Eugene Buica

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and afterwards The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, where he studied with the legendary Sanford Meisner, Mr. Buica went on to work at length with Michael Chekhov's associate George Shdanoff, Uta Hagen and master teacher Michael Howard.

Mr. Buica has been coaching and teaching actors since 1991, leading workshops in the Grotowski, Michael Chekhov and Meisner approaches in Malibu, Los Angeles, Bucharest, Beijing, Munich, Sydney, and New York. As Artistic Director and Founder of The Acting Corps, Mr. Buica originated and implemented unique training processes reflected in the Actors' Boot Camp and all the other programs at The Acting Corps. The Acting Corps has, as of 2012, trained 4000 actors with 1400 of them acquiring film and TV credits and now appearing with their own IMDB pages after attending The Actors' Boot Camp.

Guest Speakers at The Acting Corps On Acting series have included Academy Award winning filmmaker and actor Sydney Pollack, Peter Facinelli, Ethan Embry and Rainn Wilson, who also taught acting at The Acting Corps' Actors' Boot Camp. As a result of The Acting Corps' growing prominence, Mr. Buica, alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Dennis Franz, was asked to judge TNT's Dramatic Auditions National Competition. TNT then selected The Acting Corps to train the winner of its National Competition. Mr. Buica has appeared on numerous reality TV programs as an expert acting coach, most recently coaching the model contestants of America's Next Top Model and Pit Boss. He has also appeared as a professional coach on MTV's Taildaters, Comedy Central's I'm With Busey and E's Entertainment Special. Mr. Buica also appeared on ABC's George Lopez Show where Mr. Lopez also cast Acting Corps students. Mr. Buica has given in depth interviews on BBC's Voice of America and NBC News about what to look for in a reputable acting school and Universal Studios engaged Mr. Buica' to teach The Acting Corps technique to their studio's tour guides.

Sydney Walsh

Sydney Walsh received her B.A. in theatre from Williams College. Shortly after graduating, she worked for a summer as part of The Second Company at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Born and raised in Manhattan, she returned to New York for what was supposed to be a short time, but ended up staying to play a psychopathic drug addict on The Guiding Light. She also appeared off-Broadway at The West Bank and The Ensemble Studio Theatre.

In 1985, Sydney moved to Los Angeles with plans to stay long enough for pilot season, and has never left. Her television credits include over 75 guest starring roles on such hit shows as CSI: NY, Without a Trace, Crossing Jordan, Nip/Tuck, The Division, NYPD Blue, ER, Medium, Nash Bridges, Touched by an Angel and The Practice. She also held series regular and recurring roles on such shows as Hooperman, Melrose Place, True Believer and Dream On. For Disney’s animated series, Teamo Supremo, she provided the voices for many villainous evil doers. Sydney won a Cable Ace Award for best supporting actress for her work in HBO’s Viet Nam War Stories. Her film credits include-- American Gun, Auggie Rose, Point Break, 3 Men and a  Little Lady, Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2, and the award-winning An Early Frost.

Sydney performed in and helped produce many one-act festivals, as well as playing the lead in an adaptation of Hedda Gabler. As a founding member of Plymouth, an avant garde theatre company, she worked as a moderator, teacher and actor for four years. She has been teaching acting since 1995 and is very happy to be a member of The Acting Corps faculty.

Nathanael Johnson

Nathanael received his Master's in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, and since graduation, he has appeared on several television shows including The O.C., Veronica Mars, Numb3rs and Medium. He has likewise performed at regional theatres across the nation – most notably the Yale Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company and South Coast Repertory.

Along with maintaining a professional acting career, Nathanael directs, teaches and coaches actors; he has taught for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF) as well as the Pacific Center of the Performing Arts. An up-and-coming director, he has directed The Tempest (with multiple Tony Award-Winning set designer Scott Pask), The Shape of Things (Lankershim Arts Center / Vitality Productions), Summertree, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Speed of Darkness and Sticks and Bones. http://www.nathanaeljohnson.com

At Yale, he was the recipient of the Constance Welsh Memorial Scholarship and the Oliver Thorndike Award for Excellence in Acting and received his BFA (summa cum laude) from the University of Evansville. He is a member of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee, Lab Twenty6, Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association. He is also a Registered Yoga Teacher (http://www.nathanyoga.com) and an avid mountaineer.

