Faculty Directory

Michael Kushner

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Michael Kushner is NYC’s leading multi-hyphenate and one of the most sought after theatre photographers for headshots, portraits and backstage photography. Michael is the Executive Producer of the EMMY Nominated series Indoor Boys. His book, How to Be a Multi-Hyphenate in the Theatre Business: Conversations, Advice, and Tips from Dear Multi-Hyphenate, was released in the Spring of 2023 and published by Routledge Publishing of the Taylor & Francis Group. Michael has recently joined the board of the new regional theatre, Core Theatre Group, based in Warwick, NY. In true multi-hyphenate form, Michael served as the Director of Programming for The Green Room 42, providing the space with sold out programming post pandemic. Film: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). Performance: On the Town at Barrington Stage (Pre Broadway, Directed by John Rando), Much Ado About Nothingat Barrington Stage (Directed by Julie Boyd), Sons on the Prophet at GableStage (Directed by Joe Adler). He is the creator of his one man show, Moo With Me (Directed by Max Crumm). In June of 2021, Michael’s one person musical cabaret Michael Kushner Sings His Hits for Pride was part of 54 Below’s reopening programming as the industry opens after the CoVid-19 pandemic. Photography: Featured in The NYTimes, Vogue, The Tony Awards, Playbill, Women’s Wear Daily, and more. Creator of The Dressing Room Project. Michael has photographed Hillary Clinton, Tom Hanks, Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, Julie Andrews, and many more notable artists. Producing: Emmy Nominated web series, Indoor Boys, created by Wes Taylor and Alex Wyse, XaveMePlease, starring Isaac Powell, (Frameline43 Festival in San Fran). Michael is one of the founding members of Musical Theatre Factory, currently in residency with Playwrights Horizons, and was awarded the first ever MTF Builder Award. Michael produced and directed (as well as performed in) the sold out evening of 54 Celebrates Mel Brooks, starring Richard Kind, Veanne Cox, and more. During CoVid-19, Michael has stayed active in the theatre community by serving as Director of Photography and producing virtual events such as Moments in the Woods (A Virtual Gala for the HFWAA featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda, nominated for a BroadwayWorld Award), Betsy Wolfe’s A Pants Optional Holiday, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play featuring The Skivvies with Laguna Playhouse, and Leslie Kritzer’s Holiday Show for The Actors’ Home. Active participant with Covenant House. In 2020, Michael served as 2020 KeyNote speaker for Florida Thespians. Michael was recently awarded the 2020 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Ithaca College. Michael teaches theatre business to the advanced NYU performance students at The Lee Strasberg Institute as well as the New York Film Academy.

James Lane

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James T. Lane- From Philadelphia. West End: The Scottsboro Boys, A Chorus Line – Revival (Palladium Theatre). Broadway: Kiss Me, Kate (Paul), King Kong the Musical ,The Scottsboro Boys (Ozie Powell/Ruby Bates), Chicago and A Chorus Line (Richie Walters). National Tours: Jersey Boys, Cinderella, Fame the Musical. Regional Theatre: Mary Poppins (Bert) Drury Lane Theatre, The Wiz (Tin Man), Broadway at Music Circus,The Old Globe, The Little Mermaid (Sebastian) The Muny, A.C.T and Dallas Theatre Center. Encores/Off Center: Promenade,Grand Hotel, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope Concerts: Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, Ottawa Symphony and many more. Mr. Lane teaches music theatre dance when and wherever anyone will let him! Instagram: @jamestlane www.jamestlane.com

Jack Lipson

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Multi-musical-hyphenate Jack Lipson composed the theme and score to zenroom, a new sitcom starring Cheri Oteri. The LA-native-turned New Yorker co-writes music, lyrics, and -stars alongside his twin brother in Jack & Benny Lipson’s “sensational, clever, and astute” revues across the country. They also penned Miranda, Please!, an “opera buffalo,” and Brainstorm, a song cycle of their material.

