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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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Television Series
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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 Between Riverside and Crazy, Fat Ham, Life of Pi, Leopoldstadt, Funny Girl, The Piano Lesson, A Beautiful Noise, A Strange Loop,  Slave Play, Tina, To Kill a Mockingbird, 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 Ronald Peet is in The Fires at Soho Rep. Celebrated choreographer Raja Feather Kelly makes his playwriting debut, while also directing this world premiere. The time-hopping drama centers on the erotic lives of three Brooklyn men in a South Brooklyn railroad apartment, who write, read, fuck, flirt, eat, and fight at the same time. It is a surreal new play about being a somebody in a world of other somebodies—while trying on love. The cast also includes Beau Badu, Sheldon Best, Phillip James Brannon, Janelle McDermoth, Jon-Michael Reese, Jason Veasey, and Michelle Wilson. Now in previews, the production opens May 19 and runs through June 16.

Company member Austin Durant returns to the Broadway company of Moulin Rouge as Harold Zidler. Austin played the role in 2019 before originating it for the North American Tour for the past two years. Directed by Alex Timbers, with a book by John Logan, the musical brings Baz Luhrmann’s acclaimed film to the stage and tells the story of a writer, Christian, newly arrived in Paris, who falls in love with the star attraction of the Moulin Rouge nightclub, Satine. The musical opened in 2019 and went on to win 10 Tony awards, including Best Musical. The stage show features many of the iconic songs from the film as well as additions from Adele, Katy Perry, Sia, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and more. The production is currently running at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Nancy Lemenager appears in the final two episodes of The Girls on the Bus on HBO Max

 

Geneva Carr appears on the debut season of Elsbeth in Episode 7, “Something Blue” on CBS/Paramount+

 

Joe Holt appears on Chicago Med, Season 9, Episode 11, “I Think There is Something You’re Not Telling Me” on NBC/Peacock

 

Brian McManamon appears on FBI: Most Wanted, Season 5, Episode 11, “Radio Silence” on CBS/Paramount+

Company member Ato Blankson-Wood played the title role in last summer’s production of Hamlet at The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The production is now available to stream as part of the Great Performances series on PBS. This classic Shakespearean tale of murder, madness and revenge was directed by Kenny Leon with a cast that included Warner Miller, Daniel Pearce, Solea Pfeiffer, Nick Rehberger, John Douglas Thompson, and Lorraine Toussaint. Available to view online through June 30.

Company member Ching Valdes-Aran is in the world premiere of Dave Malloy’s musical, Three Houses, directed and choreographed by Annie Tippe at Signature Theatre. The story follows Susan, who is in Latvia; Sadie, who is in New Mexico; and Beckett, who is in Ireland. All three are alone. All three are haunted by their grandparents. All three hear the Big Bad Wolf scratching at the door. The show is a post-pandemic open mic night parable about magic, madness, and the end of the world. The production, which also stars Margo Seibert, Mia Pak, J.D. Mollison, Henry Stram, and Scott Strangland, runs through June 9.

Evan Yionoulis, award-winning director, acclaimed acting teacher, and the Richard Rodgers director of the drama division of the Juilliard School, will be in residence with The Actors Center in June to lead a workshop focusing on the late plays of Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen.

Company member Patrick Kerr returns for the second season of The Big Door Prize on Apple TV+ as small-town grocer Walter Johnson. The critically acclaimed and character-driven comedy from creator David West Read, based on the novel from M.O. Walsh, follows the residents of a small town called Deerfield, who one day discover a magical, destiny-predicting machine in their grocery store. Soon residents start changing jobs, rethinking relationships, and questioning long-held beliefs—all in pursuit of a better future. Season two began airing last month. Watch the trailer.

Company member Barzin Akhavan is in Choice at McCarter Theatre. Writer Winnie Holzman pens this new comedy that explores a woman’s right to choose in decidedly unexpected, often hilarious, and ultimately thought-provoking ways. Journalist Zipporah Zunder has landed the story of her life—and it’s forcing her to reexamine her past, her (sometimes absurd) present, and the choices that have shaped her life. Directed by Sarah Rasmussen, the world premiere play explores one of the most polarizing subjects of our time through a refreshingly humorous and profoundly human lens. The production runs through June 2.

