Featured Courses

Playwriting for Humanity: Actors & Writers Lab

Presented by Eduardo Machado & Michael Domitrovich –

Held in person:

A revolutionary approach to new play development in which four writers and fifteen actors collaborate to create full-length plays written specifically for the actors who will perform them.

Under the guidance of master playwright Eduardo Machado, writers engage in a series of exercises refined over his 30+ years of teaching—soon to be published in his forthcoming book, Playwriting for Humanity. Each day’s new scenes are immediately brought to life by the actors, using a meditative, consciousness-based technique developed by Michael Domitrovich. This process deepens collaboration and artistic intuition, enhancing traditional theatrical training rather than replacing it.

Actors will gain the tools to work dynamically with playwrights in the creation of new work, empowering their own point of view while learning to embody new characters swiftly and completely—skills that translate directly to auditions and professional work.

Writers will complete the workshop with a finished full-length play, culminating in two public staged readings presented at the end of the program in Spring Term 2026.

Acting for the Immigrant Actor

Presented by Hadi Tabbal –

As immigrant actors, we are not only from somewhere else. We also come to this industry with different cultural sensibilities, languages, accents, physical behavior, human experiences, blindspots, and expectations. We also often find ourselves having to deal with way more than the craft. There are artistic, legal, and financial pressures that are particular to immigrants. What do we need to build our careers in theater, film, and TV? And how can we ‘own’ who we are at every step of the way? This class is designed for aspiring and early career actors in the U.S. It covers the 1) artistic aspect of acting and audition technique for theater, film, and TV, 2) 2) the business aspect and how the acting industry works, and 3) the legal aspect of employment authorization that is a kind of difficulty exclusive to international actors. The class is deeply rooted in practice across a wide range of material from film, TV, and theater.

Hadi Tabbal is a NY-based theater, film, and TV actor and writer. Hadi just starred in the Pulitzer prize-winning play ENGLISH on Broadway which opened to rave reviews and was named the best play of the decade by Variety. Hadi himself won an Obie Award and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel for his work on ENGLISH at The Atlantic Theater. Hadi also starred in the NY Times Critic’s Pick production of THE VAGRANT Trilogy at The Public Theater. On television, Hadi starred as Amir Al-Raisani on NBC’s THE BRAVE… read more

The Actor’s Gymnasium (Mercedes Ruehl)

Presented by Mercedes Ruehl –

This class is for actors who have begun to establish reliable technique and amass a serious résumé. We will continue to hone technique through exercises and we will concern ourselves with the power of rhythm, of silence, of synchronicity, and the random wellsprings that open when the actor is 100% present in the moment.

You must apply to be accepted into this class. (Students previously accepted to study with Ruehl in 2025 may enroll without applying; all other students who have not studied in 2025 must apply)