Kelley is passionate about teaching and is dedicated to helping actors of all levels realize their full potential and establish a strong technique in their craft. He is skilled at helping prepare actors pursuing a career in the professional acting world, bringing over 30 years of his award-winning active professional work in NYC, Los Angeles, and regionally in all facets of the industry: film, television, theater, musical theater, commercials, industrials, and voiceovers. He conveys a practical, fresh, supportive, and personal approach to teaching a time-tested acting technique.
Kelley studied directly with two icons of the modern American acting technique:
- Sanford Meisner - developed the Meisner technique, widely recognized as one of the foremost acting techniques today, during his years heading the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in NYC. http://neighborhoodplayhouse.org
- Kelley began his professional training at the Neighborhood Playhouse in 1980 and completed his training in Meisner technique upon graduation in 1982, working directly with "Sandy" Meisner and other outstanding faculty.
- Robert Lewis - "Bobby" Lewis was an American actor, director, teacher, author, and founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947. In addition to his accomplishments on Broadway and in Hollywood, Lewis' greatest and longest lasting contribution to American theater may be the role he played as one of the foremost acting and directing teachers of his day. He was an early proponent of the Stanislavski System of acting technique and a founding member of New York's revolutionary Group Theatre in the 1930s. In the 1970s, he was the Head of the Yale School of Drama Acting and Directing Departments.
- Kelley studied with Bobby Lewis in 1986-87 in NYC in his advanced scene study class on character work in scenes from classic theatre.
Kelley's additional training in New York City includes:
Scene Study with Suzanne Shepherd (GOODFELLAS, THE SOPRANOS), an early student of Meisner and the first woman to teach his technique. https://suzanneshepherd.com/about/
Scene Study and Character Work with Sande Shurin, author of STAR POWER and TRANSFORMATIONAL ACTING: A STEP BEYOND http://sandeshurin.com
Voice and vocal performance with Dominic Cossa of the NYC Opera
Kelley was a guest observer at the Actors Studio in NYC in 1986-87 and acted in Eve Ensler’s (author of The Vagina Monologues) THE DEPOT, a two character play with Shirley Knight (Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe winning actress) directed by Joanne Woodward.
Kelley's training in LA includes:
Shakespeare performance with Kevin Kelly and monologue work with legendary casting director Stanley Soble as well as numerous auditioning workshops.
