NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Benjamin B. Cohen

Benjamin Cohen is an award-winning writer, professor, and performer. In his writing, Benjamin likes to play with dark and challenging material from an honest, comedic perspective. Raised in Atlanta and based in Brooklyn, Benjamin worked on projects selected by the Austin Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, and The High Museum of Art. He also appears in the Emmy-Nominated PBS short documentary, “What Makes a Great Book.” Benjamin has taught Writing and Film History at NYFA since 2012 and is an active member of the WGA-E. When he’s not writing, teaching, or performing comedy on the NYC stage, you can find Benjamin with his lovely wife and two dogs.

Richard D’Angelo

Richard D’angelo, an award-winning line producer and production manager in film and television. A lifelong film devotee, he received both his BFA in Film Production and Master of Arts in Theater and Film Studies from Long Island University. He produced and directed his graduate thesis screenplay, ‘First Person,’ into an award winning feature film. Richard’s two decades plus of experience in the entertainment industry have run the gamut from feature films to live event productions as well many industrial and commercial projects working as a producer, director, and editor. Recently Richard produced ‘The Cathedral,’ which had its world premiere at the 78th Venice Film Festival and its North American premiere at Sundance, for director Ricky D’Ambrose who won the John Cassavetes Award for the film.

Darren Dean

Darren Dean is an Award-winning American Producer, Writer and Director. Working in the realm of micro-budget and social justice films, he has helmed works by renowned directors Sean Baker, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra. His films have won awards at Sundance, have been nominated for Oscars and have won Clio Awards. He is currently hard at work at the new features THE END STAGE OF STARS (dir Rachel Mason’s follow-up to CIRCUS OF BOOKS); JACK-BE-NIMBLE (dir Alex Thompson’s follow-up to SAINT FRANCES); MO (dir Chris Brown’s follow-up to THE OTHER KIDS); as well as the debut feature AMERICAN 11 (dir Shayain Lakhani). Dean will also begin prepping his feature directing debuts in 2021, THE APOLOGY and the Spanish-language NO SUGAR TONIGHT.

Julie Deffet

Award-winning director Julie was born in a French-speaking town in southern Belgium. After graduating from ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles) with a Master’s degree in Journalism, she moved to New York to study filmmaking at The New School for public engagement. Her personal work was screened at Cinequest, The Big Apple Film Festival, The Prague International Film Festival, and the Bowery Film Festival, among other places. She won several Awards both as a director and producer, including Best Picture at the Los Angeles Film Awards. Julie’s skillful editing has also made her a sought-after post-production professional. She has edited an international campaign for Tiffany and Co, award-winning short films, and commercial content. She recently was an associate producer for the movie The Drummer, starring Danny Glover, and the Emmy Awards-winning show After Forever as well as a freelance editor for companies such as Sony, Google, and Vice Media. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Christine de Frece

Christine has been teaching vocal technique for 19 years. Her students can be seen performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tours, cruise ships, and in regional theaters across the United States, Canada and internationally. She is currently a voice specialist at New York Film Academy and former Chair of Vocal performance at Circle in the Square Theatre School. As a Musical Director, Christine has directed productions of Cabaret, Urinetown, The Music Man, Gypsy, Meet Me in St. Louis and A Funny Thing Happened on The Way To The Forum. Christine is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge (BMus Vocal Performance) and Circle in the Square Theatre (Professional Musical Theatre Workshop). As an actress, Christine has been seen in productions such as Titanic, It Shoulda Been You, Ragtime, Rumors (Carbonelle Award Winner), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Follies, And The World Goes ‘Round, Cinderella, and many more.

Dave Demke

Dave Demke earned a BA in Theatre from Minnesota State University, an MFA in Performance from the University of Maryland, studied Meisner Technique with Fred Kareman, and is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher. He is also the Artistic Director of Shakespeare On the Fly, and an Associate Faculty member at American Academy of Dramatic Arts. From 2000-2010 he was the Associate Director of Training for Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA; prior to that position he served as the Artistic Director of Stark Raving Theatre in Portland, OR. As an actor he has played many roles, favorites include Didi in Waiting for Godot for Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Dick in The Dick and the Rose at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Bottom in A Midsummer Nights Dream in Beijing, China. Other international experiences include teaching a voice workshop for the National Theatre of Ghana in Accra, and a Shakespeare intensive at 16th Street Studio in Melbourne, Australia.

Cayli Dobbs Performing Arts Department Manager

Lincoln Center: Golden Night Concert (Soloist). Carnegie Hall: Berlin in the Battery (Soloist), Sabor y Pasión (Soloist). Regional: Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Dance Captain), Footloose, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia, Sound of Music, Rocky Horror, Mary Poppins. International: Tap in Rio (Rio de Janeiro). Digital: Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies’ “Formation” Music Video.

Terence Donnellan

Terence Donnellan is a writer, director, producer, and editor for film and television. Two of his feature documentaries were nominated for Emmy awards. His third documentary is being distributed nationally via PBS. His short documentary film, Free Ena Farley, won two Telly Awards.

For seven years, he was responsible for producing, directing, writing, and delivering entire television seasons (talk shows). He has also written, directed, and produced short fiction and nonfiction films, commercials, PSAs, and other media projects.

His work has been shown at film festivals, on television, and through Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube, Vimeo, Vudu, Tubi, Plex, and other international streaming platforms.

