Eliza VanCort

Founder, Director and Instructor: Adult Technique Class and Teen Immersion Class

Born in Manhattan, Eliza moved to Ithaca at age two.  She fell in love with performing in her sixth grade musical and kept acting until college, where she tried, with little success, to choose a career a bit more reliable!  After moving to NYC, Eliza studied with Phil Gushee, one of Sanford Meisner's proteges, and Sally Johnson, one of New York's preeminent teachers of on-camera audition technique. While studying under Phil and Sally, Eliza acted in shows throughout NYC, her favorite role being Daphne Dumas in ‘Bubbling’ at The Harold Clurman Theater. After an incredible experience acting in New York, Eliza followed her husband to Boston, where she soon joined the faculty of Boston's oldest theater conservatory, The Actor’s Workshop of Boston.  In only a few weeks, Eliza realized she although she loved acting, nothing rivaled her passion for teaching.  After three years teaching in Boston, Eliza and her family of four (soon to be five) moved back to Ithaca where she founded The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca in 2001.  Eliza has taught a wide range of professional, semi-professional and amateur actors along with theater and film professors, opera singers, stand-up comics, models, musicians and directors.  Many of her students have been accepted into top theater programs in America and London and have forged successful careers in all areas of the entertainment business. As a mother of three and director of The Workshop, Eliza has had little time to act save for a few film and stage projects she's managed to squeeze in over the past ten years.  Her most recent film, ‘Poker Face,’ is currently screening at  festivals throughout the country.  

Katie Spallone

Assistant Director and Instructor: Adult Technique Class

A longtime Ithacan, Katie was one of the first graduates of the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca’s comprehensive Meisner Technique program. She has also studied acting and scene study with Joe Calarco at the Hangar Theatre, Craig McDonald, Arno Selco at Ithaca College and Stephen Cole at Cornell University. Katie has not only directed and stage managed numerous shows, but has also worked extensively as an actress, including performing leading roles with the Babes in Arms Women’s Theatre Collective, Third Floor Productions, the Firehouse Theatre and in several independent films. Some favorite roles include Lydia in Morticians in Love, Joan in Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and Brooke in Popcorn. She was pleased to return to stage in October 2010 as Beth in Orange Flower Water at Risley Theatre after a long hiatus and more recently as Becca in The Workshop's 10th anniversary production of Rabbit Hole at Risley Theatre directed by Jeremy Webb in October 2011.  Her students have gone on to successful careers in directing, voice work, film and television. In addition to performing and teaching at the Workshop since 2005, Katie is the owner of evolution and avanti, two eclectic and diverse clothing stores in downtown Ithaca.

David Kossack

Instructor: Adult Technique Class and Teen Immersion Class (on-camera audition technique)

A long time Ithacan, David graduated in 2004 from Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications with a degree in Cinema Production. While at IC he wrote, directed and produced a number of short films including Robot Dreams and Good Housekeeping. The latter film was one of a half dozen student works selected from hundreds to be included in the Park School's 2004 PreVues program. He has worked on several projects since then, including local filmmaker Chris Julian's independent feature, Invisible Ink, and his most recent short, Hide and Seek. David, a Workshop graduate, works as an editor and videographer at Photosynthesis Productions.

Chris Teitelbaum

Teaching Assistant: Adult Technique Class and Teen Immersion Class

An Ithaca native and graduate of the Workshop, Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Film Production from Ithaca College. Chris is a prolific screenwriter; Gun Man, Asian Pretty, The Golden Age andNightside are among his current projects. Chris recently completed the script for the short film Witchwood, in collaboration with another Ithaca College alumni, and is working on several independent projects with fellow Ithaca filmmakers. When he's not writing, Chris acts on stage and in film, most recently starring in the feature film All The World’s A Stage. By day, Chris is a residential counselor supervisor for Cayuga Addiction and Recovery Services.

Masa Gibson

Teaching Assistant: Adult Technique Class

Masa graduated from Rutgers University with a double BA in Music and Linguistics. A trained vocalist, he has performed in countless classical performances and operas, both on the university stage and with small opera companies. Since relocating to Ithaca and graduating from the Meisner program at the Actor’s Workshop, Masa has performed on the local stage in productions with Theatre Incognita and the Readers' Theatre of Ithaca. He has appeared on-screen through various media--including film, television, and webseries--produced locally and in New York City by independent filmmakers and professional production companies alike. By day, Masa is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at Cornell and a speech synthesis researcher at NovaSpeech LLC.

Abigail Smith

Scenic Designer and Teaching Assistant: Adult Technique Class

Abby has been an actress all her life. However, she just thought it was multiple personality disorder until she took an acting class at Cornell University (where she was studying Architectural Design) on a whim. Realizing she had discovered a hidden passion she sought out the Actor’s Workshop and has been addicted ever since. A graduate of the Workshop Abby is also a performing member of the Wing Space Theater Co. and the Left Wings Improv Comedy Troupe. She has starred in numerous film projects, ranging from IC student works to a feature-length film with an independent filmmaker in NYC. A designer by nature, and by training, Abby worked in Cornell’s Schwartz Center’s costume shop for the entirety of her Cornell Career and has since designed and created costumes, props, and sets, for several seasons at Ithaca’s Kitchen Theatre Co. For money Abby works for Vertical Access LLC, where she puts her architectural background to good use rappelling down buildings.

Peggy Carey

Production Manager

Even though Peggy Carey has only recently graduated from the Workshop, she has been working on the showcases ever since she was eleven. Beginning young and just helping slightly with lights and sound, Peggy has now become the Actor’s Workshop’s ‘Best Kept Secret’ working with both the Meisner technique class and the Theater Company. When she’s not working with the Actor’s Workshop, Peggy is a Drama major at Ithaca College with a Women's Studies minor. Although staff members at the Workshop are trying to pretend Peggy is in "Alaska," when she's at Ithaca College, she can’t seem  to get away from her home away from home at the Workshop. In between studying and reading piles of scripts, Peggy remarkably still finds time to be an integral part of the Workshop with "guest appearances." In the future, she hopes to add many more shows and talents to her repertoire.