Jana Lee Hamblin
Jana Lee Hamblin is the owner/founder of Act Now Studio. She brings 20 years of experience, along with a true love of acting to create an environment for the actors that is wildly safe and ground breaking.
Most recently, she was seen guest starring opposite Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein in Portlandia. She has worked alongside Timothy Hutton and Gina Bellman on TNT’s Leverage, and was cast in NBC’s A Walk in My Shoes with Nancy Travis and Philip Winchester. In 2009, she worked with Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser in Extraordinary Measures.
Other television credits include four seasons on The West Wing, E.R., Family Law, Lincoln Heights, and the American pilot Fawlty Towers. She has worked with Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, and Harvey Keitel.
Jana expects a level of commitment from her students. Her classes are for the serious student actor. You must be dedicated to yourself as an artist. You also must be committed to your growth and development as well as vigilant about mastering the craft of acting. This work is challenging, demanding, and mostly fulfilling….if you give your effort and energy. The success of the technique and ultimately of the class is dependent upon each actor bringing their best to each class and rehearsal.
Her commitment to each student builds confidence and trust in the simplest of ways. Her ability to see each actor with clarity and love is what makes her classes unique.
Teachers
LA Teachers
Jonathan Cole
Jonathan is an SAFD Certified Teacher and Advanced Actor Combatant. Jonathan has worked throughout the northwest as a director, actor and fight director, and is a tenured faculty member of the Theatre Department at Willamette University. He is one of two Society of American Fight Directors Certified Teachers of stage combat in Oregon, and co-owns Revenge Arts, one of the largest stage combat consortiums in the United States. His choreography is most often seen on Artists Repertory Theatre’s stage, where he recently choreographed fights for Trevor, Skin of Our Teeth, The Miracle Worker, The Liar, Exiles and The Playboy of the Western World. Jonathan’s choreography has also been seen at Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Portland Shakespeare Project, Clackamas Repertory Theatre and Profile Theatre.
Bill Coelius
Taught by commercial veteran Bill Coelius, Commercial Acting 101 is the product of his experience acting in over 45 national commercials, and auditioning on a weekly basis in today’s market. From slate to set, Bill shares a carefully crafted game plan that will help you book and shoot that national commercial. From a reminder as basic as remembering to bring black socks to the shoot, to psychological exercises designed to help you recognize how your habitual patterns of fear-based thinking may prevent you from booking, Bill presents a myriad of skills, strategies and trade secrets that will turn your beliefs about yourself and the industry inside-out.
John Zoller
John is a working actor based out of Portland, Oregon. He has been seen on TNT’s The Librarians as well as many local commercials and short films. John has a BA from the University of Oregon in Theatre Arts and has a long background in theater. He walked into one of Jana’s classes several years ago and has been a fixture at the studio ever since.
Levy Baltazar
Levy has been acting for over 14 years, starting in high school and moving through college where he got his degree in Theatre Performance from Northern Arizona University. Since moving to Portland a little over two years ago, Levy has been training at the Act Now Studio continuously since his first showcase. He has taken workshops with commercial actor Bill Coelius, casting directors Ricki Maslar, Eryn Goodman, Michael Fontaine, Simon Max Hill, as well as trained with Act Now's coach Jana Lee Hamblin. Levy has worked hard helping out the studio and will continue to pass on the love and knowledge he has learned through this fantastic studio.
Austin Hillebrecht
Austin began his acting career in 2008 upon returning from college in New Zealand, where he studied 3D animation. He's since costarred on Grimm, The Librarians, and ZNation. He's also known for his collaborations with long time film making partner Sean Parker and their YouTube sketch comedy channel Hapstance Films. He studied at the Act Now Studio for four years and has been trained by Jana in the manner the Act Now Studio is known for. Austin is a teacher, actor, director, writer, producer, animator, composer, and artist. With his diverse background in film and art, Austin provides a fun and unique way of working at the craft of acting.
Guest Teachers
John San Nicolas
John is an actor, director, teacher and dialect coach. He is a resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre where he was most recently in Trevor and Grand Concourse. He has worked locally at Portland Center Stage, Portland Playhouse, Third Rail Repertory and more than a dozen others. He has appeared on the television series' Portlandia and Leverage. A graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he spent several years living in New York City, working for the touring companies of National Theatre for the Performing Arts and Theatreworks USA.
Darius Pierce
Darius has been a professional actor and director for 15 years, working in Portland, New York, Seattle, D.C., and Australia. He is currently in 1776 at Lakewood Theatre Company. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors' Equity, a Company Member at Third Rail Repertory Theatre, and a co-founder of the Anonymous Theatre Company. He has had significant roles in The Librarians, Grimm, Leverage, and Portlandia. He is a Drammy and PAMTA award winner. Darius has previously taught comedy at Portland Playhouse, S! Conservatory, and Northwest Children's Theater.
