Jerry Prell

Teacher - Administrator - Director

jerry@jerryprell.com 

What students and
colleagues say...


“I find Jerry Prell to be highly talented as an artist, fully dedicated to our profession with a great capacity and enthusiasm for artistic work. He is very creative, imaginative and sensitive.  I highly recommend Jerry Prell as an actor, director and teacher of the principles my work is based on.”
                                             - George Shdanoff
                                                 Master Teacher

                                        (Creative partner and
 
                     collaborator with Michael Chekhov)


“Through your guidance and teaching I have received a valuable acting technique. This effective tool has not only provided me with useful skills and exercises but has also given me a new level of confidence and self-esteem”  
                                               - Brian R. Nelsen



“I gained more ‘useable’ knowledge after only two of Jerry Prell’s Acting Technique classes, than I have after 2 years of college study.”
                                                  - Heidi D. Katz


“The workshop was a lot of fun, and the class had a fantastic time! It was especially fun to watch the class members completely let loose!”


                                        - Patricia A. Scussel
                                            
Executive Director
                                           Greater New Haven
                                             Leadership Center


Jerry Prell led me to discover a more vibrant world of acting and performing than I ever imagined existed.  His instruction and nurturing fostered in me a technique that made every aspect of acting come alive. Jerry creates art and draws art out of those he directs and teaches. And he does so with thoughtful patience and encouragement, contagious energy, and with his own passion and talent for entertainment.  Jerry's personal integrity and charisma combined with the zeal with which he acts, directs, and teaches is an altogether inspiring package that makes him one of the finest human beings I know. Actor, director, teacher- every moment working with or watching Jerry is exciting and enriching.  

- Megan Wingo



Jerry infuses his theater classes with humor and clear direction.  Growth and improved acting skills happen quickly with Jerry's unending selections of fun-filled acting exercises!   I kept coming back and back for over 3 years to study Comedy Improv with Jerry at the New England Academy of Theatre. He is that GOOD! I felt my comic awareness, movement, sense of timing all improved due to Jerry's excellent coaching! Thanks Jerry!
                                                  - Keith Hughes
                                                         JuggleJoy
                                 Educ
ational Entertainment


“Your classes continue to open me up, and something new is always soaking in.  I wish you had been around a few years back – I would have been further along in my new career.”                    

                                                    - Keith Hyatte


“Jerry creates a safe environment in which an actor can feel free to explore and take risks.  …Jerry presents a systematic approach – a “bag of specific tools” from which an actor can always draw to create and shape the characters at hand.”

                                              - Marilyn Sommer


" I have had the privilege of working for Jerry as an actor, an instructor at the New England Academy of Theatre, and most recently as a member of the Musical Theater Faculty at the Hartford Conservatory.  Jerry is a visionary. His leadership transfromed the Musical Theater program into an exciting and vibrant training ground for aspiring theater professionals. He is a wonderful instructor, a supportive and nurturing supervisor, and a creative problem solver. His skills in both the artisitc and administraive aspects of running a theater program are unparalleled. His commitment to the world of professional theater is inspiring to both the students he teaches, as well as, the instructors who are lucky enough to work under his leadership."
                                                     - Lori Conley
                            Faculty, Hartford Conservatory
                                                            Actress



“Jerry creates an atmosphere of quiet, upbeat, welcoming authority.  His classes are both safe and demanding, using corrections and suggestions that are insightful and intelligent. He is a good communicator who does not pander or water down critiques, while always maintaining a supportive environment. The growth of his students and their deepened understanding of the work is always paramount.”       

                                                   - Nancy Wolfe
                                                            Director
                                   Center for Creative Youth



“You have a special gift for teaching your craft.  The combination of your knowledge, manner of presentation, dedication, and most of all concern for your students, make you someone quite special to study with! Thanks for all the help, support, and your belief in me.”

          - Jimmy Scafariello



“An Acting Technique has provided me with not only confidence in my ability to act but has strengthened my desire to do so even more. …I can’t thank you enough!! I’m ready for anything."

                                               - Karen D. Smith


" As a regular guest lecturer in my creative arts
classes at
University of Hartford, Jerry inspires and engages even the most impassive college student. As non-arts majors, my students generally have had little to no exposure to theater as audience members, let alone as actors. Jerry draws them into the actor's process, leading them to discover abilities and sensibilities they never even realized they had. They leave the class empowered and energized, not necessarily to become professional actors, but to become more professional at whatever they choose to do."
                                                  - Mary Moriarty
                                             Adjunct Professor
                                         University of Hartford


“Jerry Prell served admirably as the director of Guilford High School’s spring musical PIPPIN this year.  Along with two workshops this fall on physicality and stage movement, Jerry spent countless hours with students creating a masterpiece on stage.”
                                                      - Jim Motes
                                    Theater Arts Coordinator
                                          Guilford High School

Jerry is Available to Teach:
        Acting - Comedy Improv - Creative Movement
    (High School - Community Theater - Conservatory - College - Professional)

·         Facilitated (30 years plus) performing arts classes, workshops and seminars.

·         Former Dean of Musical Theater, the Hartford Conservatory.

·         Currently teaching at Loyola Marymount University, California State University   
       Long 
Beach, El Camino College, Golden West College and Cerritos College

                      ·        As Artistic Director of New England Actors' Theatre/Academy of Theatre,   
                         established quarterly educational curriculum for over 800 adults and children 
                         per year.

Jerry is Available to Direct:
        Drama - Comedy - Musicals - Revues - Readings
     (High School - Community Theater - Conservatory - College - Professional)

                            

                              



 

         (Production photos from shows directed by Jerry Prell at New England Actors' Theatre, 
         and video clips from shows Jerry directed with his students at the Hartford Conservatory)

 
Jerry is Available to Coach:

        Private Acting - Auditions - Corporate Presentations


Jerry is Available to Facilitate:
        Personal Development and Team Building Workshops
                            (Businesses - Corporations - Organizations)

  • Jerry has conducted Team Building, Humor in the Workplace, Acting for the Sales Person and other personal development workshops for United Way of Greater New Haven, People's United Bank, Travelers Insurance, The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, The Leadership Council of Greater New Haven, Eastern Area Health Education Center, The Connecticut Commission on  the Arts - Urban Artists Initiative, and TEM Associates of Rocky Hill, CT   

 

 *************************************************************************************************************

For More Information and Availability Contact Jerry:
 
jerry@jerryprell.com


Photos below from educational theatre productions of: The House of Blue Leaves; The Boys From Syracuse; NINE; The Laramie Project; Does A Tiger Wear a Necktie?; 
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown


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