FACULTY

FACULTY

CLICK TABS BELOW TO VIEW FACULTY BIOS

MASTER TEACHER: Michael Lugering

MICHAEL LUGERING is a master teacher of voice, movement and acting. Mr. Lugering has spent over 15 years researching the physical, psychological, behavioral and aesthetic aspects of human expression. The Lugering Method marks a revolutionary departure from traditional methods of actor training. In this truly integrated technique the voice and body, thought and feeling, sound and movement, psyche and soma are synthesized in the practical exploration of expression action. Lugering’s new book THE EXPRESSIVE ACTOR: An Integrated Method of Voice, Movement & Actor Training is published by Heinemann Drama Books. Lugering has taught master classes in acting, voice, movement and classical text at theatre conferences and Professional Acting Training Programs throughout the United States, Korea and in the United Kingdom. Recent acting credits include JOE: preformed in Las Vegas, Monaco, Scotland, Los Angeles, Liverpool, Japan and Quebec. Additionally, Lugering is a passionate director noted for his innovative approach to the classics. He has served as a professional voice coach for the Utah Shakespearian Festival and the Nevada Conservatory Theatre. Lugering is a member of the theatre faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

ASSOCIATE TEACHER: Sean Boyd

SEAN BOYD is a recognized faculty member of Michael Lugering's Expressive Actor Technique and is first to attain the distinction of Associate Teacher. Additionally, he has invested most of his personal development towards the understanding and development of the physical life of the actor; exploring the work of Chekhov, Grotowski, Laban and Commedia Dell' Arte. Boyd spent the summer of 2009 at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art studying movement and character as it applies to the texts of Shakespeare. Sean also brings his experience as a certified teacher of Vinyasa and Hatha into his voice and movement work. By integrating this specialized training, the students gain additional access and command over their instrument. A member of the Actors’ Equity Association, he has acted for regional theaters across the country including the Sacramento Music Circus, the Nevada Conservatory Theatre, the Neil Simon Festival, Bard in the Quad and the Genesis Shakespeare Company. Sean continues to stay busy in the New Orleans film market as well; appearing with Ewan McGregor in “I Love You Phillip Morris”, and Nick Cage and internationally recognized director Werner Herzog in “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans” and in “Jonah Hex.” Boyd also has appeared in a number of commercials, and on TV in “North Mission Road" and "LAPD: Scientific Investigations”. As a fight director and instructor, Boyd has directed fights for regional theaters and independent film features in Nevada, California, Oklahoma and Missouri, including the latest national tours of "Camelot" with Michael York & Lou Diamond Phillips. He is a recognized Fight Instructor, Fight Director and Master Theatrical Combatant with Dueling Arts International, an Actor/Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and a 1st Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. Boyd has been teaching martial arts, yoga and theatrical combat for over 20 years and has worked with Dueling Arts International since January 2000. Sean teaches Michael Lugering's Expressive Actor Technique to both MFA and BFA theatre student-actors at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he has been Professor of Movement since 2006.
usmLogo

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

ASSOCIATE TEACHER: Stephen Crandall

STEPHEN CRANDALL received his M.F.A. in Performance from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2007. While at UNLV, he performed with the Nevada Conservatory Theatre in A Man for All Seasons (Roper), The Gamester (Valére), Inherit the Wind (Hornbeck), Private Lives (Victor), Twelfth Night (Orsino), The Glass Menagerie (Tom), and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Charlie Brown). Stephen has also performed with Sacramento Music Circus in 1776 (Thomson) and The Sound of Music (Herr Zeller), and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. During his graduate training, he concurrently studied and taught the Lugering method for six semesters, with an additional semester taught after graduation. This work has become the foundation of his acting practice and philosophy, and he is thrilled to be among a growing faculty dedicated to sharing this method of integrated voice, movement, and acting technique. Stephen is currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre at West Texas A&M University, where he teaches all levels of undergraduate acting. He will be teaching the Lugering method as the primary voice & movement training at WT beginning in the fall of 2011. Stephen has most recently directed productions of Tartuffe, By the Bog of Cats, and The Children’s Hour at WT, and performed as Freddie in Noises Off with Merely Players.

head_logo

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

ASSOCIATE TEACHER: Kristen Loree

KRISTEN LOREE, Professor of Performance at the University of New Mexico (MFA in Acting from NYU Tisch School of the Arts) and is also an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. Kristen teaches Voice for the Actor, Speech and Dialect, Movement, Performance Art and Acting for Camera. Her solo works (By Language Embellished: I, Ursonate, VIXIN and The Tribulations of a Lesbian Folk Singer) have taken her all across the country. Kristen has directed a plethora of shows, including Frankenstein, Life During Wartime, Plunda and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. She can be seen (and heard) on television, commercials, radio and film (Breaking Bad and Unspeakable, most recently). Her favorite stage roles include Stephanie in Duet for One, Puck in Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Mary in The Women. Kristen is a founding member of Sol Arts a community performance nonprofit.
unm_logo

