Carl Cofield, Associate Artistic Director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem and Chair of NYU's Grad Acting Program, and Evan Yionouls, director and Head of Juilliard's Drama Division, will join the Resident Company in June to work on Ancient Greek plays and contemporary adaptations, as well as the work of French playwright Molière.
The Actors Center hosts Resonance Room, Edition No. 3—the final sharing of works in process by the 2024-25 Mentorship Cohort. The evening will feature original work by Victoria Lino, alongside singing and excerpts from plays by Matthew Lopez, Lydia R. Diamond, Henrik Ibsen, and Itamar Moses, among others. Come join us!
This past week we held our spring benefit—Rhythm & Revelry—at the home of company member and four-time Tony Nominee Judy Kuhn. It was a spectacular evening celebrating the success of our new Mentorship Program! We wanted to share some of our favorite moments from the night!
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.
Feldenkrais teacher and Head of Movement at Columbia University, Sita Mani, will join the Resident Company this spring for an artist development workshop focusing on effective listening to the body, enhancing the actor's instrument, and regulating the nervous system.
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.
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.
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.
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 member Tamilla Woodard directs The King’s Wife, a new pop musical with songs and lyrics by Jamie Floyd and a book by Mêlisa Annis, presented by Constellation Stage & Screen in Bloomington, IN. The King’s Wife offers a bold new perspective on the story of Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, as she navigates the pressures of queenship and the fight to secure her legacy. This reimagining of history explores Katherine’s resilience and the enduring impact of extraordinary women. Performances run through June 29.
Company member Nathan Darrow plays Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at Music Theater Heritage in Kansas City, MO. This award-winning classic musical from composer Frank Loesser with book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, gambles with luck and love like no other. In this immersive production, the audience are delivered to the Hot Box Club, where much of the show takes place. From the lobby to the stage, all elements evoke 1940s Broadway so patrons can enjoy Miss Adelaide and the Hot Box dancers up close! Performances run through June 29 in Kansas City.
Ken Barnett appears on The Equalizer in Season 5, Episode 18, “Decisions” on NBC/Peacock
Heather Alicia Simms appears on She The People in Season 1, Episode 7 “Taking Charge” on Netflix
Orlagh Cassidy appears on Chicago Med in Season 10, Episode 22 “…Don’t You Cry” on CBS/Paramount+
Company member Louisa Jacobson is in the American premiere of Trophy Boys, written by Emannuelle Mattana and directed by Danya Taymor at MCC Theater. In a culture set on punishing and criticizing men for just existing, the Trophy Boys prepare for the final debate of their undefeated high school careers. Going up against their sister school, they get a debate topic so weighted there’s no way they could possibly win—or could they? What begins as a riotously funny satire turns into a sharp exploration of power and privilege, from high school to the highest circles of political influence. Performances run through July 13.
Company members James Chen and Jo Mei are in the feature film Rosemead from director Eric Lin, written by Marilyn Fu and starring Lucy Liu, making its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. In a race against time, an ailing woman is discovers her teenage son’s violent obsessions and must go to great lengths to protect him, and possibly others, in this portrait of a Chinese American family. Inspired by true events. The film is being screened at SVA Theatre on June 6 and 14 and at Village East by Angelika on June 7 and 12.
Company member Chris Perfetti is in the feature film Twinless from writer, director, and actor James Sweeney. The film premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the story of two young men, who meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely bromance. The bittersweet tale of trauma-bonding friendship is a comedy willing to confront loss, loneliness, and codependency, as these emotionally damaged characters struggle for connection, revealing painful personal truths along the way. The film is being screened at Village East by Angelika on June 7 and 10 and at SVA Theatre on June 14.
Company member Rutanya Alda is in The Scout, a feature film written and directed by Paula González-Nasser making its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. The Scout is a quietly riveting character study wrapped in the bustle of New York City. At its center is Sofia, a location scout tasked with finding the perfect interiors for a new TV pilot—yet what she’s really searching for may be harder to pin down. She slips in and out of strangers’ homes, capturing fleeting moments of intimacy, curiosity, and vulnerability, until her work takes a sudden, personal turn. The film is being screened at Village East by Angelika on June 5 and 13 and at AMC 19th Street East 6 on June 6, 14, and 15.
Company members Willa Fitzgerald, Pun Bandhu, and Purva Bedi are in Relay, a film by David Mackenzie—screening as part of the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. The film is written by Justin Piasecki and stars Riz Ahmed, Lily James and Sam Worthington. Ahmed plays a world class fixer who specializes in brokering lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten their ruin. He keeps his identity a secret through meticulous planning and always follows an exacting set of rules. But when a message arrives one day from a potential client, needing his protection just to stay alive, the rules quickly start to change. The film premiered last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival. The US premiere takes place at SVA Theatre on June 7 and at Village East by Angelika on June 8, 12, and 13.
Company member Dee Pelletier is in Not Not Jane’s, a play by Mara Nelson-Greenberg and directed by Joan Sergay, presented as part of Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks. The sacrifices, the compromises, the city bus crashed straight through your home. It’s just the cost of having something that’s your own, right? Performances run through June 13 at the Wild Project.
Company Emma Ramos is in The Counterfeit Opera: A Beggar’s Opera for a Grifter’s City with music by Dan Schlosberg, book and lyrics by Kate Tarker, and directed by Dustin Wills—playing through June 15 at the Amphitheater on Little Island. A new take on the legendary satire The Beggar’s Opera that has criticized corruption and picked on politicians for centuries, The Counterfeit Opera sets the antihero robber Macheath in the streets of 1850s Manhattan, where grifting gangs and working women find themselves too poor to win, but too smart to fail. The cast includes Rebecca Hargrove and Damon Daunno.
Company member John-Andrew Morrison takes on the title role in Medea of the Laundromat, a rare revival of an ancient Greek tragedy set in a laundromat that unfolds in a 1960s coffeehouse, written by H.M. Koutoukas and directed by Arthur Adair. With a wildly surreal style of drama, Koutoukas was a prolific playwright who wrote outrageously stylized characters, equipped them with arch dialogue and set them loose in outlandish situations. He obeyed no rules but those that one of his characters called “the ancient laws of glitter.” He produced at a furious rate, turning out three plays a year in the 1960s and 1970s. Many were presented on less than a shoestring at La MaMa and the Caffe Cino. Props and flats were scavenged from the street. Often the actors were, too. Performances run June 12-22 at The Club at La MaMa.
Company member Arturo Luíz Soria’s play Novios will be a part of this year’s Pride Plays with Wooly Mammoth and Rattlestick. The expanded celebration of queer stories features performances and programming in both D.C. and NYC. A motley crew of cooks hurl insults, grab ass, and compete to be the most macho en el calor of a gringo’s kitchen but, when a new dishwasher arrives rupturing the haze of machismo and sparking a love affair with Luiz, the youngest amongst them, Gallo, the head chef and guardian to Luiz, must do what she can to wrangle the men before the train goes off the rails, jeopardizing her whole operation. Novios will have readings on June 3 and 5 at 7:30pm in D.C, directed by Danilo Gambini.