The Instructors
Jeffrey Pierce
The first line of Jeffrey’s obituary is likely to mention his BAFTA-award nominated work as Tommy Miller in THE LAST OF US games and his subsequent role in the Emmy Award-winning HBO series of the same name. His career spans thirty years of theater, film, television, and video games, most recently starring alongside Robert Sean Leonard, Kerry Bishé, and Alec Baldwin in indie thriller INGRESS.
He has appeared in more than 120 hours of TV and streaming series, from Guest Stars to Recurring Guest Leads, to Series Regular roles and starred in video games including playing Jason Bourne in THE BOURNE CONSPIRACY, THE LAST OF US series, CALL OF DUTY: WWII and a host of others.
Prior to that he cut his teeth in regional theater, joining the Society of American Fight Directors where he mastered stage combat, hand-to-hand, rapier and dagger, broadsword, and quarterstaff, which he put to work touring the US and Canada for two years with The American Shakespeare Center's Shakespeare Express, followed by two years working, teaching, and choreographing violence for world-renowned Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts.
In 1996 he moved to Los Angeles and began his pursuit of a career on screen. His breakthrough role came as John F. Kennedy Jr, followed by playing opposite Academy Award winners Catherine Keener and Al Pacino in S1M0NE. He has worked non-stop ever since.
Throughout his time in Los Angeles, he mentored actors on career administration, helping them understand how to turn their dreams into practical daily pursuit of a career. He also continued teaching stage combat to actors and worked with Phillip at the Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble in South Central Los Angeles, choreographing fights for productions of OTHELLO and ROMEO AND JULIET.
Eleven years ago he came to Peachtree City to shoot four episodes of DROP DEAD DIVA. He fell in love with PTC and moved here with his family after shooting wrapped. He currently lives in The Bubble with his wife, daughter, and dogs when he’s not traveling for work.
Phillip Rhys Chaudhary
Phillip is an award-winning director and actor. Born in London to a mixed-race, inter family, he brings over 25 years of industry experience, with more than 100 hours of TV credits, including 24 (SAG nomination), Doctor Who, Nip/Tuck, BBC's Survivors, and FX's The Full Monty, based on the Oscar-nominated film. And yes, he was Proto-Zoa, the intergalactic rockstar in The Disney Channel’s iconic films Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.
His early exposure to multiple cultures, global travel, and an "interesting family life" shaped his deep fascination with human behavior, emotion, and connection.
Drawing from diverse methods and mentors, Phillip has developed an intuitive, collaborative approach to working with actors—always in service of performance, truth, and storytelling.
As a director, he has helmed documentaries, theatre productions, and commercials for L'Oréal, as well as the hit ABC/Hulu medical drama The Good Doctor. He has co-written three feature films and is developing "The Scarecrow," a feature adaptation of his Tribeca Film Festival-winning short starring Sandra Oh.
An alumnus of the Sundance Institute and the Directors Guild of America Mentorship Program and a two-time ABC/Disney Directing Fellow, Phillip has worked with visionary talents, including Ryan Murphy, Al Pacino, Bret Easton Ellis, Steven Spielberg, and Dennis Hopper.
As a teacher, he has coached talent at all levels, including Emmy-nominated actors and Broadway stars. His goal is to inspire and motivate while providing a genuine understanding of what it means to be an actor in today's world.
As a father, he values the lasting impact of teachers who genuinely invest in their students' growth—and sees every class as an opportunity to continue learning himself.
A lover of cinema, tennis, food & travel. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
Gena Shaw
Gena Shaw is an actress with more than two decades of experience in television and film. A New Jersey native, she began her career as a teenager in the New York market before relocating to Los Angeles, where she continued building a diverse body of work across both mediums.
Her credits include series regular roles in television pilots, numerous guest-starring appearances, leading roles in independent films, and more than 40 national commercials. She has appeared in projects such as NCIS, Revenge, Cobra Kai, and Dopesick, with additional projects soon to be announced.
Beyond acting, Gena has long been interested in the collaborative work that happens behind the camera. Over the years, she has worked in a range of crew positions—including craft services, production assistant, costumes, and art department—experiences that have deepened her respect for the artistry and teamwork required to bring a production to life. She has also written and directed her own short films.
In 2018, she relocated to Atlanta for what was meant to be a one-year stay and quickly fell in love with the city. She continues to work as both an actress and set decorator, co-runs an animal welfare nonprofit, and creates distinctive “trash art”—a passion project best experienced in person.
Alexandra Wright
Alexandra Wright is a classically trained actress with a BA from the University of Southern California and an MFA in Acting from Harvard University. She has also trained internationally at the British American Drama Academy in London and the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia.
Nominated by Broadway World as Performer of the Decade, Alexandra has performed internationally and worked alongside artists including Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Josh Brolin, Neil Patrick Harris, and Nancy Meckler of the RSC. Her film and television credits include a series regular role on Solve, recurring roles on ABC and Freeform, and guest appearances on NBC, CBS, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max, including Chicago PD, This Is Us, Grace and Frankie, Outer Range, and Julia.
She has performed stand-up at The Comedy Store and Flappers, served as a national spokesperson for Proactiv and Lenovo, and voiced campaigns for brands including Yelp and ServiceTitan. She also produces and hosts the podcast Shake Shake Shake and runs The Delta Acting Community, an online space for actors and private coaching clients.