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

ASSOCIATE TEACHER: Jonathan E. Shultz

JONATHAN SHULTZ is an actor that has worked professionally in NYC, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in theatre, film, television, voice-overs and commercials. He is a member of AEA, AFTRA, and is eligible for SAG membership. Jonathan holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as a BA and an AA in Theatre from UNLV and Grayson County College, respectively. Some of his notable theatre credits include performing in Kari Margolis' THE HUMAN SHOW Edinburgh Fringe Festival and The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., and the title role in Wole Soyinka's OYEDIPO AT KOLHUNI, an adaptation of Oedipus at Colonus which was directed by Mr. Soyinka and performed in Delphi, Greece. While at UNLV he had the honor and privilege of being mentored by Michael Lugering, author of the book The Expressive Actor: Integrated Voice, Movement and Acting Training. Jonathan studied directly with Mr. Lugering for 10 consecutive semesters and taught The Lugering Method for six consecutive semesters, as well as assisting Mr. Lugering with the creation of the book. He continues to teach The Lugering Method with Mr. Lugering, assisting with the two annual Expressive Actor Intensives in NYC, San Francisco, and Las Vegas since 2004. On his own, Jonathan brought The Lugering Method to NYC at the New Dance Group and several independent workshops, as well as teaching workshops in LA, theatre departments in Texas, and the American College Theatre Festival. The work is the foundation of his craft as an actor, and one of his greatest joys in life is sharing the revolutionary technique with actors. In 2010 Jonathan moved home to Texas to pursue his passion of teaching and is thrilled to be offering this work to the actors of the Austin theatre community at the State Theatre School of Acting and Ballet Austin's Butler Community School. He is an associate teacher of The Lugering Method, and an Adjunct Faculty member of Austin Community College’s Drama Department.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: Julie Heaton

JULIE HEATON holds an MFA in Acting from UNLV where she performed such roles as Annie in Annie Get Your Gun, Elmire in Tartuffe, Luciana in Comedy of Errors, and Lady MacDuff in Macbeth. The diversity in these roles clearly demonstrates her newfound flexibility as an actress using the Lugering Method. During her time at UNLV, Julie also taught the technique for 4 consecutive semesters and plans to continue after graduation. In addition to her MFA, Julie holds a BA in Theater from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where she appeared in over 40 plays and musicals. She recently joined AEA, performed in Beauty and the Beast at the North Shore Music Theater.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: Janelle M. Lannan

JANELLE M. LANNAN currently lives and works in New York City, teaches private Lugering Method coaching sessions. She earned her MFA in Music Theatre from UNLV in May, 2001 and, during her time there, she studied extensively with Mr. Lugering helping to develop the "floor work" and, since, continues to assist in the biannual workshops in NYC. Some of her performance credits include: Alice in the highly acclaimed A WONDERLAND and Anne in THEBEST (both Anonymous Ensemble), multiple Emerging Artist Theatre Co. shows, Sally in CABARET, Harper in ANGELS IN AMERICA, PT. 1, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE (Mill Mountain), ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (Tuacahn) and the films: DWARFLORD, DEATH PLAYS THE PIANO, MURDER HE SPOKE and DEAD ENDS. Janelle will continue to teach The Lugering Method in New York privately; please contact her directly for a brushup session. (www.janellelannon.com)

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: Stephen Reyes

STEPHEN REYES is a New York-based performing artist/instructor. He is co-founder of the Kinetic Space Theatre Ensemble. He received his MFA in Theatre Performance from UNLV in 2001. He also holds a B.A. in Spanish & Drama from the University of Arkansas. He has taught the Lugering Method for 5 consecutive semesters at UNLV and has studied under the supervision of Mr. Lugering for 3 years as a student, instructor, and actor in performance. His performance credits include Romeo in the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo and Juliet and the title role in Nevada Conservatory Theatre’s inaugural season production of Hamlet. He has also performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s Pirates of Pinzance and The Tempest. His New York credits include Alyosha in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov Pt. 1 (The Culture Project), Laertes in The Hamlet Project (La MaMa E.T.C.), and dancer in The Breasts of Tyresias (Williamsburg Arts Center). At present, Stephen is training and introducing the Lugering Method as a guest artist at the performance studio Espacio Seis with the Colectivo de Arte 619 and teaching English Expression & Language Arts with the faculty at the Villa Maria Academy in Santiago, Chile.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: Mathew Sandoval

