NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Lynda Goodfriend Creative Director of Performing Arts Department

Creative Director

Lynda received her BFA from Southern Methodist University. She has also studied with the legends, Lee Strasberg and Sandy Meisner. Lynda is a veteran of both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions appearing in shows such as Good News, West Side Story, She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Boyfriend. She was a series regular on the iconic hit television show “Happy Days,” and on the series “Who’s Watching the Kids,”and “Blanksy’s Beauties.” She guest starred on shows such as Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Vegas. She has also appeared in feature films such as “Pretty Woman,” “Taxi Driver,” “The Front,” “Beaches,” and “Nothing in Common.” Lynda was owner and principle instructor of the Actors Workout School for 15 years with locations in both Los Angeles and Orange County. Her theatre, the Actors Workout Theatre in NoHo, won numerous awards for its theatrical productions. She has also directed for television and film including a Disney pilot and the television movie Four Stars. Lynda opened her management company in 1983 and developed many actors’ careers until she became Chair of the Acting Department for NYFA in Los Angeles in 2011.

Miraj Grbic

Miraj Grbic is a Film, TV & Theater actor with more than 60 films and TV Shows including Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, The Hunting Party, Fast & Furious, Babylon, American Horror Story, SWAT, Santa Clarita Diet etc… He studied Acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo and got his MA in Acting. He started working on Films and on the main stage of the National Theater Sarajevo in the late 90s. He worked on Films and TV shows in US, Bosnian, Croatian, Turkish, German, Australian, Irish and Italian productions while starring on TV Shows and in Theater for more than two decades in plays from Shakespeare, Chekhov, Moliere, Camus and many others. Miraj is currently filming a studio feature film and is teaching Acting for Film and Business of Acting at the New York Film Academy Los Angeles.

Dennis Green

Multi-decade professional actor/writer/producer. MFA, Yale School of Drama, Yale University; BFA, Wayne State University. Writer: Screenplays, works for theater, published essays and poetry. Fellow – Sundance Institute Screenwriters’ Intensive; The Hermitage Artist Retreat. Semi-Finalist – Austin Film Festival TV and Screenplay Competition. His theater work has been produced at Symphony Space, NYC; Performance Space 122; HERE Theatre; Nagleburg Theatre, CUNY; NY Int’l Fringe Festival; Minnesota Fringe Festival; and Dixon Place, NYC. Actor: His films include the horror classic Jacob’s Ladder, Forever Lulu, August the First (Hulu, Netflix, Showtime, Reel 13 on PBS); Somewhere in the Middle (Netflix, Amazon, over 20 national & international film festivals); The Sisters Karras; as well as the audio drama/podcast Harlem Queen (Apple, Spotify, Sticher).

Diana Henry

Diana Henry is an award winning professional actor with over 25 years experience in television, theatre, film, voice overs and commercials. Since 2009, Diana has been a series lead regular on ABC’s “What Would You Do?”, appearing in over 70 episodes. Other credits include: co-star roles in “The Equalizer”, “The Sinner”, “Law & Order”, “The Blacklist”; and female lead in the feature film “Fortunes”. Diana captured three NY Emmy Awards as the presenting host in “The Lineup: Best Sports Movies”, featuring Fran Healy, Spike Lee, and Chazz Palminteri. She is also a private coach for children and teens, focusing on the audition process for performing arts high schools and colleges. In 2010, she co-founded The Drawing Board NYC, a collective of screenwriters, playwrights, and actors dedicated to developing new works through table readings. Diana has an MFA in Acting at Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts, studying under William Esper and Maggie Flanigan; and a BFA in Acting at Miami University in Ohio.

Drew Hirshfield

As an actor Drew Hirshfield has appeared in new and old plays around the country (at places such as Magic Theatre in San Francisco, Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and many others). Other credits include a first Broadway National Tour, network TV, and independent film. He’s been nominated for a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award and he once played a lemur, professionally. Drew has trained with, and completed a pedagogical teacher-training program under, clown and physical acting master teacher Christopher Bayes and has studied with the renowned clown Aitor Basauri of Spymonkey. He is a trained practitioner of the Michael Chekhov Technique. Drew is a an alum of the National Alliance of Acting Teacher’s Teacher Development Program.

