T.R. is the Co-Owner of Bluedog - School of Acting for Kids. He is currently one of South Florida's most sought after acting coaches for kids. His students can be seen all over the world. Such as The Disney Channel, CBS, NBC, ABC, Nickelodeon, as well as many T.V. Series, Feature Films and Hundreds of T.V. Commercials.
T.R. has worked as a Casting Director for more than 25 years with T.R. DURPHY CASTING, INC. He was awarded "The 2007 Casting Director of The Year", by The Film Recording & Entertainment Council of Florida. He has cast hundreds of Local, Regional, National and World-Wide commercials.
Also, as a SAG actor for over 35 years, T.R. has appeared in many Feature Films, T.V. Series such as Miami Vice, and numerous print ads, Voice Over for T.V. and Radio Ads. TR has appeared as a Principle performer in more than 150 commercials; over 75 of them “Class A” commercials airing nationally.
RESUME:
2/70 to Current: Professional Actor: As a SAG
actor, appeared as a principal performer in over 150 TV Commercials, (Over 75 of those class a National spots) numerous Feature Films, Music Videos, Industrial Films, TV Series, such
as Miami Vice, and numerous print ads, Voice Over for TV and Radio Ads.
Current: * 2007 Casting Director of The Year - Awarded by The Film Recording & Entertainment Council of Florida * Private Acting Coach for hundreds of Kids, Teens and Adult Actors. * Private Acting Coaching for Film and TV Roles. * Private Acting Coach Specifically for Role Development. * Private Acting Coaching for Commercials. * Hired by 20th Century Fox for Role Development, Coaching - Film "Bachelor Party".
* Hired by Talent Agencies in Florida to Coach their own specific Talent pool. * Hired by Management Firms to Coach their specific Talent pool in Miami and LA. * Hired by Talent Agencies to Coach and Tape Talent for specific Roles all over the USA. * Hired by Management Firms to Coach and Tape Talent for specific Roles all over USA. * Hired by Known Personalities for Coaching with On-Camera Media Interviews. * Hired by Legal Representatives for Coaching with Jury Presentations. * T.R. Durphy Auditioning for Commercials Workshops for Actors. (All Levels) * T.R. DURPHY.COM
T.R. DURPHY CASTING - Partial List of Commercials Cast by TR Durphy: Commercials listed are National and/or Worldwide release:
Bounty
Paper Towels, Gain Detergent, Minute Maid Lemonade, Verizon Wireless,
Red Lobster, John West Tuna, Florida Panthers, Bextra, Lincoln, Florida
Keys Tourism, Ford, Dannon Yogurt, American Express, Smuckers Jelly,
Disney World, Yoplait Yogurt, Coors Beer, Cheerios, Sears, JC Penney,
Pledge, PGA, Hasbro Toys, Jensen Audio, Coleman, Burlington Coat
Factory, Coca Cola, McDonalds, BP Oil, DuPont, Gulf Oil, Pepsi Cola,
Hawaiian Tropic, General Rent a Car, Huggies Diapers, Budweiser Beer,
Levis Jeans, Glade Air Freshener, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Florida
Citrus, Howard Johnson Hotels, V8, LaBatt Beer, Umbro Soccer, Cadillac,
The Home Club, RC Cola, MCI, Barcardi Rum, Taco Johns, Martin Senour
Paints, Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruise Lines, Dolphin Cruise
Lines, BioGuard Pool Supplies, Saturn Car Company, PCA Qualicare, CBS,
NBC, The Real Yellow Pages, Pac Bell, BellSouth, Bell South Mobility,
Ralph's Super Markets, Publix Supermarkets, Circle K Convenient Marts,
Barnett Bank, First Union Bank, Miami Grand Prix, Benson & Hedges,
John Alden Life Insurance, National Heart & Lung Association,
Discover Credit Cards, The Bay Club, Pollo Tropical, Office Depot, Pan
Am Airlines, Bank Of Omaha, AT&T, Baquacil Pool Treatments,
Hechinger Hardware Stores, Kentucky Lottery, Kentucky Utilities
Company, Stihl Chainsaws, Casio Watches, L'Oreal Hair, Panadol Pain
Relief, Nivea Skin Care, Burma Shave, Shells Seafood, Discount Auto
Parts, Mr. CIean, The United States Post Office (next day service), The
Phone Stores, Empire Toys, Bryan Foods, Festival Flea Markets, Dobbs
Tires, Lanier Copiers, Sonic Burgers, Olympic Paints, Ameritech Phones,
Yikes Pencils, Danka Office Copiers, Honda, Dollar Rent A Car, Clopay
Garage Doors, General Electric (GE), Florida Tourism, PSA-Take Stock in
Children, Florida Orange Juice, Baptist Hospital East, BellSouth
(Hispanic), The Real Yellow Pages (Hispanic), Home Depot, Florida