The LA Phil commissioned Jack to co-curate and -arrange a Weimar-era Berlin cabaret for their 2020 Weimar Festival. MD highlights include 3 shows with writer Mark Saltzman: Romeo & Bernadette (off-Broadway 2022), Another Roll of the Dice (arrangements/orchestrations, world premiere 2019), and Alice, Formerly of Wonderland (vocal arrangements); Sweet Charity (dir. Kathleen Marshall with Laura Bell Bundy, Reprise 2.0), Dot Dot Dot (TheatreWorksUSA), and on Welcome to Chippendales (with Andrew Rannells, Hulu).

Jack has piano’ed and sung supporting Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, esperanza spalding, Darren Criss, Broadway legend Barbara Dixon, and many more at venues from The Hollywood Bowl to Disney Hall. Jack currently writes in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop and earned his Bachelor’s in music composition at UCLA.

T.J. Mannix Associate Chair of Performing Arts
(Acting for Film)

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T.J. Mannix has been teaching acting and auditioning for the camera and the stage for almost two decades. His former students can be seen on Broadway, in films, and on television as series regulars and guest stars. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami, Florida and has taught master classes across the U.S., Canada, and 14 countries.

T.J. has appeared in 85+ TV and radio commercials and roles on “Law and Order: SVU,” “Law and Order,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “All My Children,” “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and numerous appearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

He is 24-year veteran improvisor in NYC and Chicago, and has toured with several casts of The Second City/NCL. He was an original cast member and host of the innovative, “NY Times approved,” ”BLANK: the Musical” off-Broadway.

He is the founder of the 12th annual New York Musical Improv Festival http://www.NYMIF.com and is currently touring with the epic one-man improvised musical “LimboLand.” He admits to spending a very dark year working as a Mouseketeer.

Peter Marciano

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Peter Marciano is a New York-based actor and teacher from Syracuse, NY. He has been teaching at The New York Film Academy since 2015 and currently serves as the Head of Acting for The Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre and Head of Voice for the Acting For Film program. He is a Designated Linklater Teacher, having studied voice and Shakespeare under master teacher, Kristin Linklater, in Orkney, Scotland. He trained with Louis Colaianni and is a Certified Colaianni Speech Practitioner, specializing in phonetics and dialects. He has most recently performed in St. Lucy of the Eyes, Richard III, If Stars Are Lit, and Twelfth Night. He has taught voice, movement, and acting on three continents, and coached actors appearing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Tours. He is a Co-Founder of Purple Ribbon Shakespeare, a NYC based nonprofit theatre company. He holds an MFA in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University.

Burton Mazzone

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Burton began performing in New York AEA productions at age nine, with credits including Gypsy, Oliver!, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Boyfriend, Phantom, Ragtime, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Camelot, and Pirates of Penzance. He has performed and directed internationally in Rome, Tahiti, Toronto, Easter Island, Basel, Madeira, Mallorca, and Geneva, and his TV/film work includes seven years on NBC’s 30 Rock, appearances on SNL, Vinyl, The Sopranos, Law & Order: SVU, and roles in projects directed by Woody Allen, Sydney Pollack, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. A graduate of the Hartt College of Music, Burton has also run a successful private voice studio in Bermuda since 2002 and in Zurich from 2008–2009. He is now teaching at NYFA, honored to work with its brilliant faculty and inspiring students.

Michael Mott

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MICHAEL MOTT is an internationally critically acclaimed award winning composer/ lyricist, songwriter, vocal producer and educator with over 15 million streams to his name. Heralded one of Playbill’s “Contemporary Musical Theatre Songwriters You Should Know,” his work has appeared on multiple television networks and has been performed by some of the best vocalists, musicians, symphony orchestras and concert bands around the world.

Mr. Mott’s original musicals include In The Light, A Faustian Tale, Sometimes Love, Mob Wife, A Mafia Comedy and Riding Out The Storm, a ten minute musical, which has been adapted into a short film and won “Best Musical Film” from several international film festivals, including the New York International Film Awards and the Oniros Film Awards in New York City, the Reale Film Festival in Milan, Italy and the Monza Film Festival in Monza, Italy. Additionally, Mott was commissioned to write the music and lyrics to Lucifer as well as the score to the dance short film, Sundown. He is currently writing two new stage musical projects.

