March 28 - April 28, 2012 - THE ACTORS STUDIO DRAMA SCHOOL AT PACE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES ITS SPRING 2012 REPERTORY SEASON March 28, 2012

15 Productions in Five Weeks; Acted and Directed by Our 36 MFA Candidates; World Premiere of Playwright Sean Michael Welch's "All An Act"

Selected Plays, Scenes, Books by: Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, Lewis John Carlino, Anton Chekhov (translated by Paul Schmidt), Noël Coward, Darlene Craviotto, Cindy Lou Johnson, George S. Kaufman and Leueen MacGrath, John Kolvenbach, William Mastrosimone, Suzan-Lori Parks, Adam Rapp, Christopher Shinn, Nicky Silver, John Van Druten, Craig Wright.

The 2012 Actors Studio Drama School MFA candidates include:

* U.S. Navy Chef, National Runner-Up in the Season 5 Mad Men Casting Call with recent TV credits on White Collar, Law & Order: SVU, Royal Pains, Humanly Impossible, and I'm Alive.
* Captain of the Women's Soccer Team at Connecticut College.
* Actor in Robert DeNiro's new crime drama series The 2-2 on CBS-TV.
* Award-winning playwright (Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival - 1999, 2000) who has authored 140 works - some now being performed Off-Broadway and in regional theaters.
* Opera singer who has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
* International Puppeteer, Fulbright Scholar and American Scandinavian Foundation Fellow.
* Gymnast, Women's Gymnastics Team at the University of Michigan on full athletic scholarship.
* Actor appearing on Lifetime's Army Wives and the Atlanta soap opera, Love Always Charleston.
* Gospel mime on the international gospel television network, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).
* NYC Fringe Film Festival Director.
* Clowning, Syo-Kon-Do (Mixed Martial Arts) and Kyudo (Japanese Archery) expert.
* Michigan dairy farmer.
* Silk Road Dance Company member who performed at the 2011 Asia Cup Games in Doha, Qatar.
* Two members of the Festival of Fools, a NYC based verse-inspired theatre company.
* Intern at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London.

The 2012 Actors Studio Drama School Repertory Season performances will take place at The Theater at Dance New Amsterdam, 53 Chambers St., just north of City Hall, Wednesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. from March 28 through April 28. Admission is free, but reservations must be made in advance by phone or e-mail as seating is limited. The 24-hour reservation line is: (212) 501-2099 and email is [email protected]

The works are considered educational and may not be reviewed.

Established playwrights with one-act productions or scenes showcased are:

* Week One: Scenes from Fabuloso by John Kolvenbach; Scenes from Dying City by Christopher Shinn; Scenes from Pizza Man by Darlene Craviotto
* Week Two: Snow Angel by Lewis John Carlino; Scenes from The Woolgatherer by William Mastrosimone; The Bear by Anton Chekhov, translated by Paul Schmidt; Amicable Parting by George S. Kaufman and Leueen MacGrath
* Week Three: Scenes from Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks; Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson; Scenes from Raised in Captivity by Nicky Silver
* Week Four: A Scene from: The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten; Scenes from Orange Flower Water by Craig Wright; A scene from Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp
* Week Five: A Scene from Fallen Angels by Noël Coward; A New Play All An Act by Sean Michael Welch; Scenes from The Producers, A New Mel Brooks Musical, Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks.

World Premiere

A published and frequently produced New York City playwright, with 32 plays to his credit, Edward Allan Baker has written for HBO and Showtime, attended Sundance Film Institute and been a faculty member of the Actors Studio Drama School since 2005 as Associate Professor - Playwriting.

During Week Five of the 2012 rep season, the one-act play All an Act by Baker student Sean Michael Welch will be making its world premiere. The play takes place in a dressing room in Clown Alley in the present day, and is about two clowns with relationship troubles.

The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University is the only MFA theater program officially sanctioned by The Actors Studio. The entire faculty is chosen and approved - and the curriculum is designed and supervised - by the leadership of The Actors Studio through its Curriculum Advisory Committee, including the Presidents of The Actors Studio, Ellen Burstyn, Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino. All of the students -- actors, directors, playwrights - train side-by-side as actors. All students participate in the Craft Seminars known to the world as the Bravo Network television series, "Inside the Actors Studio," hosted by James Lipton. Upon graduation students receive the title of Working Finalist at The Actors Studio and are invited to attend sessions of The Actors Studio for one year and audition for membership. For further information about the program, go to www.pace.edu/actorsstudiomfa