Lottery, Pepsi Cola, George Strait-GPC Video, Sprint, Yellowpages,
Chevrolet, Tampa Tribune, BlueCross & Blueshield, Premier
Cruiselines, Murray's Auto Parts, Volvo, Mitsubishi, The Farmstores,
Terminix, Gulden's Mustard, Marriott Hotels, The Florida Panthers,
General Power Company, Polaner All-Fruit, Chase Tel Mobile Phones,
Detrol, Anti-smoking "Truth" spots, National Diabetes Association,
National Consumer Protection, Wendy's Hamburgers, and many more...... Partial List of Clients T.R. Durphy Casting, Inc. Cast for: Publicis
USA, Sean Thonson, Mad Dog, Epoch, Radical Media, Villains, Phil
Joanou, Great Guns, Dektor Film, MJZ Productions, Owen Electric
Pictures, Bob Industries, Cielo Films, Jeff Lovinger, Lovinger,
Mahoney, Adelson, Traktor, Mad Films, Kiss Films, Young & Rubicam
Worldwide, Bates USA, Wunderman-Kato-Johnson, Leo Burnett, Saatchi
& Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, Hal Riney & Partners, Grey
Advertising, Jim Gartner Productions, Thomas-Tvert, Afi/Filmworks,
Northlich-Stolley-Lawarre, Crispin-Porter-Bogusky, Redtree Productions,
Foote-Cone-Belding, Barry Dukoff & Associates, One World
Productions, Atlas Pictures, Goldcoast Advertising, Cognito Films,
Bedford Falls, Sheehy & Associates, Amber Pictures, Lipphardt
Advertising, IAC Advertising Group, Morrison Productions, HSI, Altman
Procko Productions, Michael Lamonica Photography, BEP Advertising,
Brighthouse Agency, Beber Silverstein Group, Tate & Partners, Marc
Advertising, Crossroads Films, Cooper & Hayes, Geneva Films,
Chicago Story, Imported Artist Film Company.
Other Activities include: * Guest Speaker: Screen Actors Guild * Guest Speaker: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists * Guest Speaker: The Actors Conservatory * Guest Speaker: Professional Actors Association of Florida * Guest Speaker: Dade County Public School System. * Guest Speaker: Creative Workshops Inc. * Guest Speaker: Invited Various Workshops
ONE ON ONE: With T.R. Durphy, Auditioning for Commercials, Film, TV Series
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS: Current Member: Screen Actors Guild (Member 35 Years) Current Member: AFTRA (Member 25 years)
1998: Screen Actors Guild Awards, Miami Chairman: Fundraising for people with HIV.
1989: * Screen Actors Guild Governing Council Member * Screen Actors Guild Nominating Committee Member * Screen Actors Guild Publications Committee Member * Screen Actors Guild Telecommunications Committee Member * Screen Actors Guild Working and Wages Committee Member * Miami Herald's Silver Knight Award, Drama Judge
1986/1988: * Screen Actors Guild Governing Council Member * Screen Actors Guild Nominating Committee Member * Screen Actors Guild Telecommunications Committee Member * Screen Actors Guild Working and Wages Committee Member * Screen Actors Guild Strike Chairman * Professional Actors Association of Florida, President * Miami Herald Silver Knight Award Drama Judge
1985/1986: * Professional Actors Association of Florida, Vice President * Professional Actors Association of Florida, Newsletter, Editor * Professional Actors Association of Florida, Membership Chairman
Elena Maria Garcia:
Elena Maria Garcia: Holds a Bachelor in Theatre from the University of Florida and a Masters in Acting/directing from Florida Atlantic University. Elena is the Artistic Director of Underdog Productions, Inc. She is also the co-founder and Educational Director of Bluedog School of Acting for Kids. She has appeared in numerous national commercials (Amdro, Nestle Water, Mr. Clean, DiGiorno, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Home Depot, Scott’s Lawn, Bounty, Florida Citrus, Florida Lotto), feature films (Tony Tango, Promises, Loving a Bad Man, Out of Time, There’s Something About Mary) and television (CSI Miami and Showtime’s Dexter). She is a two time recipient of the prestigious Carbonell award for best supporting actor and ensemble. She is a company member of Miami's Zoetic Theatre. She was last seen in South Beach Babylon and The House of Bernarda Alba at the Arsht Center for performing Arts. She has written and produced her One Person show, DO YOU SPEAK MEXICAN? She is the founding member of Separate Checks Improv Toupe, Quien Sigue A Quien, (the first Spanish speaking improv troupe in the US) and