Best known for his recording studio work, Mott’s discography includes the LPs “Where The Sky Ends,” “In The Light, A Faustian Tale (Highlights from the World Premiere Studio Cast Recording)” [which debuted at #8 on the Billboard Musical Theatre charts], and “Abandoned Heart,” all distributed by Grammy Award Winning label, Broadway Records. In 2016, Mott started his own independent label, Motta Music, and has released various EPs and singles, including “The Only One,” (feat. Pia Toscano, Blaine Krauss and Ciara Renee), “Here and Now” (feat. Pia Toscano), “Christmas, Will You Stay?” (feat. Laura Osnes), “The Impossible” (feat. Matt Bloyd), “Fly High” (feat. Aisha Jackson) and “To All A Goodnight” (feat. Jessica Vosk), to name a few. He has written original award winning material for NYC’s The Boy Band Project, including “Get Behind My Love” and “Jingle My Bells” (Winner – Best Original Song, 2020 Broadway World Cabaret World Award). 

As an educator, Mott has had the great fortune of working with some incredibly passionate and talented vocalists. Current and previous voice students have been seen in the Broadway and touring productions of & Juliet, A Chorus Line, Aladdin, Chicago, Moulin Rouge, Newsies, Hamilton (Chicago company), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Rock of Ages, Rocktopia, School of Rock, The Light in the Piazza, The Mastery of Edwin Drood, West Side Story (Broadway revival & 2021 Film), and Wicked.

Mr. Mott is currently an Adjunct Voice Instructor at both Fordham University and the New York Film Academy in New York City, Advanced member of the BMI Musical Theatre Writer’s Workshop, proud member of The Dramatists Guild, Actor’s Equity Association, and Voting member of the Recording Academy.

Stephen Nachamie

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Stephen Nachamie is an award-winning stage and film director and an accomplished arts educator.

Broadway: She Loves Me – (Associate Director)

New York: Little Shop of Horrors – Reunion Concert (with Alan Menken), Small Town Confessions (with Alice Ripley and Daisy Eagan), Buyer and Cellar, My Name is Asher Lev, Rounding Third (Penguin Rep), Animals Out of Paper (Hudson Stage Co) Driving Miss Daisy, Torch Song Trilogy (with Seth Rudetsky)

Regional: Sweeney Todd (starring Carolee Carmello), Becoming Dr. Ruth (Cincinnati Playhouse), Fiddler on the Roof, Tick, tick…BOOM!, (New Rep), Sex with Strangers, 4,000 Miles (Capital Rep), The Whipping Man (Omaha Playhouse), Lady Day… (WHAT and Capital City Theatre), Camelot, 1776, A Chorus Line (Olney- Helen Hayes Award), West Side Story (Italian Tour).

Film/TV: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade/NBC, Stand Still (Telly Award – Direction)

Concerts and Opera: Music City Christmas (solo shows with Kellie Pickler, Tituss Burgess and Mickey Guyton for the Nashville Symphony), Amahl and the Night Visitors (Steamboat Springs Symphony)

NYFA: Head Over Heels, Carrie on the mainstage, and the Award-Winning Movie Musicals, Winning New York, Bang! Boom! Pow! and What’s Left.

BFA from NYU. Proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

http://www.stephennachamie.com

Jennafer Newberry

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Jennafer recently made her Broadway debut as the Glinda Standby in Wicked after playing Glinda from 2022-2023 in the National Tour of Wicked! She has worked regionally in Disney’s Freaky Friday (La Jolla Playhouse) and Nemo in Finding Nemo: The Musical (Walt Disney World). Other notable credits include Shelley in Bat Boy, Clara in The Light in the Piazza, and Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She also frequently sings in concerts at 54 Below and voices new work in readings and developmental labs. She graduated with her BFA from NYU Tisch.

