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Faculty
Judith Coffman  •  Lorena Diaz  •   Michael Gioia •  Miriam Kulick  •  Wayne LeGette  • Regina Pasquarello •  Dustin M. Sharpe  •  Kim St. Leon  •  Paul Tei

Working Professionals Present First Hand Knowledge and Experience.
The Acting School's Team Philosophy of Component Training offers the Actor an Adaptable Approach to learning Process and Technique.

The Acting School's affiliated faculty are independent contractors and may not be reached at the school.  To contact faculty via email,  click on names or pictures.

Judith Coffman • Audition For Camera, Commercial Technique       Back to Top         Currently Residing in Virginia

Ms. Coffman is a native of New Orleans and graduated with a degree in speech and theatre from Louisiana State University.  She has been an actor, a SAG franchised talent agent, a talent manager, a freelance casting director and a former instructor at The Acting Studio.  Some of her national commercial casting credits include L’Oreal, Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Hawaiian Punch, and Home Depot.  She has assisted in casting “Miami Vice”, [first season], “Saved by the Bell”, “Real World”,” Sunset Beach”, “Hurricane Andrew”, and “Miss America Behind the Crown”.  Ms. Coffman has represented talent in hundreds of regional, national, Canadian and European commercials, and in numerous films & TV series such as; “Caddyshack”, “Cocoon II”, “Three Men and A Little Lady”, “Only the Strong”, “Contact”, “Selina”, “Gone Fishing”, “Random Hearts”, “Traces of Red”, “Ali”, "The Boy in the Golden Kimono", "Extra Large", and “Snow Dogs”.  Nikki Taylor, Robin Weisman, [“Three Men and a Little Lady”] were among some of Ms. Coffman’s clients.  Also for “Caddyshack fans”, the little girl who discovers the Baby Ruth candy bar floating in the pool, remembered for her two words, "doody, doody" is her youngest daughter, Paige, now living in Virginia.  Her daughter Courtney, resides in Hawaii.  Ms. Coffman resides in Richmond, VA with her husband of many years, Buddy, and their 3 puppies.

Lorena Diaz • Improvisation       Back to Top             Currently Residing in Chicagoland.

Before moving to Chicago, Ms. Diaz had been an instructor for 6 years; working with The Acting Studio as head of the Children’s Program, The City of Plantation's Cultural Arts Program, and currently with The Acting School of South Florida.  She studied at New World School of the Arts [B.F.A. program] and at The Acting Studio.  Ms. Diaz is the former director of The Acting Studio's improv troupe Brain Freeze and was also a company member of Separate Checks improv comedy troupe for 3 years and can now be found in a two person long-form show called Joystick.  Ms. Diaz, is a working actor having appeared at several area theatres, most recently recognized for her work in Mad Cat Theatre's Betty’s Summer Vacation [Christopher Durang] for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Carbonell Award.

Approach to the Process:
Ms. Diaz's approach to training emphasizes the development of component skills within an ensemble environment.  Classes focus on strengthening the spontaneous instincts of the actor; building self-confidence and feeding the imagination.

Michael Gioia • Acting, Monologue           Back to Top            

Mr. Gioia, Owner and Executive Director of The Acting School of South Florida, holds an M.F.A. from the University of Florida and is a member of Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors' Guild.  He has been a private coach and group instructor for over 20 years,  teaching at various studio and educational venues, including The Acting Studio, The Actors' Conservatory, The Ruth Foreman Theatre, Ensemble Stage Company, University of Florida, Barry University and University of Miami.  Mr. Gioia has worked as an actor or director for over 75 productions in theatre and film.  In addition to directing the annual Conservatory Showcases, other directing credits include; It's The Family, Stupid! SRO Productions and Stage V Productions, Born Yesterday at Hollywood Playhouse, Talley's Folly at New Theatre, Picnic at Barry University, The Speed of Darkness at Ensemble Stage Co., The Dumb Waiter as part of "Pinter - Beckett" at Area Stage, Othello at Public Theatre, Orphans at White/Willis and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea [AEA Project Code].  Local acting credits include; Chinese Coffee, Death and the Maiden and Private Lives at GableStage/Florida Shakespeare, London Suite and Conversations With My Father at OB E. 26th Street, Down The Road at Area Stage, The Nerd at Actors' Playhouse and Social Security at Ruth Foreman Theatre.  Mr. Gioia has served as a preliminary judge for The National Foundation For Advancement In The Arts, as a respondent for KC/ACTF [region IV] and as a member of the Graduate Auditions Committee of the Southeastern Theatre Conference.

