For The Professional Actor:

As Associate Artistic Director of Bay Street Theater, and a professional director for over 25 years, I have had thousands of singers and actors audition for me, and have observed the traps and habits that held them back and kept them from booking the job. My work releases the performer’s natural energy and creativity, while providing a framework that promotes focus and maximizes the presence of the actor, deepening their connection to the material. I am also available for consultation regarding monologue and song choice, as well as cold reading skills.

I have coached and directed actors for such theaters as The Guthrie, American Repertory Theatre, 2nd Stage, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theatre, The Mark Taper Forum, Hartford Stage, New York Theater Workshop, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Signature Theatre (DC), The Kennedy Center, Soho Rep, Culture Project, The Studio Theatre, Bucks County Playhouse, Bay Street Theater and Ensemble Studio Theater. Actors under my direction have won such accolades as The Lucille Lortel Award, The Helen Hayes Award, The Drama Desk Award, The Audelco Award, and The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award.

In addition, my work with actors has earned me acclaim from such outlets as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Variety, The Huffington Post, The Daily News, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

For The Student Actor:

I am an acting coach and director based in New York City. I coach young people applying to New York City’s specialized performing arts high schools, as well as young actors applying to college-level acting and conservatory programs. I do in-person and virtual coaching.

I have coached and directed young actors over the past 25+ years at The Juilliard School, NYU’s Graduate Program in Acting, Cornell University, SUNY Purchase, The University of Rochester, Bard College, Cornell University and Syracuse University.

I have directed at some of the country’s most prestigious regional theaters, including 2nd Stage (NYC), The Studio Theater, Signature Theaters and The Kennedy Center (DC), American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, MA), The Guthrie (Minneapolis, MN), The Williamstown Theater Festival (Williamstown, MA), and The Mark Taper Forum (Lost Angeles). I am currently The Associate ArtisticDirector at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY, where I direct theater and have been a core member of the apprentice actor training program.

The things I would explore with you are: finding the strongest material that will show you in your best possible light; engaging in text analysis to allow a complete understanding of the material and ways to connect with it in a personal manner; understanding how to craft playable actions that lead to powerful moment-to-moment acting; creating a “dramatic arc” for your character in the course of the monologue; and identifying the critical, specific details that bring a monologue or song to life.