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LOS ANGELES FACULTY
Our Instructors are working actors to ensure the competitive relevance of all training at our Studio.
WE ARE WORKING ACTORS
DEAN ARMSTRONG
Dean Armstrong is a screen test advisor, pre-production, and on-set acting coach for various networks and feature film production companies including HBO, HULU, SHOWTIME, The CW, NETFLIX, AMAZON, UNIVERSAL and DISNEY. His collaboration in this capacity has not only influenced the critical acclaim of many stars, but his direction has also served as the basis for casting and the subsequent development of national and international talent.
Founder of Armstrong Acting Studios, Toronto (1997), Dean maintains an active commitment to the support and development of aspiring and established actors across North America.
An actor himself, Dean's credits include recurring roles on CHAPELWAITE, SUPERNATURAL and Showtime's QUEER AS FOLK as well as a Broadway debut in Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize + Tony Award winning musical RENT.
LARA JEAN CHOROSTECKI
AAS LA Artistic Director Lara Jean Chorostecki is an award winning actress and coach with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Known for her versatility and craft, her career has explored nearly every genre both in front of the camera and on stage.
MICHELLE ALEXANDER
Michelle Alexander is an actor and writer – she has 10+ years of experience in front of the camera as well as in theatre and has been recognized internationally for her writing. She splits her time between Toronto and Los Angeles.
STACEY FARBER
Stacey Farber is an actress known for Degrassi: The Next Generation, Virgin River, and Schitt's Creek.
SARAH FISHER
After training regularly with Dean Armstrong Sarah quickly landed a lead role in Degrassi. She has been working regularly ever since and is delighted to now have the opportunity to give back to emerging new talent at the studio what it has given her.
ALLEGRA FULTON
Allegra Fulton is an award-winning actor and director who has been working professionally since she was 11 years old, on stages and sound stages across Canada, the US and in the EU. Versed in Classical and Contemporary Theatre, Film and TV, Commercial Voice Over and Animation, her range and experience lend her many skills to approach the work with rigour and expertise. As a coach, she is keen to help anyone become the best actor they can be.
MARK GAGLIARDI
Mark Gagliardi is an LA-based actor who currently plays Father Chuck on CBS’s Blood & Treasure. He’s a theatre veteran, a frequent guest on family sitcoms, a regular in The Thrilling Adventure Hour, and a voice actor for Disney, WB, and Adult Swim, but he is likely best known as the original and frequent narrator of Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning hit Drunk History. He’s also a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, the Second City Training Center, and a decade of acting at Disneyland & Universal Studios Hollywood.
JOCELYN HUDON
Jocelyn Hudon was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Originally a ballerina, she trained and performed at the National Ballet School of Canada since the age of eleven. After completing a degree in communications and a post graduate degree in PR, she began her acting career. She is known for her roles in Guillermo Del Toro's "The Strain", Adam Sandlers "Pixels" and her leading role in "When Hope Calls".
FARAH MERANI
Farah Merani is a Muslim actor, filmmaker, educator, and advocate currently based in LA and Toronto. She is a graduate of the Drama Centre London and has performed in Canada and the US, throughout Europe and in Russia. Some of her TV and film credits include: Shadowhunters, Nikita, Lost Girl, Covert Affairs, Private Eyes and the upcoming feature film, Eat Wheaties!, featuring Tony Hale. In addition to being an actor, she has produced dozens of films with her company, Lifeguard Productions, co-founded a non-profit called Women on Screen, and serves as a diversity and inclusion consultant for film and tv with her former co-chair of the ACTRA Toronto Diversity Committee.
NIKHIL PAI
Nikhil is a Los Angeles-based actor, teacher, and audition coach. He has worked extensively with the Independent Shakespeare Co. for over ten years performing roles like Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Lucio in Measure for Measure, Arnie in the West Coast premiere of Snow Geese, and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. He is currently the Chair of the Outreach Committee on the company’s Board of Directors. He has also flexed his movement muscles with the dance-based theatre companies Theatre Movement Bazaar and Critical Mass Group and has been a frequent collaborator with one of LA’s premiere immersive performance companies, The Speakeasy Society. His film and TV credits include Grace and Frankie, Westworld, Castle, Jane the Virgin, Superstore, Selfie, Hollywood Stargirl, and Miss Stevens. He earned his MFA from California Institute of the Arts.
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