Approach to the Process:
Mr. Gioia's process is a Stanislavski based, eclectic approach to the acting process.  He uses exercises which lead to an understanding of actions and "polar" actions through an improvisational exploration of given, imaginary circumstances.  His "Adaptation Process" focuses fundamentally on reacting to perceived stimuli.  Secondary emphasis is on research, analysis, character development and actor transformation.  Mr. Gioia studied with David Shelton and Michael Shurtleff.   His influences are Sanford Meisner, Michael Chekhov, and Stella Adler.

Miriam Kulick • Acting, Movement          Back to Top

Ms. Kulick, who began her performing career as a modern dancer, later began studying and working as an actor in New York City.   She toured the East coast with The Mettawee River Company directed by Ralph Lee,  a founding member of the Open Theatre.  She studied acting technique extensively with Terry Schreiber, Gloria Maddox and Nancy Gabor.  Her vocal training was with Lynn Singer and David Farkus.  Since moving to South Florida several years ago, Ms. Kulick has worked in film and television,  as well as theatre. She has performed for various local companies such as Area Stage, Acme Acting Co., New Theatre, GableStage, Shores Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard Theatre, and The Key West Theatre Festival, among others.  Ms. Kulick was a faculty member The Acting Studio,  and her additional teaching background includes private coaching, creative movement workshops and body alignment workshops in the U.S. and Europe.  She is currently the vice-president of The Women's Theatre Project.

Wayne LeGette • Acting, Diction           Back to Top      

Mr. LeGette has been a working actor for 20 years. He is a now private acting coach & consultant at many Broward high schools and was a member of the faculty at The Acting Studio. Mr. LeGette was classically trained by New York's National Shakespeare Conservatory and served as their FL representative for many years conducting auditions from Jacksonville to Key West. As an actor, this native Floridian has performed leading roles in regional theatres throughout the world including Paper Mill Playhouse, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Actors' Playhouse, Caldwell Theatre Company, Florida Stage, Maltz Jupiter Theatre and many others. In 2002, he won both the Carbonell and Curtain Up Awards for Best Actor playing Sylvia in Ruthless! at the Hollywood Playhouse and in 1989 he garnered his first award as Best Supporting Actor for Stanley in Broadway Bound at the Royal Palm. He has also been nominated for four others. Mr. LeGette proudly appeared in the inaugural productions Apartment 3A, and Zombie Prom with The Acting Studio Stage Company but is perhaps best known for creating the title role in the world premiere musical Chaplin and for appearing in over 450 performances of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change in four separate productions.

Approach to the Process:
Mr. LeGette's acting process is a practical one based on the teachings of Stella Adler and Uta Hagen. His teachers Mario Siletti, James Tripp, and Joanie Evans all headed the Stella Adler Conservatory in NYC. His Voice and Speech process is based on techniques taught by Robert Perillo trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Regina Pasquarello • Acting         Back to Top

Ms. Pasquarello has been involved in the acting community since 1996. During this time she has worked both in front of and behind the camera. She has worked with and/or assisted several casting directors including, Slater Casting in Los Angeles and Lori Wyman Casting and Unique Casting in Florida. She has also worked for ActorsInfoBooth, The Acting Studio, The Actors' Conservatory, and Fionte Productions coordinating curriculum and registration advisement, student service and career counseling. Ms. Pasquarello is a graduate of the two year Conservatory Training Program at The Acting Studio and has, in addition, taken workshops taught by Ray Forchion, Tom Logan, Lori Wyman, Paul Weber and Tara Ann Johnson. She is still auditioning and working in the industry having appeared in several independent films and over a dozen commercials.  Ms. Pasquarello is a a Reiki Master, a Spiritual Intuitive Healer and Facilitator and is the founder of LivingYourIntegrity.com offering workshops emphasizing positive thinking and personal soul coaching sessions.

