Stacy Edwards

Moving to Chicago on a dance scholarship with the Hubbard Street Dance school, it is also where Stacy started to pursue her theater training by studying the Meisner Technique at Wisdom Bridge Theater's acting program. 

She was soon seen in plays around town, including 'In The Boom Boom Room' and 'Agnes Of God'. As a founding member of the 'Center Theater' company, she appeared in, 'Lysistrata 2011 A.D.' the musical.

Stacy was soon cast in the soap opera, 'Santa Barbara', which brought her to Los Angeles. Over the years, Stacy has appeared in numerous series and movies of the week. Most notably, HBO's Vietnam War Stories, TNT's film, Houdini and a series regular on Chicago Hope. Most recently she has appeared on, Shameless, Pure Genius and The Fosters.

In film, Stacy won best actress at the Taormina Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her role in, In The Company of Men. You can also see her in Primary Colors, Superbad and The Bling Ring.

Jolene Kay

Jolene Kay found her way into commercials, film, and television through her athletic pursuits. She grew up in the midwest, where camping, floating the river, rock climbing, pole vaulting, and softball gave way to theatre exploration at the University of Missouri. Once in LA, the special skills lead to her beginning roles in J.J. Abrams Star Trek, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and a rock climbing campaign for Coca-Cola.

She has appeared in countless other commercials for companies like Home Depot, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Dr. Scholls, Naked Juice, Nespresso, Best Buy, Cigna, American Airlines, Rocket Mortgage, and more.

Her television credits include a season-long role in Bosch: Legacy, and guest stars in NCIS: LA, The Terminal List, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, House of Lies, Colony, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Rizzoli & Isles, and Flaked.

Jolene has worked for many years as a session director in casting, allowing her a unique perspective on auditions. She brings her experience to the classroom, both as an actor and someone who works side-by-side with casting directors. “It’s absolutely my goal to help students break down commercial copy, get more callbacks, and book. But just as important is taking the wins in this work that we do, and there are so many, even if they don’t lead to booking. I love getting to highlight those for students in the A-Z classes.

Spencer Kramber

Spencer Kramber is a working actor, veteran commercial session director, and sought-after acting coach who brings real-world industry insight to every class. Over the past two decades, he’s run sessions for more than twenty top casting directors across Los Angeles, logging over 10,000 hours behind the camera and facilitating auditions for over 1,000 commercial campaigns.

If you've seen a commercial in the last ten years, chances are he's slated the actor in it—over 100,000 auditions and counting. Spencer knows what books because he sees it daily, and his teaching style reflects that firsthand knowledge: clear, candid, and actor-empowering.

A Minnesota native with an MFA from UCLA, Spencer combines Midwestern roots with SoCal industry savvy to help actors show up, stand out, and stay grounded in their craft.

Tom Burke

After transitioning from a successful print model working with well-known photographers and designers appearing in numerous campaigns in magazines and on runways all over the world, to an accomplished on-camera actor in commercials, stage work, feature films, soap operas, and episodic television, to a proficient on-set acting coach specializing in characters with mental disabilities... Tom focused his wealth of knowledge and keen eye to become one of L.A.’s premier image consultants, headshot coaches, and creator of the Castable Actor, a series of workshops, seminars, and advice designed to help actors open doors to a successful career.

Tom Burke’s work experience in the different acting mediums together with his diverse training in various acting methods (taught by some of the most renown acting teachers spanning New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles) has developed a talent to be able to successfully teach, coach, and understand a wide range of actors, helping them pinpoint their specific types, brands, and most marketable images. He currently writes a monthly column for BACKSTAGE, which helps actors understand the importance of creating, presenting, and packaging a marketable, branded image that the film and television industry is buying.

Ava Himmel

Ava Himmel has a serious passion for all things commercials. She is a proud SAG-AFTRA member who, while starting her career in film and television, found way more fun putting her improv and comedy skills to work in the commercial arena. Over the years, she’s performed in many commercial campaigns for brands like AT&T, UPS, McDonald's, KFC, Samsung, Dunkin’ Donuts, Spectracide, etc.

For well over a decade, Ava has also been a highly respected Commercial Session Director, helping other actors through their audition process. She’s worked at nearly every casting studio in LA (and Toronto) and for most of the Commercial Casting Directors around town. Everyone from: Elevator Casting, Dan Bell, RMB, Deming Casting, Jodi Sonnenberg, ASG, Jane Doe, McBride, Spot Casting, Katie Taylor, and many, many more. In that time, she has been involved in 10,000+ audition situations and, needless to say, has seen it all!

Throughout the years, Ava’s passion for commercials has only intensified, as has her passion for helping her fellow actors. She is always looking for ways to share her knowledge, experience, and love of the commercial world.

