Education:
M.F.A, University of California, Irvine - 2005 (Acting)
Certificate, National Theatre Conservatory, Denver, CO. - 2001 (Acting Intensive)
B.F.A, Concordia University, Montreal - 2000 (Drama for Human Development)
D.E.C (Diploma of Collegiate Studies), Vanier College - 1997 (Communications/Theatre)
Areas of Expertise:
I have spent over two decades as a working as actor across all mediums, teaching, mentoring and advocating for social justice.
My areas of expertise include actor training, film/television/theater performance, the business of acting (maintaining a sustainable career as an artist), storytelling and arts education.
I am also specialized in forging systems of equity and justice within existing authoritarian institutions and building programs focused on fulfillment and representation.
Creative Work
Role of PETER in "Old Friends at Christmas". Hallmark Network television movie. 2022
Role of RAMI in "Black Adam". Warner Brothers major motion picture. 2022
Role of SHAKIR URGESSA in "Departure". Peacock Network (NBC). Television series. 2022
Theater director, educational production of "The Motherfucker with the Hat" ny Stephen Adly Guirgis. Brooklyn College Department of Theater, New Workshop Theater. 2022
Role of CHAD WILEY in "Firefly Lane". Netflix series. 2021
Role of LUKE FLETCHER in "Christmas Sail". Hallmark Network television movie. 2021
Role of TODD MASRY in "Virgin River". Netflix series. 2021
Role of DAVID SINGH in "The Flash" (over 40 episodes). CW Network television series. 2014-present 2014
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Leo Award: Best Supporting Performance (male) for the role of CHAD WILEY in "Firefly Lane" (Netflix) television series. (Awards and Honors) 2022
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Panelist on Diversity and Inclusion, CUNY Theatre Festival. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021
Professional Leadership
Creation of www.BrooklynBackstage.com - a free online collaboration hub for Brooklyn College students facilitating unprecedented collaboration between Theater, Film/TV/Radio, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, Music etc... (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2021
Creation of www.BrooklynShowcase.com - an online talent showcase site used to market our graduating seniors to industry professionals. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2021
Faculty Council, CUNY: Brooklyn College. 2020-present (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2021
President's Special Council on Faculty Advising. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2021
Founding member, Dean's Antiracism Task Force, CUNY: Brooklyn College, School of Visual, Media and Performing Arts. 2020-present (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2020
Pedagogical Achievements
Decolonized THEA 3404 - Modern Realism curriculum. This course was heretofore a course on Anton Chekhov - the white, Eastern European playwright known for his great achievements in the aesthetic of modern realism in acting and storytelling. The course was exclusionary and harmful to BIPOC actors who did not see themselves represented in the work. The course now includes plays by August Wilson, Nilo Cruz, Lorraine Hansberry, Alice Childress, Tony Kushner, Federico García Lorca, Luis Alfaro, María Irene Fornés, David Henry Wang, Eduardo Machado, Dominique Morisseau, and other BIPOC and playwrights from outside of the dominant culture. 2021
Decolonized THEA 3405 - Shakespeare curriculum. This course focuses on the works of William Shakespeare - the most influential playwright of all time who's plays are notoriously racist and misogynist. This course is now co-taught by a diverse team of instructors who can offer non-male, non-White, non-Eurocentric perspectives and approaches to the work that are more inclusive and allow actors to bring themselves to the roles rather than contort themselves into outdated and harmful ideals of beauty and behaviour. 2021
Decolonization of BFA Theater curricula. Guiding and supervising all faculty in the BFA Acting Program to dismantle historical systems of bias and oppression in their syllabi and approach to instruction. 2020-present 2020
Introduced the practice of "Self-Tape Auditions" to the Season Development process enabling the department to collect remote auditions from students during and after pandemic lockdowns. 2020
