Faculty Directory

Lanre Olabisi

Lanre Olabisi is an award-winning writer/director whose films have aired on HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and Hulu. Most recently, he has directed episodes of ABC’s “The Rookie” and its spinoff “The Rookie: Feds.” His short film “A Storybook Ending” streamed on HBO, leading to his participation in the HBOAccess Directing Program and the Disney Entertainment Television Directing Program.

Lanre’s feature films include “August the First” and “Somewhere in the Middle,” both distributed worldwide by Film Movement. His films have played in over 125 film festivals worldwide, including SXSW and Karlovy Vary. He has been nominated for an IFP Gotham Award and a Black Reel Award.

Lanre has taught at NYFA since 2008.

David O’Leary

BA in Film and Cognitive Science, Vassar College
David is a film and TV writer/producer, whose recent credits include working as Consulting Producer/Writer on Season 3 of NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” in 2023. O’Leary also Created/Executive Produced the UFO drama series “Project Blue Book” starring Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”), alongside Oscar-winning Robert Zemeckis, which ran on HISTORY for two seasons, aired in over 165 countries, and was the #1 new cable drama series of 2018/19. O’Leary has sold projects to TNT, Miramax, Universal TV, A+E Studios and others. As a film producer, he co-produced the reality-hopping sci-fi thriller feature “Parallel” (2020) released by Vertical Entertainment, and the Netflix supernatural hit film “Eli” (2019), both available on streaming now. David has worked as a Screenwriting and Producing Instructor at New York Film Academy (NYFA) in Los Angeles for over a decade. For the Screenwriting Department in LA, he teaches The Business of Screenwriting, Elements of Screenwriting, Genre Studies, Feature Workshops, and TV Pilot. For the Producing Department in LA, he teaches Marketing and Distribution.

Nick Ozeki

MFA in Filmmaking, Chapman University; BA in English, Amherst College. Wrote and directed an award-winning feature film out of graduate school that was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He is also a part of the prestigious Fox Writer’s Initiative, aimed at developing and writing original content for their networks.

Edward Parks

Edward Parks is the co-founder and executive producer of Higher Content, a production company founded in 2015 with the goal of fostering bold new talent, character-driven stories, and collaborative filmmaking. He formerly founded RIVAL PICTURES, where he produced several award-winning films such as Special, Luv, Caucus and Space Station 76. In 2011, he won the Producers Guild Award for the documentary Beats Rhymes and Life, and was also nominated for a Grammy. In 2017, he produced indie thriller Super Dark Times, which was released by The Orchard in addition to a western, The Ballad of Lefty Brown, starring Bill Pullman, Jim Caveziel and Peter Fonda which A24 released in December 2019. In 2018, he produced, Darkness Visible, which was entirely shot in Kolkata, India with the support of the British Film Institute.

In April 2020, his latest film, Stray Dolls, was released by Samuel Goldwyn films which stars Bollywood star Geetanjali Thapa along with Olivia DeJonge and Cynthia Nixon.

He recently moved back to New York City after spending the past 20 years working in Los Angeles. He’s an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California and also teaches at the New York Film Academy in NYC where he teaches the next generation of creative producers.

Luisa Parnes

MFA in Dramatic Writing (Screenwriting), NYU/Tisch
A screenwriter from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After graduating Law School in Rio, she pivoted into a career in Film and TV and never looked back. Currently a Script Consultant for Amazon Studios Originals – Brazil. In this role, Luísa serves as a story editor, working closely with multiple showrunners and creators, providing creative feedback during the development process. She’s also writing Buena Vida, a fun and gritty coming-of-age feature for Academy-Award nominated director Carlos Saldanha (Ferdinand, Rio, Ice Age), and Fox International Productions (a Disney company). Luísa wrote and directed the short film Learning to Ride, which was entered into eight festivals, and won Best Screenplay Award at the São Paulo Film Festival. She wrote a feature adaptation. Luisa’s first feature-film as a screenwriter, the Brazilian production Before I Forget (Antes Que Eu Me Esqueça, 2018, dir. Tiago Arakilian, co-produced by Fox International), premiered in theaters across Brazil in the Spring of 2018, and ran in the international festival circuit in the USA, China, Portugal, and France. It has since won multiple Juri and Audience awards to date, including Best Movie at the Thai International Film Festival, and Best Movie at the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival, and was especially revered in the 2018 Santa Barbara Film Festival. For the Screenwriting Department in LA, she teaches Elements of Screenwriting, Storytelling with Purpose, Script To Screen, and Feature Workshops.

