Ken Schatz: About the Artist
A leading acting teacher and coach in New York City, KEN SCHATZ has been training professional actors for over 18 years. His mission is to equip them with the specific creative vocabulary, tools, and skills they need to do their best work. Ken has taught, coached, and directed for many well-known acting schools, colleges and universities, production companies, talent agencies, and casting offices, including NYU Tisch School of the Arts, The Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Harlem School of the Arts, Gorilla Rep, The Actors Institute, NYC’s Professional Performing Arts School, SUNY, University of Vermont, Jim Simpson’s Bat Theater Company, PHYSIQUE Studio at Carnegie Hall, MTV, and Pat McCorkle Casting. He is currently on the faculty at The Circle in the Square Acting School.
Ken’s coaching credits include Tim Blake Nelson’s THE GREY ZONE with David Arquette and Steve Buscemi (Killer Films), COP LAND with Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY with Matt Dillon and Cameron Diaz, SHADRACH with Harvey Keitel and Andie MacDowell, ABC’s SPIN CITY, CRIME SPREE, and many other films, commercials, and theatre productions. He is trained by Moni Yakim (creator of the movement programs at Juilliard and Yale, author of CREATING A CHARACTER) in Physical Acting Technique, and featured in the ACT NY Guide to Qualified Acting Coaches.
Ken’s acting credits include KING LEAR with André De Shields at Classical Theatre of Harlem and The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, B.H. Barry’s TREASURE ISLAND, THE LIBERTINE with Fools’ Theatre, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM with Gorilla Rep, The Monotony Variety Show at Todo Con Nada, and SESAME STREET. He has performed with many well-known theatre companies, including Golden Rivet, Blue Light, Willow Cabin, JMTC, Dancing in the Streets, MaskWork Unlimited, Kinding Sindaw, and Bread & Puppet. His voice-over credits include MTV’s DARIA, HBO, SESAME STREET, Air America Radio, Disney, and Mo Willems’ Cartoon Network series SHEEP IN THE BIG CITY.
Ken is Artistic Director of POOK’S HILL, a new company of theatre artists and musicians producing classic plays and developing innovative performance works from history, literature, and folklore. A powerful singer and arranger of traditional/roots music – sea songs and chanteys, gospel, blues, ballads, and worksongs – he performs regularly at folk music clubs, festivals, and concert venues, and has designed vocal scores for several theatre projects.
“Mr. Schatz is simply superb.” — The New York Times
“Remarkable” — The Washington Post