Acting Instructor Nick Conti

Nick Conti has been a working actor and teacher for over 30 years.

Having been a member of Actor's Equity, SAG and AFTRA, Nick Conti has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional, Stock and Repertory Theater. Mr. Conti has guest starred with Margo Kidder in The Shell Game, Bruce Glover in The Killing Time, Tony Randall in Love Sidney, Jack Warden in Night and Day, Cagney and Lacey, The New Love American Style, and series regulars on The Edge of Night and Search for Tomorrow. He has also worked in over 75 other stage, film and television projects. A well respected voice-over and looping actor, Mr. Conti's voices can be heard in the feature films Mobsters, Robo Cop 2 and 3, Look Who's Talking Now, The Last Seduction, Bad Boys, The Hit Man, Misfits of Science, The Frank Sinatra Mini-series and many others. Having worked and taught in both New York and Hollywood, Mr. Conti has enjoyed working and sharing his skills with the Atlanta Talent for many years. Mr. Conti is the primary reason why the Professional Actor's Studio is the leader among Atlanta's acting schools.

Acting Instructor Michael H. Cole

Michael H. Cole has over 30 years of experience in film, television, and stage.

In the 2002 edition of Who’s Who of American Teachers, he was honored for his work as an acting teacher.  His film credits include The Crazies, 42, A Madea Christmas, What To Expect When Your Expecting, The Collection, ACOD, Fate, Skiptracers, The Atlantan, Deliver Boy Chronicles, The Crossing, Badlands, Hells End, Undocumented Executive, Revealed and Conjurer. In television as a re-occuring role with the new TV series Being Mary, Revolution, Busted, Drop Dead Diva, Somebodies, A Second Chance, Army Wives, Past Lives, Meet the Browns, Homeland, Magic Eye, Teen Wolf, One Tree Hill, Front of the Class. He works as on set acting coach for both TV and Film. He is the Producing Artistic Director and Board Chair of The Renaissance Project, a local theatre company est. 1999 with dozens of stage credits from Candy in Of Mice and Men to Uncle Louie in Lost In Yonkers.  He has over 30 productions he has directed such as Diary of Anne Frank, Too Kill A Mockingbird, You Can't Take It With You, A Christmas Carol, Rumors, etc. Michael teaches at The Professional Actors Studio as well as workshops and private coaching.  His aggressive teaching style is driven by his passionate belief "that every actor deserves a chance."

Acting Instructor Alex Collins

Alex Collins has been a working actor in Atlanta and Los Angeles for over a decade.

Born and raised in both England and Atlanta, Collins returns home after a decade living and working in Los Angeles. A member of SAG-AFTRA, he is a co-founder and former Managing Director of Straitjacket Society, LA’s hottest sketch company whose alumnae include Jillian Bell (Saturday Night Live, Workaholics), Lenny Jacobson (Nurse Jackie), Kelly Levy (Producer, writer, sketch performer on E’s Soup!), and Sarah Tiana (national and international touring stand up comic), to name a few. Collins has been a part of more than 75 different casts of sketch comedy shows, featuring well over 200 actors over the course of more than 14 seasons of shows at SJS in Hollywood, on famed theatre row. SJS’s current members include former Professional Actors Studio students, including Collins, Floyd Wilson, Michael Clements, and Sarah Tiana. Collins has worked in independent and award winning films, episodic television, national and regional commercials, industrials, voiceovers, new media and is most at home playing police and military characters and is honored to have represented those who wear a uniform each day. He also has experience in writing and public speaking, having worked in front of crowds approaching 7,500 people. Since 2010, he has coached LA actors on audition preparation, script analysis, and scene work and is happy to be back in Atlanta. .

Improv Acting Instructor Brian Chapman

Brian Chapman, a Georgia native, has been acting for over ten years. He is currently SAG-eligible and has been a member of the Actor's Studio since 2003.

In 2004, Brian began teaching the studio's first Improv class. The class quickly morphed into the Studio's first and only performance troupe, Playing in Traffic. The troupe performs on a regular basis at the Actor's Studio and at Red Clay Theatre in Duluth.

Brian was an actor and emcee at Whole World Theatre from 1999 to 2008. In his tenure there, he acted in or directed over 850 improv shows (he kept count!). He also taught classes for the Youth & Teen program. In addition, he participated in countless corporate workshops and corporate shows. He has acted in and emceed Whole World's annual Improv In The Park, performed in numerous festivals like The Charleston Comedy Festival, and a 24-hour improv marathon in St. Louis to benefit The Chris Farley Foundation.

In 2004, Brian was one of the top three finalists to compete for a spot in the World Cup Comedy competition in Los Angeles. He, and his fellow company members, were voted the Reader's Choice award for best local improv group by The Sunday Paper in 2006 and 2007. Also in 2007, Whole World was voted Best Theatre Company by Atlanta Magazine. Brian is also an adjunct instructor at West Georgia Technical College, where he teaches a film history course.