Chris Fields

Chris Fields is a Los Angeles-based director, teacher, and actor who is currently the artistic director of the award-winning Echo Theater Company, a theatre he founded in 1997. Most recently, he directed the premieres of Jessica Goldberg's Body Politic (Ovation nominated), Kate Robin's What They Have at South Coast Rep, Kate Robin's Anon at The Echo, Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play, Paul Zimmerman's Pigs and Bugs, and Eat Me by Jacqueline Wright, which was nominated for six LA Weekly Awards including Best Director and Ensemble. He produced the Echo production of Bryan Davidson's War Music at the Los Angeles Theater Center, which won three Ovation Awards including one for Best Premiere Play and one for Best Ensemble. Chris founded and was Artistic Director of the Ojai Playwrights Conference from 1996 to 2000, and additionally, as a director, he's worked with and staged plays by Adam Rapp, Christopher Durang, David Lindsay-Abaire, Ellen McLaughlin, Napoleon Ellsworth, Padraic Duffy, Bernardo Solano, Deborah Pryor, Neal Bell, Kira Obolensky, Herman Daniel Farrell III, Quincy Long, and Karl Gajdusek, among many others. His work in film includes his adaptation of Neal Bell's Out the Window, which he produced and directed, and his recent short Sunnyslope, which was awarded Best New York Film at the New York Film and Video Festival and nominated for Best in Fest at the Great Lakes Film Festival. As an actor, Chris has appeared on Broadway (Homefront), Off Broadway (Machinal at the Public, Aristocrats at Manhattan Theater Club, Orphans with Steppenwolf) and has numerous regional credits, among them: Golden Boy, All My Sons, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and 2. His film and television work includes: Zodiac, Fight Club, Apollo 13, The Game, Jurassic Park, Alien 3, Jacobs Ladder, "Sleepercell," "ER" (recurring), "NYPD Blue," "Boston Public," "Ally MacBeal" and "The Guardian" (recurring). Additionally, he was a proud member of the acting ensemble of the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Festival at the National Theater Center under Lloyd Richards. Chris was an adjunct professor of drama at SUNY Purchase.

Nancy Bell

Nancy Bell is an award-winning professional actress with seventeen years of experience in television, film, and theatre. She led voice workshops at New York's Alice's Fourth Floor, where she also directed several productions and served as voice and speech coach on many others. In L.A., she teaches voice and speech privately at NoHo Studios, at West L.A. Community College, and, most recently, at Occidental College. Nancy has served as vocal advisor and dialect coach for dozens of plays and television programs. Most recently, she served as set coach on the UPN series "Sex, Love, and Secrets." She also leads private workshops on stage fright for professional performers. She received her BFA in Acting from the prestigious conservatory at Purchase College in New York, where she was mentored by the late Chuck Jones, one of the leading teachers of the Linklater vocal method in the country.

Kit Pongetti

Kit Pongetti has been teaching exercise since the aerobics craze in the 90's. Since then, she has become certified in Hatha Yoga, having also studied Kundalini Yoga at Karuna Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga with Patabi Jois in Mysore, India and currently, Bikram Yoga in Los Angeles. Her class incorporates Yoga, Alexander Technique and classic strength training techniques to connect the actor more consciously with his or her physicality.