| Michael Billingsley (SAG/AEA) has performed in theatre and films produced in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta. He currently serves as the head of the Movement Department at the Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University. There he has co-developed a physical training program specifically designed for method actors. His physical influences come mainly from a life long study of martial arts. Raised in his father’s Tae Kwon Do school, Michael was awarded his first-degree black belt from the Jhoon Rhee Institute at the age of 17. Other styles he has studied include Capoeira, Tai Chi, Ju-Jitsu and Escrima. He also is currently a senior instructor for Kid’s Kicking Cancer- an organization that teaches martial arts and meditation techniques to children in hospitals around the United States.
Combining his passions for physicality and theatre, Michael was chosen to do an extensive study with Mario Biagini from the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards hosted by the Baryshnikov Arts Center and attended by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 2007. He is also a founding member of woken’ glacier theater company. woken’ glacier was selected to work as part of Mabou Mines 2009/10 Resident Artist program. He holds a Bachelors degree from Oglethorpe University and a Masters Degree in acting from the Actors Studio Drama School. Michael is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio where he has studied with such theater dignitaries as Ellen Burstyn, Melissa Leo, Alec Baldwin, Lee Grant and Estelle Parsons. Michael is currently developing a performance art piece entitled “The Reparation Rickshaw” to be produced in New York late 2010. |
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