Faculty Directory

Michael Bershad Acting for Film Instructor

BA, Criminology, University of MD. Trained with Stella Adler, Michael Shurtleff, David LeGrant. Series regular, 2 seasons, “Capitol”. Theatrical Agent with Stephan Gray Artists. Casting: Glenn Larson Prods, White Eagle Prods (Sylvester Stallone). Cable Ace Awards Judge, 5 years. Produced 3 films, including the feature, “Dispatch” (Netflix, Amazon), which he also wrote and starred in.

Charissa Bertels

CHARISSA BERTELS is a Broadway actress and champion of new musicals. Charissa recently toured the country in the first national tour of If/Then, starring Idina Menzel, La Chanze and Anthony Rapp. She made her Broadway debut in the original Broadway cast of Pasek & Paul’s Tony-nominated musical A Christmas Story, and later reprised her role at Madison Square Garden. As part of the singing ensemble for New York City Center Encores’ productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Lady Be Good, her work can be heard on the subsequent cast recordings, featuring Megan Hilty and the legendary Tommy Tune.

Charissa starred to rave reviews in her original one-woman musical, My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend, at Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT), for which she received an IRNE award for Best Solo Performance. Her newest collaboration, The Uncivil Ones (Finalist: Rhinebeck, NextFest @ Latte Da, Live & In Color; Semi-Finalist: NAMT, O’Neill), features unheard female, trans and non-binary voices from the Civil War and garnered the 2019 Special Mention for the Women in Arts & Media Coalition Collaboration Award.

She can be seen in two of NYFA’s original musical films: “Gingerbread House” and “It Is What It Is”.

www.charissa.nyc

Thomas Blackburne

Thomas Blackburne is an Australian and British actor who has worked across film, Television and stage in Australia, the UK and the US.

Growing up on film sets influenced Thomas to bring a very practical approach to learning. Equipping students with a deep understanding of story, the technical side of their job and how to seamlessly blend these two to be excellent professionals.

Joseph Bonier

An active Sound Mixer and Sound Designer, Joseph graduated with a BA from the University of Maryland. Joseph also has a degree for Recording Engineering from the Recording Connection. He has worked as Boom Operator and Sound Mixer for numerous features, TV shows and shorts. He also worked as an Engineer at Avalon studios in Washington DC and Matrax productions in Philadelphia, PA.

Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin

For over a decade, Kwasi has been photographing the urban environment. His work blends elements of landscape, documentary, and street photography to present a side of the city life that’s foreign to the unfamiliar. The experience of growing up in Los Angeles is the foundation for his photo essays, sharing a perspective that is often missing from the mainstream narrative.

In 2017 Kwasi was included on Time Magazine’s list of 12 African American Photographers to Follow and was featured on the New York Times Lens Blog. In addition to taking part in several exhibitions, Kwasi attended the 2018 New York Times Portfolio Review and his work has appeared internationally in Il Post and Slate France. Currently Kwasi regularly contributes to Curbed Los Angeles, the New York Times, and has several other clients including KCET and Netflix.

Kyle Branzel

KYLE BRANZEL is a highly sought-after musical theatre coach, trusted by some of Broadway’s most thrilling performers. Drawing from a wide variety of theatrical experience as Director, Music Director, Actor, and Pianist, Kyle empowers actors in NYC and around the world to develop their artistry holistically and navigate their careers with integrity. His innovative approach to physical acting training and physiological vocal coaching have helped many clients and students book roles in films, TV shows, Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, national tours, regional productions, and cruise ships. Current teaching appointments: Musical Theatre Instructor at New York Film Academy, Musical Theatre and Movement Instructor at Jen Waldman Studio, Guest Lecturer of Musical Theatre at Western Illinois University, Head of Acting at Omaha Conservatory of Music’s SoundWaves Summer Institute. Previous: Hartt School of Music, Roosevelt University. Founder: Rock U, a comprehensive and dynamic approach to performing popular music. Member: Actors’ Equity Association. BFA Musical Theatre: Roosevelt University. kylebranzel.com

Lauren Ann Brickman

As an actor Lauren has appeared on screen in such projects as FBI: most wanted, Bull, Gloria Bell, Alterlatino, Stuffed with Lisa Lampanelli, and much more including being a former house performer at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade & a company member of The Story Pirates. As an educator Lauren has worked at Adelphi University, Montclair State, CUNY City Tech, CUNY Queensborough, and the University of Iowa where she earned her MFA in acting. Lauren is also a published writer for periodicals such as Glamour magazine & freelance director. She is also the 1/2 of the comedy duo we Stan together.

John Briscoe

Editor of multiple commercials broadcast both in Western Pennsylvania as well as Los Angeles. Worked as a freelance contractor on various independent films, webisodes and commercials. Editor of an 8-episode “war time” style documentary independently and aired locally in Los Angeles. Director, Producer and Editor of various segments airing on Pennsylvania television including a commercial for Hyundai, as well as various local food establishments and businesses.

