Professional Actor • Director • Producer • Teacher • Theatre Professor • Dean • Camp Fire Survivor
Jesse Merz and Fred
Jesse Merz (he/she/they) is a theatre maker, educator and dad, currently teaching and working in Eugene, Oregon. They grew up on the slopes of Mt. Hood in Parkdale, Oregon and have lived and worked in NYC, Detroit, California twice, Washington and Oregon with performances in 34 states in 120 cities on National Tours.
He was the Artistic Director of the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre for 23 summers from 1997 - 2019, until it closed in 2022. CGST was a full-time theatre camp for teenagers from around the world. He still runs the Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre (NYC, Oregon).
She was the Theatre Arts Instructor at Butte College near Chico, California from 2016 to 2020.
He was the Dean of Students and Leadership Teacher at Jefferson Middle College for Advanced Studies in Portland, Oregon from 2014 - 16.
From 2013 - 2014, she was the Career Preparation Instructor at Springdale Job Corps Center - US Department of Labor in Troutdale, Oregon.
From 2012 - 2013, he was the Temporary Artistic Director and Theatre Instructor at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.
From 2008 - 2012,they were the Head of the BFA in Acting program and Assistant Professor of Theatre at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where they were Interim Assistant Chair in 2011. They also taught in the MFA in Acting program and directed for the Bonstelle Theatre Company and the Hilberry Repertory Theatre.
He served as a Teaching Assistant (sole instructor) and Assistant Artistic Director of the THIRDeYE Theatre Festival at University of California, Davis between 2006 and 2008. She was the Drama Director and Theatre Teacher at David Douglas High School In Portland, Oregon from 2003 - 2006. From 2000 - 2003, they were the Producing Artistic Director of Longview Stageworks, a small Equity theatre in Longview, Washington. In the 1990s, she was a freelance professional actor, director and producer in New York City.
She has performed off-Broadway, in regional theatre, summer stock, feature films, on the radio and in 120 cities in 34 states on national tours. He has directed more than 70 plays, musicals, and digital projects in NYC, regional and educational theatres, and has produced more than 200 shows. She has been a member of Actors' Equity since 1997 (where he was elected to the Central Regional Board and appointed to several national committees from 2009 - 2012), SAG-AFTRA since 1993, The Dramatists Guild of America, VASTA and is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
He has taught acting at Butte College, UC Davis, Mt. Hood Community College, Western Oregon University, CGST for 23 summers, David Douglas HS, and Wayne State University. During the summer of 2012, she taught acting and directed a show at the Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa, Florida. He has taught workshops or presented papers at the American College Theatre Festival, Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Mid-American Theatre Conference, the Oregon, Michigan and Washington's Thespian Conferences, SacActors, International School of St. Martin, and the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan. She is currently at work on a book entitled The Meisner Interviews and another book on reducing Codependency in the Theatre. She has worked with or studied with such Pulitzer, Oscar, Tony, Bessie, Emmy, Sundance & Golden Globe winners or nominees as Lauri Peters, David Mamet, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Daisy Eagan, Constantine Maroulis, Joanne Woodward, Alec Baldwin, Tony Kushner, Guillermo Gómez Peña, River Phoenix, Robert Bella, Gus Van Sant, Joe Mantegna, Sally Mayes, and others.
Jesse's BFA in Acting is from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (The Meisner Studio and the Atlantic Acting School / Practical Aesthetics Workshop), their MAT with a drama endorsement is from George Fox University and their MFA in Dramatic Arts - Acting is from the University of California, Davis. She has been married to Laurel since 2000 and together they have three creative and resilient kids: Alana, Joseph and Charlotte.
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Students' Work:
None of my students' work is mine - it's all their efforts and hearts and work!
