"AWI gave me the necessary foundation to base my acting craft on.
Any success that I’ve found I have to dedicate in large part to their tutelage."
LUCIEN DODGE, LA RESIDENT, VOICE ACTOR FEATURED IN:
NATIONAL COMMERCIALS, ANIMATION, ANIME AND VIDEO GAMES
Learn morE ABoout LUCIEN
Katie and her TAs holding a gift from their students.
Eliza (middle) with her students
Eliza VANCORT
FOUNDER, CO-DIRECTOR, INSTRUCTOR
Eliza has been acting since she was 11, and directing and teaching for almost 20 years. Credits include: AWITC’s Rabbit Hole (Izzy), The Melodramatics Bare (Claire), Nice Girls Films Poker Face (Janet), No Fare (Jennie). Directing credits include: AWITC’s My Name is Rachel Corrie starring Asia Katie Dillon, Hatshepsut the Female Pharaoh starring Esosa Edosomwan, Love, Loss and What I Wore and was Assistant Director, and later an actor, on Becky Lane's popular webisode series, The Chanticleer. Eliza's students have found great success, performing all over the world. Eliza has seen first hand the power of The Meisner Technique. AWI students become superior actors, but they also become superior communicators. This realization led Eliza to her second career. Today, when she’s not teaching, Eliza spends much of her time traveling both nationally and internationally, running seminars and giving talks on communication.
For more info go to: www.elizavancort.com, check out this video of her work (edited by an award winning AWI grad, Daniel Masciari), or view her TEDx. In her spare time Eliza is a casting director and film producer. She most recently cast the acclaimed feature film The Manhattan Front, and is currently a producer on the feature film Stationed At Home. In her spare time Eliza serves on the Board for Performing Arts for Social Change, is a Cornell University Cook House Fellow, cycles avidly and is a proud parent of four fantastic humans.
Contact Eliza: eliza@actorsworkshop.biz
Katie teaching former TA Masa Gibson
KATIE SPALLONE
CO-DIRECTOR, INSTRUCTOR
In addition to being a graduate of AWI, Katie has been a Meisner technique instructor since 2005 and was appointed Co-Director of AWI in 2012. Katie has worked with just about every theater group in town in one capacity or another; her favorite role to date was Becca in the AWITC production of Rabbit Hole in 2010. She was recently onstage at the Kitchen Theatre in 2016 in the Homecoming Player's production of Sarah Ruhl's In The Next Room, as well as acting in Ithaca’s first 1 Minute PlayFest in July 2018, also at The Kitchen Theatre. She has taught several acting seminars at Ithaca College, and has done local and regional voice over work and has appeared in several short films. From 2000-2015, Katie was the owner of evolution 102 and avanti boutique, two clothing stores in downtown Ithaca. In 2016 she joined the Cornell University community, finding her new home at The Cornell Store as their Retail Manager of Satellite Stores. To learn more about Katie's journey to AWI, go to this NPR radio show.
Contact Katie: katie@actorsworkshop.biz
David at his "day job" on set
david Kossack
Instructor
A long time Ithacan, David graduated from Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications with a degree in Cinema Production. As an editor and videographer at PhotoSynthesis Productions he has worked on numerous film and video projects, including editing documentary, They Call it Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain. Read the New Times article about the award winning documentary. David recently completed an educational project for the FDA on meta-cognition and is currently working on a new documentary focusing on Cambodia. After studying under and apprenticing with Eliza, David has been an instructor at AWI since 2008 and has directed several stage productions for the Workshop’s theater company.
