Stage and Screen Instructors

JOAN DARLING: Emmy and Director’s Guild Award-winning actress and director, Joan created the “Directing the Actor” workshop for Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, where she has served as creative advisor for the past 17 years. Regarded as one of the finest acting coaches in the business, her directing credits include MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Magnum PI, Doc, Rich Man, Poor Man, Rhoda, Spielberg’s Amazing Stories. In addition to starring roles on stage and television and picking up another Emmy for acting, she appeared for four years in the award-winning improvisational production, The Premise with Gene Hackman and George Segal. She has taught at UCLA, USC, American Film Institute, and University of North Carolina.

BILL SVANOE: Award-winning screenwriter and playwright, Bill launched his career by writing the #1 hit song “Walk Right In.” His screenwriting credits include Returning Home (Tom Selleck), Miles to Go (Martin Balsam), which won the Christopher Award for Outstanding Writing, Terror on the Beach (Dennis Weaver), Waltz Across Texas (Ann Archer), and Fatal Beauty (Whoopie Goldberg). He also wrote Sparks (Victoria Principal), Seduced by Evil (Suzanne Sommers), and Superdome (David Jansen) and for TV series The Six Million Dollar Man and Grif. Bill has taught screenwriting and playwrighting at the Univ. of North Carolina. He is a prolific playwright. Many of his plays have been published and performed in theaters across the U.S. His new play, Updated, premieres August 7 in Mineral Point.

JUDY KERR: Acting coach, actress, on-set dialogue coach and author. On the hit series Seinfeld, Judy coached series regulars: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander and guest stars Teri Hatcher, Janeane Garofalo, Raquel Welch and Bette Midler. Judy’s acting credits include Breaking the Silence (MOW), Falcon Crest, Step by Step, Murder She Wrote, The Jeffersons, and many more. Her TV coaching credits also include: It’s All Relative, All About The Andersons, Bob Patterson, The Ellen Show, The Michael Richards Show, The Single Guy, and Alright Already. Judy’s Best-Selling book Acting Is Everything: An Actor’s Guidebook for a Successful Career in Los Angeles, is in its 11th Edition.

ROBERT WALDEN: Award winning actor, director, and writer of stage, television, and film. Robert has over 40 feature film credits, including his role as Donald Segretti in, All the Presidents Men, The Hospital, The Out of Towners, Rage, Pigeons, New York, New York, Capricorn One and Audrey Rose. He nabbed three Emmy nominations as Joe Rossi in the Lou Grant series. TV credits also include Law and Order, The West Wing, Judging Amy, Brothers, Medical Center, The Rookies, Rhoda and many more. His acting credits in theater are too vast to mention. He is an LA Critics and Dramalogue award winning director. His writing credits include Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, Who's the Boss, and Brothers. Robert is a professor at the New School of Drama, MFA program, at New York City University.

KERRY SHEAR: Professional actress and acting coach, Kerry studied with Lee Strasberg in New York and Los Angeles and taught acting and sense memory at the Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles for many years. She has appeared in film and television (The Waltons, The Hitchhikers, Divorce Court, Unsolved Mysteries) and in leading roles in numerous stage productions, including Love Letters, Hopscotch, Cowards, Waiting for the Word, Commitment of Bob, The Woods, Glass Menagerie. Her commercial credits include Xerox, Mattel Toys, Hallmark Cards, and more. She is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and a founding member of the Los Angeles Actors Theater.

BLAKE BRADFORD: Emmy Award winning writer/director whose theatrical work has appeared nationally and internationally, Blake’s original plays are actively seen in regional circuits and in NYC. He has directed Joan Darling in seven of Bill Svanoe’s plays. He is Artistic Director of Off-Broadway’s acclaimed Phare Play Productions, and co-founder/head writer for Mindbleach, a sketch comedy group at Broadway Comedy Club. Blake is on the writing/script staff for Live from Lincoln Center (PBS), where he won a 2008 Emmy for Madama Butterfly and worked on specials with Gabriel Bynre, Wynton Marsalis, the NYC Ballet, NY Philharmonic, and Yo-Yo Ma. TV credits include The Big Gay Sketch, Show Showtime at the Apollo, Drama Desk Awards, and Arthur Ashe Kids Day.

MATT KLANE: Fight choreographer, teacher, and writer based out of New York City, Matt is certified in all eight officially recognized stage weapons and has had additional training in Tae Kwon Do, western boxing, Escrima and Lightsaber. He has choreographed over 30 fights for stage and film. His choreography has been described as “extremely visceral” and praised for its storytelling ability and has won awards including OOBR Audience Award and the Warner Brothers Production Award for Excellence. His stunt work includes projects for MSNBC, AMC, Radio Citiy Music Hall, and a vampire movie that “did really well in the Phiilippines.” Matt is also a staff writer at National Lampoon and a contributor to the New York Times.