Donna Rusch

Donna Rush was named LA's Favorite Kids' Acting Coach by Backstage West Readers. She has vivid childhood memories of wanting to be an actor growing up in Houston. That, along with being a mom, fuels her passion for helping young actors learn the skills needed to succeed while having fun!

Donna has been seen in dozens of commercials over her career, including recent spots for Capital One with Spike Lee, Charles Barkley, and Samuel L. Jackson.  This Fall, she appears in the new NBC comedy Marlon, the new season of American Crime Story, and the upcoming Feature Film Spinning Man with Pierce Brosnan. She's excited about a new project in the works to reprise her role in the sequel to the film Street.  Other credits include Gone Girl, How to Get Away With Murder, Criminal Minds, and Revenge. 

As a former Texas News Anchor, Talk Show Host, and Reporter, Donna can be heard weekday mornings as Host of SoCal's MorningRush on 99.5 KKLA radio in Los Angeles. She's married to her college sweetheart, Craig.

LisA Frederickson

Lisa Fredrickson has been teaching and performing improv since 1989. She has been an ensemble member of Seattle’s Unexpected Productions, Orlando’s SAK Comedy Lab, Walt Disney World’s Comedy Warehouse, California Adventure’s Department of Untapped Hilarity, Universal Studio’s New York Window and LA’s Impro Theatre,  where she currently teaches and improvises full length plays in the styles of Tennessee Williams, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and more.

During the school year, Lisa can be found teaching classes and running Improv groups at California Lutheran University and Harvard Westlake Upper School.

Lisa has appeared in numerous TV commercials in the last 25 years, including Target,  AT&T,  Avis,  The NFL, Got Milk?,  Little Caesars Pizza, AARP,  Geico, and International Delight. You may have seen her in a few TV shows as well, including Desperate Housewives, Chuck, Greek, and The Tick. 

Lisa encourages her students to ‘find the fun’ in a scene, a script, or in everyday life! She enjoys babies and Banjos.

Doug Traer

Doug began his acting/directing career in his native Florida, where he earned his degree in Media Communications while serving as a reporter, photographer, and eventually managing editor at his college newspaper.   He also developed his talent for acting, performing at area theaters in such diverse productions as Twelfth Night, An Enemy of the People, As You Like It, and Pippin, which he co-directed.  He was then asked to direct several productions, including The Rainmaker, Play It Again, Sam, and The Wizard of Oz.

Since moving to Los Angeles, he has worked as an actor and appeared in a number of national commercials.  On film and television, he has appeared in a recurring role on General Hospital, as well as doing a string of films, including Brenda Starr, with Brooke Shields.

Besides acting, he works as a casting session director, video director/editor/cameraman, and commercial casting director, as well as teaching commercial and theatrical acting classes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Oakland, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Phoenix.  He's also done two international stints, teaching American acting to Japanese students in Tokyo.  By his estimate, he has seen well over 200,000 commercial auditions.

Soledad campos

Soledad Campos fell in love with acting after seeing Oedipus El Rey at the National Theatre and TV shows like Bonanza and The Brady Bunch in her native country, Chile. 

She couldn’t get enough of theatre, so she performed for ten years, non-stop, in Washington, DC, including works like the title role La Malquerida at Gala Hispanic Theatre, New-Visions New Voices at The Kennedy Center, and Camino Real at The Shakespeare Theatre. She also performed Mexican Folklore for five years at many venues in Washington, DC.  During the day, she was the Program Creator/Producer of “Encuentros: Latin/o America at the Smithsonian" for the Smithsonian Institution.

Upon moving to Los Angeles sixteen years ago, she has been in over 30 commercials in both the Spanish and English markets. She worked opposite Forest Whitaker in the film Powder Blue and has been a co-star in Gilmore Girls, Samantha Who?, Raising Hope, and The Mindy Project. One of her favorite projects, though, has been working on the DGA’s 48 Hour short film Coffee Break because she loved the creativity and teamwork under extreme adrenaline!

Soledad has been teaching Spanish for 15 years and freelances as a dialect coach for Casting Directors and On-Set for commercials. Soledad offers Accent Reduction and private training for Latinx acting.

Frankie Manes

Frankie Manes began acting at the age of 3 and throughout his career has booked numerous national commercials, television shows, and films.

While studying at California Lutheran University, he began producing films and working with a wide variety of actors, celebrities, and influencers. After discovering his talents with social media and a window of opportunity, he used his relationships & network to start his own media company - Media 43, Inc. After leaving Los Angeles to embark on a new chapter of life in Dallas, he was introduced to Zachary at FIG Marketing/Advertising. Through that relationship, Media 43 was able to merge under the FIG umbrella and exponentially grow. 

Some of his clients include David Henrie, Gregg Sulkin, Judy Kain, Keep It Real Acting, FSSP, Austin Sprinz, and Jaden Sprinz, as well as many more.