Alex Ngo

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ALEX NGO is an NYC-based musical theater writer, music director, and educator from Troy, Michigan. A graduate of Oberlin College & Conservatory of Music, he also studied as a composer at the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, where he was accepted into the
Advanced Class. His original songs have been performed at 54 Below and Green Room 42, and his 10-minute musical, Tiktaalik, was featured in the 2024 SOUND BITES Festival by Theatre Now. As a music director, he regularly works with Baayork Lee and
National Asian Artists Project, as well as the charity organization, Blue Hill Troupe. Educational work includes Interlochen Arts Camp, National Dance Institute, The Ailey School, and NexGen Theatre. He has also worked as a music assistant on a number of
new musicals, including Talk to Me (Rosser & Sohne), Techies (Carner & Gregor), and Baked! (Kumar & Liu). Recently, he vocal arranged several Eurovision songs for the podcast Mysteries of the Euroverse.

Olivia Oguma

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Olivia Oguma is a born and raised New Yorker and former child actor from Sesame Street with Japanese roots. She has worked extensively in both plays and musicals, on and off Broadway. Broadway: Yellow Face, Mamma Mia!, A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables, Disney’s High School Musical (1st National). Off-Broadway: Letters of Suresh (Second Stage), Addressless (Rattlestick), Hello From… (Playwrights Realm), Luce (LCT3) Emotional Creature (Signature), The Imaginary Cuckold (Moliere in the Park), BFE
(Playwrights Horizons), The Dispute (NAATCO). Regional: Vietgone (Cincinnati Playhouse), Brightest Thing in the World (Yale Rep), Miss You Like Hell (LaJolla Playhouse), Emotional Creature (Berkeley Rep), Snow Falling on Cedars (Portland Centerstage), Spelling
Bee..(Philadelphia Theater Co & Papermill Playhouse) HAIR (Two River Theater), Miss Saigon (NCTheater), The Skin of Our Teeth (Bristol Riverside Theater), BFE (Long Wharf, Winner of CT Critics Circle Award for Best Debut). Film & TV: This is Where I Leave You, Strangers with Candy, Like Father, “Instinct”, “FBI” “Odd Mom Out”, “Younger”,“Law & Order”, “The Good Wife” “The Big C,” “Great News”, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. Olivia is the co creator/writer/host of DisOrientalism, an Asian American variety show which has a residency at Joe’s Pub.

Adrien Pellerin

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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

Patricia Phillips

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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.

Johanna Pinzler

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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.

Michelle Potterf Associate Chair of Performing Arts (Musical Theatre)

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Michelle Potterf’s Bio-
Michelle came to NYFA from a 9-year run in the Musical CHICAGO on Broadway where she played Go-to-Hell Kitty and the understudy for the lead, Roxie Hart. She was also chosen to work side by side with Ms. Ann Reinking as the Dance Captain for Chicago the Musical on Broadway. Michelle has also had the privilege of constructing and overseeing a special one night performance by the incredible Chita Rivera at the Hotel Pierre. Michelle has danced professionally in such productions as Crazy For You (International tour), The Will Rogers Follies (National Tour), Beauty and the Beast (Walt Disney World.) She has been a featured dancer in the remake of the Stepford Wives movie and as a featured Dancer in a National Ebay commercial directed by Sam Mendes, as well as many other TV appearances. She has also taught dance in the NYC Public school system through The National Dance Institute under the direction of the legendary Jacques d’Amboise. Michelle earned a BFA in Dance from Missouri State University. Currently she is head of the dance department within the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at the New York Film Academy.

Dan Renkin

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Dan trained with renowned co-founder of Shakespeare and Company and TONY-recipient B.H. Barry, after studying at UC Irvine and Circle in the Square. His work as actor, stage fighter and fight director has ranged from The Metropolitan Opera to ‘As the World Turns,’ from creating roles with Kirk Wood Bromley’s fabled Inverse Theatre and New York Theatre Ballet to coaching fights on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and whatever you’re doing next. He was among NYFA’s Musical Theatre founding faculty, and also teaches for Circle in the Square, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and Five Towns College. Past/guest faculty: HB Studio, Juilliard School, Cap21. He was delighted to be nominated for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Vermont Awards for his performance in The Complete History of Comedy (Abridged). Recent fight direction includes the world premieres of MONTE CRISTO, FRANK, and the new musical LOVELESS TEXAS, and touring productions of Robin Hood, Peter Pan, and Treasure Island for Summer Theatre of New Canaan, as well as work at Queens College, Montclair State University and in indie film.