Website: https://www.blasketmcmanusproductions.com/

Randall Dottin Chair of Film Arts

Randall Dottin is a writer/director who works both in documentary and narrative fiction. His Columbia University MFA thesis film, A-ALIKE, was licensed for a two-year broadcast run by HBO and has won numerous awards, including the DGA Award for Best African American Student Filmmaker and the 2004 Student Academy Award for Best Narrative Film. In 2009, Randall was named by IndieWire Magazine as one of the Top Ten New Voices in Black Cinema. From 2012 to 2015, Randall wrote and directed branded content for AOL.COM, Toyota, and Essence Magazine. Randall’s short film Lifted, was sponsored by Fox Searchlight’s program for emerging directors, the Fox Searchlab. Lifted premiered on CBS in 2015. His documentary series The House I Never Knew is currently in production and explores how six families in Chicago, Houston, and Boston fight against becoming casualties of a housing segregation policy. The House I Never Knew (nee The Chicago Franchise) was chosen to participate in IFP’s Spotlight on Documentaries Program in 2018. Last year, the series received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund.

Akil DuPont

Through the course of his career as a storyteller in theatre and film, Akil DuPont has earned 31 awards in 44 film festivals including 2 Student Emmys! His films have played in over 60 countries and in 2014, he was named #7 of the top 100 indie filmmaker in the
world.

Akil was born and raised in Tallahassee, FL. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and a MFA in Film Production from Florida State University (FSU).

Akil has worked in the film/television industry in the Atlanta and New York area. He taught for 8 years with Clayton State University and the Georgia Film Academy and is currently a Professor with Pace University and an instructor at the New York Film Academy.

Rose Van Dyne

Rose Van Dyne is a multifaceted artist and educator in New York City. Rose has worked as both a performer and a pianist on Broadway, off-Broadway, regionally, and on national and international tours. Selected credits include 1776, Waitress, Beau, The Lonely Few, Interstate, Cambodian Rock Band, and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth in Concert. She is the co-founder of @BroadwayCooks, an organization that provides fresh food for houseless and hungry community members in Times Square and the five boroughs. Rose earned her MFA in Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, as well as dual degrees of BA Musical Theatre and BA Piano from the University of Northern Colorado. Rose’s research centers on the intersection between race and identity in the musical theatre vocal studio. Rose currently teaches in NYC at Pace University, Marymount Manhattan College, New York Film Academy, and with BroadwayVox Studios

Bill Einreinhofer

Created Emmy Award winning nonfiction content; from traditional documentaries and news reports, to narrative driven “real-life” stories and magazine-show segments. Developed and produced programming for PBS (“PBS NewsHour,” “INNOVATION,” “China Now”), ABC (“Good Morning America”), CBS (“60 Minutes”), Discovery (“Spacewalkers,” “Cathedrals of the Sky”) and HBO (“Diary of a Red Planet”).

Producer/Director/Writer/Host, “China: Frame by Frame,” one-hour 2023 documentary tracing his 30+ years of making stories in and about China. Seen on 250+ Public TV stations, and the PBS App. Historic and original footage gathered for this project is the basis of the Bill Einreinhofer China Archive, at the University of Southern California’s East Asian Library. Past co-production partners include the ABC (Australia), Globo (Brazil), CCTV (China), SMG (China), ZDF (Germany), NHK (Japan), KBS (Korea) and SVT (Sweden).

Veteran educator. Chair, NYFA Broadcast Journalism department 2013-2022. Prior adjunct appointments: Parsons School of Design, Rutgers University, Saint Peter’s University. Lectured at United Nations and East China Normal University.

Honors include three Emmy Awards; Judge – National News & Documentary Emmy Awards; Judge – International Emmy Awards; two CINE Golden Eagles; two Telly Awards; Gold Medal, New York Festivals; Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival. Member, Directors Guild of America.

Nate Entz

Nate Entz is an NYC based actor with a passion for storytelling and teaching. He’s worked with NYFA’s Summer Kids Camps for two years now and loves bringing his experience, education and passion for his craft into his instruction. He has been acting all his life and graduated with his BFA in acting from SUNY Purchase’s conservatory program. He has acted professionally in theater regionally, in NYC, and has also starred in several short films.

Brennan Gallagher

A born and bred Massachusetts man, Brennan is an educator, actor, and sometimes poet. He spent many years as a classical actor both in New York City and regionally. He holds an MFA in Acting from Ohio University, and has taught students from the preschool age up through undergraduates. When not acting or teaching, you can usually find Brennan either reading, drinking coffee, spending quality time with his car, drinking coffee, or playing games and doing puzzles, while drinking coffee.

Kuldeep Gangola

Kuldeep Gangola is a filmmaker and post-production instructor based in New York. With over six years of teaching experience at the New York Film Academy and over 8 years of industry experience, he brings a deep understanding of nonfiction storytelling, editing craft, and industry-standard workflows. He has worked on films for platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, PBS, and HBO. Kuldeep is passionate about mentoring young filmmakers and helping them find their unique voice through visual storytelling.

Betty Garcia

Filmmaker | Creative Producer | Teaching Artist
Betty Marisol García is a filmmaker and creative producer with experience in narrative,
documentary, and commercial production. Her award-winning short films have screened
at festivals including the HBO New York Latino Film Festival and the New Latin Cinema
Festival in Havana. She has produced content for clients such as Nickelodeon and The
Ford Foundation. Betty holds an M.A. in Film and Media Studies from The New School
and is a dedicated teaching artist committed to nurturing emerging voices in film.

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