Paul Pryce To Direct HB's Hagen Core Training

HB Studio-one of New York's original institutions for theater training and practice-has appointed Paul Pryce as director of its annual acting intensive, the Hagen Core Training program. The program, which was rescheduled amid safety concerns, will now be held online with a hybrid training option, beginning Jan. 4.

An immersive conservatory under the Uta Hagen Institute at HB Studio, the Hagen Core Training program offers an integrated and progressive curriculum of essential classes that lay the foundation for those pursuing a professional career in acting.

Paul Pryce join the Hagen Core Training faculty in 2019. He also serves as director of HB Studio's six-week training program for actors, the Hagen Summer Intensive. Pryce takes over the program from Mark Blum who passed away in March, having served as interim director during the final months of its last season.

"It is with great pride and gratitude that I step into this new role at HB Studio and serve our community of actors and dedicated faculty in the Hagen Core program," said Pryce. "Our previous director, the incomparable Mark Blum, led the Hagen Core for many years, setting an exemplary standard of academic leadership and artistic integrity and producing fully-functioning actors committed to making an impact. I join my faculty in continuing this tradition and in steering the program through an evolving theater landscape."

In addition to teaching at HB Studio, Paul Pryce is an actor, writer, producer and teacher at Brooklyn College and at the New York Film Academy. Pryce's acting highlights include a recurring role on the Netflix original series "Jessica Jones" and "Unforgettable" on A&E. Onstage, he has appeared in "Hamlet" with Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti at the Yale Repertory Theatre. Other notable productions have been "Pecong", featuring Tony Award winner Lillias White at the National Black Theatre and "Prince of Tyre" and "Julius Caesar" at the Elm Shakespeare Company.

Pryce has taught at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Music and Theatre Arts department, and Wesleyan University. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a former student of HB Studio.

HB Studio's Executive and Artistic Director Edith Meeks appointed Pryce to lead the Hagen Core Training program.

"Paul is himself an actor of magnetic power and presence. In his classroom, he creates a vibrant, safe, and collegial space where the actors he mentors are challenged to reach for their most exciting possibilities," said Meeks. "Working in partnership with the Hagen Core's outstanding faculty, he is crafting a transformative year-long program for the emerging artists, with deep and lasting impact."

Pryce joined the HB faculty in 2015 and has taught classes in Acting, Audition Technique and Acting in English for artists working in English as a second language. As director of the Hagen Summer Intensive program, he leads a faculty of seasoned master teachers that include Theresa McElwee (Voice/Speech), Martha Bernard (Alexander Technique), Michelle Uranowitz (Movement), Arthur French and Rochelle Oliver (Acting).

In addition to his teaching credentials, Pryce has received several awards including the Eldon Elders Fellowship (2012), the Oliver Thorndike Acting Award (2013) and Caribbean Life Newspaper's 40 Under 40 Award (2014).

As writer and producer, Pryce's debut film "Come Out, Come Out" premiered at the 2017 Cannes Short Film Corner. His sophomore film "The Deliverer" has screened at CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, Trinidad+Tobago Film Festival, Montreal International Black Film Festival, and Arpa International Film Festival. The screenplay for "The Deliverer" was a 2017 Sundance Institute Lab Finalist, while his original television series "Serpents Mouth" won Best Pitch and the Audience Award at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.