 Staff - Jesse Merz, Artistic Director
Equity Actor, SSDC Director, Producer, Artistic Director, Writer, Educator
MFA Candidate ('08) • MA • BFA • AEA • AFTRA • DG • SSDC • VASTA
contact info:
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530-666-4241 (home) |
503-781-8600 (cell) | |
509-493-1213 (CGST - summers) |
212-656-1336 (fax) | |
JesseMerz@aol.com |
jessemerz@gmail.com | |
1381 Snowden Road, White Salmon, WA 98672 |
2622 Nicolson Cir, Woodland, CA 95776
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Short Bio
JESSE MERZ (Artistic Director, Meisner Acting Instructor) has directed over 50 productions in NYC and in regional theatre, including directing Tony-Winner Daisy Eagan. He has produced over 200 productions and has written about a dozen plays and screenplays. As an actor, Jesse has performed off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, in regional theatre, summer stock, feature films, student films, on the radio and in 120 cities in 34 states nationwide. He is a member of the Actors Equity Association (AEA), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the Dramatists Guild (DG), the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) and the Voice and Speech Teachers Association (VASTA). He was the Producing Artistic Director of Longview Stageworks from 2000 - 2003. From 2003 - 2006, he was the Drama Director and Teacher of Theatre at David Douglas High School in Portland Oregon. Between 2006 and 2008, he taught acting at UC Davis, where he also pursued his MFA in Acting. In the fall of 2008, he joins the faculty of Wayne State University / Hilberry Repertory Theatre in Detroit, MI as Assistant Professor of Acting. He has been the Artistic Director of the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre and the Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre since 1996. He holds a BFA in Acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he spent two years at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School (where he studied with Oscar nominees David Mamet and William H. Macy) and two years at the Meisner Extension. He received his Master of Arts in Teaching (Drama Endorsement) from George Fox University in April, 2005. Jesse is happily married to Laurel and is the proud papa of Alana Fay and Josephine Alice! JesseMerz@gmail.com
Full Bio
Jesse Merz (Artistic Director, Actor, Director, Writer, Acting & Voice Teacher) was raised on an apple and pear orchard in Parkdale, Oregon, and he received his first pay checks as an actor for a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Commercial, and with a non-speaking role in Gus Van Sant's film, My Own Private Idaho in 1990.
Since that time, he has worked in the theatre, feature films, student films, videos, commercials, and on the radio. Theatre credits include Shakespeare, Chekhov, Pinter, contemporary plays, showcases, new plays, staged readings, and musicals off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, in regional theatre, summer stock, dinner theatre, and on national tours. Favorite shows include acting roles in Six Degrees of Separation (two productions), SF (two productions), The Glass Menagerie, Forever Plaid, Betrayal, Baby, The Dancers, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Machinal, The Phantom of the Opera (David Spencer version), See How They Run, Into the Woods, Godspell, Once on this Island, Suburban Dreams, Romeo & Juliet, A Doctor In Spite of Himself, Anton Chekhov's Vaudevilles, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Leader of the Pack, Arcadia, From the Magic Pen: Aesop's Fables, and Grease. He has performed in 120 cities across the continent in 35 states, including New York City, Portland, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Roanoke, Omaha, and New Orleans. He has been directed by Dennis Bigelow, Jeremiah Kipp, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Karen Kohlhaas, Lauri Peters, Penny Orloff, Rob Barron, Jack Lee, G. Arwen Nichols, Pamela Livingstone, and Stan Foote. He has appeared on numerous stages and with several companies, including the Promenade Theatre, Intar Theatre, Portland Repertory Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, Theatreworks/USA, Longview Stageworks, The Company Theatre, Alabama Theatre, Atlanta's Fox Theatre, Raw Space Theater, Producers Club II Theatre, Abe Burrows Theatre, Annex Theater Company, Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre, Theatre 22, Todo Con Nada, Bergen County Playhouse, Third Street Theatre, Wycliffe Theatre Productions - Spread the Word, Frederick Loewe Theatre, Lakewood Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizon, Theatre 779, Young People's Theatre Project, White Hawk Theatre, Longview Stageworks - Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, CAST Performing Arts Center, Broadway Rose Theatre Company, CenterStage USA Touring Company, and Sylvia's Class Act Dinner Theatre.