Maya Patridge

Maya is an actor and teaching artist based in Brooklyn. She holds a BFA in Drama from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts (Meisner Studio, Experimental Theatre Wing). She teaches at the Terry Knickerbocker Studio and New York Film Academy, she is also a guest artist at Manhattan Theatre Club. Recent acting credits: a new musical, Scammed Into Love, at Theater for the New City, and a staged reading of a new play, The Adventures of Orlando and Virginia, with The Acting Company at The Public Theater. https://mayapatridge.com

Adrien Pellerin

Adrien Pellerin is a musical comedian based in NYC. He has music-directed numerous improvised musicals all over the world, including Baby Wants Candy at the Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, and Blank! The Musical at Green Room 42. He produces Shitzprobe, a monthly show that invites Broadway stars to improvise musicals for their first time. His digital series, Night Crew, was released by Comedy Central in 2019, and Adult Swim released his short, STAYDIUM, in 2020. He’s written and performed in multiple musical sketch comedy shows, and created Stupid Music Videos, a Rizzle Original Series. His work has also been featured by Funny Or Die, Vulture, Mashable, UCB, The PIT, and NYC Public Access TV. Insta: @adrienpellerin More at www.AdrienPellerin.com

Corey Pepper

BA, SUNY at Binghamton. Founding member of National Lampoon Players, studying improv with Chris Barnes and Michael Haggarty. Graduate of Warner Bros. Comedy Writers program. Thirty years experience as actor, writer, comic and teacher. Has appeared in such projects as “Studs Lonigan” for NBC, and “The Quickening” for A&E.

Steven Peros

Steven Peros is the writer of Lionsgate’s The Cat’s Meow, starring Kirsten Dunst and directed by Hollywood legend Peter Bogdanovich. Recently, Steve sold original pilots to MTV and NBC/Universal and directed two features, one of which, Footprints, was hailed as “One of the 10 Best Films So Far This Year” by the Chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle. He has written many features including Disney’s Around the World In 80 Days, is a twice-published Samuel French playwright, and was a staff writer on AMC’s Emmy-winning half-hour comedy series, The Lot. Steven has written projects for such diverse talent as Dolly Parton, Jackie Chan, and Eva Longoria. He is a graduate of the Film/TV program at New York University and has also taught Film/TV writing for UCLA Extension and The Writing Pad.

Christopher Pettoni Director of Youth & Special Programs

Christopher Pettoni is the Director of Youth & Special Programs at New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles campus, where he also teaches Screenwriting. He earned a BFA in Film and Television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Minor in Producing as well as an MFA in Screenwriting from California State University Northridge. Chris also studied directing at the prestigious FAMU academy in Prague and acting at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre in Los Angeles. As a writer and filmmaker, his work has been recognized in contests and exhibited at film festivals as well as on major television networks. He’s been a member of the NYFA community since 2016 and enjoys helping artists of all ages discover and refine their creative voices.

Francis J. Pezza

Francis J. Pezza has more than 40 years experience in Film, Television and Theater as a designer. Mr. Pezza is an MFA Degree graduate from the New York University School of the Arts (currently known as The NYU Tisch School of The Arts). He has been a Production Design Instructor for the last three years, teaching in the New York Film Academy MFA and BFA programs.
Among his many Television Credits as Production Designer are Miami Vice, The Flash, The Young Riders, Viper, Murder She Wrote. Mr. Pezza’s Major Motion Picture Credits include Outbreak, Dante’s Peak, Baby Geniuses, Born To Ride.

