Our Team
Shannan Yancsurak | Los Angeles
Shannan is an Ohio native ( Go Buckeyes! ) who has spent a lot of time performing on stages from NYC to LA, and a few places in between. She studied at the Action Theater Conservatory with an emphasis on acting and improv. While in NYC, she performed with the still running comedy group “On the Spot” while doing multiple Off Broadway plays and independent films. Shannan made her way to LA to focus more on TV and film. She studied with the comedy masters of Scott Sedita and Lesly Kahn, while graduating from the Second City Conservatory program. She has performed, coached, taught and directed more than 1000 improv/sketch shows. She has landed on numerous tv, film and web series in various comedy and dramatic roles.
Shannan has been coaching new and experienced actors by word of mouth for more than 10 years in LA, receiving referrals entirely from her network of actors, agents and managers. She specializes in getting actors up to speed in the world of professional acting, audition prep and taping.
Despite having her personal favorite roles in comedy and drama, her favorite role to date is mom and wife in her family of five (6 if you count Rocky, the big lovable dog!)
Michael C. Silva |
Los Angeles
Michael was born and raised in Yonkers, New York. He moved to NYC to study acting, technique, movement and improvisation at HB Studios. He has performed Off Broadway with Emerging Artists Theatre Company and TOSOS. Additionally, he has performed and produced multiple plays Off Off Broadway. Michael was a founding member of the beloved West Village cabaret darlings, The Improvoholics (featured twice in Time Out New York), a four person improv comedy group.
Michael moved to Los Angeles October 2003 to pursue film and television and is still doing so today. Since then, in addition to acting and improv on TV, film and stage, he has written, directed and produced various shorts, scripts and comedy shows all over Los Angeles. Since 2010, he continues to work in LA elementary schools with Young Storytellers Foundation to raise young people’s voices and stories through their own narratives. He has been private coaching for more than 5 years. He excels in getting actors to tap into the truth of the moment, honoring the work and having fun. He performs monthly with the improv comedy group The Captains of Industry (winners of both the 2017 NoHo Fringe Festival and the 2018 Valley Awards). He also co-hosts, co-writes and co-produces the recurring comedy character showcase FUN-Raiser. In 2020, Michael started the Lab Track of the Groundlings program. He is living happily ever after, still.
Darby Kennerly | Los Angeles
Darby is an Army brat who moved frequently while growing up. Once her parents retired from the military, they settled in Indianapolis where Darby discovered her love of dance. She studied tap, modern, jazz, and ballet and even toured with the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre. When her high school was looking for tap dancers, Darby was cast in a musical and was introduced to another love — acting. Darby went on to earn a BA in Theater and a BA in Dance from Alma College and her MA in Theatre from Missouri State University, where she also taught college courses. Upon graduating, Darby gained experience on the stage, in film, and in the voiceover recording booth in Chicago, before moving to Los Angeles. In addition to acting, Darby is a writer and producer, and has lots of experience from the casting side of the business. She brings a unique perspective to acting — a body awareness from dance, a storytelling awareness from writing, and a emphasis on play which allows the actor to fully commit to notes given by the director or casting director. In her spare time, Darby loves to create pottery, visit dogs at the local shelter, and record a podcast, “2 B Kind,” which explores simple yet impactful ways we can be kinder to the planet.