the first all-female improv troupe on the east Coast, Big Purse and Matching Shoes. Elena's students have garnered Critics’ Choice for Florida High School District competitions 2003-2010 and received six Thespian State Champion titles in 2007-2011. Some of her students have been featured in national television shows including: David Del Rio (Nickelodeon's The Troop), Joe Haro (West Side Story- Broadway). She has worked closely with Broadway actors: Aymee Garcia (Les Miserable, Avenue Q, Shrek); Steve Davis (Stomp-national tour), Mark Kudisch (Three time Tony Award-nominee); Melissa Hart (The Second City and Broadway’s Musical The Scarlet Pimpernel). Elena has taught improvisation and acting for over twenty years. She currently teaches at New World School of the Arts, Barry University, and is a member of Screen Actor’s Guild and Actors’ Equity.
Stuart Meltzer
Stuart received his M.F.A. in Directing from the Actors Studio in 2002. For two years, Stuart was the Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami, where he oversaw and expanded the Summer Shorts Festival. New York credits include Romulus Linney’s Gint, Harold Pinter’s One for the Road, Aristaphanes’ Lysistrata, Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls… as well as Morzek’s Striptease. Upon his return to South Florida, where Stuart was raised, he was Head of Theatre at Gulliver Preparatory and then part of the Full Time Faculty at New World School of the Arts. At New World, Stuart directed Weiss’ Marat/Sade and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America staged at The Colony Theatre and Brecht and Weill’s The Threepnny Opera. South Florida directing credits include Melt, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Painted Alice, Barefoot Boy With Shoes On, and Everything Will be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy at Mad Cat Theatre in Miami.
LaVonne Canfield:
LaVonn is an actor, director, writer, expressive arts facilitator, and adjunct faculty in
the Theatre Division of New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. Ms. Canfield had been involved in the
theatre for 22 years. A graduate
of NWSA herself, she holds a BFA from Florida International University in
Theatre and is currently completing her graduate work in Interdisciplinary
Arts. In addition to teaching at
the Conservatory she has been an Expressive Arts Facilitator with ArtSpring, Inc. for the past 5 years bringing Interdisciplinary Arts
Workshops to incarcerated women in South Florida. Her acting credits include Fraulein Schnieder in Cabaret,
June in Marisol, Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Queen Coral in City Beneath the
Sea, and Aileen Wuornos in The Last Resort which she also wrote. Some of her directing credits include
No, No, Nanette, Wait Until Dark, You Can’t Take It With You, Waiting for
Godot, The Nina Variations, and Getting Out. She has also been the Festival Coordinator the New
Playwrights Festival at NWSA for the last three years.
Jerry Seeger:
A graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Burt
Reynolds Institute for Theatre Training, Jerry has performed throughout south
Florida in the Eric Bogosian one-man show sex, drugs, rock & roll and a compilation of Bogosian's works entitled Pounding Sex and Rock & Roll Into My Forehead,
both produced by Underdog Productions, the company he co-founded with his
wife, Elena Maria Garcia. He also has performed with theatre companies
throughout south Florida including Caldwell Theatre Company, New Theatre,
Edge Theatre, TheatreWest and Mosaic Theatre. He has performed in television
and radio commercials for clients such as Home Depot and Scott's Bonus S
and has been featured in industrial and independent films including Off the Chain, Batman Blues, Spaceship and the recently filmed
Square Root. He is currently a Theatre faculty member at St. Thomas High School.
TORI VELLE
TORI VELLE was a triple threat, and lead talent for Disney, Disney Studios, and Radio Disney. She brought to life some of our most beloved movie characters such as; Belle, Meg, Princess Jasmine, Esmeralda, and Pocahontas through Disney's live, magical musical productions, national and international tours, promotional merchandising, special appearances, and commercial advertising.