I experience giddy joy when I learn that humans who worked with me as students along the way are thriving in the arts and in life. They have been nominated for or have won amazing awards like:
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama,
Tony Award nomination for Best Play,
Tony Award nomination for Best Actor,
Drama Desk Award - Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award,
Outer Critics Circle,
Theatre World World,
Obie winner,
Emmy winner,
Writers Guild Awards,
Arizona International Film Festival - Best First Feature & Best Dramatic Short,
Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Play,
Best Actress at the Fringe of Marin Festival,
SXSW Audience Award Just for Laughs Best Actress,
The Queerties - TV performance nominee,
Drammy Award for Best Musical Direction,
OTAS Award for Outstanding Musical Director,
PAMTA Award for Outstanding Musical Director,
Detroit Free Press Award Winner,
Gallery Award Nominee - Best Actor,
Wilde Award Winners,
Joseph Jefferson Award nominee for Best Actor,
and a Joseph Jefferson Award winner for Best Supporting Actor.
Here are some highlights of work by the people I've been lucky enough to call student:
Broadway: Oh, Mary! (star/writer/Tony/Pulitzer nominee), Tony-Winning The Band's Visit with Tony Shalhoub (plus an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program on the "Today Show"), Lempicka, The Visit with Chita Rivera and Roger Rees, Hamilton (2 alumni on Broadway & National Tours), Kimberly Akimbo, Paradise Square, Here Lies Love, The Lehman Trilogy, Be More Chill, Life of Pi (Broadway & National Tour), Camelot (Broadway & National Tour). To Kill a Mockingbird (Broadway National Tour). Upcoming: The Queen of Versailles w/Kristin Chenoweth
Off-Broadway: "Emojiland" at The Duke, Second Stage, Lincoln Center, Roundabout Theatre, Lynne Redgrave Theatre, Hudson Guild Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company ("The Band's Visit & Kimberly Akimbo" pre-Broadway), Midtown International Festival, New York Musical Theatre Festival, "Love Life" and "Wonderful Town" at Encores, the Public Theatre, Joe's Pub, York Theatre Company, Classical Stage Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Connector by Jason Robert Brown and Daisy Prince at MCC Theater.
Regional Theatre: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Blackfriar Company at American Shakespeare Center, Shakespeare in Detroit, Southwest Shakespeare, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, Kennedy Center ("Spelling Bee"), Denver Center Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre,Center Theatre Group, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Meadow Brook Theatre, Trinity Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Great Lakes Theatre, Playmaker's Repertory Theatre, MUNY, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, A Contemporary Theatre, 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Santa Fe Opera, Sacramento Music Circus, La Mirada Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Route 66, House Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Human Race Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Bay Street Theatre, Geva Theatre, Disney, Detroit Public Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre (Artistic Director), Planet Ant Theatre, Performance Network, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Plowshares Theatre, Williamston Theatre, The Cutting Room, Drury Lane Theatre, FourPlay Theatre (Chicago), Rock of Ages - Hollywood, Stageworks Northwest, Artists Repertory Theatre, triangle productions!, Oregon Children's Theatre, Stumptown Stages, Portland Stage Company, Horizon Theatre, Shadowland Stages, among so many others!
