Acclaimed acting teacher, and former Yale, NYU, and Columbia faculty member Ron Van Lieu returns to The Actors Center in May for a teaching residency, exploring the plays of Anton Chekhov with members of the Resident Company.
Movement director and choreographer, Yasmine Lee, and actor and Columbia faculty member Peter Jay Fernandez will join The Actors Center’s Resident Company this Spring for a series of artist development workshops focused on ensemble creation and contemporary scene work.
The Actors Center hosts Resonance Room, Edition No. 2, a sharing of works in process by the 2024-25 Mentorship Cohort. The evening will feature excerpts from plays by Dominique Morisseau, Cheryl L. West, and Shakespeare, among others, along with dancing and singing. Join us!
Join us for an intimate evening at the home of Judy Kuhn, four-time Tony Nominee and member of our Resident Company on Monday, May 5 as Judy and special guests gather around the piano in her living room. The event will benefit our Mentorship Program.
Justine Wolf Williams—actor-creator, director, and Yale faculty member—and Bethany Caputo— acting teacher, coach, and Artistic Director of Chekhov Studio NYC, will join The Actors Center’s Resident Company in April for a series of artist development workshops focused on play, clown, and the Michael Chekhov technique.
The Actors Center hosts an evening of short films written by, directed by, or featuring work from members of our Resident Company on Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 at 7:00pm at Macaulay Honors College.
Actors, teachers, and founders of The Moving Frame, Welker White and Damian Young, will join the Resident Company this winter for an artist development workshop focusing on cinematic storytelling and relationship with the camera.
A film screening and immersive discussion of Heather Raffo’s new film, Nine Parts. Torn by her father’s death and a divided nation, an Iraqi American woman attempts to grieve at the site of the oldest Iraqi Church in North America.
Award-winning actress, filmmaker, and teacher Tonya Pinkins will join the Resident Company this winter for an artist development workshop, Radical Authenticity in Your Life and Art.
Actor and comedian Jeff Hiller and acting teacher Kenneth Noel Mitchell will join The Actors Center’s Resident Company for the first time this winter for a series of artist development workshops focused on improvisation and scene work.
Actor and educator Crystal Dickinson and actor, director, and NYU faculty member Brandon Dirden, are in residence this February, leading creative development workshops with The Actors Center's Resident Company focusing on the work of August Wilson.
Join us in this next chapter of The Actors Center’s growth, as we broaden our impact and ensure the legacy of our craft by paying it forward to the next generation. With a a gift to The Actors Center, you can help us build a bridge between generations of artists.
Acclaimed director, educator, and founder and co-artistic director of SITI Company, Anne Bogart, joins actor and teacher Gian-Murray Gianino for an evening of conversation about her life and influences, her three decades leading SITI Company, exploring her creative process and training philosophy, and the unique relationship between actor and director.
The Actors Center is thrilled to introduce sixteen early career actors who are part of our inaugural 2024-25 Mentorship Cohort. The program offers an opportunity to help bridge the crucial gap between training and a sustainable, fulfilling career with mentorship from our esteemed Resident Company, alongside workshops with leading teachers and artists.
Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood speaks about the importance of the Resident Company at The Actors Center: “I think in a lot of spaces where actors commune there's a sense of the business. But what The Actors Center community offers is: How can I deepen my craft? How can I be a better human? How can...
Twenty-five years ago, our founder Michael Miller invited the incomparable Olympia Dukakis to give an inaugural address at The Actors Center's first annual symposium. Listen to Olympia's speech.
Company members Marjan Neshat and Jeb Brown have been nominated for Tony Awards, while company member Celia Keenan-Bolger has been announced as the recipient of this year’s Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her advocacy work.
Marjan Neshat was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Marjan in the Pulitzer prize winning play English by Sanaz Toossi. The production received five nominations including Best Play and Best Direction.
Jeb Brown was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Bandleader and Walter Jarrett in Dead Outlaws, directed by David Cromer, with book by Itamar Moses and music and lyrics by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna. The production received seven nominations including Best Musical, Best Book for a Musical, and Best Direction.
