KIRK TAYLOR hails from New York City by way of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Trained by late luminaries Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Clay Stevenson, Elaine Aiken, and Lehman Engel, he earned a BFA from New York University with a major in Drama and a minor in Music. Kirk has enjoyed success in the acting, teaching and music arenas.

As an actor on television, he has been seen on hit shows such as NCIS Los Angeles, All My Children, BET’s One Special Moment, TNT’s Freedom Song, Law and Order, Chicago Hope, and To Have and to Hold, among others. Big screen credits include Stanley Kubrick’s celebrated war drama Full Metal Jacket, box office blockbuster The Sum of All Fears, gritty urban drama MacArthur Park, as well as School Daze, Death Wish 3 and The Last Dragon. Kirk had the honor of working alongside late Robin Williams and Mila Kunis in Director Phillip Alden Robinson’s The Angriest Man In Brooklyn, released in May of 2014.
 
He has been a soloist in the studio, on stage and screen, as well as in choirs and small groups under the direction of Mervyn Warren, Rose Stone, Scott V. Smith, and Chapman Roberts. Taylor first came to the West Coast in the Broadway musical 5 Guys Named Moe in the leading role of Nomax. Other West Coast credits include the role of General Vershinin in Three Sisters at Actor’s Alley, Dr. Gibbs in South Coast Rep’s production of Our Town- with director Mark Rucker, and as the lead male vocalist with the world renowned Chaka Khan in Signed, Sealed, Delivered!- a musical tribute to Stevie Wonder at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Other stage appearances include the one man musical Jelly Roll! The Music & The Man, Off-Broadway productions of The War Party, King Lear, and Macbeth- directed by the legendary Geraldine Fitzgerald, as well as the Broadway run of What Men Don’t Tell at The Beacon Theater.  He was honored to perform among a who’s who of Broadway’s finest in Black Stars of the Great White Way: Broadway Reunion, both at The National Black Theater Festival in North Carolina, and at the iconic Carnegie Hall.
 
Kirk has also invested in mentoring the next generation of talent. Starting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City, his former students include Jessie L. Martin, Chandra Wilson, Gary Dourdan, Karina Lombard, Charles Malik Whitfield, Jose Zuniga, Beth Littleford, Ken Marino, Mari Morrow, and Benno Furmann, among others. He continues to travel and teach, conducting Acting Intensives in Montreal, Los Angeles, and most recently at the University of Nations Hawaii and Norway. Kirk will be seen acting (and singing!) as the Apostle Simon Peter in Harry Lennix’ feature film Revival!, and as Referee Dale Burton in the indie feature “Gun”, both slated for be release in 2016.

Paula Ficara began her professional acting career in New York City where she delved into the theater. Her decades of experience range from black box theater and Off-Broadway to touring musical theater and opera companies. She was a member of The Homegrown Theater Company in NYC, home to playwright Leonard Melfi where she performed, directed, and produced. She eventually moved to Los Angeles to expand her career and focus on film and television.  Paula attended the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, studied and taught under Susan Cohen in association with John Strasberg and Michael Egan (Uta Hagen) in NYC, and studied with Sheila Allen from the Royal Shakespeare Academy. Barry Papick has been Paula's mentor and coach for many years, helping her develop and enrich her craft. Now, Paula brings her personal expertise in character development and scene study to the classroom.

   
paula@theartistsplayhouse.com