Celik Kayalar, PhD, Director of Film Acting Program
Celia Shuman, Actor/Instructor
Hester Schell, MFA, Actor/Director/Instructor
Barbara Scott, Actor/Instructor
Jessica Heidt, Director/Actor/Instructor
Warren David Keith, Actor/Director/Instructor
Greg Hubbard, Actor/Director/Instructor
Brian D. Scott, Actor/Director/Instructor
Jeffrey Weissman, Actor / Instructor

Celik Kayalar, PhD, Director of Film Acting Program

Celik writes, directs and produces independent films and plays. Also trained as an actor, he recently appeared on stage in "Death and the Maiden" (Mystic Bison), "Dirty Story" (Actors Theatre of SF), "Our Town" (The Playhouse), "Couch" (which he wrote, directed and co-produced at Shelton Theater in SF, and Ruby Theater in Hollywood), and in feature-films "9@Night" and “Presque Isle” (by Rob Nilsson), “Razors Ring” (by Morgan Hampton) and “Around June” (by James Savoca).

Celik is also the writer, director, editor and executive-producer of "Moonlight Sonata", a feature-length, psycho-thriller aimed for theatrical release. The film is currently in post-production by "Moonlight Productions, LLC" and “Fog City Pictures”.

Over the years, Celik has organized and taught various workshops in the Bay Area for Film Directors and Actors. He is also the Assoc. Director of Film Productions at SFSDF, coordinating the close interaction between the Acting and the Filmmaking Programs.

Celia Shuman, Actor/Instructor

An accomplished performer (SAG, AFTRA, AEA) in theatre, film, television and commercials for over 20 years, Celia rounds out her professional expertise as a teacher, director and corporate trainer. She is the recipient of a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for creating the role of "Jackie-O" in Magic Theatre's "The House of Yes". Other principle performance venues include ACT, Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, Marin Theatre Company, Theatreworks and Center Rep.

In addition to numerous independent and industrial films, on-camera credits include co-starring roles in "Midnight Caller", "Nash Bridges", the CD-ROM game "Top Gun" and most recently as "Lady Lightbug" in the DVD of Pixar's "The Incredibles" and as “Dr.Rosen” in “Moonlight Sonata” (by Celik Kayalar).

Hester Schell, MFA, Actor / Director / Producer / Instructor

A highly accomplished actor (SAG, AFTRA), director and writer for film and stage for over twenty years, Hester has performed in numerous movies such as "Planting Melvin", "Love Life", and "Your Guardian" and on TV in "Incident at Dark River", "It Nearly Wasn't Christmas" and "American Taboo".

A Graduate of University of Utah with an MFA degree in directing, she has produced and directed many plays, feature-films and documentaries that have won high acclaim.

Barbara Scott, Actor/Instructor

Always in great demand as one of the best improv instructors in the country, Barbara has been performing in theatre and film for over twenty-five years. She is a company member of the award-winning BATS Improv, and a founding member of the internationally acclaimed improvisation ensemble True Fiction Magazine.

Jessica Heidt, Director/Actor/Instructor

Jessica is a highly accomplished director, actor and acting instructor. She's been the Associate Artistic Director, as well as the Casting Director of the "Magic Theatre". She is currently the Artistic Director of “Climate Theater” in San Francisco.

Warren David Keith, Actor / Director / Instructor

A graduate of Yale School of Drama (MFA) and an esteemed stage- and film- actor (SAG, AFTRA, AEA) and director for 25 years, Warren has acted in many highly acclaimed movies including "Fargo", "The Big Lebowski" and "Raising Arizona" (Cohen Brothers), and TV shows like "Nash Bridges" and "The Enforcer". He recently played the lead in the feature-film “Moonlight Sonata” (by Celik Kayalar).

He regularly acts lead-parts and directs plays at ACT, Berkeley Rep, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company and Aurora Theatre in the Bay Area.

Greg Hubbard, Actor / Director / Instructor

Greg has been a very successful actor (AEA), director and casting director for over twenty years. His acting credits include plays with Berkshire Theatre Festival, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Porthouse Theatre and many others. He has acted in numerous commercials, industrials and independent films.

Local directing credits include "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", "The House of Blue Leaves", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Country Wife". He is currently the Casting Associate at ACT.

Brian D. Scott, Actor / Director / Producer / Instructor

Brian has been a professional actor (SAG, AFTRA), director and producer in film, television and on stage for more than 25 years. His film credits include the CBS Movie of the Week "Johnnie Mae Gibson FBI", "Want" and the cult classic "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" and “Moonlight Sonata”. Television appearances include principle roles on "Nash Bridges", "Hearts of Fire", "Renegade", "Midnight Caller" and "The Evidence".

In addition, Brian has appeared in numerous industrial films and theatrical productions locally as well as in Los Angeles. His one-man show "Lifestyles of the Yin and Yang" (which he also wrote and produced) played in Hollywood before moving north to the Open Egg Theatre in 1995. He recently appeared in the critically acclaimed "Our Lady of 121st Street" and "The Fantasticks" at the SF Playhouse.

Brian has been teaching film- and stage-acting in the Bay Area in the last twenty years. His audition and casting classes are especially popular. He has been the Executive Director of the Public, Educational and Government television stations in Berkeley.

Jeffrey Weissman, Actor / Instructor

As an actor, Jeffrey has worked on over 100 film, television and stage productions since 1974. He's co-stared with Clint Eastwood (Pale Rider), Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future 2 & 3), John Lithgow (Twilight Zone Movie) and many others. He has been on projects with outstanding directors; Catherine Hardwicke, Greg Araki, George Miller, Robert Zemekis, Amy Heckerling, Mark Rydell, Oz Scott, and Louis Malle, among many others.

Jeffrey has directed several films, videos, live events and stage productions. He's helped writers develop dozens of screenplays and projects, paying close attention to detail, character development, logic, story arch and upping the stakes by taking risks.

Jeffrey has been teaching talent for 20+ years; film acting, improv, character development, cold reading, audition skills, commedia dell arte, theater games, protocol on the set, marketing, diversification and environmental theater.

'Having trained at ACT and SFSU in the early '80's, Jeffrey was chosen by Martin Breast to screen test for "War Games" and after 20 years in Hollywood, he's been back in the Bay Area working in film, television and teaching privately and publicly.  He's taught classes at Sonoma State University, Dominican University, SF SOTA Academy, for members of Teatro Zinzani, at many film schools, and he's done seminars at dozens of institutions, most recently for TBA's ATLAS program.