Celia Keenan-Bolger has also been announced as the recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her humanitarian service and commitment to advocacy and community engagement through the arts. Celia has devoted more than a decade to causes including civic engagement, LGBTQ+ rights, public health and arts education. She served on the advisory board of Broadway Impact, an organization that advocated for marriage equality. Her ongoing work includes her position as an artist-ambassador for the New York Civil Liberties Union, from which she received the inaugural Michael Friedman Freedom Award in 2019.
In addition, Gypsy, featuring company member Jacob Ming-Trent was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical. This year’s celebration will take place on Sunday, June 8. Congratulations to all!
Company member Irene Sofia Lucio and the cast of Liberation received a Special Ensemble Drama Desk Award and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble Performance for their portrayal of the women staring across the social battle lines of the 1970s in Bess Wohl’s new play, directed by Whitney White.
Company member Caroline Aaron was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play for her portrayal of Maria in Conversations with Mother, written by Matthew Lombardo and directed by Noah Himmelstein.
Company member Maria-Christina Oliveras was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play for her portrayal of Queen and Belarius in Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, adapted by Andrea Thom, and directed by Stephen Brown-Fried, presented by NAATCO. The production was also nominated for an Outstanding Adaptation Drama Desk Award.
In addition, six productions featuring company members were recognized. Nominated for Drama Desk Awards: The Wind and the Rain: A Story About Sunny’s Bar (featuring Paco Tolson) was nominated for Unique Theatrical Experience and Gypsy (featuring Jacob Ming-Trent) was nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. Nominated for Outer Critics Circle Awards: The Antiquities (featuring Cindy Cheung), Here There Are Blueberries (featuring Elizabeth Stahlmann) and Liberation (featuring Irene Sofia Lucio) were nominated for Outstanding New Off Broadway Play. Gypsy was also nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Musical.
Company member Mary Bacon is in Molière in the Park’s production of The Imaginary Invalid, written by Molière and directed and translated by Lucie Tiberghien. Argan is ill. But is he? Argan is dying. But aren’t we all? Argan wants absolute control. But is that ever achievable? After a series of upside down attempts to snap him out of it, a solution is found. But will it save him? The production includes choreography by Cal Hunt and music by cellist Johnathan Moore and runs through May 25 at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Prospect Park.
Company member Madeline Wise is in Five Models in Ruins, 1981 a new play by Caitlin Saylor Stephens and directed by Morgan Green at Lincoln Center Theatre. Roberta, a visionary fashion photographer, lands the gig of a lifetime—the cover of Vogue—but quickly learns it could be her downfall. Location is a nightmare. The models are vicious. Hair and makeup is MIA. And the cigarette supply is running dangerously low. As chaos escalates, Roberta must summon her strength and find the perfect light to capture a moment of beauty in a brutal world. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling European estate in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s wedding, Five Models in Ruins, 1981 is a darkly comedic exploration of a woman grappling with the power of her own gaze. Performances run through June 1 at the Claire Tow Theater.
Company member Heather Raffo writes and stars in the film Nine Parts, directed by Mike Mosallam and produced by Nilou Safinya. Torn by her father’s death and a divided nation, an Iraqi American woman attempts to grieve at the site of the oldest Iraqi Church in North America. What starts in isolation becomes communal as Iraqi women—ordinary and extraordinary—come to and through her with her personal stories of love and resilience. A first of-its-kind bridge between the Midwest and the Middle East, Nine Parts offers a unique celebration of the Iraqi female experience. Now streaming on PBS. Watch Here.
