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

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 the indie films "Looped" (by Ken Yamada) and "9@Night" (by Rob Nilsson).

Celik is also the writer, director and co-producer of "Moonlight Sonata", a feature length, psycho-thriller aimed for theatrical release. It is currently in pre-production by "Moonlight Productions, LLC" at SFSDF.

Over the last few 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 the Magic Theatre's "The House of Yes". Her 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, her 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".

Celia holds a BFA in Acting with High Honors from Penn State University. She has also worked in New York and Los Angeles. She has taught film acting at "Full Circle Productions" in San Francisco for over ten years. Her expertise includes teaching advanced film acting, commercials and auditioning for the camera. Her philosophy is to acknowledge the creative being in all of her students by shaping and nurturing it in order to help the actor reach his or her personal acting goals.

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 produced and directed many plays, feature-films and documentaries that won high acclaim.

Hester has been a very popular teacher of film acting and directing in the Bay Area, with regular appearances at Film Arts Foundation (SF), an adjunct professorship at Notre Dame De Namur University (Belmont), and a tenured professorship at De Anza College (Los Altos). She is also the publisher and CEO of "Bay Area Casting News", an online newsletter for actors in the Bay Area.

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.

Barbara has toured with improv groups and conducted master classes across the US, Europe and Asia. Steven Winn of the SF Chronicle has called her gifted "and a reliable source of inspired invention." She'll be teaching our "Improvisation for Camera" classes at SFSDF.

Jessica Heidt, Director/Actor/Instructor

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

As a casting director, Jessica is in constant demand for feature-films and plays produced by numerous companies in the Bay Area. Alongside her work in the film and theatre industry, she'll be teaching the "Acting Essentials", "Film Acting I" and "Film Acting II" classes at SFSDF.

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

For over 15 years, Warren has been a much sought-after teacher of Graduate and Master classes in prestigious acting schools including ACT, UC Davis and Bernard College. He now brings his wisdom and expertise to our "Advanced Film Acting" Classes at SFSDF.

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.

His 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.

A graduate of UC Santa Barbara (BFA in Acting) and Ohio University (MFA in Directing), Greg has been a much sough-after teacher in the Bay Area of on-camera acting at ACT (MFA Program), De Anza College, Cogswell Polytechnical College, and of acting in general at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, New Conservatory Theatre Center and others. He regularly coaches many talented stage-and film-actors for auditions and career planning.

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". 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 is currently the Executive Director of the Public, Educational and Government television stations in Berkeley.