Directing Credits 45+ productions in NYC and regionally including the new musical Suburban Dreamsat NYC's Producer's Club II Theatre with Broadway star T.J. Meyers, and an Equity Staged Reading with Tony-Winner Daisy Eagan at Musical Theatre Works; the new comedy The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton also at the Producer's Club II Theatre (NYC) with television and film star Carla Borelli, as well as the Equity reading at the Sanford Meisner Theatre (NYC); Tennis Anyoneat the Intar Theatre & The Theatre-Studio, Inc (NYC); The Dialogue Between Men & Womenat the Intar Theatre (NYC). Regional Directing: The Foreigner, Les Miserables (School Edition), The Glass Menagerie, The Gin Game, On Golden Pond, A Christmas Carol, Jake's Women, and Sylvia (Longview Stageworks, WA), Troilus and Cressida, Merry Wives of Windsor, I Will Not Be Afraid of Women (writer/director), A Girl's Life, This Property is Condemned, Bear and Dog, The Dancers (by Horton Foote), The Happy Journey to Camden and Trenton (by Thornton Wilder), The Importance of Being Earnest, A Doctor In Spite of Himself, Godspell, Juvie, Once on this Island, and Love, Death and the Prom by Jon Jory for the Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre, WA.
In June, 2008, Jesse will receive his MFA in Acting from UC Davis. In April, 2005, Jesse received his Master of Arts in Teaching (Drama Endrosement) from George Fox University. He received a B.F.A. in Acting from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School and the Meisner Extension. He was awarded for Outstanding Achievement at the Meisner Extension at the Tisch Salute Ceremony, presented by Tony-winning director George C. Wolfe. Additionally, he was accepted into the BFA programs at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Southern California, Ithaca College, Marymount Manhattan College and the BA program at Fordham University's College at Lincoln Center. He is a member of the Actors Equity Association (AEA), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and an Associate Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC). He has studied with David Mamet, William H. Macy, Lauri Peters, Kristin Linklater, Scott Zigler, Felicity Huffman, Mary McCann, Robert Bella, Karen Kohlhaas, Todd Weeks, Russ Fast, Josh Pais, Jordan Lage, Rick Sordelet, Paul Urcioli, and has attended lectures by Tony Kushner, Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Tony Randall, Giancarlo Esposito, William Finn, Frances Sternhagen, Samuel L. Jackson, and others. He is a former producer with Portland Pictures, Ltd., and has worked in various areas of film and theatre production. He was an assistant to producer Anthony Rhulen (Miramax's O) at the Sundance Film Festival, where he stayed in a house and assisted Andrew Keegan, Louis Lombardi, Elden Henson, Josh Hartnett,Demian Lichtenstein, among others.
In addition to the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre, Jesse has taught Meisner Acting and Linklater Voice workshops at the International School of Sint Maarten (Caribbean), Portland State University, Lower Columbia College, Walla Walla Community College, Cornerstone Community Christian School, Portland Actors Workshop, Hood River Valley High School, Columbia High School, Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego High School, Hood River Community Education, as well as the Oregon and Washington Thespian Conferences. He was the Drama Instructor at the Cornerstone Community Christian School in Kelso, WA from 2002 - 2003.
Jesse was born with a unilateral cleft lip and was proud to be the keynote speaker at the Widesmiles Conference on the Carnival Cruise Line to Mexico. His hobbies include the Chicago Cubs, SCUBA diving, breathing, traveling, the beach, reading, and spending time with his family and friends. He has been blissfully married to Laurel Merz (formerly Laurel Schuepbach) since September 2, 2000, and they currently make their home in Woodland, California with their daughter sAlana Fay and Josephine Alice, their 2 cats and 2 dogs.
You may email him at JesseMerz@aol.com
Jesse's Filmography on the Internet Movie Database
Click here for info on the rest of the CGST staff
CLICK HERE to download an UPDATED Resume!
Jesse Merz Resume.pdf
PLEASE NOTE - the below resume is not up to date -- Jesse Merz BFA, AEA, AFTRA, DG, SSDC, VASTA
Theatrical Resume
- THEATRE PRODUCTION WORK
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TECHNICAL THEATRE WORK
- As a director and producer, I have designed and/or assisted in set design, set construction, lighting design, board operation, sound design, prop design, and costume design.