Bhavesh Patel appears on Your Friends & Neighbors in Season 1, Episode 1, “This Is What Happens” on AppleTV+
Jeff Hiller appears on Will Trent in Season 3, Episode 15, “The Most Beautiful, Fierce, Smart, Powerful Creature in the Entire World” on ABC/Hulu
Ethan Dubin appears on Elsbeth, Season 2, Episode 18, “I Know What You Did Thirty-Three Summers Ago” on CBS/Paramount+
Geoffrey Allen Murphy appears on Elsbeth, Season 2, Episode 20, “Ramen Holiday” on CBS/Paramount+
Pun Bandhu appears on Elsbeth in Season 2 , Episode 18, “I Know What You Did Thirty-Three Summers Ago” on CBS/Paramount+
Maulik Pancholy appears on Leverage Redemption in Season 3, Episode 6, “The Swipe Right Job” on Amazon Prime
Lizan Mitchell appears on Dying for Sex in Season 1, Episode 3, “Feelings Can Become Amplified” on Disney+
Orlagh Cassidy appears on Chicago Med in Season 10, Episode 9, “The Stories We Tell Ourselves” on NBC/Peacock
Angel Desai appears on FBI in Season 7, Episode 20, “Start up” on CBS/Paramount+
Liza Fernandez appears on Law & Order: SVU in Season 26, Episode 19, “Play with Fire Part 2” on NBC/Peacock
Company member Tina Chilip is in the short film Myself When I Am Real, written and directed by Angeline Gragrasin. Set in the year 2000, a single mother and her teenage daughter struggle to make friends and find belonging at a Filipino Christmas party in suburban Wisconsin. The film won Best Short Narrative Fiction in 2024 at the San Deigo Asian Film Festival. Recent screenings include the Los Angeles Pacific Film Festival, CAAMFest in San Francisco, and upcoming at the Asian American Showcase in Chicago on May 18. Watch the trailer.
After a four year production journey, company member Rutanya Alda has completed her film Land of the Mustaches. The film is an autobiographical story about growing up in the Displaced Persons refugee camps with her mother and grandmother after World War Two left them starving and stateless, as well as her father’s disappearance into Stalin’s notorious Gulag labor camps in Siberia with only what he was wearing the day he was abducted. These two hard paths parallel each other until they finally merge into one story in an ultimate celebration of resilience and human spirit. Land of the Mustaches is premiering in June at AmiCorti Film Festival in Italy and is award-nominated at a dozen others across Europe and the United States so far, including this year’s debut East Village Film Festival. Watch the trailer.
Company member Benja Kay Thomas is in My First Ex-Husband, a play by Joy Behar and directed by Randal Myler. The play is a bold and heartfelt adaptation of true stories. With razor-sharp wit and no filters, Behar explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex, and relationships. Whether you’re happily coupled, cautiously committed, or considering changing the locks, relationships are complicated—and universally relatable. A rotating cast changes every four weeks. Benja will be performing through May 18 with Marilu Henner, Julia Sweeney, and Marsha Mason.
Company member Jason Kravits is in the feature film On Swift Horses, directed by Daniel Minahan and written by Bryce Kass, based on the book by Shannon Pufahl. Muriel and her husband Lee are beginning a bright new life in California when he returns from the Korean War. But their newfound stability is upended by the arrival of Lee’s charismatic brother, Julius, a wayward gambler with a secret past. A dangerous love triangle quickly forms. When Julius takes off in search of the young card cheat he’s fallen for, Muriel’s longing for something more propels her into a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and exploring a love she never dreamed possible. The film is available in select theaters nationwide. Watch the trailer.
Company member Max Wolkowitz is in The Shark is Broken, a play by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, directed by Peter Flynn at George Street Playhouse. What happens when three Hollywood legends are stranded in the middle of the ocean? Chaos. As the making of one of the greatest American films hits rough waters, it’s not the shark that’s the problem—it’s the actors themselves. The play brings the legendary actors of Jaws—Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss—face-to-face with their most absurd challenges during the filming of this iconic blockbuster. With a broken shark and tempers running high, this comedy dives into the hilarious behind-the-scenes drama of a movie shoot that goes anything but smoothly. Performances run through May 18 in New Brunswick, NJ. Watch the trailer.
Company member Emma Ramos is in La más fan or “The Biggest Fan,” a feature film written and directed by Maria Torres, now released on Netflix. Disgraced actress Lana Cruz, who has been canceled by Hollywood, heads back to Mexico to work in a film to prove that she’s still a star. But she is not prepared for Polly, her biggest fan and worst nightmare. The cast includes Kate del Castillo, Diana Bovio, and Hugo Catalán.