Films: The Adventures of A.R.I.: My Robot Friend, Approaching Midnight, Aspirational Slut, The Assassins Code, Baby Steps, Birds of Neptune, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Block Party, Bucksville, Caught Stealing, City of Gold, The Crash, Deadwood: The Movie, Demons in the Shadow, Detroit Unleaded, A Different Man, Fatal Secret, God Forgives, I Am Wrath (w/John Travolta), I Don't, An Inappropriate Affect, It Follows, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlin, Liger, The Long Game, Long Way, Love Tooth, The Mirror Game, Mortal Combat II, My So-Called Iraqi Wedding, Nutty Beautician, One Night in Portland, Ovid and the Art of Love, Santa, Sex, Lies & Seeta, Shared Rooms, Seven Days, Something Like Summer, Superman (2025), Tapestry, Through the Fall, Ticket to the Circus, Twilight Conspiracy, Waterfront Nightmare, Wearing Normal, Wild (w/Reese Witherspoon), Witch of Portobello, World’s Greatest Dad (w/Robin Williams)
TV: "9-1-1", "Almost Family", "American Crime Story" (7 episodes), "At Home with Amy Sedaris" (24 episodes, WGA award), "Atlanta Justice", "Baby Shark's Big Show" (51 episodes), "Barry" (2 episodes), 'Big Mouth" (7 episodes), "Block Watch" (series regular - 15 episodes), "The Brittany Murphy Story", "Broad City", "Casual", "The Carters: Hurts to Love You" (as self and narrator), "Celebrity Ghost Stories", "Chicago Fire" (3 episodes and multiple alumni have been on this show), "Chicago Med", "Chicago PD" (2 episodes), "The Continental" (Emmy-nomination for Outstanding Stunt Performance), "Criminal Minds", "Daedal Doors", "Deadly Devotion", "The Detroiters" (2 episodes), "Difficult People" (Series regular, 25 episodes), "Doll Face", "The Dropout" (2 episodes), "Duster", "Empire" (4 episodes), "ER", "Fear the Walking Dead" (2 episodes), "File Zero" (8 episodes), "For All Mankind" (11 episodes), "Fresh off the Boat", "General Hospital", "The Gilded Age", "Girlboss", "Glee", "Gone", "The Good Fight", "Great News", "Grimm", "Grown-ish", "Gone", "Guys with Kids" (2 episodes), "Hacks" (WGA award), "Harlem", “Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace” and “Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal” (starring as Prince William), "Here and Now", "House of Carters", "How I Met Your Father", "How I Met Your Mother", "How to Get Away with Murder" (3 episodes), "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson", "Jump the Fence" (director), "Killision Course", "Law & Order", "Law & Order: SVU", "Leverage", "Liberty" (6 episodes), "Lost n' Found" (5 episodes), "Low Winter Sun", "Mad Men", "Modern Family", "Mozart in the Jungle" (10 episodes), "NCIS Los Angeles", "The Other Two", "Orange is the New Black", "The Orville", "Paper Girls" (series regular), "Portland Teen Idol", "Power Book 4: Force" (2 episodes), "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists" (2 episodes), "The Punisher", "SEAL Team" (3 episodes), "Shameless", "Show Me Your Parts (writer, executive producer, actor), "The Show Must Go Online" (2 episodes), "Speechless", "Submissions Only", "The Electric Company", "The Librarians", "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (12 episodes), "VEEP", "Weeds", "Will Trent" (4 episodes), "You're the Worst", "ZIWE" (co-star, executive producer).
Behind the scenes: One student directs for the award-winning Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins video game franchises. Cinematic Director: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Cinematic Lead), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Cinematic Dialogue Director), Mass Effect and Dragon Age series (Cinematic Designer).
Another alumnus works as a FX Production Manager: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Oscar/Golden Globe winner for Best Animated Feature Film), Edge of Tomorrow, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and many others.
DP / Camera operator for projects like: "Janis Ian: Breaking Silence", "The Jewel Thief", "You Have Arrived", and so many more.
Others have worked at: Telsey + Company, IATSE 28 Stagehand Union of Portland, and in leadership at Navel LA, Family Affair Studios, Irish Repertory Theatre, Signature Theatre, Ars Nova, Symphony Space, Second Stage Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre, and Lincoln Center.
Study: My beloved students have gone onto study at such theatre and non-theatre programs as: LAMDA, Yale, NYU/Tisch (several students), University of Southern California, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Western Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, Barnard, Scripps, Stanford, Marymount Manhattan, Reed, Point Park, Evergreen, Seattle Pacific, University of Washington, University of Oregon, Portland Institute of the Arts, University of the Arts, College-Conservatory of Music, Wayne State University (MFA), University of Illinois Urbana-Champlain (MFA), University of Portland (MFA), Harvard/American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre (MFA), and many, many more.
Thank you: The students I've been able to collaborate with over the decades are now teachers, professors, artistic directors, producers, writers, musicians, podcast creators, performers in commercials, stunt doubles, social media stars, parents, partners, and they're also thriving in non-theatre professions.