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FILM PRODUCTION WORK
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| EMBRACEABLE ME (upcoming) | Producer/Writer/Director | CGRep Pictures | Feature Film | | CGST VIDEO PRODS. (15 projects) | Executive Director | CGST Pictures | Video Productions | | Sundance Film Festival Retreat | Assistant to the Producer | Rhulen Entertainment/Miramax | Producer/Actor Retreat | | ONE NOVEMBER NIGHT | Pre-Production Producer | Portland Pictures, Ltd. | Feature Film | | CITY OF ROSES | Production Assist./Actor | Westshore Pictures | Feature Film | | IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED | Production Assist./Actor | Portland Pictures, Ltd. | Narrative Short | | ANOTHER MANHATTAN SUNSET | Production Assist./Actor | NYU Film School | Narrative Short | | IT'S A MATTER OF TIME | Production Assist./Actor | Youth Unlimited Productions | Educational Video | | IT'S OUR WORLD, TOO | Production Asst./Narrator | Interact Productions | Educational Video |
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- ACTING CREDITS:
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- POSITIONS
- •Founding Artistic Director of the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre; WA since 1996 - PRESENT
- Founded the residential summer theatre school in the fall of 1996 as an idea on the computer, and saw it through to opening, with 10 students in the summer of 1997. In the summer of 1998, 70 students from 12 states and 4 foreign countries attended CGST. Over 160 students enrolled for the summer of 1999, with students from 27 states and 6 foreign countries. In the year 2000, 235 students from 35 states and 10 foreign countries attended CGST, with a similar numbers in 2001 and 2002. The summer of 2003 will be the seventh year of CGST. Duties include hiring the staff from across the country, producing 20 productions a summer, directing shows, creating and maintaining the web site, recruiting students, managing the staff, providing artistic leadership, fielding questions from parents, overseeing advertising and publicity, troubleshooting, teaching college-level Meisner Acting and Linklater Voice, and serving as a mentor to the students. The budget has increased over 10 fold since I founded the program from $25,000 to $300,000. Most importantly, CGST is a unique oasis of love and support - an emotionally safe environment where students from around the world feel the freedom to takes risks and grow.
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- •Founding Artistic Director of the Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre; NYC & WA since 1997 - PRESENT
- CGRep is devoted to producing quality new theatre in New York City. CGRep is also the producing organization of the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre (CGST) and is a professional summer stock company. Previous CGRep productions include The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton, Into the Woods, The Bald Soprano, Troilus and Cressida, Talking With.., Side Show, Enchantments, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Doctor Inspite of Himself, Godspell, Juvie, Snow White and the Three Hackers - or Snow White Online, Sometimes a Day Goes By, Kids on Broadway, The Wiz, The Dancers, The Happy Journey to Camden and Trenton, Once on this Island, KRZY Radio Hour, The Lorax, The Reluctant Dragon, Jackie and the Giant Toothbrush, Speak for Yourself. . ., Waiting in Oblivion, Tennis Anyone, The Dialogue Between Men and Women, and Suburban Dreams. CGRep has produced shows in New York City at the Intar Theatre on Theatre Row, Producer's Club II Theatre in the theatre district, and Musical Theatre Works. Significant productions include the Equity staged reading of Suburban Dreams with Tony-Winner Daisy Eagan (Secret Garden) in the cast, as well as the four-week run in May 1999 with Broadway actor T.J. Meyers (Passion & Sunday in the Park with George). Duties include hiring staff, casting, selecting exciting new projects, negotiating contracts, accounting, negotiating with Equity and the state, producing, directing, securing rehearsal and performance space, overseeing advertisement & marketing, and providing artistic leadership.
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- •Producing Artistic Director of Longview Stageworks; WA - 2000 - 2003
- Longview Stageworks is Southwest Washington's only Professional Equity Theatre Company. Jesse was hired in September, 2000 to produce the 2000 - 2001 season. Retained for the 2001 - 2002 and 2002 - 2003 seasons. Duties include creating budgets, casting, directing two to three shows, hiring staff, writing grants, creating a theatre school, designing a marketing strategy, increase subscriptions, and promoting the company. Additional responsibilities include planning upcoming season schedules, working with the Board of Directors, wooing sponsors, soliciting donors, and helping Longview Stageworks become the premiere professional theatre company in Southwest Washington. The company's budget has more than doubled since the first year Jesse took the helm, with membership doubling, subscriptions increasing 200%, and an increase in sponsorship of over 200%. The company has consistently been in the black, and we've never used subscription income for the upcoming season to pay bills for the current season.
- •Drama Instructor, Cornerstone Community Christian School
- Kelso, WA from Fall 2002 - Spring 2003. Hired in August 2002 to teach a year-round Drama Class to high school students at CCCS and to produce two Christ-based theatrical productions.
- •Road Artistic Director - Wycliffe Theatre Productions, Northwest Tour
'Spread the Word - Martyred: The Chet Bitterman Story'
- Portland, OR - Spring 2000 Took over as director for the final week of rehearsal when the original director had to leave the production. Maintained the artistic integrity of the show while on the road.
- •Founding Member of The Company Theatre, Lauri Peters, Artistic Director, New York City
•Educational Outreach Board Member - Portland Area Theatre Alliance; 2000 - 2001
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Assistant to Producer Anthony Rhulen (Miramax's O) at the Sundance Film Festival
- I stayed in a house and assisted Andrew Keegan, Louis Lombardi, Elden Henson, Josh Hartnett, Demian Lichtenstein, among others.
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- •Former Producer, Portland Pictures - Feature Film Production Company
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- •Market Researcher, Anchor Network
- New York, New York - Fall 1993
- Worked as a market researcher for TriStar, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, and Samuel Goldwyn film studios. Showed movie trailers to the public and collected statistical and anecdotal data.