Sage Howard

Sage Howard is a Montana native who has a passion for acting, teaching, world travel and adventure. She holds a B.A. in Theatre with honors from Lewis and Clark College and an M.F.A from University of California, Irvine. She recently performed with regional theatres including Cornerstone Theatre Company, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Equinox Theatre. She was nominated for best supporting actress in the world premier of Eve's Rapture, for her role as Sin. Recent film credits include Blame the Rain, Retreat, and Making Room.

Sage has taught and directed theatre around the world. She taught Movement, Voice and Speech, Acting, and Theatre History at the University of California, Irvine. She also started a theatre group at the Good Shepherd Orphanage in Ghana, West Africa.

Corey Sorenson

Corey Sorenson received his MFA in acting from Temple University, where he studied with Fitzmaurice Master teacher Donna Snow. While in Philadelphia, he also worked and studied with Tony Award winner Bill Irwin before moving on to New York to continue his professional career.

Performing in over 50 plays, Corey has appeared in productions across the country and internationally, including work at The Old Globe, The New Group, and The Walnut Street Theatre. Some of his film and television work includes: The Wire, Law & Order:SVU, State of Mind, Rescue Me, Greek, Heartland, and the upcoming series The Circuit which he also wrote..

Louis Carazo

Louis holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of California, Irvine. He has appeared in regional theatres including The Guthrie, PCPA Theaterfest, and Musical Theatre West. His television credits include The Unit and Medium, and some film credits include Addicts with Michael K. Williams (The Wire), Las Angeles with Valente Rodriguez (George Lopez Show), Emiliano Diaz (George Lopez Show) and Patricia Rae (Maria Full of Grace). His recent movie TIC just won Best Ensemble Cast at the MethodFest Film Festival.

Louis has also taught acting at the University of CA, Irvine and at the University of CA, Riverside, where he has also directed in their main season.

Tyler Seiple

Tyler hails from Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated from the Ohio State University, before moving on to earn his Master of the Fine Arts at the University of California, Irvine. He has appeared on stage in over 40 plays, ranging from Measure for Measure and The Bacchae to The Producers and The Crucible. A champion of new works, Tyler has appeared in ten world premiere plays by world-famous playwrights such as Catherine Filloux, Mihai Maniutiu, and Charles Mee – as well as creating two of his own solo shows.

His professional film, TV, and new media credits include the award-winning film Separation Anxiety and the explosive series My Roommate the … Tyler is an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework® and has taught speech, voice, and acting at the University of California, Irvine.

Jen McPherson

Jen McPherson received her BA from the University of California, Los Angeles and received her graduate Meisner training with Bill Esper at the Esper Conservatory in New York. She has studied with Lesly Kahn, Cameron Thor, John Gould Rubin and Larry Moss and was a performer at The Second City and IO West.

She can be seen, currently, in Neil Patrick Harris' Accomplice: Hollywood, as well as upcoming films including Sprawl, Victoriana, The Deserted and Heterosexual Jill.

Rod McLachlan

Rod McLachlan received a BS in Speech and Drama from Northwestern University. His professional credits include seven shows on Broadway, five shows at Lincoln Center, five seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and numerous Regional Theater productions. In addition, Rod has appeared in countless films and guest starred on network series such as CSI and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He has taught on-camera acting at UC Riverside, and guest lectured at the American Repertory Theatre Institute, The Williamstown Theater Festival, and Northwestern University. He has also directed student showcases and plays in New York and Los Angeles.

Bethany Therese

A native of Minneapolis MN, Bethany studied at NYU Tisch School of The Arts where she received her BFA. She went on to study the Michael Chekhov technique with Lenard Petit. Shortly after she developed an interest in Improv and toured with the NY group the Chainsaw Boys and worked in an improv production on the Disney Magic.