What am I missing? If you were ever my student, even briefly, and wish to see your rad work listed above, please feel free to reach out and update me! It's a thrill to me to hear from you. Email me any time! [email protected]
May each of you continue to spread Peace and Love throughout the world!
He was the Artistic Director of the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre for 23 summers from 1997 - 2019, until it closed in 2022. CGST was a full-time theatre camp for teenagers from around the world. He still runs the Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre (NYC, Oregon).
She was the Theatre Arts Instructor at Butte College near Chico, California from 2016 to 2020.
He was the Dean of Students and Leadership Teacher at Jefferson Middle College for Advanced Studies in Portland, Oregon from 2014 - 16.
From 2013 - 2014, she was the Career Preparation Instructor at Springdale Job Corps Center - US Department of Labor in Troutdale, Oregon.
From 2012 - 2013, he was the Temporary Artistic Director and Theatre Instructor at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.
From 2008 - 2012,they were the Head of the BFA in Acting program and Assistant Professor of Theatre at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where they were Interim Assistant Chair in 2011. They also taught in the MFA in Acting program and directed for the Bonstelle Theatre Company and the Hilberry Repertory Theatre.
He served as a Teaching Assistant (sole instructor) and Assistant Artistic Director of the THIRDeYE Theatre Festival at University of California, Davis between 2006 and 2008. She was the Drama Director and Theatre Teacher at David Douglas High School In Portland, Oregon from 2003 - 2006. From 2000 - 2003, they were the Producing Artistic Director of Longview Stageworks, a small Equity theatre in Longview, Washington. In the 1990s, she was a freelance professional actor, director and producer in New York City.
She has performed off-Broadway, in regional theatre, summer stock, feature films, on the radio and in 120 cities in 34 states on national tours. He has directed more than 70 plays, musicals, and digital projects in NYC, regional and educational theatres, and has produced more than 200 shows. She has been a member of Actors' Equity since 1997 (where he was elected to the Central Regional Board and appointed to several national committees from 2009 - 2012), SAG-AFTRA since 1993, The Dramatists Guild of America, VASTA and is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
He has taught acting at Butte College, UC Davis, Mt. Hood Community College, Western Oregon University, CGST for 23 summers, David Douglas HS, and Wayne State University. During the summer of 2012, she taught acting and directed a show at the Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa, Florida. He has taught workshops or presented papers at the American College Theatre Festival, Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Mid-American Theatre Conference, the Oregon, Michigan and Washington's Thespian Conferences, SacActors, International School of St. Martin, and the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan. She is currently at work on a book entitled The Meisner Interviews and another book on reducing Codependency in the Theatre. She has worked with or studied with such Pulitzer, Oscar, Tony, Bessie, Emmy, Sundance & Golden Globe winners or nominees as Lauri Peters, David Mamet, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Daisy Eagan, Constantine Maroulis, Joanne Woodward, Alec Baldwin, Tony Kushner, Guillermo Gómez Peña, River Phoenix, Robert Bella, Gus Van Sant, Joe Mantegna, Sally Mayes, and others.
Jesse's BFA in Acting is from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (The Meisner Studio and the Atlantic Acting School / Practical Aesthetics Workshop), their MAT with a drama endorsement is from George Fox University and their MFA in Dramatic Arts - Acting is from the University of California, Davis. She has been married to Laurel since 2000 and together they have three creative and resilient kids: Alana, Joseph and Charlotte.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Students' Work:
None of my students' work is mine - it's all their efforts and hearts and work!
I experience giddy joy when I learn that humans who worked with me as students along the way are thriving in the arts and in life. They have been nominated for or have won amazing awards like:
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama,
Tony Award nomination for Best Play,
Tony Award nomination for Best Actor,
Drama Desk Award - Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award,
Outer Critics Circle,
Theatre World World,
Obie winner,
Emmy winner,
Writers Guild Awards,
Arizona International Film Festival - Best First Feature & Best Dramatic Short,
Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Play,
Best Actress at the Fringe of Marin Festival,
SXSW Audience Award Just for Laughs Best Actress,
The Queerties - TV performance nominee,
Drammy Award for Best Musical Direction,
OTAS Award for Outstanding Musical Director,
PAMTA Award for Outstanding Musical Director,
Detroit Free Press Award Winner,
Gallery Award Nominee - Best Actor,
Wilde Award Winners,
Joseph Jefferson Award nominee for Best Actor,
and a Joseph Jefferson Award winner for Best Supporting Actor.
