Acting Faculty

Jana Sue Memel

Executive in Charge of Brand Storytelling and the Schools of Entertainment
School of Motion Pictures and Television

Jana Sue Memel is an Academy Award-winning producer, writer, and director. Jana has produced over 25 feature films and more than 100 half-hour, live-action shorts that have aired as television series in over 30 countries. The films she has produced have won Oscars, Writers Guild and Directors Guild Awards, Emmys, CableACE Awards, and the Humanitas Prize. She has written movies and series pilots for Warner Bros., Disney Channel, Fox, Sony, New Line, and many other production companies and channels.

Melissa Sydeman

Academic Vice President of Entertainment and Broadcast Media
School of Motion Pictures and Television

Melissa Sydeman is the Dean of the Schools of Entertainment at Academy of Art University. She is also the Casting Director for the film school, where she has cast hundreds of projects for our students, including award-winning festival films. Melissa trained as an actor through the Studio program at American Conservatory Theater, and earned a BA from Princeton University and a DPhil from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. Melissa teaches Comedy & Sketch and Directing Actors for FIlm & Television.

Mellisa Sydeman headshot

Part-Time Faculty

Danielle Aversa Thomas

Danielle Aversa

Elanie Clark

Elaine Clark

Deborah Eubanks

Marvin Greene

Lena Hart

Karen Hirst

Jeryl Jagoda

Rebecca Dumaine Miller

Rebecca DuMaine Miller

Anthony Montes

Anthony Montes

Mark Rafael

Titus Vanhook headshot

Titus VanHook

Bruce Williams