AMDA FACULTY

As a director, choreographer and performer, Casey has accumulated a substantial list of credits spanning Broadway productions, regional theatre and international tours. From playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz at Madison Square Garden, to performing in European tours of A Chorus Line and My Fair Lady, to directing productions of Aida, Les Miserables and Evita, Casey has done it all. Some of his favorite roles include Edna in Hairspray, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Rum Tum Tugger in Cats and both Roger and Carmen in The Producers.

A veteran of the Broadway stage, Cynthia is an active director and choreographer with credits including TheatreworksUSA, Encores! City Center, Montclair Operetta Club, Two Beans Productions and Camp Broadway. Her Broadway experience encompasses working with theatre legends such as Susan Stroman, Agnes DeMille, Twyla Tharp and Arthur Lawrence, including performances in A Christmas Carol, My Fair Lady, Nick & Nora, Meet Me in St. Louis, Singin’ in the Rain and 42nd Street. Cynthia has also appeared in the movie version of The Producers.

With more than 20 years of experience coordinating sword and stunt sequences, Charles is one of the industry’s foremost authorities on the art of combat. During the course of his impressive film and theatre career, he’s worked as the military technical advisor on HBO’s award-winning miniseries The Pacific, conceptualized complex military formations for Oliver Stone’s Alexander, and choreographed fight scenes featuring Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil: Extinction.

An accomplished actress, singer and director, Elaine has dedicated the past 20 years to developing the curriculum and teaching methods of AMDA’s Musical Theatre Department. Her Broadway credits include Grease, The Me Nobody Knows and End of the World, while off-Broadway she’s performed with the Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and Westside Arts Center. Additionally, Elaine has directed at NYU and the Skylight Opera Company, and has taught, directed and choreographed at the Unicorn Stage at Berkshire Theatre Festival.

Marina is the Associate Chair of the Dance Department at AMDA LA, as well as a working dancer, actor, vocalist and choreographer. She’s appeared in feature films and on television in shows such as CSI Miami, Desperate Housewives, Southland and ER, and has worked as a dance coach and choreographer for MTV, Run-DMC, Moby and others. An accomplished vocalist, Marina also recorded two albums, reaching the European Top 40. Marina was classically trained at the Cornish College of the Arts, Joffrey Ballet School and the Royal Academy of Dance.

In her esteemed career, Terésa has been a celebrated director, writer, actor and production designer for film and stage. Her original play Vinegar Hill was commissioned by Live Arts Theatre and reviewed by the Pulitzer Prize board in 2001. Terésa’s many off-Broadway and regional credits include Woman to Woman, The Vagina Monologues, Macbeth and For Colored Girls. She was nominated in the Best Director category for an NAACP Theatre Award for her work on Flyin’ West.

Chris brings over a decade of teaching experience and voice performance to the classroom, having taught both students and professional actors the art of voice, speech and dialects for microphone, film, television and stage. In addition to instructing students at AMDA, his other teaching credits have included Marymount Manhattan College, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and ABC Studios. Chris earned his BFA in Acting from SUNY Fredonia and his MFA in Acting from Ohio State University.

With a long list of credits as an actor and director, Evan offers a wealth of knowledge and experience to his students. In addition to many regional and touring productions, he’s appeared on Broadway in My Favorite Year, Parade, Putting It Together and A Chorus Line, Off-Broadway in I Can Get It for You Wholesale, The Immigrant and Pera Palas, and in West End productions of Merrily We Roll Along and Follies. Evan’s directing credits include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Girl, Parallel Lives, Daily Sounds and A Man of No Importance.

With more than 1,700 performances of operetta and musical theatre to her credit, Eileen has seen and done it all. Following her New York City Opera debut in the title role of Shostakovich’s Katerina Ismailova, Eileen sang 24 leading roles with the company over a period of 15 years, including Tosca, Salome, Carmen, Lizzie Borden and La Bohème. Eileen made her Broadway debut in the title role of My Darlin’ Aida, appeared in Der Rosenkavalier with the Metropolitan Opera, and has performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic.

An accomplished dancer, Ramon has performed in and choreographed numerous Broadway shows, including Cats, The Most Happy Fella, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Carmelina, Merlin and Song and Dance starring Bernadette Peters. He’s also appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Funny Feet, and has performed in the national tour of Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. His list of choreography credits include numerous shows at the Media Theater in Pennsylvania and at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater.