AWE Staff

The AWE staff are working professionals, experts in their field, so you can be sure you are learning from the best!

Our teaching staff consists of actors, agents, managers, casting directors, and other industry professionals who teach on a regular basis, who want to see you be your best, help you develop your talent, and feel good about yourself!

EMILY BAUER is a professional working actress who has been seen and heard starring on stage, on television, and in commercials. A New Jersey native and local mom, Emily has been teaching children, as well as answering parents questions for years about how to get their child into show business.

Emily began performing professionally at the age of ten, and literally grew up in the business.  She offers the benefits of her training, connections, and professional experience to children, teens, and their parents in the tri-state area.Emily is one of the most highly sought after voice over and commercial actors in America today, and can be heard and seen in literally hundreds of ads. She lends her talents to cartoons for every major network and many cable networks as well, and is also the voice of many popular toys and video games. 

Emily can be heard as “Emily Elizabeth” in the beloved “Clifford the Big Red Dog” series, and every day on MTV Network as one of their announcers. In 2007, Emily was honored with Publisher’s Weekly Award for Best Audiobook for her work on “Life as We Knew It” by Susan Beth Pfeffer. In 2008, Emily won another “Best Audiobook” award from Audiophile Magazine, and in 2009, Emily is honored to be the recipient of the ALA’s Notable Recording award for her narration of “The Possibilities of Sainthood”, a book in which she was proud to collaborate with Timothy Ditlow, the man responsible for the “Harry Potter” audiobooks!Before settling down on the east coast to raise a family, Emily traveled the world starring in such musicals such as “Hair” and “Almost Heaven:The John Denver Story”. Her many television credits include every “Law and Order” series, “Garo Unleashed” for Sundance, “Education of Max Bickford” (CBS), and “Guiding Light” (CBS). Among her many film credits, Emily was proud to work with Julia Roberts in the feature film “Mona Lisa Smile”.  A cum laude graduate of New York University, Emily double majored in Business and Theatre.  

She has also worked on the “other side” of the business for prominent agents and managers in New York, learning the business of the business. Her “Acting With Emily” students have enjoyed success in the entertainment industry, being “discovered” by agents, managers, and casting directors, as well as having auditions for Broadway shows and feature films. Her students have credits ranging from starring roles in feature films, series regular roles on tv shows, national commercials, print ads, cartoon series, music videos, and in their living rooms for grandma and grandpa!

Most importantly, Emily’s students have fun, develop self-confidence, and learn to respect themselves and their fellow students in a supportive, safe, and creative environment. Emily couldn’t be prouder to take a small part in helping children, teenagers, and their parents have a positive experience in this incredible industry.

STEPHANIE KURTZUBA is an actress and mother who has had the privilege of appearing both onstage and onscreen. Her recent credits include the Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock film “Extremely Loud and incredibly Close”. She also just completed a three year run on Broadway as an original cast member of Billy Elliot where she played the role of Mum.  She is a recurring cast member on CBS’ The Good Wife. Stephanie has been seen on and off Broadway in the original casts of Mary Poppins, The Boy from Oz, Bat Boy the Musical and Newsical The Musical!  

ERIN MAGUIRE was born on a cold winter morn’ (the same b-day as her brother — three years apart) in the Beantown suburb of Arlington, MA. Lots of stuff happened for many years and many wacky antics occurred that brought her to Ithaca College. There she officially decided to make a living at the business called show and move those wacky antics to NYC. So here she is now — living, singing, dancing, acting, improv-ing and loving life in New York.  Erin’s fabulous credits include lead roles in Xanadu, Chicago, Seussical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, South Pacific, 101 Dalmations and The Boy Friend. 

BRIAN SULLIVAN A favorite at AWE, Brian is an accomplished actor and director, who has appeared in or directed more than 200 commercials, for products you use every single day. As a producer and director, his credits are abundant!  He has also appeared in starring roles on many TV shows. He lives in NJ with his wife and three amazing kids! 