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- •Guest Instructor of Meisner Acting and Linklater Voice - 1994 to Present at such venues as the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre, Longview Stageworks Theatre School, Lower Columbia College, Walla Walla Community College, Cornerstone Community Christian School, Longview/Kelso Parks and Recreation, Portland Actors Workshop, Hood River Community Education, Columbia High School, Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego High School, Hood River Valley High School, Oregon Thespian Conference and the Washington Thespian Conference.
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- TRAINING
- M.A. in Teaching, Drama Endorsement, George Fox University, April, 2005
- B.F.A. in Acting, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, May, 1996
- •The Meisner Extension (2 years)
- •Atlantic Theater Company Acting School (2 years)
- DIRECTING: Fritz Urtl.
- ACTING: David Mamet, William H. Macy, Lauri Peters, Scott Zigler, Felicity Huffman, Mary McCann, Robert Bella, Karen Kohlhaas, Todd Weeks, Jordan Lage, Paul Urcioli.
- LINKLATER VOICE: Kristin Linklater, Patricia Mullen, Dennis Patella.
- SKINNER SPEECH: Susan Finch.
- SINGING: Joe Neal, Scott Tuomi, Michael Jones, Lisa Queresimo, Mark Steighner.
- MOVEMENT: Donovan Waite (Aikido), Margaret Eginton (Alexander/Practical Aesthetics), Josh Pais (Suzuki/Committed Impulse).
- FILM ACTING: Russ Fast
- DANCE: Sue Donnelly (tap/jazz), Margaret Dallman (ballet)
- STAGE COMBAT: Rick Sordelet, S.A.F.D.
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- AWARDS
- •Awarded Outstanding Achievement at the Meisner Extension at NYU's Tisch Salute Ceremony.
- •Oregon Theatre Award Society Nominee for Best Supporting Actor, Godspell, Lakewood Theatre Company.
- •NYU/Tisch School of the Arts Scholarship Recipient.
- •CAST Theatre Scholarship Winner.
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- MEMBERSHIPS
- •Member of the Board of Directors of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance from 2000 - 2001.
- •Member of the Actors Equity Association (AEA) since 1997.
- •Member of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA) since 1992.
- •Associate Member of the Society of Stage Director and Choreographers (SSDC) since 1999.
- •Member of Voice and Speech Teachers Association (VASTA) since 2002.
- •Associate Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (DG) since 2002.
- •Eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
- •Member of the Fudds Film Voting Organization since 1996.
- •Member of the International Thespian Society since 1988.
- •Member of the Theatre Communications Group since 1996.
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- TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- Update: Drama Director and Theatre Teacher at David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon since fall, 2003. I have taught college-level Meisner Acting, Linklater Voice and Theatre Workshops at the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre, Longview Stageworks Theatre School, Lower Columbia College, Walla Walla Community College, Cornerstone Community Christian School, Longview/Kelso Parks and Recreation, Portland Actors Workshop, Hood River Community Education, Columbia High School, Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego High School, Hood River Valley High School, Oregon Thespian Conference and the Washington Thespian Conference. I was invited to lead workshops at the International Thespian Conference and has also taught at the International School of Sint Maarten (Caribbean). I have over 1700 hours of actual class time teaching Meisner and Linklater. I also have extensive experience teaching TV/Film Acting, College Preparation, The Business of Acting, Improvisation, Ensemble Work and Standard American Speech (Skinner).
- My students have gone onto study at Adelphi University, Boston Conservatory, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Catawaba College, Carnegie Mellon University, DePaul University, Evergreen College, Florida School of Arts, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, New School University, North Carolina School of the Arts, Pacific University, Portland State University, Queens University (Canada) Scripps College, University of California, Irvine, UCLA, University of Massachusetts, University of Miami, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, University of Washington, Vassar College, Western Washington University, Yale University, York University (Canada), among others.
- My students have gone onto work at such places as A Contemporary Theatre, 5th Avenue Theatre, Bing Theatre (Los Angeles), CAST Theatre, "City Guys" NBC-TV, Disney World, Gallery Theatre, Gresham Little Theatre, Gold-Marshak-Liedtke Agency (Los Angeles), Hayloft Theatre, Hillsboro Actors Repertory Theatre, KZBZ "The Buzz 104.9", KSAL "News Radio 910 AM", Lakewood Theatre Company, Longview Stageworks, "MAD-TV" Fox-TV, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Northwest Childrens Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Village Theatre, WABC radio in NYC, and Youth Theatre Northwest.
- Most importantly, I pride myself in creating an emotionally safe environment where students are encouraged to take personal and artistic risks.
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