Natasha Yannacañedo
Address
Columbus Circle Station
PO Box 20846
New York, NY 10023
Phone 646.391.6136
Email natasha@nyactingcompany.com
Website www.nyactingcompany.com
Education
Master of Fine Arts in Acting, The American Conservatory Theater, 1997-2000
Graduate Program in Theater Arts, University of California at Santa Cruz, 1996-1997
Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts with Honors, University of California at Santa Cruz, 1992-1996
Summer Training Program Certificate, The American Conservatory Theater, 1995
Teaching Experience
Private Acting Coach for all ages since 1996.
Teaching Artist Residency through Artsgenesis at PS-254. Native American Tapestry with Acting and Movement. Kindergarten through third grade.
Teaching Artist Residency at Madison Junior School. Taught Acting to 7 th graders. Because many of the students had behavioral issues, course focused on the importance of listening and playing actions. S cene work, acting exercises, and improvisational games were used to teach these skills.
Teaching Artist Residency at Madison Junior School. Taught Acting to 8 th graders. The course focused on the importance of taking risks as an artist. Freewriting exercises were used to write autobiographical monologues and were later performed for the class. Also, improvisational games, acting exercises, and monologue and scene work were an integral part of this class structure.
Performance Lab I, a course designed for children in 4 th through 6 th grade to develop their performance skills. Class culminates in a performance. Taught at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey.
Performance Lab III, a course designed for teenagers to develop their performance skills. Class culminates in a performance. Taught at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey.
Fundamentals of Speech, a course that teaches the practice of extemporaneous speaking. Students receive an analysis and correction of individual speech problems. Taught at St. Francis College.
Character Development, a course designed for actors that want to develop their character building skills. Course includes in-depth work on a contemporary scene and exercises in creating character. Course taught through the N.Y. Acting Company.
Introduction to Acting, a course designed for beginner actors to teach the fundamentals of acting. Course included two contemporary scenes, one monologue, text analysis, and the fundamentals of building a character. Course taught through the N.Y. Acting Company.
Intermediate Scene Study, a course that focused on the importance of breath, playing the objective, listening, given circumstances, and being in the moment. Students worked in-depth on two contemporary scenes. Course taught through the N.Y. Acting Company.
Intermediate Scene Study. Teaching Assistant at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Taught vocal and movement warm-up and coached the scenes along with the instructor. Coached students privately outside of the classroom.
Acting Workshop. Volunteered and taught at the Bay Area Girls Center in San Francisco, California to teenage girls. Workshop designed to build self-confidence and promote active listening in the moment.
Fundamentals of Acting. Taught semi-private acting class to twelve-year-old girls. Covered a broad range of material, focusing primarily on improvisational skills and scene study.
Voice and Movement and Improvisation. Taught children at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Directed A Midsummer’s Night Dream and The Zanies.
Introduction to Acting and Dance & Movement classes. Teaching Assistant at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Took attendance, corrected essays, and privately coached scenes. Wrote the narrative evaluations for the students. (Narrative evaluations at this University are used in lieu of grades.)
Core Writing Class. Writing Assistant at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Tutored University students to improve their writing skills.
ESL II and Spanish for Spanish Speakers. Teacher’s Aide at Santa Cruz High School.
John Muir Deaf and Hard of Hearing Pre-school class, Berkeley, California. Teacher's Assistant. Supervised three and four year old deaf and hearing-impaired children using speech and sign language as the communication mode. Assisted in developing their English receptive and expressive language skills. Some of the children were multi-handicapped.
Personal Tutor/Assistant. Supervised a multi-handicapped, hearing and visually impaired child.
Directing Experience
Directed several Acting Showcases over the past five years in New York City.
Directed Blood Astounds Me at NY Artists Unlimited in New York City.
Assistant directed national PSA voiceover for the Federal Highway Administration.
Directed various performances at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey for their conservatory.
Directed teens in productions of A Midsummer’s Night Dream and The Zanies at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
Directed own adaptation of Borderlands: La Frontera for Women’s Ensemble Theater in Santa Cruz, California.
Directed Friends of the Family, a new play in development for a Play Development Workshop in Santa Cruz, California.
Philosophical Interests and Course Development
I create a safe, nurturing, non-competitive environment for children to explore the craft of acting; this supportive atmosphere allows students to take risks, develop as artists, and grow as human beings. It takes tremendous courage to expose one's artistic side and I believe we should begin nurturing the artist in the child as soon as possible. The world would be a better place if we had more people in touch with their artistic side. Helping children to work through fear and inhibitions can be the most empowering part of teaching; I was an extremely shy child and movement, voice, and acting truly liberated me. What excites me about art is that it is about the human experience so the potential for growth is infinite. I teach my students the importance of breath and to trust their bodies. I believe in unleashing positive impulses, staying open and present to the moment, and the ability to respond spontaneously to what your partner is giving you. I teach warm-up exercises to bring the student into a state of being where their instrument can experience maximum creativity, imagination, and relaxation. I believe in empowering the children to discover their creative soul.
Company Membership
Judith Shakespeare Company, winner OOBR award 1996 is a not-for-profit theatre ensemble dedicated to discovering what lies at the heart of a great play through the exploration of its language; and to re-examining the roles for women in classical theatre. Company Member.
Theater in the Flesh, a collaborative, ensemble movement theater company dedicated to pushing the boundaries and expectations of contemporary theater. Company Member.
The Tango Company, a New York based Argentine Tango dance company. Acting Consultant & Company Member.
Teatro: La Raza. Organization's purpose is to support and promote Latinos in the arts. President & Company Member.
Union Membership
SAG, Screen Actors Guild
AEA, Actors’ Equity Association
Experience
Please see acting resume.
Traveled throughout Northern California with The Salt That Saved the Kingdom, a traveling children's theater show based on Shakespeare's King Lear. Lead role.
Training
Acting: Dennis Krausnick, Lee Breuer, Virginia Ness Ray, Timothy Douglas, Gregory Wallace, Melissa Smith, Joan Mankin, Larry Hecht, Chris Herold, Kevin Jackson, Olympia Dukakis, Ellen Novack, Joanna Merlin, Brian Lohman, Sheila Kelley, Carey Perloff, Falk Richter, Joanna Merlin, Simone Girgea
Voice & Speech: Jeffrey Crockett, Deborah Sussel
Singing: Peter Maleitzske, Stephanie Weems
Movement & Dance: Priscilla Regalado (Dance), Mel Wong (Dance), Gregory Hoffman (Combat), Phil Soltanoff (Viewpoints), Frank Ottiwell (Alexander), Jared Sakren (Mask), Jeffrey Bihr (Suzuki), Lorna Fordyce (Tap), Arina Issacson (Clown), Cecilia Saia (Tango), Roberto Reis (Tango), Bill Irwin (Clown), David Shiner (Clown), Bonita Bradley (Imaginative Movement), Kathryn Roszak (Period Movement)
Miscellaneous
Selected Panelist for Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey’s Young Playwrights Contest
Passed CBEST.
Fingerprinted for New York Department of Education.
Diversity Council Member at the American Conservatory Theater
Volunteered for B.A.M.M., teaching teenage girls self-defense
Team Leader AIDS Walk New York, Judith Shakespeare Company
Team Leader AIDS Walk San Francisco, American Conservatory Theater
References and Letters of Recommendation Available Upon Request