Jesse Merz

Jesse Merz (born November 15, 1973 in Hood River, Oregon) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and professor. As an actor, he has appeared off-Broadway, in regional theatre, summer stock, feature films, in radio and in 120 cities in 34 states nationwide. He has directed more than 50 theatrical productions, which have included directing Tony winner Daisy Eagan in the new musical Suburban Dreams. He is the artistic director of the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre and former artistic director of Longview Stageworks He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Dramatists Guild, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and the Voice and Speech Trainers Association. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he studied at the Atlantic Theater Company and the Meisner Extension. He later received a Master of Arts degree in teaching with a drama endorsement from George Fox University. He also received a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from University of California, Davis. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Acting at Wayne State University.

He is currently writing a book on the acting technique of Sanford Meisner, entitled "The Meisner Interviews," for which he has already interviewed such Meisner experts as Lauri Peters, Dr. José Angel Santana, James Price, Suzanne Shepherd, Bill Esper of the William Esper Studio, with more interviews soon to follow. He also was a quoted in Dr. Jade Rosina McCutcheon's book, "Awakening the Performing Body."

Merz has been married to Laurel Merz since 2000 and is the father of Alana Fay (2003), Josephine Alice (2005) and Charlotte Janice (2008). Merz is currently in pre-production on his first feature film with the working title Embraceable Me, which is he writing and producing. He is also producing a new musical, The Gospel According to Tammy Faye, in New York City about Tammy Faye Messner, directed by Mindy Cooper and starring Tony-nominee Sally Mayes.