NEWS RELEASE: FEBRUARY 18, 2003

Circus Theatricals Launches Studio for Actors

Alfred Molina, who teaches Shakespeare, says, “Gaining technique through training and sustained study is the bedrock of a long and active career. Like athletes, actors need to develop an efficient technique in voice work, movement, and text study, to support their inspiration.”

“The Circus Theatricals Studio for Actors began organically,” says Jack Stehlin, who teaches scene study, and is the Studio president. “Our ensemble group (The Circus Theatricals Studio Ensemble) have been participating in scene study, Shakespeare, voice & speech, breath, and movement workshops in our weekly studio meetings. Our members have based their collective success in theatre, film and television on these things they’re working on in Studio. We felt that it was time to offer the workshops to the general public.”

All of the Circus Theatricals Studio for Theatre and Film instructors are working professionals with a laundry list of professional theatre, film and TV credits, as well as training credentials from the leading performing arts schools in the world.The course of programs offered by the Circus Theatricals Studio for Theatre and Film are modeled after these classic programs, adding specialty classes unique to Los Angeles.

The Circus Theatricals Studio for Theatre and Film offers the following courses:
• Scene Study with Performance Workshop with Jack Stehlin
• Shakespeare Master Class with Alfred Molina
• On-Camera TV/Film Workshop with Casey Biggs
• Voice and Speech Workshop with Denise Woods
• Basic Acting Workshop with Robert Cicchini
• Alexander Workshop with Debby Jay
• Audition Workshop with Anthony Barnao
• Screenwriting Workshop with Shem Bitterman
• Movement Workshop with Joel Polis

About the Instructors

JACK STEHLIN (Scene Study with Performance Showcase) is a working actor, director and producer. Founder and Artistic Director of Circus Theatricals, Jack is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, and toured as a member of John Housemann’s The Acting Company. He has spent his career both on and off the stages of the most prestigious theatres of the world, including Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Primary Stages, the Classic Stage Company, O’Neill Playwright’s Conference, American Repertory Theatre, the Festival D’Automne in Paris; and the Venice Bienale. He has shared the stage with actors Alfred Molina, Kevin Kline, Kevin Spacey, Ethan Hawke, Mandy Patinkin, Al Pacino, Martin Sheen, Andre Braugher, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Jeff Norldling, Bob Gunton, Jean Stapleton, Casey Biggs, Jill Gascoine and Daniel Nathan Spector. He has worked with esteemed directors such as Stephen Berkoff, Brian Kulick, Wilford Leach, Michael Greif, Stuart Vaughan, Richard Foreman, Des McAnuff, Carey Perloff, Richard Seyd, and Robert Wilson. On television, he’s known for his roles on “Judging Amy,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Crossing Jordan,” and the upcoming “JAG.” He is the recent recipient of a Garland Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination for his portrayal of Richard III (Circus Theatricals/Odyssey Theatre co-production).

ALFRED MOLINA (Shakespeare Workshop) has recently been nominated for a SAG Award and BAFTA award for his portrayal of Diego Rivera in “Frida.” He was most recently seen on stage in “The Cherry Orchard” (directed by Jack Stehlin), for which he has been nominated for a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. His other most recent theatre credits include Buckingham “Richard III,” (Circus Theatrcials/Odyssey Theatre), “ART” (LA Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Tony nomination, and Ovations nomination), “Molly Sweeney” (Roundabout Theatre:Theatre World award, Drama Desk nomination) “Night of the Iguana,” “Speed-the-Plow” (1989/1990 National Theatre, London - Olivier Award nomination). His numerous film credits include: “Plotz with a View,” “Identity,” and “My Life Without Me,” (all due to release in early 2003), as well as “Frida,” “Chocolat” (SAG nomination), “Texas Rangers,” “Magnolia” (SAG nomination) “Boogie Nights” (SAG nomination), “Enchanted April,” “Dudley Do-Right,” “Texas Rangers,” “Anna Karenina,” “The Perez Family,” “Maverick,” “Not Without My Daughter,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Meantime,” “Water,” “Eleni,” “Ladyhawke,” “Letter to Brezhnev,” “Prick Up Your Ears, “Manifesto” and “Drowning in the Shallow End.” His large array of television credits include “Bram and Allice,” “The Miracle Maker,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” and “Ladies Man.” He is a Circus Theatricals Associate Artist and member of Circus Theatricals Studio Ensemble. Alfred Molina is also a Guildhall graduate, and an alumnus of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

