We are proud of our instructors and our current team of assistants. In our NYC-style boutique studio, our instructors offer you top-notch training. Classes are kept small in order to give our students the individualized attention needed to successfully hone their craft.

Our staff's mission is to produce confident, well rounded actors; our students leave The Workshop equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the competitive entertainment industry.

Born in Manhattan, Eliza moved to Ithaca at age two.  She performed her first role in a musical in sixth grade and kept acting until college, when she took a short break to study political science at CU Boulder and law at NYU. In NYC, Eliza was privileged to complete a two year Meisner program with Phil Gushee, who studied under Sanford Meisner and later taught at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre where Meisner originated his technique.  She also studied with Sally Johnson, another of Meisner’s students and one of New York's preeminent teachers of on-camera film audition technique. While studying under Phil and Sally, Eliza acted throughout the city. Her favorite performances were at the Harold Clurman theater in the shows Bubbling and Three Little Words. After an incredible experience acting in New York, Eliza followed her husband to Boston, where she soon joined the faculty of Boston's oldest theater conservatory, The Actor’s Workshop of Boston.  After only a few weeks, Eliza realized she although she loved acting,  nothing rivaled her passion for teaching.  After three years teaching in Boston, Eliza and her family of four (soon to be five) moved back to Ithaca where she founded The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca in 2001.  Eliza has taught a wide range of professional, semi-professional and amateur actors along with theater and film professors, opera singers, stand-up comics, models, musicians and directors.  Many of her students have been accepted into top theater programs in America and London and have forged successful careers in all areas of the entertainment business.

A longtime Ithacan, Katie was one of the first graduates of the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca’s comprehensive Meisner Technique program. She has also studied acting and scene study with Joe Calarco at the Hangar Theatre, Craig McDonald, Arno Selco at Ithaca College and Stephen Cole at Cornell University. Katie has not only directed and stage managed numerous shows, but has also worked extensively as an actress, including performing leading roles with the Babes in Arms Women’s Theatre Collective, Third Floor Productions, the Firehouse Theatre and in several independent films. Some favorite roles include Lydia in Morticians in Love, Joan in Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and Brooke in Popcorn. Her students have gone on to successful careers in directing, voice work, film and television. In addition to performing and teaching at the Workshop since 2004, Katie is the owner of evolution and avanti, two eclectic and diverse clothing stores in downtown Ithaca.

A long time Ithacan, David graduated in 2004 from Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications with a degree in Cinema Production. While at IC he wrote, directed and produced a number of short films including Robot Dreams and Good Housekeeping. The latter film was one of a half dozen student works selected from hundreds to be included in the Park School's 2004 PreVues program. He has worked on several projects since then, including local filmmaker Chris Julian's independent feature, Invisible Ink, and his most recent short, Hide and Seek. David, a Workshop graduate, works as an editor and videographer at Photosynthesis Productions. 

Amina Omari is an actor, director, and writer. She holds a BA in English Literature from Cornell University and is a graduate of the Actor’s Workshop.  Two of her short film scripts, The Anniversary and Stillborn, were recently filmed by a fellow Cornell alum, and she is currently developing a full-length script with other Ithaca filmmakers. When she's not writing, she's directing -- and when she's not directing, she's acting.  Most recently, she has performed as Lord Hastings in Richard III and starred in an original adaptation of Medea. By day, Amina is the Director of Publishing for Gimme! Coffee.

An Ithaca native and graduate of the Workshop, Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Film Production from Ithaca College. Chris is a prolific screenwriter; Gun Man, Asian Pretty, The Golden Age and Nightside are among his current projects. Chris recently completed the script for the short film Witchwood, in collaboration with another Ithaca College alumni, and is working on several independent projects with fellow Ithaca filmmakers. When he's not writing, Chris acts on stage and in film, most recently starring in the feature film All The World’s A Stage. By day, Chris is a residential counselor supervisor for Cayuga Addiction and Recovery Services.

Masa graduated from Rutgers University with a double BA in Music and Linguistics. A trained vocalist, he has performed in countless classical performances and operas, both on the university stage and with small opera companies. Since relocating to Ithaca and going through the Meisner program at the Actor’s Workshop, Masa has starred in many film and video projects, produced both by film students and by independent filmmakers in Ithaca and NYC. These projects have ranged from short experimental films with no dialogue to feature-length movies. By day, Masa is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at Cornell and a speech synthesis researcher at NovaSpeech LLC.

Abby has been an actress all her life. However, she just thought it was multiple personality disorder until she took an acting class at Cornell University (where she was studying Architectural Design) on a whim. Realizing she had discovered a hidden passion she sought out the Actor’s Workshop and has been addicted ever since. A graduate of the Workshop Abby is also a performing member of the Wing Space Theater Co. and the Left Wings Improv Comedy Troupe. She has starred in numerous film projects, ranging from IC student works to a feature-length film with an independent filmmaker in NYC. A designer by nature, and by training, Abby worked in Cornell’s Schwartz Center’s costume shop for the entirety of her Cornell Career and has since designed and created costumes, props, and sets, for several seasons at Ithaca’s Kitchen Theatre Co. For money Abby works for Vertical Access LLC, where she puts her architectural background to good use rappelling down buildings.

Even though Peggy Carey has only recently begun classes with the Actor's Workshop of Ithaca, she has been working on the showcases since she was eleven. Beginning young and just helping slightly with lights and sound, Peggy has now become the Actor's Workshop's 'Best Kept Secret' working with both the Meisner technique class and the Production class. When she's not working with the Actor's Workshop, Peggy stage manages with Running to Places and has also worked with the Kitchen Theatre's Teen Extreme and other community shows such as American Buffalo. Theatre aside, Peggy is currently a high school senior who still finds time to work hard in her third year of Link Crew and babysit frequently.