meet our teachers
In addition to teaching for The Groundlings, Phyllis coaches and designs and runs writing, character, improv, and musical improv classes independently. She has been a guest teacher at a variety of schools, (UCLA, USC, The Piven Theatre Workshops, ArtCenter College of Design, and the 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne, to name a few) and is a recurring guest teacher at the Collaborative, Audition Workout, Margie Haber Studios and the Actors Comedy Studio. She’s consulted on casting for CBS, designed and directed a diversity program and show through The Groundlings for Nickelodeon, and for 11 years has run a workshop she created for LA Opera’s Young Artist Program. Some of her corporate clients include Facebook, Google, Mindshare, Omaze, Yoplait, Activision, Olipop, and the Troika Design Group.
Phyllis also directs her own improvised stage creations, most recently Opera Meets Improv (With LA Opera’s Young Artists), A Bunch of Losers Reading Their Essays (a satire of storytelling shows), and the stage music series Fake Benefits, which so far includes The Benefit to Buy Harper Scharfman Higher SAT Scores and The Benefit to Help Bitsy Petrauskus Get Some of Her Teeth Fixed. Her memoir, Hipwrecked is available on Amazon, or she’ll be happy to read it to you over the phone, for a small fee. She’s married to photographer Rob Lewine and has never met a dog or cat she didn’t wish was hers.
Phyllis Katz is an actor, writer, director, improviser, teacher, and coach who has worked in film, TV, and stage for most of her adult life. She is a former member of Chicago’s Second City Touring Company, as well as a pioneer member, director, instructor, and current board member of The Groundlings Theatre, where she also co-created the school.
Phyllis Katz
As a writer, she launched her career with the pilot Appletown, which landed on the Tracking Board’s Young & Hungry List. On the television side, with her writing partner, she staffed on TNT’s hit show The Librarians and sold a pilot: Mansfield Park to Tornante Media.
On the feature side, her and her writing partner wrote Something Blue, the sequel to the breakout hit Something Borrowed (Kate Hudson) for Black Label Media, as well as the book adaptation of Serpent’s Bite by Warren Adler (War of the Roses) with Grey Eagle Films. They recently sold their feature I Won’t Be Home For Christmas to UCP for USA Networks. Their feature Lion in the Library is in pre-production with Level Forward & Prodigal Entertainment.
As a producer she has overseen and/or produced ten shorts, and is in active development on two micro-budget features. .
Alexa is an adjunct professor of Screenwriting at USC., and also teaches screenwriting at New York Film Academy for both BFA & MFA students. She has had speaking engagements with Women in Film, Brian Patacca, and Caricon among others. She serves as a Backstage Expert, and was recently a contributing writer to The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writers’ Life In Prison.
She is a graduate of Vassar College with a degree in theater and history.
Alexa started her career as an actor, working in independent features, as well as hit shows such as Masters of Sex, Lucifer, The West Wing & more, she’s most well known for playing Allison on the Emmy winning AMC Drama Mad Men for four seasons, for which she won a SAG Award.
Alexa Alemanni
In 2007, he co-founded an Emmy award-winning full-service post-production company, which provides editorial, VFX, finishing, and on-set supervision and production services for Television, film, and commercials. His experience has led him to work on a wide variety of projects all over the world.
Sam has been working in the entertainment industry for over a decade acting, producing, writing, and directing.
Sam Kryszek
Ellyn Jameson is best known for her recent recurring role in the final season on Barry on HBO. Other TV credits include Seal Team, Law & Order, Here & Now and Criminal Minds. She produced and starred in the SXSW Narrative Short Audience Award Winner, Aspirational Slut, for which she also won Best Actress at Just For Laughs. Ellyn also produced and starred in the independent feature film, Seven Days, which premiered at Cinequest in 2022.
Ellyn earned her BFA in Acting at the College Conservatory of Music (CCM), studied Meisner technique at The Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC, and has been a part of countless theater productions across the country. Her newest upcoming role is the feature film "Marv" starring Zoey Deschanel.
Ellyn is proud to be a passionate life long-student, and now teacher, of acting. Getting her start in the theater, Ellyn now has over a decade of experience as a working screen actor and producer in Los Angeles and NYC.
Ellyn Jameson
After getting his start in Japan's entertainment industry, Hiroshi moved to the U.S. to pursue his acting career. He has studied and worked with Aaron Speiser, training to coach and teach actors.
Some of Hiroshi's most notable film works include The Last Samurai and Letters From Iwo Jima, for which he was hand picked by Clint Eastwood. The film won the Golden Globe Award for best foreign-language film and was nominated for an Oscar for best picture.
Hiroshi has also done many theater productions, most notably The Odd Couple, The Good Doctor, Pillow Talk, Iphigenia In Aulis, The Trojan Women, and Two Nobel Kinsmen.
Hiroshi was born in Tokyo, Japan. He is a professional working Actor and Acting Coach in Japan.
Hiroshi Watanabe
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Academy award winning work
Aaron Speiser worked with Will Smith in both pre-production and on set for the entirety of his award winning performance in King Richard.
Aaron has been working with Will for over 20 years— his performance in King Richard earned him an Oscar for Best Actor as well as a SAG Award, Critics Choice Award, and Golden Globe.
