second wave of feminism is cresting somewhere while two very different women are thrown into one another’s orbit in college-town Ohio. Iconoclast artist Diana looks down on faculty wife Alice, but their young daughters’ friendship forces them together. Auburn’s play traces each woman’s growing disquiet with the compromises they’ve made and the transformative power of a friendship at the right time. Performances run through December 22.

Company members Lisa Arrindell and Joe Holt are in the feature film Albany Road, directed and written by Christine Swanson, now released in theaters nationwide. On her way to the most important meeting of her career, a New York executive is forced to share a rental car with her ex-fiancé’s mother, only to discover that the mother is hiding a major secret. The cast includes Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Gary Dourdan. Albany Road received the Best Feature Film award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. Watch the trailer.

Kelly AuCoin appears on American Sports Story, Season 1, Episode 9, ”What’s Left Behind” on Hulu/FX

Stephanie Kurtzuba returns to Blue Bloods, Season 14, Episode 14 “New York Minute” on CBS/Paramount+

 

Ellen Adair appears on Found, Season 2, Episode 6 “Missing while Gabi Mosely“ on NBC/Peacock

 

Arturo Luíz Soria appears on Found, Season 2, Episode 7 “Missing While Hated” on NBC/Peacock

Sarah Victoria, master instructor of PEM, joins actress and teacher Welker White on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 7:00pm for an evening of conversation exploring our understanding of authentic emotion, reframing its role in acting and actor training, and supporting the emotional intelligence and wellbeing of actors.

Company member Tatiana Wechsler is in the short film Netuser, written and directed by Eric Rosen and starring Denis O’Hare, now available to stream on Tiny Scripted. When political analyst Peter Sardovski dreams of an LGBTQ candidate’s assassination, he risks everything to expose a potential threat. Despite severe backlash and his family in hiding, Peter’s haunting revelation becomes a disturbing premonition as he faces dark forces beyond his control. The cast also includes Claybourne Elder and Johanna Day.

Company member Pernell Walker is in the feature film Weekend in Taipei, directed and written by George Huang, and starring Luke Evans, Gwei Lun-mei, and Sung Kang. Years ago, committed DEA agent John Lawlor fell in love with Joey Kwang, a Taipei-based transport driver working in the criminal underworld, but was forced to flee due to tragic circumstances. Now, the duo reunites when Lawlor blows his cover as a chef and takes an off-the-books weekend mission to Taipei to bring down a billionaire drug kingpin… who just so happens to be Joey’s new husband. From the creators of Taken and The Transporter, Weekend in Taipei is now in theaters nationwide

Company member Christopher Ryan Grant plays Johnny Cash in The Ballad of Johnny and June, a new musical directed by Des McAnuff, written by Robert Cary and Des McAnuff at The Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The production, which previously ran at La Jolla Playhouse and also stars Patti Murin, explores the life and careers of country music legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, told through the eyes of their son John Carter Cash. From their first meeting in 1956 at the Grand Ole Opry to fame, life on the road, controversy, and family, this is a whole-hearted and clear-eyed telling of one of the most iconic love stories in music history. Performances run through December 8.

Company member Heidi Armbruster’s play Murder Girl, has its world premiere with Forward Theater Company in Madison, Wisconsin, directed by Jenn Uphoff Gray. It’s close to 5pm and the crew at Marty’s Supper Club in the woods of Wisconsin have big fish to fry. Twins Eric and LeeAnn are trying to keep their family business afloat, but a little thing called murder may get in the way. A comedy about found family, old fashioneds, and where to stow the roadkill, the production runs through November 24.

Company member Brenna Palughi is in Boundless Theater’s Eleanor Rigby is Waiting. As Hurricane ‘Eleanor’ hits Manhattan, come dine and drink with the unforgettable quirky, hilarious, and perfectly lonely characters of the Off-Broadway romantic comedy-drama by award-winning author David James Parr. Be a part of their stories as they cross paths and destinies in the secret wine cellar of the Mediterranean fusion restaurant MEDI Wine Bar. This interconnected portrait of love, lust, and longing in our modern times features a cast of powerhouse actors and a dynamite original soundtrack played by a live DJ. Performances take place Wednesday nights in November and feature a 3-course curated dinner and drinks.

Company member Stephanie Kurtzuba is in the feature film A Christmas in New Hope, now available on major streaming platforms. Directed by Julia Barnett and written by Julia Barnett and Kathleen Estes, the film follows an aspiring influencer and single mother of a girl living with Down syndrome. As she enters a home improvement competition in order to save her bungalow before Christmas, complications arise as she falls for her “Texas-famous” musician neighbor. Starring Adrianne Palicki, Katrina Bowden, and Malcolm Goodwin. Watch the trailer.

Company member Santino Fontana is in the short film Stalking the Bogeyman, written and directed by Markus Potter. The film tells the true story of investigative journalist David Holthouse, who plots to kill the man who sexually abused him when he was seven years old. A reconstruction of the intention and the outcome using animation and senate testimony to haunting effect, the film had its NY premiere earlier this month at the Raindance Film Festival. It won the Grand Jury prize at the Richmond International Film Festival last month.