PIPER GOODEVE received a Drama League Award nomination for creating the role of Anne in Anne Of Green Gables. The Original Cast Recording of the show was named one of the Top Ten cast albums of 2008 by TalkinBroadway.com. Regional theater credits include: Syracuse Stage, McCarter, Trinity Rep, Merrimack Rep, Hangar Theatre (Syracuse Area Live Theater Award nomination for Best Actress as Sheila in Hair), Weston Playhouse, The York Theatre Co, Prospect Theatre Co, Peterborough Players, Arvada Center, NYMF, Battersea Arts Center (London), and the Canadian premiere of The Marvelous Wonderettes (Thousand Islands Playhouse). Film: Jill in Bereft (Showtime). TV: HBO’s Chat Zone. Piper holds an MFA in Acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep and a BA in Dramatic Literature from NYU. She also trained in Shakespeare Performance at RADA in London. Piper narrates audiobooks for Audible and was a teaching assistant at Brown University/Trinity Rep. She has taught at Bridgewater Stage College, Merrimack Community College, The Studio New Canaan, McCarter Summer Theater, and for Broadway Boot Camp among others. Please visit www.pipergoodeve.com.

SANDY RUSTIN is an actress & writer. Sandy wrote the hit off Broadway musical “Rated P: for Parenthood”. As an actress, Sandy will appear next season on HBO’s hit drama,“Boardwalk Empire” as the sweet-hearted flapper, Lucinda. She will also be standing by for Julia Stiles in Neil LaBute’s dark comedy, Fat Pig, coming to Broadway this fall. She regularly performs at UCB in Gravid Water (named “Best Improv Show” by Time Out NY). Favorite NY credits include Modern Orthodox (New World Stages), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Westside Theatre), Jolson & Company (Century Center), Sarah, Plain and Tall (Lucille Lortel), and Neil Simon’s Hotel Suite (Roundabout). She’s a player in Don’t Quit Your Night Job, and an “undercover agent” for Improv Everywhere. TV credits include “The Scariest Show on TV” (Comedy Central), “Law and Order; SVU,” “As the World Turns (Kayley),” “All My Children” and “Guiding Light.” Proud Co- Artistic Director of Midtown Direct Rep, the theatre in residence at SOPAC. Graduate of Northwestern University.

KAT LAMBRIX is an accomplished producer for one of the most well known producers of Audiobooks and downloadable content in the world. She loves her job, and loves to pass what she knows onto aspiring and established voice talent. 

MARISSA JOY GANZ is a Broadway veteran who’s credits include the original cast of “High School Musical”, “The Boy Friend (directed by Julie Andrews), Hello Dolly, “Hair” with American Idol ‘s Adam Lambert, and more! She brings her musical theatre expertise, positive attitude, and easy to follow teaching style to AWE!

BETSY GERSHAW is a professional actress who graduated from The University of Michigan Musical Theatre program.  She has performed in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, several National tours and The Goodspeed Opera House to name a few of her credits.  Betsy has also worked as an Assistant Producer for Fox Theatricals, producing Thoroughly Modern Millie, ‘night, Mother, Legally Blonde the Musical, and Caroline, or Change. Her passion for theatre and dance continues to play a major role in her life.  Her goal is to inspire young children to love the arts while having a blast.     

TOM WAYLAND is a voice director, producer and actor who works on the properties of 4Kids Entertainment, Central Park Media, and DuArt Film and Video. He is the current director of the hit series “Pokemon”. He also owns TripWire Productions, which has produced more than 200 different anime titles and overseen the voice direction of animations including Alien Nine and World of Narue. He is also a graduate of NYU.

GUEST TEACHERS ALSO INCLUDE:

Agents from:

CESD

INNOVATIVE

ABRAMS

BUCHWALD

GENTV

Managers from:

BERCY TALENT 

PARKSIDE TALENT

BRILLIANT TALENT

MOLLO MANAGEMENT

Casting Directors:

Liz Lewis Casting

Lisa Rubenstein Casting

Daryl Eisenberg Casting

Christina Wright Casting

Jennifer Sukup Robertson Casting

This is just a small list of our teachers! Email us for more info!