Isabella Hoffman

A native Chicagoan, Isabella Hofmann began her acting career as a main stage member of Chicago’s Second City (alongside fellow company members Richard Kind and Dan Castellaneta.) She was also in several Chicago theatrical productions such as Painting Churches at Wisdom Bridge, Teibele and Her Demon at Northlight (for which she was nominated for a Jefferson Award), and Uncle Vanya at the Goodman Theatre (opposite John Mahoney).

After being cast as an Irish immigrant in the television movie Independence (for which she received The Western Heritage Award), Isabella moved to Los Angeles where she went on to become a series regular on such shows as Dear John (with Judd Hirsch), The Boys (with Chris Meloni), Homicide: Life on the Street (Melissa Leo, Andre Braugher, Daniel Baldwin), and Beggars and Choosers (Christina Hendricks). She’s also recurred on The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Providence, JAG, The Practice, and Criminal Minds.

Her feature credits include Dreamer, West End (in post production), Burlesque, Princess Diaries II, Little Chenier, Touched By A Killer, Tripwire, and Renaissance Man.

Hofmann still lives in Los Angeles with her son Atticus, and continues to work in film, television, and theater.

Gerrard James

Gerrard James is a New York-based teaching artist and received his M.A from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright Scholarship. He also received his M.F.A from Pace University and B.A from Morehouse College. He currently teaches acting at The New York Film Academy. Recent credits include: CEO in the Off-Broadway production of This is About Us directed by Doron JePaul Mitchell (Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre), Malcolm in Macbeth directed by Brian B. Crowe (The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ), James in Coping Mechanism directed by Tramane Harris (Off-Broadway), Troy in Brief Exchanges directed by Ashley Versher (Little Black Girl From The Bay Productions), and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing directed by Chris Coleman (Denver Center). You can also see him in “Pillow Talk” on BET+.

Corey Johnson

Corey is an actor, writer, and educator with over 15 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He will be featured in the upcoming 3rd season of Shrinking on Apple TV+, and was recently seen in a national commercial campaign for Wayfair alongside Titus Burgess. Other credits include Mr. Mayor (NBC), Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV), and the film Greener Grass (HULU). He’s performed and created comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC and LA, and was a contributing writer for The Onion. As a teacher, he’s led classes at New York Film Academy, Chapman University, University of Southern California, Central Connecticut State University.

Bob Kale, CSA

Representative Casting credits: Broadway—Souvenir, King Hedley II, An Inspector Calls, A Tale of Two Cities, Little Women-The Musical, The Who’s Tommy, Titanic-The Musical, The Life, Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel. Off Broadway—Bedbugs!! The Musical (APA and ArcLight), I Forgive You Ronald Reagan, Frank McGuinness’ Gates of Gold, Rounding Third, Dietrich & Chevalier, Over the River and Through the Woods, Noel Coward in Two Keys, Avow, Tails, The Deep Throat Sex Scandal, Tap Dogs, Worm Day, the Melting Pot Theatre production of Tintypes. Tours include—The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas starring Ann-Margret, Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, Nunsense (25th Anniversary Tour), Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk starring Savion Glover; Television includes—Elmo’s World: Happy Holidays!, PBS Sesame Street, As the World Turns, Sally Hemmings (NY Casting). Feature Film includes—NY Casting for Jack & Jill, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Beavis and Butthead Do America, Looney Tunes: Back in Action. He was a professional actor for 19 years before becoming a Casting Director and Teacher.

Phil Kaufmann Associate Chair of Performing Arts Department

MFA in Acting, Yale School of Drama; BA in Drama, Dartmouth College. TV appearances on “Law and Order”, “Harry’s Law”, “The Mentalist”, as well as many commercials. Director of several short films, including pilot presentation, “Intelligence” and Emmy-nominated short-form series, “Send Me”.

