Thursday, November 7, 2024

Meet Our Instructors! | Appearing Studio Chicago

We’re lucky to have such inspiring academics at ASC. We’re excited to focus on a couple of new additions which were serving to our college students develop. Meet our instructors, Sarah Tolan-Mee, Joshua Moaney, and Sara Mountjoy-Pepka!

Sarah Tolan-Mee is an actor and director from NYC. She guides actors and inventive artists, together with Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, and PEN award winners, in expressive embodiment. She is a protege of the good motion trainer Moni Yakim and holds an MFA from Juilliard in Drama. Appearing consists of: Martyna Majok’s queens (LCT3), Sarah Ruhl’s Melancholy Play (13P) and Stage Kiss (The Goodman). Moreover, New Saloon’s Minor Character (Underneath the Radar), and Wallace Shawn’s A Thought In Three Components (FRANK). Additionally together with Lucy Thurber’s Named (Rising Phoenix Rep), Kenneth Prestininzi’s Love within the Seventh Kingdom of Wrath (Dream Up Competition) and Chaste (Entice Door), Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (Andre Gregory). She has developed work with Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, Clubbed Thumb, NYTW, P73, The Roundabout, The Winery, The Lark, Major Levels, Denver Middle, and The Playwright’s Middle.

What’s your favourite a part of educating?

My favourite a part of educating is watching college students’ radically completely different processes, and seeing them come alive by way of exploration of method. The phrases “method,” “craft” or “talent” can sound overly mechanical, however I’ve discovered the other. Good method frees an actor, opens her creativeness, and creates an immediacy in her work. It’s breathtaking to witness actors actually experiment and to be in a room stuffed with people who find themselves keen to make the leap into artistic course of. I really like witnessing the magic of transformation and the dwelling laboratory nature of the classroom. I want extra rehearsal rooms included the daring of an ASC class.

Why ASC?

I really like ASC’s combine of heat, rigor, and dedication to truthful, expansive performing.

BONUS: When you weren’t an actor (or a trainer), what would you be?

If I weren’t an actor I’d be a physicist. The drama of house and time!!!


Joshua Moaney is a Chicago-based actor and trainer. He graduated together with his MFA from The Theatre Faculty at DePaul College in 2013. Moaney’s stage credit embrace theaters comparable to Remy Bumppo, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Lifeline Theatre, the place he’s additionally a educating artist.
Concurrently, Moaney works with The Lyric Opera of Chicago. His most up-to-date performing credit embrace Le Comte Ory, Macbeth, Eranani, and Fireplace Shut Up in My Bones.
On-camera credit embrace Empire (Fox) and Chicago Med (NBC). Josh has additionally been seen in nationwide and regional commercials for manufacturers like Dicks Sporting Items, Goal, Kraft, ComEd, Large Tons, Room Place, Ace {Hardware}, and extra.

What’s your favourite a part of educating?

I be taught as a lot from my college students as they do from me. The keenness and pleasure they convey to the studio makes educating straightforward.


Sara Mountjoy-Pepka involves Chicago through Los Angeles and Seattle and could be very completely happy to be right here. As an actor, Sara loves all theater however has a selected focus in Shakespeare. Sara has loved working regionally with Nice River Shakespeare Competition, Seattle Shakespeare/ Wood O, Montana Shakespeare within the Parks, Will Geer’s Theatrical Botanicum, and extra. An expert improviser, she was an organization member of the award-winning Impro Theatre in LA and Seattle’s Surprising Productions. Every with a particular deal with improvising full-length performs in traditional genres like Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Dorothy Parker. An organization member of Magic Circle Mime Firm, Sara spent 17 years miming throughout North America, Europe and Asia with the world’s greatest symphony orchestras. Sara can also be a director, together with Impro Theatre/ Garry Marshall Theatre’s smash-hit Jane Austen Unscripted, and 7 sold-out seasons of The Improvised Era (within the fashion of Star Trek: TNG).

What’s your favourite a part of educating?

I benefit from the journey of determining what every pupil must thrive and shine. Generally, [a student] has a breakthrough their very firstclass, and generally, you’re assessing and experimenting collectively for some time till immediately, one thing clicks.

Why ASC?

Straightforward – I began as a pupil right here and instantly felt this was an excellent group for me. I’ll proceed being a pupil at the same time as I step into educating…I used to be refreshing the grownup courses web page as we speak!

BONUS: When you weren’t an actor (or a trainer), what would you be?

A farmer. In one other life, I personal and run a self-sustaining natural farm within the Pacific Northwest with largely crops/ orchards and some completely happy hens. I can’t emphasize the hole between the information it could take to succeed at that and the information I at present have, however my metropolis pastime within the meantime is native plant gardening.

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