Lizzy Brooks

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Lizzy is an Actor, Singer and Screenwriter. BA: Columbia University- Art History. MFA: Brown/Trinity Repertory (Acting, Directing and Playwriting). Select credits include Broadway: Macbeth (u/s Lady Macbeth, Banquo); Regional Theater: As You Like It (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Julius Caesar (The Hanover Theater) and Shoebox: A Roadside Picnic (ASF). Film and TV: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry (Hulu/Amazon Prime), New Amsterdam (NBC) and Hostages (NBC)

Todd Bruno

Todd Bruno is an award-winning actor and producer, and a native of South Florida. He is a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York and has a Theater degree from Vanderbilt University. Best known for Stratagem (2017), Palace (2018) and Proximity (2013), he is a veteran of more than 40 film productions and 50+ stage productions. Todd is on faculty at New York Film Academy, and his latest film Corona Camp is set to release this year.

Amanda Brzezowski Associate Chair of Filmmaking

Amanda Brzezowski received her MA in Film Studies from Columbia University. She has presented papers at multidisciplinary conferences held at Emory University in Atlanta and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. Previously Amanda worked at POV, the longest-running documentary series on PBS, screening documentaries in consideration for the series, and coordinating the annual Editorial Committee Meeting with programmers and independent filmmakers. Since 2013, she has screened documentary films in consideration for festivals including DOC NYC, Camden International Film Festival, and Tribeca Film Festival. Amanda has also directed short documentaries for local nonprofits to help raise money for community programs supporting children, seniors, cancer survivors, and musicians. Currently, she teaches in the Documentary Traditions & Aesthetics courses for the NYFA Documentary Conservatory programs and is the Associate Chair of Filmmaking.

Bruce Buckley

Bruce attended Sheridan for college where he studied art fundamentals. His primary focus was photography, shooting both 35mm and 4×5. Commercial photography was exciting and he did lots of studio work and architectural photography.

After earning his degree, Bruce took a job with the Canadian government working with microfilm. There he discovered computers and became curious about the possibilities of using them to make art. After nine years there Bruce returned to school to study technical illustration.

In 1987 he went to NAB where he met fellow Canadian Steve Williams who was at the conference presenting with Alias. A phone call from ILM in 1993 brought Bruce to ILM. At ILM he went to work right away on films including; Casper, Dragonheart, and Congo helping to develop systems and tools to make the artist’s work move seamless. In 1995 Bruce was headhunted away by Disney to come work on Dinosaur. Bruce’s credits include; Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Incredibles, Monster House, Beowulf, Scott Pilgrim, Tree of Life, John Carter, Prometheus, Fate of the Furious, Kong: Skull Island, and Deadpool 2, to name just a few.

Today Bruce teaches at the NY Film Academy and is a Freelance CG/VFX Supervisor.

Lea Tolub Brandenburg

Lea Tolub Brandenburg has been teaching, acting, and directing for over 30 years.

She’s worked in film, theatre, commercials, industrials, and voice-over. Currently, she teaches Directors Craft in NYFA’s online short-term programs. She’s directed seven original short films and hundreds of scenes/shorts in her acting for film classes. As a casting director, she’s cast two features and a number of commercials. She wrote, directed and produced the short: And Again. The film was an official selection of the Big Apple Film Festival and GenCon. She is the co-author of “The Actor’s Workbook: How to Become a Working Actor”. In 2015 she received an MFA in Film from Vermont College of Fine Arts demonstrating that you never stop learning and growing as an artist.

Todd Buonopane

Todd Buonopane is an award winning actor, singer, director and story-teller. On Broadway, he starred as Jean-Michel in Cinderella, Amos in Chicago, Roger in Grease, and many characters in …Spelling Bee. He appeared Off-Broadway in The Butter & Egg Man, Henry & Mudge, and The New Yorkers at Encores! Touring audiences have seen him in The Play That Goes Wrong, Godspell, & Chicago (which he also performed in Tokyo, Seoul and Dubai.) Regionally, he has performed at the Alliance, The Old Globe, Asolo Rep, MUNY, Signature, Pasadena Playhouse, 5th Avenue, Ordway, Papermill Playhouse, Goodspeed, Maine State, the Argyle, North Shore and Barrington.TV credits include “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Braindead”, “Law & Order:CI”, and “30 Rock” (as Weinerslav). Todd is also a director, having directed productions of The Prom, Urinetown, Legally Blonde and Spelling Bee. toddbuonopane.com

Joe Burke

Joe Burke’s debut feature film, Four Dogs, world premiered to great reviews at the Los Angeles Film Festival. He’s directed such shows as Newsreaders on Adult Swim and FOX Digital’s half-hour comedy, Bad Samaritans, along with having written/directed several award-winning short films. Joe has a few new exciting film projects in the works at different stages of the process. He has also spent plenty of time on the other side of the camera as well, acting on screen in movies, national commercials, and television shows, including the critically acclaimed Showtime show Ray Donovan and Freeform’s Good Trouble. Joe earned his MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute, and his BA in Film/Minor in Theater from Columbia College Chicago. He is a member of both the DGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Nancy Burson

Acclaimed artist/photographer Nancy Burson’s work is shown in museums and galleries internationally. “Seeing and Believing”, her traveling 2002 retrospective originating at the Grey Art Gallery, was nominated for Best Solo Museum Show of the Year in New York City by the International Association of Art Critics. She has served as a visiting professor at Harvard and was a member of the adjunct photography faculty at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for five years.

Her work is included in museums worldwide including the MoMA, Metropolitan Museum, and the Whitney Museum in New York City, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris, the LA County Museum of Art, and the Getty Museum, MoMA (San Francisco), the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, as well as many others. She has collaborated with Creative Time, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Deutsche Bank in completing several important public art projects in NYC.