CASEY BIGGS (On-Camera TV & Film Workshop) has over 70 TV and Film credits, including “Dragonfly” with Kevin Costner, “Broken Arrow,” “Auggie Rose,” and “The Pelican Brief,” four seasons as Damar on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Legacy,” “Giddeon’s Crossing,” “X-Files,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Stat,” “The Profiler,” and “Melrose Place.” He last appeared onstage in “True West” opposite Jack Stehlin (Odyssey Theatre/Circus Theatricals) Other stage credits include the Los Angeles premiere of David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow,” “Prides Crossing” Eric Overmyer’s “Dark Rapture,” and “Exception and the Rule” (all at the Lincoln Center), “Twelfth Night” (directed by Michael Langham), “The Country Wife” (Garland Wright, dir.) and “Dubliners” (Paul Walker, dir.) among others. He has received five Helen Hayes award nominations for his work at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Directing credits include “Hamlet”, with Jack Stehlin (Odyssey Theatre/Circus Theatricals) , and “Hedda Gabler” (Circus Theatricals). Other directing credits include “An Evening of Shakespeare” (with Lynn Redgrave), “An Evening of MacBeth” (with Stacy Keach), “Prince of Players,” and “Oleanna.” He is a founding member of Dearknows theatre company in NYC and LA’s Interact, and an alumnus of The Acting Company. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Casey is an Associate Artist of Circus Theatricals.

DENISE WOODS (Voice and Speech) was a Drama Division faculty member at The Juilliard School for seven years and has recently been appointed to the Voice and Speech Faculty at the California Institute of the Arts. Woods currently works as a vocal coach with NBC Nightly News, CNBC, Bloomberg News and the Today Show. Some of her clients include Maria Bartiromo, Martha McCallum and Sharon Epperson of CNBC, Soledad O’Brien of the Today Show, Kerry Sanders and Donatella Lorch of NBC Nightly News, Stacey Sweet of Inside Edition and Erika Miller of Nightly Business Report. Wood’s work as a dialect coach in film includes Ving Rhames in the HBO feature film “Only in America: The Con King Story,” (Golden Glove Award for “Best Actor in a Made for Television Movie” and a NAACP image Award Nomination). She collaborated with Rhames on the Warner Brothers film “Rosewood” and the Miramax film “Dangerous Ground.” As an acting coach, Woods has worked with young Miko Hughes in the film “Mercury Rising” (with Bruce Willis), and Taye Diggs in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Ms. Woods was honored to be the dialect coach for the films “Once in the Life,” written, starring and directed by Laurence Fishburne and “The Hurricane” (starring Denzel Washington). She has coached Danny Glover, Glen Turman, Stan Shaw and Vicellous Shannon in the TNT television film “Freedom Song,” and Jeffrey Wright in “Shaft” (starring Samuel L. Jackson), and Will Smith in “Ali.” Private coaching clients include Ellen Burstyn, Morris Chestnut, Gloria Reuben, Victoria Rowell, Holly Hunter, Ray Liotta, Porscia De Rossi, Rachel Weisz, Mekhi Phifer and Forest Whitaker. In addition to her work with some of theater and film’s most respected actors, Woods is using her expertise to help WNBA, NBA and NFL athletes improve their communication and media skills. She has worked with some of professional sport’s most popular athletes, including players from the New York Knicks, The New York Giants, and several retired athletes looking to further their careers in broadcasting and business.

