Amanda Setton

Setton, currently starring in the off-Broadway hit Love, Loss and What I Wore, is a New York native and attended Ithaca College. For the past several months she has been reprising the leading role of Kimberly Andrews on One Life to Live. Before her role on One Life to Live Amanda appeared in movies such as Sex and the City: The Movie and What Happens in Vegas, although she is most well known for her recurring character of Penelope on the hit TV show, Gossip Girl. Before moving to NYC to pursue her acting career, Amanda majored in drama and was extremely involved in the film department at Ithaca College, participating in many student-run films.  Her true passion for acting fully developed after taking part in the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca where she studied the Meisner technique under the instruction of Eliza VanCort.  There she learned to how to take risks and challenge herself in a safe and trusting acting environment.  After completing the full program at the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, and graduating from Ithaca College, Amanda moved back to New York and signed with a top talent agency, Cornerstone Talent. Without the tools and skills she learend from The Actor’s Workshop, Amanda would never have had the confidence or the know how to gain the kind of success in New York that would shortly follow.

Amanda in The Ithacan

Amanda's latest review (paragraph 4): soapcentral.com

Esosa Edosomwan

Esosa Edosomwan is a proud graduate of the Workshop's two year program and credits her studies with Eliza as an integral foundation for her success. She is an award winning actress/writer/"directress"on the rise. She has received several awards and distinctions since the beginning of her artistic career, including: 2008 Brooklyn Arts Re-Grant and the 2007 Frances E. Williams Artist Grant. Her work as actress has screened in numerous festivals worldwide, on BET-J, in the MOMA, and in 2008 Whitney Biennial. For five years she played the role of Malady in the AUDELCO award winning showing Platanos & Collard Greens. Recent independent film projects include leading and supporting roles in “The Wedding,” “Seasons of a Woman,” and “Red Roses.” She has written, and directed several short films to date including: “Simple As Blk & White,” (2004), “Coming Home” (2008), and “50 Bucks in Argentina,” (2007) which was MTV-U Film of the Week, and Best Short at the Nigerian Entertainment International Film Festival. Based on the merit of her first short films, she was a featured finalist on the MTV-U reality show “Meet or Delete” where she was handpicked as the winner by Producer/Director, Joel Schumacher. She was recently chosen for a young filmmakers panel by the New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting and completed a sketch comedy webisode series on blip.tv called "Take One." Upcoming projects include a short film entitled "Diary of a Diana Ross Diva" and her feature film “One Night in Brooklyn,” which is sponsored by the Film Forum. In addition to her pursuits in entertainment, she has taken on the role of Ambassador of the Nomi Network, an organization dedicated to ending sexual slavery of women all over the world.

For more info visit: www.sosae.com.

Lucien Dodge

  A native of Ithaca N.Y., Lucien found his roots as an actor through school theatre and local plays, going on to study the Sandford Meisner technique at the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca under the tutelage of Katie Spallone.  In the midst of all this, Lucien discovered what he considers the ideal medium for his creativity and imagination: Voice Acting.

  A participant of the National Audio Theatre Festivals at only sixteen, Lucien picked up tricks of the trade by observing and working alongside seasoned professionals in the voice-over industry, including Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Simon Jones, Firesign Theatre’s David Ossman, and renown audio book performer Barbara Rosenblat.

In Ithaca, Lucien developed his abilities by providing voices for local commercials and narrating short stories for students with learning disabilities, in addition to a plethora of projects recorded from his home studio, collaborating with talented artists from across the world.   He later moved to New York City and became represented by the wonderful folks at Access Talent, in addition to developing his working relations with national and international clients, working on animated projects, commercials, video games, and audio books.

Lucien is also called upon as a guest speaker on the subject of voice-over, having appeared at such institutions as NYU, Hofstra University, IBS, AES, numerous Japanese animation conventions, and the National Audio Theatre Festivals, which he had begun as a participant.
Lucien now works in Los Angeles, and continues to trudge forth in making a name for himself as a versatile character actor, and attempts to carry on the values and etiquette from the golden age of radio drama as imparted to him through his years at the National Audio Theatre Festivals, and by veteran voice-over artist and friend Corey Burton.  Oh… and he’s having a heck of a good time along the way.

To stay up to date on Lucien’s work, go to: www.luciendodge.com

Joanna Horton-Liao

At the Actors Workshop, Joanna Horton was the AWI Teen Immersion Instructor for two years. She has taught theatre since 2005, drawing upon an extensive theatrical background, having studied at the Sally Johnson Studio in NYC, Theatre of the Oppressed with Augusto Boal, and the Royal Shakespeare Company to name a few. In Maine in 2005, she co-founded a theatre for social change non-profit theatre company, ROiL and toured an original play with statewide success. She has also taught theatre workshops throughout the East Coast. Joanna fell in love with technique at AWI so much so that started the Actors Studio of St. Augustine (www.actorsstudio.org) teaching the Meisner technique!