Here are some highlights of work by the people I've been lucky enough to call student:
Broadway: Oh, Mary! (star/writer/Tony/Pulitzer nominee), Tony-Winning The Band's Visit with Tony Shalhoub (plus an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program on the "Today Show"), Lempicka, The Visit with Chita Rivera and Roger Rees, Hamilton (2 alumni on Broadway & National Tours), Kimberly Akimbo, Paradise Square, Here Lies Love, The Lehman Trilogy, Be More Chill, Life of Pi (Broadway & National Tour), Camelot (Broadway & National Tour). To Kill a Mockingbird (Broadway National Tour). Upcoming: The Queen of Versailles w/Kristin Chenoweth
Off-Broadway: "Emojiland" at The Duke, Second Stage, Lincoln Center, Roundabout Theatre, Lynne Redgrave Theatre, Hudson Guild Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company ("The Band's Visit & Kimberly Akimbo" pre-Broadway), Midtown International Festival, New York Musical Theatre Festival, "Love Life" and "Wonderful Town" at Encores, the Public Theatre, Joe's Pub, York Theatre Company, Classical Stage Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Connector by Jason Robert Brown and Daisy Prince at MCC Theater.
Regional Theatre: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Blackfriar Company at American Shakespeare Center, Shakespeare in Detroit, Southwest Shakespeare, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, Kennedy Center ("Spelling Bee"), Denver Center Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre,Center Theatre Group, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Meadow Brook Theatre, Trinity Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Great Lakes Theatre, Playmaker's Repertory Theatre, MUNY, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, A Contemporary Theatre, 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Santa Fe Opera, Sacramento Music Circus, La Mirada Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Route 66, House Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Human Race Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Bay Street Theatre, Geva Theatre, Disney, Detroit Public Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre (Artistic Director), Planet Ant Theatre, Performance Network, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Plowshares Theatre, Williamston Theatre, The Cutting Room, Drury Lane Theatre, FourPlay Theatre (Chicago), Rock of Ages - Hollywood, Stageworks Northwest, Artists Repertory Theatre, triangle productions!, Oregon Children's Theatre, Stumptown Stages, Portland Stage Company, Horizon Theatre, Shadowland Stages, among so many others!
Films: The Adventures of A.R.I.: My Robot Friend, Approaching Midnight, Aspirational Slut, The Assassins Code, Baby Steps, Birds of Neptune, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Block Party, Bucksville, Caught Stealing, City of Gold, The Crash, Deadwood: The Movie, Demons in the Shadow, Detroit Unleaded, A Different Man, Fatal Secret, God Forgives, I Am Wrath (w/John Travolta), I Don't, An Inappropriate Affect, It Follows, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlin, Liger, The Long Game, Long Way, Love Tooth, The Mirror Game, Mortal Combat II, My So-Called Iraqi Wedding, Nutty Beautician, One Night in Portland, Ovid and the Art of Love, Santa, Sex, Lies & Seeta, Shared Rooms, Seven Days, Something Like Summer, Superman (2025), Tapestry, Through the Fall, Ticket to the Circus, Twilight Conspiracy, Waterfront Nightmare, Wearing Normal, Wild (w/Reese Witherspoon), Witch of Portobello, World’s Greatest Dad (w/Robin Williams)
