Mr. Contini's diverse background as an actor, director, playwright, dramaturg, and filmmaker serves him well as a specialist in acting, acting for the camera, and voice production. George has worked extensively in regional theatres throughout the country for over 20 years. Named Best Actor in Miami and a five time nominee for the South Florida Critic's Carbonell Award, notable performances include Love Valour Compassion, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jeffrey, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Food Chain, Burn This, Mystery of Irma Vep, King Lear, and most recently, Shear Madness at both the Kennedy Center in D.C. and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Among the shows George has directed in both professional and academic venues are Company, Holy Ghosts, Lion in Winter, Raft of the Medusa, and Baby. Also a playwright, Jumping through Windows (Carbonell Award Nomination -- Best New Work) was produced by New Theatre in Miami and Portraits of W.H. was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship for New Forms in Theatre. He has numerous TV, film, and commercial credits and has been seen hawking such products as White Castle, Motorola, and Toyota. Most recently, Mr. Contini's short film, Jumping through Windows which he wrote, directed, and photographed, had it's world premiere at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The short film Meet the Patersons, for which he served as Director of Photography, screened at the LA International Shorts Festival and won first place in the Luna Film festival. Mr. Contini has developed an original solo performance piece called "Put It in the Scrapbook," based on the life of America's great vaudeville performer, Julian Eltinge. Mr. Contini is a recipient of the Sandy Beaver Special Teaching Award and the Richard B. Russell Teaching Award.

Mirla Criste has trained longest in diverse and many movement vocabularies and most intensely in diverse speaking and singing vocabularies. Her work centers on release and breath, as well as the symbiotic relationship between voice and movement training in theatre. She teaches courses in the voice, movement and acting curricula at UGA, based on the work of such theorists as Constantin Stanislavsky, Robert Cohen, F.M. Alexander, Jacques Lecoq and Kristin Linklater. Professor Criste most recently taught at Oberlin College in Ohio and Hamilton College in New York. In her professional life, she has served in virtually every capacity in professional film, television, concert dance, and the dramatic and musical stage, including 4-1/2 years as a member of the original Broadway cast of Miss Saigon. During Summer 2008 Professor Criste presented and taught at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education's (ATHE) 2008 conference in Denver. In the Fall she directed The Pillowman for University Theatre, then performed in Don Juan Comes Back From the War for Theater Emory in Atlanta. Professor Criste is an Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. She is listed in Who's Who in America. You can find her portfolio at http://cristeworks.com.

Professionally, Professor Kundert-Gibbs has worked as a producer, director, vocal coach, and actress. In academia, she has taught in theatre programs across the country from Duke, to William and Mary to Indiana State University, where she headed the Graduate and Undergraduate Acting Programs, to Los Angeles and finally, happily embracing UGA. Ms. Kundert-Gibbs experiments in the integration of media and theatre and has directed many productions using varying forms of media including a production of Pinter’s New World Order which was presented at the International Pinter Festival in London, a production of Cabaret with Theatre X from Manheim, Germany, and Death of Salesman at The Warehouse Theatre. Her most recent acting work includes playing Emer in the world premiere of Sword Against the Sea, which toured to The International Yeats Festival in Sligo, Ireland. While in L.A, she was instrumental in founding the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival serving as vocal coach, pre-show director and actor. She has been extensively involved in KC/ACTF as a member of the Region III Executive Board. After spending a year acting and teaching with Karamu House Theatre, Ms. Kundert-Gibbs has been drawn to multicultural theatre work and has directed African American productions for The Warehouse Theatre, UNC-Asheville and Clemson University. When teaching, Ms. Kundert-Gibbs focuses both directing and acting on the work of Sanford Meisner. As a believer in the interaction of the breath, voice, body and emotions, she incorporates work such as Alba Emoting, Transactional Analysis and Bioenergetics into the classroom. Her voice classes focus on the work of Kristin Linklater and Edith Skinner. She is also interested in Eastern bodywork such as yoga and Tae Kwon Do, is a certified black belt and teaches kickboxing. In all disciplines, she hopes to teach students to value their instincts, trust their impulses, and celebrate their humanity.