Ria Burns-Wilder

Ria Burns-Wilder has been performing on stage since the age of 4. She has been the lead singer of numerous rock and soul groups and is well known for her role as "Ria Mofo," the aggressive and passionate dancer of heavy metal surf group "The Mofos." A graduate of the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, Ria was the star of the 106.9 KISS fm Morning Show and All Request Retro Lunch Hour. She has recorded advertisements for Evolution 102 and modeled in print ads for House Of Shalimar. Ria studied with Eliza Van Cort at the Actor's Workshop of Ithaca for 2 years and says her experience was life altering and necessary. She credits Van Cort with actively helping her put her life on track as an artist and as a woman. She also credits Katie Spallone, who introduced her to the Workshop, with being 100% supportive in every way. Ria moved back to New York City in 2004 and performed in "Mortified", the stage version of "The Mortified Diaries" (you can read her work under her maiden name "Maria Victoria Suozzo"). She has had lead and supporting roles in theater, film and television and most recently had a supporting role in the horror film "GUT". Her starring role as "Daisy" in the horror film "Best Ribs In Town" left audience members shaking in fear and shaking her hand at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Ria currently does "placement singing" for producers that "place" songs in film and television, writes her own projects, performs in off-Broadway theater, has numerous roles in upcoming films and is about to launch a clothing line with her husband, Dennis, for SINNED (check out sinnednyc.com). She freelances with About Face Talent.

Helen Highfield

Helen grew up in Ithaca, singing in almost every choir in town and made her stage debut as Sister Margaretta in her 8th grade production of The Sound of Music. She thought this acting thing was pretty fun – and upon discovering that theatre was a far less costly hobby than horseback riding, her parents encouraged her to try it some more. In high school, Helen did all the school musicals, headed a youth-run theatre company, was a member of a the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Center’s improv troupe (it was more fun than it sounds, really), and studied at the Workshop for two years with Katie Spallone. After realizing that she was hooked on this crazy “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances” thing, and with the encouragement of Katie and Eliza, she moved to New York City to study acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Helen is now living and learning as a bona-fide actress in NYC (no really, she’s been on Law & Order: SVU!), where she co-founded a non-profit performing organization called The Real Theatre Company. Helen has performed in theatre throughout the city, most recently as the ingenue in The Return of Peter Grimm at The Metropolitan Playhouse. She is signed with the Carson-Adler Agency and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity.

www.helenhighfield.com

Jamie J Park

When Jamie first began her training at the Workshop, she had already received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dickinson College. At first Jamie was not a big believer in the Meisner Technique; indeed, she was highly skeptical. However, she eventually she came to love the technique and after graduating from the program she moved to NYC to pursue a career in acting! She has trained with many luminaries in NYC including Peter Jensen, Carol Reynolds, Page Clements, Geoffrey Soffer and Gwyn Gillis, to name a few. After a few years of acting in various independent films, she found herself very involved and interested in the overall process of filmmaking. Eventually, she started writing her own material, producing and directing, all the while still enjoying her first love of acting. Now an award winning filmmaker, Jaime actively writes, directs, and acts in films.

For more information on Jaime, visit www.jamiejpark.com & www.just2meproductions.com.

Amy Rogers

Amy had never acted a day in her life until she stepped into the doors of the Workshop.  A mother of two with a B.A. in Economics from Boston University, Amy was a bit terrified a first, but after several semesters studying with Eliza she came to love the technique and love acting.  Since graduating from the Workshop, she  has become one of the most sought after local actresses in TV, film (short and feature length) and commercials in town.  To name but a few of her credits, Amy has appeared in: Bad Faith (film, feature length), Psychic Detectives (TV, Court TV), Lonely Joe (SAG film, Emmenmax Films), and Ithaca Coffee Company and Builder's Best commercials.  Amy feels that the Actor's Workshop of Ithaca is a life transforming experience not to be missed!

David Romm

David acted for a summer in the 1970s and loved it... Decades later he was talking with Katie Spallone at a bar and when he told her how much he loved acting she took over and told him exactly what to do, join the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca.  David studied with Eliza VanCort and graduated in 2004.  By day, David lives in Ithaca and is a professor of management and marketing at Keuka College. Since graduating from the Workshop David has found that the Ithaca area offers local actors many opportunities to perform.  He has appeared in almost two dozen short and feature length films including IC student films, and films directed and produced by notable local film makers such as Chris Julien (Black Ink), and Cathy Crane (The Unoccupied Zone). David has also performed in local theatre with Red Bull/Black Umbrella Productions, the Kitchen Theatre and the Hanger Theatre.  David continues to be a sought after local actor.  He deeply appreciates the Actor’s Workshop, an acting program of this quality is usually available only in major cities.  Ithaca is fortunate to have Eliza and her talented colleagues working here.