Contact David: david@actorsworkshop.biz
MARISSA ACCORDINO
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Marissa is an actress, singer, writer and producer who found a passion for artistry at a young age. After attending The USDAN Center for Creative and Performing Arts as a child, Marissa knew early on that she wanted to spend the rest of her life calling the theatre her home away from home. She is a graduate of both The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca (AWI) Sanford Meisner Technique Program and Ithaca College’s Bachelor of Science Program in Integrated Marketing Communications. Production, marketing and teaching credits include: Connectivity Associate and House Manager for Kitchen Theatre Company, Production Manager and Teaching Assistant for AWI, Assistant Company Manager and Marketing Director for Hope on Stage at The Hangar Theatre, Marketing Consultant for Ithaca Fringe, along with various freelance film production projects. Upcoming acting credits include feature film, Stationed at Home and short film, The End of A Thing. Equally as important, Marissa LOVES Hershey chocolate bars. A lot.
Ariel sharing her amazing voice!
ARIEL ARBISSER
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Ariel Arbisser is a singer-songwriter and an internationally award-winning vocalist and vocal coach best known in the a cappella world. In addition to the Actor's Workshop of Ithaca, she's performed with soul-funk outfit The Jeff Love Band, musical theater troupe The Melodramatics Inc, operetta company The Savoyards, female ensemble Lady Jaye, and around Ithaca and the United States with vocal supergroup The Funx. Since finding AWI and Meisner, Ariel created a popular Meisner-singing workshop already attended by hundreds of students (and counting) of all ages from all around the world. Currently Ariel is planning the release of her first all original solo album.
KIEREN MUNSON-BURKE
TEACHING ASSISTANT, Production Manager
Kieren Munson-Burke is a performer raised in Ithaca, New York. She is one of the youngest students to have graduated from The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca’s Comprehensive Sanford Meisner Technique Program. In addition, she is currently an undergraduate student at TC3. She has been recently seen performing a series of one-acts plays on the collegiate stage at Cornell University and has been fortunate enough to be featured in various short films. She looks forward to her feature film debut working alongside award winning filmmaker, Daniel Masciari, in his groundbreaking film, Stationed at Home. In addition, Kieren has a great passion for family, animals and social justice.
Contact Kieren: kieren@actorsworkshop.biz
TYREE COBBINS
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Tyree studied both Digital Cinema and Theater/Acting, interning in LA with various studios and networks. Eventually he found The Actor's Workshop of Ithaca (AWI), and upon graduation joined AWI as Eliza's teaching assistant, a position he continues to enjoy today. Tyree is an inspiring teacher. He quickly and authentically forges connections with people of all backgrounds, and he has developed a passion for social justice. Tyree's creative innovation, motivational team building skills, excellent outreach abilities and fierce work ethic has powerfully impacted the number of students from diverse backgrounds at AWI. Tyree performs in both theater and film.
MIKEL MOSS
TEACHING ASSISTANT
An Actor’s Workshop Alum, Mikel is a Dramatherapy Researcher who is currently studying at the doctoral level developing a new dramatherapeutic technique using the Meisner technique as a tool for healing particularly in communities adversely affected by European colonization. Mikel is passionate about creating space for arts therapies research in the broader psychological community. When not lecturing and teaching internationally on this topic, Mikel calls Ithaca his home. Mikel is thrilled to be back at the workshop and back with the Tuesday/Thursday class.
Alek on an AWI production set.
ALEK OSINKI
STUDIO MANAGER
Alek has been involved in theater and music performance since high school. However, he began his adult life serving our country in the United States Army. After being honorably discharged, Alek worked his way through school and became a physical therapist. In 2010 he found the Actors Workshop Ithaca and his passion for the arts was reawakened. Since his first semester, he has been a part of every workshop production, acting in "Poona the Fuckdog", "Mitzi's Abortion", and "Museum", assistant stage managing "Rabbit Hole", and stage managing "4 Dogs and a Bone" and "Hapshetsut". Most recently appeared in Theatre Incognita's "Our Town" and "Hamlet", and, appeared in The Ithaca Fringe Festival's "4 Easy Pieces". Alek has been in several films, including "The Observatory" and "No Fare", produced by award winning film maker Daniel Masciari.
Contact Alek: alek@actorsworkshop.biz