Dustin M. Sharpe • Improvisation           Back to Top            

Mr. Sharpe has been involved in improvisational acting for the last ten years.  He founded, instructed and directed at Palm Beach Community College's improv troupe Cheese & Crackers for five years.  Currently Mr. Sharpe is an administrator, director and actor for Mod27 in Lake Worth which he also was a founding member.  Mr. Sharpe's favorite acting credits include Mr. Zero in The Adding Machine, Felix Ungar in The Odd Couple and Marcus Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum.  Mr. Sharpe has also done some commercials, billboard ads, and a few pilots based on sketch comedy.  Mr. Sharpe was a three time Frank Lehey Scholarship recipient and three time Irene Ryan Scholarship nominee.

Kim St. Leon • Acting, Cold Reading, Audition for Camera       Back to Top             

Ms. St. Leon has been working in various aspects of the entertainment field for over 25 years. Most recently she was a member of the faculty at The Acting Studio and served as Artistic Director for the Acting Studio Stage Company, where she directed productions of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire de Lune, Apartment 3A, Zombie Prom and Apron Strings [in association with Hollywood Playhouse] and This Is Where We Came In. Recently she directed for City Theatre’s 2004 Summer Shorts at the Ring Theatre and the Broward Center and is City Theatre's Education Director and will direct Short Cuts. She also will be returning this year to be one of the directors for 2005 Summer Shorts. She is now directing The Memory Of Water for Mosaic Theatre. Ms. St. Leon's teaching background also includes; private coaching, University of Miami Law School, coaching third year law students in presentation skills. One of her early experiences was a stint as a "Glee Girl" on the Jackie Gleason television special. She has appeared in many theatrical productions, regional and national TV commercials, television and feature films. Bob Fosse, Dustin Hoffman, Edward James Olmos, James Belushi, Eric Roberts, and Mariel Hemingway are some of the actors she has worked with. In addition, Ms. St. Leon has also been active behind the camera. he has cast a feature film, assisted in casting two other features, associate produced "Sunday Morning" and co-produced the award-winning short film, "The Best Man." She is currently working on producing her first feature.

Approach to the Process:
Ms. St. Leon’s main inspiration, both in performing and teaching has been the inimitable Michael Shurtleff,  who had been a friend,  teacher and mentor for over 20 years. She also studied at the Strasberg Institute with Ned Mandarino,  as well as Rick Walters,  one of the top acting coaches in Los Angeles.

Paul Tei • Acting        Back to Top            

Mr. Tei has an M.F.A. degree in directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, founded as The Goodman School of Drama in 1925, and has a B.A. in Theatre form Barry University.  Mr. Tei has been teaching since 1998 at New World School of the Arts in both the high school and college divisions and is a former instructor at The Acting Studio.  He is the Artistic director of Mad Cat Theatre Company where he has directed the world premieres of : Tin Box Booerang, Shoot, Portrait (Curtain Up Award for Best Director), Here in My Car (co-scripted), Shepard's Pie (co-scripted), Helluva Halloween (co-scripted) and the Florida premiere of Seventy Scenes of Halloween.  Mr. Tei has also directed for Area Stage, New Theatre, Juggerknot and the Ensemble Stage Company.  As an actor, he has been in over forty stage productions, receiving the Carbonell Award for Best Actor, The New Times Best Actor Award and The New Times Best Supporting Actor Award and has appeared in numerous commercials and television programs.

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