Fellowships.
Ron Van Lieu’s contribution to the profession and the art form through his innate understanding of human behavior is unparalleled. He has been the inspirational guide for a half century of exceptional theatre artists. He has played an instrumental role in shaping The Actors Center and its Teacher Development Program, sharing his insights, mentorship, and sacred tenets of the craft with future generations of teachers. The recipient of the Ron Van Lieu Teaching Fellowship receives a full scholarship to the Teacher Development Program.
Applications: Ongoing / Deadline for submissions – March 21, 2025
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
This fellowship is intended to support professional actors who are transitioning from performing to teaching. Applicants should demonstrate exceptional artistry and craftsmanship, as well as a dedicated interest in teaching. Open to actors at any stage of transition to teaching, including in preparation to teach, through their first 3 years of full-time teaching.
Teachers of all disciplines of actor training, including voice, movement, and technique are eligible to apply.
Application Materials
About Ron Van Lieu
Ron Van Lieu was the Master Teacher of Acting and eventually Chair of the NYU Graduate Acting Program where he taught from 1975 to 2004. In 2004 he was appointed the Lloyd Richards Professor of Acting and Chair of the Acting Program at the Yale School of Drama where he taught until 2017. He now serves a Professor of Professional Practice on the faculty of Columbia University.
Ron trained at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. His acting credits include major regional theaters, leading roles off-Broadway, New York Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and a member of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s acting company. His directing credits include productions at Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater, Syracuse Stage, the Greer Garson Theater in Santa Fe, and over 50 productions at the NYU Graduate Acting Program. In 1993 he was awarded the New York University Distinguished Teaching Medal, the university’s highest award given in recognition of outstanding achievement in classroom teaching.
In addition to his university work, Ron is a founding faculty member of both The Shakespeare Lab at the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater where he headed the actor training for 10 years, as well as The Actors Center in New York where continues to teach both professional actors as well as teachers of acting. Students who have trained with Ron over the past 43 years have won every major award in the field of theater and acting including the Pulitzer Prize, the Academy Award, Tonys, Drama Desk Awards, Golden Globes, Emmys, Obies, etc. Ron serves on the Advisory Council of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.