MATHEW SANDOVAL is the Artistic Director and Founder of first function. He is an NYC performance artist dedicated to re-envisioning contemporary dance & theatre. He produced, directed, & acted in first function’s production, I , which premiered in November 2003at the Producers Club. He has collaborated w/ “23 Elephants”, most recently directing their original comedy “The Unspeakable Act” at the New York Comedy Club. He also played Iago in their production of Othello at the Creative Place Theatre. Mathew performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2000 w/ the Velvet Vipers under the direction of Davey Marlin Jones. In 2001 he returned to the Edinburgh Fringe w/ choreographer Louis Kavouras to perform Kavouras’ duet My Brother, which subsequently went on to tour in Guatemala. Mathew has also danced in the Erick Hawkins Legacy Forum Concert at Hunter College in 2002. Mathew is trained in the Erick Hawkins technique of Modern Dance, has studied integrated voice & movement w/ master teacher Michael Lugering, & Clown w/ NYC’s Vaudeville icon Eric Davis. Mathew holds a bachelors degree in English/Literature from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: David Shamburber

DAVID SHAMBURGER is Assistant Professor of performance at Huntington College, IN where he is head of performance studies. David has worked professionally as both actor and director and has taught theatre at Middle Georgia College, GA and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. David holds an MFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he gained extensive training under Michael Lugering, building on an already great interest in performing and teaching Shakespeare. The acting and voice technique he teaches is based on the Lugering Method with influences from Linklater, Alexander, Leban, Stanislavsky and the external method of Susanna Bloch's, Alba Emoting. Focusing on grounding, releasing unwanted tension, and the exploration of reflexive response, he stresses the importance of integration and synthesis of the voice with language and movement. David has been a resident member of the Granbury Opera House in Texas, the Horse Cave Repertory Theatre in Kentucky, Clinton Area Showboat Theatre (CAST) in Iowa, McLeod Summer Playhouse in Illinois and Saint Michael's Playhouse in Vermont.

huntington-university-is-a-christian-college-r1_c2

huntington-university-is-a-christian-college-r1_c2

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: Laura Sydonie

LAURA SYDONIE graduated from the University of Birmingham with a first class honors degree in Drama and Theatre Arts She has also studied across the Atlantic at TVI Studios in LA. Stage roles include Carol in Shakers on an International Tour for On Cue Productions; Aladdin for Extravaganza Productions in Middlesborough and Tell Tale Productions in Boston; Jane in Dream Catcher at CPT, London; soloist in Bernstein's Mass at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London; soloist for National Tours L'of a Night and Just for You; Jadis in the French speaking production of Un Pont ver le Passe for the European Theatre Company; George's Mum in the national tour of George's Marvellous Medicine and Aunt Gwen in Tom's Midnight Garden for Birmingham Stage Company'; Crystal in Kissing Sid James at the Eye Theatre; Sister Leo in Nunsense at the Nuffield, Southampton and Electra at Aspendos in Greece for Actors of Dionysus. On television Laura has worked on the Switch for the BBC. She is the Artistic Director of Sulis Productions which recently toured Adelaide, Montreal and Avignon. Her one woman show A Friend of Dorothy has toured the world over and was nominated for the Best Production 2004 at the Montreal Fringe Festival. Laura met Michael Lugering while they both were performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She subsequently came to NYC to study the "Lugering Method." Subsequently, her production company Sulis Productions brought the "Lugering Method" to the England for the first time with a multiple city tour featuring workshops at the Actor Centres in London, New Castle, Birmingham and Manchester. Later, Laura returned to United States to study exclusively with Michael Lugering at his home in Las Vegas, NV. She is the first member of the Expressive Actor Faculty in the United Kingdom.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

CERTIFIED TEACHER: Chrissy Wright

CHRISSY WRIGHT received her MFA in Theatre Performance from UNLV in 2001. As well as being a professional actress, she is the Head of the Dance Studies Program at American Heritage in Plantation Florida. Being involved in theatre and dance her entire life, Chrissy’s work; not only, as a performer but also a Director/Choreographer, has been seen all over the world. She was introduced to the Lugering Method during its inception at UNLV. Through the work she discovered an integrated method of voice and movement training that is not only appropriate for actors, but for singers and dancers as well. In the Fall of 2007, Chrissy re-organized the voice, movement program at American Heritage introducing the Lugering Method as the primary method of training.

EMAIL
CLICK ICON

TEACHER TRAINEE: Deanna Anderson

TEACHER TRAINEE: Shelley Lynn

TEACHER TRAINEE: Kathryn Moller

Kathryn is currently Department Chair, professor of Theatre, and professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. She received her Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a M.S. in Dance from James Madison University; and a B.A. in Dramatic Arts & Dance from Mary Washington College. She came to Fort Lewis College in January of 1994, after holding teaching and administrative positions at Salisbury University; The University of Colorado, Boulder; Metro State, Denver; University of Virginia; and James Madison University. She explores movement, non-western performance and performance art as avenues to understanding and creating exciting and physical based performance. Some of her honors include: creating/directing Skins at La Mama E.T.C., NY; KCACTFA awards for directing, choreography, puppetry, and lighting design. Kathryn has also received National Opera Conference honors for her direction of At The Hawk’s Well by W.B. Yeats at University of Colorado, Boulder.

Kathryn Moller Professor – Dance, Theatre, Gender Studies
0001Xm