Bethany's other credits include a variety of regional theatre, the Broadway tour of Mamma Mia! where she portrayed the quirky role of Ali, JC Superstar with Ben Vereen, The Sopranos, where she played opposite Steve Bushemi, and the film Humboldt County. She has also worked as a stand up comic in venues including Carolines and The Comic Strip in NY, The Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley (where she worked with Robin Williams), The Brea Improv, and The Hollywood Improv.

Karron Graves

Karron grew up in showbiz in NYC where she studied drama at the original Fame school, took hiatus to study Chinese in college, but ultimately returned to acting (they pulled me back in!) and ended up with a BA in English, Theatre & Dance from Princeton and an MFA from Yale.

Her acting credits include dozens of leading roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional, and Film/TV. Some favorite collaborations have been with director Melly Still for Broadway's Coram Boy; with director Anne Bogart and The SITI Co., leading their world premiere of Intimations for Saxophone at Arena Stage; opposite the late James Whitmore in Trying at Ford's Theatre and Our Town at Peterborough Players. Her favorite film roles include playing Mary Warren in the 20th Century Fox feature The Crucible, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Further Film/TV credits include The Good Shepherd, 5 Wishes, The Fig Tree, Monk, Guiding Light, Saturday Night Live, multiple Law & Order episodes, and Dolphin Cove (series regular).

Other stage venues include Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center/Newhouse, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, Denver Center, Dallas Theatre Center, and LA's A Noise Within, with directors like Nicholas Hytner, Greg Mosher, Lynn Meadow, Lisa Peterson, James Hammerstein, Gus Kaikkonnen, Michael Murray, Geoff Elliott, Trip Cullman, and David Muse.

Karron is proud to be on the faculty of The Acting Corps.  She has been teaching acting students for over 10 years, in NYC and at Wesleyan, Princeton and Yale Universities. 

David Johann Kim

David received his MFA in Acting from the University of California, San Diego. He also studied with Earl Gister and Ron Van Lieu at the Actors Center in NYC and in LA with Jeffrey Tambor. As an actor, he has performed at regional theatres on both coasts including: NY Theatre Workshop, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, The Huntington Theatre, Lincoln Center Institute, Syracuse Stage, La Mama NYC, El Teatro Campesino, The Magic Theatre and NYS Theatre Institute. David received critics choice awards for his performances in John Steinbeck's East Of Eden and Han Ong's Reasons To Live as well as for Neil LaBute's Bash directed by Les Waters.

As a filmmaker, David's long form short film Lossed recently received worldwide distribution. As writer and director, he developed Lossed with the lead actresses for 5 weeks prior to writing the script. His film, $/Dream won a Motor City Film Festival Award in Detroit. His newest film Mommy recently screened here in LA. He is currently developing several other projects.

David has taught acting in San Francisco, San Diego, and LA. His coaching in LA led to his being on (and off) set acting coach to the lead actor in Put It In A Book directed by Rodrigo Garcia. David has also been an Artist in Residence for The Kennedy Center's Imagination Celebration.

Jim Ortlieb

Jim Ortlieb studied with William Esper and Kathryn Gately-Poole at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey. After graduating Jim moved to Chicago and acted with all the major theaters in Chicago including The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Wisdom Bridge, Northlight and the Organic Theaters. His acting then took him to Cleveland, Washington DC, Vermont and Paris, to work with the Gare St. Lazare Players. While acting with the company he began a theatre festival in West Cork, Ireland which still continues today.

In 1999 Jim moved with his family to Los Angeles where he has worked continually as an actor, director, and teacher. Over the last five years Jim has travelled to New York to do Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention and Guys and Dolls on Broadway. He has just returned home after performing in the 1st National Tour of Billy Elliot, the Musical for two years in both Chicago and Toronto, Canada.

Jim has appeared in many films including Magnolia, Flatliners, and Home Alone. His television credits include, among many others, Grey's Anatomy, The Closer, Roswell, Six Feet Under and The Shield. Jim loves directing and teaching and is happy to be back in the classroom.