ROBERT CICCHINI’s (Basic Acting and Improvisation) most recent credits include recurring roles in HBO’s hit show “Six Feet Under,” the NBC political drama “Mr. Sterling,” and the HBO film “Path to War.” Other film credits include: “The Watcher,” “Primary Colors,” “The Deep End of the Ocean,” “A Civil Action,” “The Don’s Analyst,” “Cool Crime,” “Dogwatch,” “Light Sleeper,” “Jungle Fever,” “The Pickle,” and “The Godfather III, “ among others. He has worked wiht such film directors as Mike Nichols, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Schrader, Ulu Grossbard, Spike Lee, Paul Mazursky and the late great John Frankenheimer. TV credits include: “The Sopranos,” “The Practice,” “The Guardian,” “Presidio Med,” “Without a Trace,” “Providence,” “ER,” “Law & Order,” “NYPD Blue,” “Frasier,” and “Chicago Hope, et. al.” Off-Broadway theatre credits include: “The Job” (for Circus Theatricals at The Hudson Theatre in LA, and the WPA Theatre in NYC), for which he won a Garland Award for Best Performance, Woyzeck at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre, and the world premier of The Marriage Fool at Penquin Repertory. He has appeared in many plays throught the United States and abroad including the acclaimed production of Jean Genet’s The Screens at the Guthrie Theatre directed by Joanne Akalaitis, U.S. tour of Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues, and Sophocles’ Antigone which toured in Greece and the Middle East. He has a BFA from Wayne State University and a Master’s Degree from The New York University graduate acting program.

DEBBY JAY (Alexander Technique) has been teaching the Alexander Technique—with insight and a good sense of humor—for the last 13 years. She taught at the Howard Fine Acting Studio for 7 years, introducing hundreds of acting students to the practical and profound benefits of the Alexander Technique. For 2 years, she was President of the L.A. chapter of the American Society for the Alexander Technique. Debby maintains a lively private teaching practice. Her current and former students include actors, musicians, screenwriters, attorneys, artists, yoga teachers, computer users, a dentist and an acrobat.

ANTHONY BARNAO (Audition Workshop) brings over twenty-five years of experience in film, television and theater to his classes having been an actor, director, teacher and casting director. Anthony was Director of Casting for CBS Television, Head of Casting for Empire Pictures in Los Angeles and Rome and was the Resident Casting Director for LA Stage Company. As an independent, Anthony has cast numerous Pilots, Series, Emmy Award winning Movies for Television, Feature Films and Stage Productions. In film and television, he has cast for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, USA, Nickelodeon, American Playhouse Theater, Viacom, Columbia Pictures Television, Tri-Star Television, Henson Productions, Sander/Moses Productions, Imagine Entertainment, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Films and Propaganda Pictures. In theater, he has cast for the Coronet Theater, the Canon Theater, the Tiffany Theater, the Odyssey Theater, the Hudson Theater, the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Matrix Theater, the LaJolla Playhouse and the LA Stage Company. Anthony is the founder and Artistic Director of the Blue Sphere Alliance, a critically acclaimed, award-winning theater company in Los Angeles where he has directed over twenty productions. Anthony has taught acting, audition technique and coached privately for over fifteen years and has conducted seminars for aspiring actors in several cities around the country.

SHEM BITTERMAN (Screenwriting Workshop) is a graduate of University of Iowa Playwright’s Workshop and alumnus of The Juilliard School where he studied acting. He has developed films for Dustin Hoffman at Punch Productions and also at Warner Brothers and Disney. His produced films include “Halloween 5,” “Out Of The Rain” with Bndgit Fonda, “Peephole” which he directed, and “Tinsletown” (co-writer with Tony Spiridakis and co-produced, to be released by Goldwyn in January) with Ron Perlman, Joe Pantehano and Kristy Swanson. He is currently at work on three independent film projects; “The Job.” “Iowa Boys” and “The Last Resort.” Also a playwright, his play “The Job “ won the 1997 Stanley Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Ted Schmitt Award for Outstanding Production of World Premiere Play). Other produced plays include; His play “Ten Below” (The W.P.A. Theatre - with Kevin Conway and Anthony Edwards), Survivors (Mark Taper), Buffalo Hunters (Mark Taper), Peephole (Geva), Justice (Padua Hills Playwright’s Festival), Night-side (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville), The Ramp (South Coast Rep and Temple University), Self Storage (co-authored with Tony Spiridakis -Mark Taper), Beiging Legends (The Mark Taper Forum and Pacific Jewish Theatre) and IowaBoys (The Actor’s Studio). He has taught theatre arts and screenwriting and playwriting in various universities and venues, including Lancaster State Prison, The People’s Theatre in Beijing, Canton University and the University of Iowa. He is a rnember of Equity, S.A.G., the W.G.A. and the Writer’s Group at the Mark Taper Forum.