K. Lorrel Manning

Acting Faculty Member

What Lights Him Up About Teaching?

I light up when I see students, no matter the age or level of skill, push past their insecurities and discover abilities that they didn't know they had. It makes it all worth it!

Proudest Career Moment

The first involves my first feature film, Happy New Year. It's a difficult film to watch for some because it's very raw. One of our screenings at South By Southwest, where the film premiered, was for a vets-only audience. I was terrified. To me, they were my biggest critics. If they didn't like the film, they would definitely let me know. As soon as the end credits started to roll, they were on their feet - a standing ovation!

Get to Know K. Lorrel

I was planning to go to college to study music. In my junior year of high school, I needed an elective to complete my schedule. The drama class was the only class available at the time I needed. So, I reluctantly signed up. It changed my life.

K. Lorrel'S FAVORITE CHARACTERS(FILM/TV/THEATER)?

"Richard" in Richard III by William Shakespeare

"Walter Younger" in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

"Levee" in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson

"Katurian" in The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

Acting Faculty Member

K. Lorrel Manning is an award-winning writer, director, actor and musician. His solo show, Lost…Found will make its international premiere in Summer 2024 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. His first feature film,Happy New Year, premiered in competition at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in 2011. The film, adapted from Manning's one-act play and award-winning short film of the same name, has screened at over two dozen film festivals around the world and was officially released by Snag Films in 2013. Recently, he directed The Red Shoe, a short film, and is in heavy development with his second feature, Sheila & the Punk Rock. Manning holds an MFA in Film from Columbia and a BFA in Drama from the University of Georgia. In addition to his classes at T. Schreiber Studio, he teaches screenwriting, filmmaking, and advanced scene study at Sarah Lawrence College. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.

ACCOLADES
"Working with Lorrel is refreshing and fun. He’s a coach whose insights into writing & directing have helped me connect more deeply to my characters and their specific circumstances. He’s a careful listener. He’s invested in nurturing an actor’s curiosity and imagination. And he knows exactly when to push you to explore the text and your connection to it more deeply."
Monique Gabriella Curnen (The Dark Knight, Contagion, Power)
"The best acting teacher I've ever had. No stress. He taught me that acting should be 'easy' and fun. Not tortured. Forever grateful."
Leslie Silva (Shades of Blue, Women of the Movement)
“Lorrel’s training helps you tap into what makes you unique, what makes you stand out as an actor, helping you to reveal what you, and you alone, can bring to a scene.  And tapping into that helps you to relax on camera and most importantly, have fun.”
Eddie K. Robinson (New Amsterdam, God Friended Me)
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