MARY MCCANN
School Executive Director
Mary is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and the Executive Director of the Atlantic Acting School. Recent credits include the role of MaryAnn in Little Children starring Kate Winslet and the upcoming films Choke starring Angelica Huston and Sam Rockwell, Sordid Things and in role of Ruthie Cheals in “The Unit” on CBS and David’s Mom in “The Naked Brothers Band” on Nickelodeon. Mary has appeared in many Atlantic Theater Company productions, including the hit musical Spring Awakening, The Cherry Orchard, The Night Heron, The Hiding Place, This Thing of Darkness, The Beginning of August, Wolf Lullaby, The Water Engine, Edmond, Dangerous Corner and Shaker Heights. Broadway Credits: The Old Neighborhood, Our Town with Spaulding Grey and Search and Destroy. Other Off-Broadway Credits include: Oleanna (OrpheumTheater); Uncommon Women and Others (Second Stage); Boys’ Life(Lincoln Center); and Hot Keys (Naked Angels). American Repertory Theater: Oleanna and Boston Marriage. Film & TV Credits include: “The Unit”, “Law & Order”, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”, “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”, “Sex and the City”, “Sports Night”, “ER”, “Spin City”, It Must Be Love, Door to Door, The Con, The Spanish Prisoner and Things Change. Producing Credits include the films: Edmond starring William H. Mary and Colin Fitz.
HEATHER BAIRD
Director of Education and Recruitment
Heather is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and Atlantic Alumna. Upon graduation, Heather worked as a Film and Television casting director for 10 years. Noted projects include films The Hours, Brown Sugar, Center Stage and Magnolia, HBO’s dramatic series “Oz” and “The Wire” and ABC daytime series “Loving and The City”. Her most recent casting project was the search for the lead boy in “Billy Elliot the Musical” for Broadway. Heather began her career in the performing arts as a member of American Ballet Theater’s corps de ballet under the directorship of Mikhail Baryshnikov.
LORIELLE MALUE
Associate Director
Lorielle is school associate director and a faculty member. Credits include: SELF: BY ALISON CARSEN (writer/director/actor, Student Emmy, UCLA Directors Spotlight Award), THE WONDER PETS! (writer), I Never Saw Another Butterfly… (producer/director), Lovers (VTA Best Actress Award). Current projects: THIS AMERICAN DEATH (producer), WHAT IF, RIGHT NOW…? Based on the short story “Victory Lap” by George Saunders (writer/director). In LA she worked for six years for Jodie Foster and her Paramount Pictures financed company, Egg Pictures (Meg LeFauve, president) on multiple features and as story editor for projects Egg was developing. BFA (NYU-Atlantic), MFA (UCLA), Ed.M. (Harvard), FIND Producing Lab Fellow.
CLAYTON EARLY
Director of Student Affairs
Clayton is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and currently serves as the Director of Student Affairs for the Atlantic Acting School. An alumnus of the Atlantic, Clayton is also a graduate of the Peoples Improv Theater (PIT) training program and has extensive experience as a writer, director, and comedian. He is a member of the award-winning sketch comedy troupe Harvard Sailing Team. Additional credits include the Ford reality web-series, Focus Rally: America, and the Harvard Sailing Team Friars Club short, Another Psycho.
ALISON BEATTY
Artistic Director, Student Productions
As a proud alumna of the Atlantic, Alison Beatty has been the School Artistic Director for the past 3 years, where she is responsible for programming and producing 15 shows a year with students from both the NYU and Conservatory programs, as well as 2 Atlantic for Kids productions. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of directing and/or choreographing several ATC for Kids shows, including: The Hundred Dresses, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Miss Nelson is Missing, No Dogs Allowed, Really Rosie, Strega Nona, The Big Stew, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. Choreography: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, Pericles, Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard, and Caucasian Chalk Circle. Directing: Modern Dance for Beginners by Sarah Phelps.
CHRIS BATSTONE
Production Manager, School Productions/Stage 2
Chris Batstone began his theater career in California, where he studied at Cal State Long Beach and UCLA; quickly moving on to co-found his own critically acclaimed company, Alive Theater, which is still thriving today. After a period working for the Walt Disney Company as a Technical Director, Chris decided to move to New York and explore the world of site-specific, and immersive theater. His most recent production, HABIT, was an enormous critical success. Chris has acted in numerous stage productions, TV shows, and feature films as well.
STEVEN CHINNI
Director of Admissions
Education: Queens College at CUNY, BA in Theatre/Psychology. Theatre credits include: Dinner for a Scorched Hero, Walking to America. Television: Cain and Abel. MTV’s “Made”. Film: Operation Film Maker (winner of KNF Award, Dutch Film Critics). Numerous Commercial Credits. 2007 Judge at Samuel French one-act play writing contest.