This class will include a Q&A with NY based casting professional Stephanie Klapper, followed by a prepared work session. 

Participating actors will choose, prepare and perform sides from film or television.  Additional preparation details will be sent upon confirmation.

ABOUT STEPHANIE:

Stephanie Klapper (Casting Director) is a native New Yorker. Born in the Bronx and raised in Greenwich Village. 

Stephanie’s parents, ardent theatre and concert goers, ignited her love of theatre at the age of 4 with an Off-Off Broadway production of Jean Giraudoux’s The Apollo of Bellac, and not long after, Fiddler on the Roof starring Zero Mostel. Stephanie’s father played the clarinet, and her mother played the harp. Their home was always filled with music and Stephanie joined in by playing the flute. Her parents also instilled a love of traveling which expanded her world and informed her approach to life and the creative arts. 

A graduate of SUNY College at Purchase, Stephanie majored in film before helping to start the university’s Drama Studies program. While there she discovered a love for directing and working with people. Moving back home to New York City, Stephanie’s first professional gig was as a rehearsal assistant to the pianist for the workshop production of Nine the Musical. She was subsequently invited by the producers to work as their assistant on multiple shows including Cloud 9, the Broadway production of Nine the Musical and The Tap Dance Kid. This began her journey into the New York City professional theater scene where Stephanie worked Off-Broadway as an Assistant Director and Director for several years- before finding her true calling as a Casting Director and opening her own company. 

Drawn to the intricacy and labor evident in handmade crafts such as hand painted china, illustrated books, and colorful glass sculptures- Stephanie takes great joy in close examination and finding what makes each piece special and unique. She brings the same passion and attention to detail to her casting process, which is further animated by her love of music, theatre, film, language, and the connecting of talented people to one another. 

Through her work on several committees with the Casting Society, Stephanie is helping to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion in the business as well as mentoring young artists and arts professionals. She has been an adjunct professor with NYU New Studio on Broadway for 8 years. She is also a mentor with the NYU Tisch Drama Women’s Mentorship program. Stephanie works with the Syracuse Tepper Semester immersive program as a mentor and teacher with the casting program. In addition, Stephanie is a mentor with the Fordham High School for the Arts and works to introduce the students to the casting profession as well as exposing them to all manners of performing arts experiences by bringing in other industry professionals to give them a wide range of knowledge and experience. Stephanie is a guest teacher with several universities including, but not limited to: USC, The Lee Strasberg Institute, UNCSA, CCM, University of Michigan, University of Oklahoma, Syracuse University, FSU/ASOLO and Ohio University. 

Stephanie is dedicated to the growth of arts education, the development of new talent, and the reimagining of established works. She has been nominated and won multiple Casting Society Artios Awards. 

Stephanie is a co-host of the popular podcast “Someone’s Thunder” where she and her co-host chat about film, TV, theatre, life, career paths, and creativity exploring each of their guests’ unique journeys, experiences, and “thunder”.

Stephanie continues to be inspired by her wonderful husband, two great kids, two rambunctious cats, and a very playful rescue dog.