TV: "9-1-1", "Almost Family", "American Crime Story" (7 episodes), "At Home with Amy Sedaris" (24 episodes, WGA award), "Atlanta Justice", "Baby Shark's Big Show" (51 episodes), "Barry" (2 episodes), 'Big Mouth" (7 episodes), "Block Watch" (series regular - 15 episodes), "The Brittany Murphy Story", "Broad City", "Casual", "The Carters: Hurts to Love You" (as self and narrator), "Celebrity Ghost Stories", "Chicago Fire" (3 episodes and multiple alumni have been on this show), "Chicago Med", "Chicago PD" (2 episodes), "The Continental" (Emmy-nomination for Outstanding Stunt Performance), "Criminal Minds", "Daedal Doors", "Deadly Devotion", "The Detroiters" (2 episodes), "Difficult People" (Series regular, 25 episodes), "Doll Face", "The Dropout" (2 episodes), "Duster", "Empire" (4 episodes), "ER", "Fear the Walking Dead" (2 episodes), "File Zero" (8 episodes), "For All Mankind" (11 episodes), "Fresh off the Boat", "General Hospital", "The Gilded Age", "Girlboss", "Glee", "Gone", "The Good Fight", "Great News", "Grimm", "Grown-ish", "Gone", "Guys with Kids" (2 episodes), "Hacks" (WGA award), "Harlem", “Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace” and “Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal” (starring as Prince William), "Here and Now", "House of Carters", "How I Met Your Father", "How I Met Your Mother", "How to Get Away with Murder" (3 episodes), "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson", "Jump the Fence" (director), "Killision Course", "Law & Order", "Law & Order: SVU", "Leverage", "Liberty" (6 episodes), "Lost n' Found" (5 episodes), "Low Winter Sun", "Mad Men", "Modern Family", "Mozart in the Jungle" (10 episodes), "NCIS Los Angeles", "The Other Two", "Orange is the New Black", "The Orville", "Paper Girls" (series regular), "Portland Teen Idol", "Power Book 4: Force" (2 episodes), "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists" (2 episodes), "The Punisher", "SEAL Team" (3 episodes), "Shameless", "Show Me Your Parts (writer, executive producer, actor), "The Show Must Go Online" (2 episodes), "Speechless", "Submissions Only", "The Electric Company", "The Librarians", "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (12 episodes), "VEEP", "Weeds", "Will Trent" (4 episodes), "You're the Worst", "ZIWE" (co-star, executive producer).
Behind the scenes: One student directs for the award-winning Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins video game franchises. Cinematic Director: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Cinematic Lead), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Cinematic Dialogue Director), Mass Effect and Dragon Age series (Cinematic Designer).
Another alumnus works as a FX Production Manager: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Oscar/Golden Globe winner for Best Animated Feature Film), Edge of Tomorrow, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and many others.
DP / Camera operator for projects like: "Janis Ian: Breaking Silence", "The Jewel Thief", "You Have Arrived", and so many more.
Others have worked at: Telsey + Company, IATSE 28 Stagehand Union of Portland, and in leadership at Navel LA, Family Affair Studios, Irish Repertory Theatre, Signature Theatre, Ars Nova, Symphony Space, Second Stage Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre, and Lincoln Center.
Study: My beloved students have gone onto study at such theatre and non-theatre programs as: LAMDA, Yale, NYU/Tisch (several students), University of Southern California, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Western Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, Barnard, Scripps, Stanford, Marymount Manhattan, Reed, Point Park, Evergreen, Seattle Pacific, University of Washington, University of Oregon, Portland Institute of the Arts, University of the Arts, College-Conservatory of Music, Wayne State University (MFA), University of Illinois Urbana-Champlain (MFA), University of Portland (MFA), Harvard/American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre (MFA), and many, many more.
Thank you: The students I've been able to collaborate with over the decades are now teachers, professors, artistic directors, producers, writers, musicians, podcast creators, performers in commercials, stunt doubles, social media stars, parents, partners, and they're also thriving in non-theatre professions.
What am I missing? If you were ever my student, even briefly, and wish to see your rad work listed above, please feel free to reach out and update me! It's a thrill to me to hear from you. Email me any time! [email protected]
May each of you continue to spread Peace and Love throughout the world!
Acting in Jeremiah Kipp's film, "Echoes". NYC. 2012
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