Actor and acting instructor, Ryan Kessler, joins us in episode 039 of SHIPS. In this episode, we discuss how acting and performance is a form of heightened connection and how, especially when seeing a show, the audience cannot get away from this connection. He talks about his career as an actor and instructor, how acting allows us to become more comfortable with who we are, and the importance of the communal nature in the performing arts.

To learn more about Ryan and his great work as an actor and instructor, please check out https://www.ryan-kessler.com/.

Ryan is an actor and acting instructor from NYC. Acting credits include: The Vampire Diaries (CW Network), NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), As the World Turns (CBS) South of Hell (We TV), Pinkville (Hollywood Film Festival, Rome International Film Festival), Practice (Hamptons International Film Festival), A Christmas Carol (Hartford Stage Co.), Sixteen Wounded (Long Wharf Theatre), Sideman (Meetinghouse Rep.), A Few Good Men and A Comedy of Errors (River Rep.), and Macbeth (The Secret Theatre). As an acting teacher Ryan has taught at the Penny Templeton Studio, Broadway Artists Alliance, Theater Arts Center, and Artistree Arts. He currently runs RK Acting Studio where he holds weekly classes and coaches actors. Students have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in film and television. He is also a founding member of Endless River Arts, a theater ensemble dedicated to producing classical theater for a modern audience.