Aaron Speiser - The Screen Acting Studio

Bios

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  Aaron Speiser

  Actor, Teacher, Mentor, Coach

  Aaron Speiser’s inimitable approach to screen acting has led him to work with some of the most acclaimed actors, directors, and producers in the industry over the past 40 years. His vast experience and depth of knowledge set him apart as one of the few master teachers in the world, specifically targeting acting for the camera. At his acting studio in Los Angeles, students can expect a hands-on experience through one-on-one coaching and group classes. Here, together with Kay Aston, Aaron shares his unique and practical acting technique, specifically designed for actors looking to learn and improve their screen acting.

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  Link: Aaron Speiser

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  Kay Aston

  Actor, coach

  Kay Aston, co-owner of The Screen Acting Studio with renowned teacher and coach Aaron Speiser, specializes in teaching and coaching for film and television acting. As an actor and coach with two decades of experience in front of and behind the camera, she is uniquely trained to help all actors to work in the film and television industry.

  Education:

  Link: Kay Aston

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  Bree Turner

  rner’s most recent portrayals include a dark turn as Ghislaine Maxwell in LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT as well as the self-appointed doyenne of the cul-de-sac in the Lifetime movie, THE BABYSITTERS REVENGE. She has appeared in the feature films JEWTOPIA, directed by Bryan Fogel (ICARUS); James Ponsoldt’s SMASHED, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; THE UGLY TRUTH alongside Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. She also co-starred opposite Lindsay Lohan in JUST MY LUCK. Other television credits include THE MENTALIST, RAISING HOPE, THE WEDDING BAND, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, THE GHOST WHISPERER, MASTERS OF HORROR and COLD CASE. Born and raised in Northern California, Turner came South to attend UCLA, where she actively pursued her passion for dance and theater. She worked as a professional dancer for seven years, appearing in such movies as MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, THE BIG LEBOWSKI and AUSTIN POWERS. She was featured in the iconic GAP KHAKI dance commercial campaign, and was a backup dancer with Cher for the American Music Awards, choreographed by Kenny Ortega. Bree is currently the co-host of THE GRIMMCAST, a GRIMM rewatch podcast produced by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner for Apple.

  Link: Bree Turner

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  Phyllis Katz

  n addition to teaching for The Groundlings, Phyllis coaches and designs and runs writing, character, improv, and musical improv classes independently. She has been a guest teacher at a variety of schools, (UCLA, USC, The Piven Theatre Workshops, ArtCenter College of Design, and the 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne, to name a few) and is a recurring guest teacher at the Collaborative, Audition Workout, Margie Haber Studios and the Actors Comedy Studio. She’s consulted on casting for CBS, designed and directed a diversity program and show through The Groundlings for Nickelodeon, and for 11 years has run a workshop she created for LA Opera’s Young Artist Program. Some of her corporate clients include Facebook, Google, Mindshare, Omaze, Yoplait, Activision, Olipop, and the Troika Design Group. Phyllis also directs her own improvised stage creations, most recently Opera Meets Improv (With LA Opera’s Young Artists), A Bunch of Losers Reading Their Essays (a satire of storytelling shows), and the stage music series Fake Benefits, which so far includes The Benefit to Buy Harper Scharfman Higher SAT Scores and The Benefit to Help Bitsy Petrauskus Get Some of Her Teeth Fixed. Her memoir, Hipwrecked is available on Amazon, or she’ll be happy to read it to you over the phone, for a small fee. She’s married to photographer Rob Lewine and has never met a dog or cat she didn’t wish was hers.

  Link: Phyllis Katz

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  Alexa Alemanni

  As a writer, she launched her career with the pilot Appletown, which landed on the Tracking Board’s Young & Hungry List. On the television side, with her writing partner, she staffed on TNT’s hit show The Librarians and sold a pilot: Mansfield Park to Tornante Media. On the feature side, her and her writing partner wrote Something Blue, the sequel to the breakout hit Something Borrowed (Kate Hudson) for Black Label Media, as well as the book adaptation of Serpent’s Bite by Warren Adler (War of the Roses) with Grey Eagle Films. They recently sold their feature I Won’t Be Home For Christmas to UCP for USA Networks. Their feature Lion in the Library is in pre-production with Level Forward & Prodigal Entertainment. As a producer she has overseen and/or produced ten shorts, and is in active development on two micro-budget features. . Alexa is an adjunct professor of Screenwriting at USC., and also teaches screenwriting at New York Film Academy for both BFA & MFA students. She has had speaking engagements with Women in Film, Brian Patacca, and Caricon among others. She serves as a Backstage Expert, and was recently a contributing writer to The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writers’ Life In Prison. She is a graduate of Vassar College with a degree in theater and history.

  Link: Alexa Alemanni

• Sam Kryszek

  Sam has been working in the entertainment industry for over a decade acting, producing, writing, and directing. In 2007, he co-founded an Emmy award-winning full-service post-production company, which provides editorial, VFX, finishing, and on-set supervision and production services for Television, film, and commercials. His experience has led him to work on a wide variety of projects all over the world.

  Link: Sam Kryszek