Tori has exceptional theatrical training and a solid musical theatre background; with a strong emphasis in Ancient-Classical Literature. She is privileged to have studied and worked with Tony, Emmy, and Oscar award winning actors and directors such as the late Jose Quintero, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Dom Deluise, as well as, Burt Reynolds, Stephen "MO" Hanan, Gabriel Barre, and Melba Moore. Tori also co-founded a program called CARE (Conflict Awareness Resolution in Education) during her reign as Miss Broward County through the Miss America Foundation. CARE, in conjunction with the practice of theatre arts, encourages schools, families, and students to strengthen and implement the social skills needed to help nullify a world-wide epidemic; bullying. Tori, is a Critic’s Choice director and accomplished teacher for both professional and educational theatre. She is a published children's book author; writing for charitable organizations who help children in need (ToriVelle.com). She continues to write for the stage and screen while completing her Masters degree. With a BA in Philosophy, she also graduated from the Burt Reynolds Institute for Theatre Training, is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Educational Theatre Association, Cambridge's Recognition of Achievement, the International Women's Writing Guild, was gifted the MOLLY PITCHER award by the United States Army, and is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association.
Erin Joy Schmidt:
Nominated for two 2010 CARBONELL Awards for BEST ACTRESS.
Erin has been working as a professional actor in South
Florida for the last three years and before that worked in NYC running her own
theatre company, Little Foxes. Recent credits include: Reasons to Be Pretty
(Gablestage), Viva Bourgeois (Mad Cat), Summer Shorts 2008 & 2009 (City
Theatre), Dead Man's Cell Phone (Mosaic Theatre), Mezzulah 1946 (Florida
Stage), MIXTAPE and Some Girl(s) (Mad Cat), 4.48 Psychosis (Naked Stage), Talk
Radio (Mosaic Theatre) The Lion in Winter (Caldwell Theatre), Uncommon Women
and Others and Tongue of a Bird (Women’s Theatre Project) and an acting company
member of Mad Cat. Erin received her
MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School in NYC and is an
adjunct professor of Theatre at Broward College.
IAN HERSEY
is currently Assistant Director of King Lear Starring Sam Waterston at The Public Theater in New York. He served as the Shakespeare Initiative Associate at The Public Theater for three years and continues as there as the Director of the acclaimed A Midsummer Day’s Camp. Also at The Public, he continues to run the Teacher and Teaching Artist training. He has run and taught in other programs for teens such as Summer ShakeUp and Shakespeare Spring Break. An alumnus of the NYSF Shakespeare Lab and The Actors Center, he has served on the faculty at Barnard College, New World School of the Arts, The Actors Center and internationally renowned The Shakespeare Lab. He has taught Shakespeare in high schools, middle schools, colleges, prisons, community centers, shelters, camps and conservatories. Credits for text and dialogue coaching credits include Titus Andronicus at The Public, The Last Goodbye at Williamstown, Ser or no Cervantes, Shakespeare on the Sound, The Public Theater Mobile Unit. A recipient of the Fox Foundation Fellowship, he studied Shakespeare with Ron Van Lieu, Barry Edelstein, Michael Langham, Mario Siletti, Peter Francis James, Brian Murray, Catherine Fitzmaurice, Tim Carroll, Maria Aitken and Rob Clare. Other acting teachers include Lloyd Richards, Olympia Dukakis and Earle Gister. As an actor he has performed on stage and television, in film and commercials. Ian is currently the master teacher and curriculum designer for the R.Evolucion Latina Shakespeare Project. He has Master’s in Education from Harvard University.
GAIL GARRISAN
Gail Garrisan is on the faculty of New World school of the Arts, where she teaches acting and directing. She is the founding Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami, FL, which produces the award winning Summer Shorts Festival. During her nine years with City Theatre, she was also the Director of Education. She conducted acting and writing workshops, directed short plays for High School students and mentored participants in the Young Playwrights Festival. She has worked extensively with the education departments of The Kravis Center, The Caldwell Theater, and Coconut Grove Playhouse. Ms. Garrisan has directed professional productions at numerous venues throughout the country, and at local theaters such as Coconut Grove Playhouse, Florida Stage and New Theater as well as regionally. Her workshops on Audition Techniques, Breath and Body Exploration and Monologue Building have been presented nationally. She has taught graduate and undergraduate acting at Florida Atlantic University and Broward Community College and has had a private coaching practice for professional actors for over 20 years.
T.R. DURPHY CASTING - 
