Faculty Directory

T.J. Mannix

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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 Head of Acting

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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.

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’s is the first woman of color to portray the Tony Award winning role of 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 Emmy Award winning Live at Lincoln Center production of SWEENEY TODD starring EMMA THOMPSON, the US premier of JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA at Carnegie Hall starring Harvey Keitel, the Tony Award winning productions of BAZ LUHRMANN’S LA BOHÈME (OBC), THE SECRET GARDEN (OBC) and THE SOUND OF MUSIC (OBC Revival). 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 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 as an Adjunct Professor at The New York Film Academy and New Jersey City University. She taught previously at Carnegie Mellon University, NYU Tisch New Studio on Broadway and at The Hun School in Princeton.

Patricia Lives in the greater New York City area where she savors dual citizenship between the United States and Italy and she will always consider her son, DIF, her finest production of all time.

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

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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.

Robert William Schneider

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Robert W. Schneider received his BA in Political Science from California Lutheran University and his MFA in Directing from Pennsylvania State University. He holds academic appointments at Penn State University, New York Film Academy, and Mt. Union. He has guest lectured at Yale University, Kent State University, UCLA, USC, and throughout London. Professor Schneider is one of the most recognizable figures in the field of online education. His new book, 50 Key Musicals, will be published by Routledge Press in 2022.
As a director, Robert has worked with such theatres as Center Theatre Group, Walnut Street Theatre, Manhattan Theater Club, York Theatre, Second Stage Theatre, and Lincoln Center Theater, as well as for PBS and Fox Seachlight. His work has been acknowledged with the Ovation Award, StageScene LA Award, BroadwayWorld Award, and the MAC Award.
In this capacity, he has also collaborated on projects with some of this century’s greatest artists including Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Audra McDonald, Emma Thompson, Seth McFarlane, Christina Aguilera, Bernadette Peters, Sutton Foster, Christopher Durang, Kristen and Bobby Lopez, Jason Alexander, Joe Iconis, Jane Lynch, and many others.

Nicholas Sienkiewicz

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Nick Sienkiewicz is a New York City based conductor and scholar. Nick received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University, and received his undergraduate degrees in voice and biochemistry from Western Michigan University. He studied conducting with Chris Albanese, Betsy Burleigh, Dominick DiOrio, Kimberly Dunn Adams, Walter Huff, Austin McWilliams, and Ted Sperling.

With significant experience in music direction, Nick’s proficiency behind the keyboard and at the podium has led him to working at several regional theatres including Farmers Alley Theatre, The Barn Theatre, and Timberlake Playhouse. Nick works actively as a keyboard programmer, with memorable projects including SpongeBob SquarePants, and the amateur premiere of The Other Josh Cohen. Nick made his NYC Music Directing debut in 2023 with “Live, Laugh, Lie” at the NYFA and has served as the music assistant for several NYC workshops including Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical.

Nick’s research has led to presentations at national and international conferences including the College Music Society, the European Association for Music in Schools, and the American Choral Director’s Association. As an author, Nick has three published articles, currently within Choral Journal and Choral Scholar.

Dave Solomon

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DAVE SOLOMON is an award-winning New York-based writer and director working in both theatre and film. Recent stage credits include directing the first national tour of TOOTSIE THE MUSICAL and PUMP UP THE VOLUME (MTFest London). He also directed a unique cinematic-theatrical hybrid production of Adam Gwon’s ORDINARY DAYS for Pittsburgh Playhouse, that he co-conceived with Emmy-winning designer Jason Ardizzone-West (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live”). He wrote and directed the award-winning short film PHOTO OP (starring Randy Harrison) and his upcoming film BRENDA & BILLY AND THE POTHOS PLANT (starring Santino Fontana and Sarah Stiles) will have its world premiere in Summer 2023. Solomon also assisted Bill Condon on the films MR. HOLMES and DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and served as Condon’s Associate Director on the revised production of SIDE SHOW on Broadway, at La Jolla Playhouse and the Kennedy Center. Solomon has also been an Associate Director to Joe Mantello and Scott Ellis, and has worked on fourteen Broadway productions including TOOTSIE, MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, 9 TO 5, PAL JOEY SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (2008), THE RITZ, CURTAINS, MARIO CANTONE’S LAUGH WHORE and ASSASSINS. He was an Associate Producer and Assistant Director on “A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE” and his play, MARGARET AND CRAIG, premiered at NY Stage and Film and was also seen as part of The New Group New Works starring Mario Cantone and Marin Ireland. Additional stage credits include THE DODGERS (Hudson Theatre, LA), THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (Le Petit, NOLA), MARRYING MEG (NYMF) and SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR (with John Bolton and Eve Plumb). He has been a resident artist at SPACE on Ryder Farm and is a graduate of Vassar College.

Matthew Stern

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Matthew Stern is an award winning NYC-based music director and pianist.  Off Broadway: Smile (AMT Theater), Skyscraper (Urban Stages). Other credits:  Come From Away (Engeman); Cats, Lightning Thief, Little Mermaid, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Cinderella, Pippin, Grease, Seussical, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Christmas in the Movies (Casa Mañana); Wizard of Oz (North Shore Music Theatre); Evita (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Sing Street, Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theater); Drowsy Chaperone, Gentleman’s Guide, Pacific Overtures (Lyric Stage Company of Boston); Prom (Tantrum Theater); Burnt Part Boys, Rock of Ages (Mountain Theatre Company); Reefer Madness (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater); Little Women, All is Calm, She Loves Me, Altar Boyz, Mame (Greater Boston Stage Company); Fun Home, Allegiance, Bridges of Madison County, Scottsboro Boys, Violet, Big Fish (SpeakEasy Stage Company).  In addition to NYFA, Matt has served on the faculties of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston University, and Emerson College, and spent over a decade music directing at French Woods Festival.  He has an MFA in Musical Theater Studies from Boston University.