Ben Mehl

Ben Mehl is best known for playing Dante on Netflix’s YOU and for his lead role in Hallmark’s, My Christmas Guide. He has taught
and directed at the NYU Graduate Acting Program, where he received his MFA in acting and completed a teaching mentorship
in Movement under Jim Calder and Voice under Scott Miller. He has taught at a number of other New York institutions, and as a private coach. He is a member of The Actors Center and a volunteer at the 52nd Street Project. Acting credits include: TV: YOU, THE GOOD WIFE, SUPERNATURAL INVESTIGATOR. Film: MY CHRISTMAS GUIDE, VIRAL BEAUTY, THE FLY ROOM, OFF-DUTY. Off-Broadway Theater: THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL; (Red Bull Theater); PERICLES, COMEDY OF ERRORS (Public Theater). Regional: THE CRUCIBLE, YENTL (Cleveland Playhouse); TROUBLEMAKER (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION (Williamstown Theatre Festival); HENRY V (Two River Theater); LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST (Chautauqua Theater Company). Other New York: DANNYKRISDONNAVERONICA, JULIUS CAESAR (Wheelhouse Theater); AT THE TABLE (Fault Line Theatre); HABIT (P.S. 122).

Patricia Phillips

American actress and singer Patricia Phillips has altered the history of American Broadway theatre, twice. Known for her power-house soprano, Patricia is the first woman of color to portray the Tony Award winning role, Carlotta, in the longest running show in Broadway history, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. She is also the only woman of color to appear in KINKY BOOTS on Broadway. Classically trained at Carnegie Mellon University, Patricia has a wide range of stage and film credits including the Broadway productions of SWEENEY TODD 2023 (OB Revival Cast), BAZ LUHRMANN’S LA BOHÈME (OBC) SECRET GARDEN (OBC); LIVE AT LINCOLN CENTER – SWEENEY TODD; JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA (OUSC). She can be heard on three original cast
recordings on DreamWorks, Columbia and RCA.

Some of Patricia’s television credits include BILLY ON THE STREET, SHADES OF BLUE, THE TONY AWARDS x3, and THE SOPRANOS. Her film credits include EVERYBODY’S FINE where she performed alongside Robert De Niro. Patricia has appeared as the guest soloist with many symphony orchestras including The Pittsburgh Symphony, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra,
The Minnesota Orchestra, The Indianapolis Symphony, The Bay Area Symphony, The Harrisburg Symphony, The Sioux City Symphony, and The Virginia Symphony.

Patricia currently serves on the Faculty at The New York Film Academy. She has also taught in the Musical Theatre Programs at Penn State University, Carnegie Mellon University, NYU Tisch New Studio on Broadway and at The Hun School in Princeton.

And! Patricia is one of the choral singers on the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack.

Robert Pietri

BFA, Carnegie Mellon University; MFA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Dean’s Fellow. Robert has worked in several mediums and genres, from live-action narrative to animation and documentary. His films have been in competition at festivals around the world, including AFI/DOCs, Animafest Zagreb, Annecy, BFI London Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Pietri served in the United States Marines Corps and worked for years as an art director before committing himself to filmmaking. His first feature, Semper Fidel, was shot in Havana, Cuba. Robert continues to work and develop projects internationally.

Johanna Pinzler

Johanna directs at regional theaters and college theater programs in New York City. She teaches acting, directing and comedy at Marymount Manhattan College and NYFA’s Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre. She serves as an Artistic Associate at Summer Rep Theatre in Santa Rosa, CA.

Huch Platt

Avid Pro Tools HD Certified Instructor, Owner Majestic Sound Studios, Foley Mixer, Dialog Editor Flags for Our Fathers, Dialog Editor Black Dawn and Stranger by Me. Huch has dedicated his life to teaching the art and craft of Film Sound and helping new filmmakers achieve amazing Sound Design.