Company member Jason Butler Harner appears in Sugar, the Colin Farrell-led drama on Apple TV+ from Simon Kinberg and Fernando Meirelles. John Sugar, an American private investigator, is on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of a legendary Hollywood producer. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he unearths Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried. Jason appears in four episodes. The cast includes Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Amy Ryan, James Cromwell, Anna Gunn, Dennis Boutsikaris, Nate Corddry, Sydney Chandler and Alex Hernandez. Watch the trailer.

Company member Kim Sykes writes and directs the new play In a Roundabout Way starring company member Lisa Arrindell, presented May 22-24 at The Tank. The play delves into the tumultuous relationship between the widowed Mary Lincoln and her former seamstress. A decade after the Civil War, the two women meet again, where long-held grievances resurface, exposing the deep-seated trauma they both carry. Their struggles with grief and addiction further complicate their attempt to reconcile, raising questions about the meaning of friendship and freedom. Kim’s work offers a poignant look at the personal cost of war and the challenges of navigating complex relationships. The cast also features Veanne Cox.

Company member Willa Fitzgerald is in the feature film Wildcat, now released in theaters. Directed by Ethan Hawke and starring Maya Hawke and Laura Linney, the film debuted last year at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. Wildcat is an imaginative depiction of crucially formative moments in the life of Flannery O’Connor, one of 20th century America’s most celebrated novelists and short-story writers. Famous for her offbeat short fiction about the American South and her faith, she was plagued by lupus for much of her life and died at 39. Her work continues to be read, studied and admired as she received posthumous acclaim, including the National Book Award. The cast also includes Philip Ettinger, Steve Zahn, Cooper Hoffman, Alessandro Nivola, and Vincent D’Onofrio. Watch the trailer.

Company member Veraalba Santa choreographs The Desire of the Astronaut with Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. This original musical by Desmar Guevara and Alvan Colón Lespier, and directed by Leyma López, explores the enduring myth and popular iconography of the astronaut through the fictional story of Esteban Only, the last Boricua in space. Drifting on a dying spacecraft with only intermittent contact with Earth, Esteban undertakes repairs that may facilitate his rescue or accelerate his court martial on grounds of insubordination. The production runs through May 26.

Company member Max Wolkowitz is in Sabbath Girl, a new musical by Cary Gitter and Neil Berg, and directed by Joe Brancato, now playing at Penguin Rep Theatre. The story centers on Angie, who has a lot going for her: her own art gallery, a new apartment, but not much time for romance, until a neighbor unexpectedly knocks on her door. The show is about big-city life and the possibility of finding love when you’re least looking for it—maybe even right down the hall. The production runs through May 26 in Stony Point, NY, before a planned off-broadway run later this summer.

Company member Celia Keenan-Bolger has been nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Martha in the world premiere of Paula Vogel’s Mother Play. The production was also nominated for Best New Play. This is Celia’s fifth Tony nomination, having won in 2019 for portraying Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

 

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, featuring company members Maechi Aharanwa and Rachel Christopher, was nominated for Best New Play, while Purlie Victorious, featuring company member Heather Alicia Simms, was nominated for Best Play Revival, and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, featuring company member Ato Blankson-Wood, was nominated for Best Musical Revival. This year’s awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 16. Congratulations to all!

Company member Elizabeth Stahlmann is in Here There are Blueberries at New York Theatre Workshop, co-produced with Tectonic Theater Project. Conceived and directed by Moisés Kaufman and co-written by Amanda Gronich, the play begins as a mysterious album of Nazi-era photographs arrives at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist in 2007. As curators unravel the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon makes headlines and ignites a debate that reverberates far beyond the museum walls. Based on real events, the play tells the story of these historical photographs—what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and our own humanity. The production runs through June 16.

Alexander teacher, interdisciplinary artist, and Yale faculty member, Fabio Tavares, and Michael Chekhov teacher and artistic director of the Chekhov Studio NYC, Bethany Caputo, join The Actors Center’s Resident Company in May for a series of artist development workshops focusing on movement, psychophysical approaches to acting, and freeing the body.