Brian Kazmarck

Brian is an award winning writer/director whose films have screened all over the world. He has directed 7 shorts and a feature, including his debut feature “Terminal Legacy” and “The Portland Empire,” which premiered at the 2012 Festival De Cannes and proceeded to sell to Shorts International (U.K.) and the Worldwide Mobile Movie Theatre App in the US. His short “Standing Eight,” a boxing drama, won over 15 awards and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. He is currently developing a feature-length horror film tentatively scheduled to shoot in the UK in early 2026.

Suzanne Kent

Founding company member of The Groundlings Theatre Company in Los Angeles and created the Sunday Company program at The Groundlings. Over 30 feature film credits, including “Middle Men,” “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid,” “Nuts,” “The Boost,” and “History of the World: Part I”. Television series regular roles on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” “St. Elsewhere,” “The Garry Shandling Show,” and “Brotherly Love.” Voice actor on “Rugrats,” “The Wild Thornberrys,” and “Rocket Power”.

Simon Kiser

Simon Kiser is an East Coast-based stunt coordinator, fight choreographer, and martial artist with the Society of American Fight Directors. They’ve worked in the field for over twenty years, have choreographed for the National Players, PigPen Theatre Company, and various off-Broadway houses, and are currently an associate instructor at the New York stage combat school Neutral Chaos.

Fred Lancaster

Fred Lancaster is a director, acting teacher, and workshop facilitator working across the UK, US, and Europe. He trained as an actor at Guildhall School of Music & Drama (2010) and worked professionally in the industry for over a decade before obtaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Fred has extensive experience in drama school audition preparation, having served on the BA Acting audition panel at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama for over ten years. He currently teaches on Guildhall’s short course and online programmes, and delivers workshops on audition technique, connecting to text, and improvisation across multiple schools and universities in the UK. His independent coaching practice focuses on audition preparation and drama school applications, supporting emerging actors in their training journeys.

Fred teaches on the Acting For Film Semester Programme at the New York Film Academy in Florence, Italy, delivering lessons in Scene Study, Voice and Movement, and Directing Actors. He has also worked as a visiting acting tutor across the USA, including at the University of Notre Dame, John Carroll University, Occidental College, and Rice University.

Fred’s teaching draws on contemporary approaches to actor training, integrating techniques from practitioners including Uta Hagen, Patsy Rodenburg, and Michael Chekhov. He has developed international online course offerings in drama-based communication training for universities in Southeast Asia and continues to expand his work as an educator and performance coach globally.

Stephanie Jean Lane

Stephanie Jean Lane is an actor, dancer, director, and teacher based in New York City. She was a company member of Punchdrunk’s Sleep No Morefrom 2018-2022, and has performed at Lincoln Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Guthrie Theater, Berkshire Theatre Group, Barrington Stage Company, Elm Shakespeare, LaMaMa ETC, The Brick, in Edinburgh and Shanghai, and on TV and film. Prior to her acting career, Stephanie danced professionally for Ani Javian, Rocha Dance Theater, and The Painted Ladies. She teaches acting, movement, and voice at New York Film Academy, coaches privately, makes original work for stage and film, and collaborates and creates with Society Theatre Company. MFA: NYU Grad Acting.

Diakeim Lyles

A native New Yorker, Diakeim began his career in the business attending LaGuardia HS of the Performing Arts.

He continued studying acting with a focus on filmmaking, and spent a year abroad at Middlesex University in London via SUNY Binghamton’s BFA program.He completed a stage manager/PA apprenticeship at the Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College, working with prominent actors like Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell. His diverse training led him to pursue film/TV casting on commercials and several independent films, including The Hebrew Hammer and The Caller Returns. Diakeim Lyles has been a commercial casting for the last 21+ years and now works independently with various casting houses in the New York area including: Brooke Thomas Casting, Envision Studios, House Casting, Allison Twardziak Casting, Liz Lewis Casting to name a few. He is also a private virtual acting coach and teaches commercial audition classes. Actors respond to his outgoing personality making them feel relaxed during auditions so that clients always get their best performance. He loves casting.

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