Brandy Hotchner
Owner/Artistic Director
Brandy is the daughter of two published playwrights and the co-founders of “A Company of Players,” a participatory children’s theater and one of the first professional theater companies in Denver. She spent her childhood backstage, on-stage, and in the dressing rooms of their theater. Hooked, she went on to get a BA in directing from the University of Redlands and an MFA in Acting from The Actor’s Studio MFA, New School. Along the way, Brandy trained in Shakespeare and the classics with The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts teachers in London, work-shopped in New York with luminaries such as Arthur Penn, Ellyn Burston, Vivian Nathan (founding member of The Actors Studio), Sandra Seacat and of course her long-time mentor, Barbara Poitier. The craft of acting truly came alive for her under the guidance of mentor Poitier, one of Lee Strasberg’s few true protégé’s.
Over the ten years Brandy lived and struggled in New York City, she won three best actress honors in one act play festivals, was seen on stage at (among others) Ontological-Hysteric Theater, Ensemble Studio Theater, Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, Playwrights Horizons, Circle in the Square and New York Theater Workshop. She has appeared in 11 independent films and directed original works at Ensemble Studio Theater.
Brandy came to Arizona in 2002. She was just passing through on her way to Los Angeles. New York, after 9/11, had lost its romance and she longed to get back out West. She never made it LA. During Brandy’s first week in Arizona, she met her husband and now has a family raising two teenage boys. That was an act of true providence. Brandy often says, “I would not be coaching if life had not interfered with my plans.” In 2005, Brandy was working in arts outreach, trying to be the best mom she could be, when Scottsdale Community College hired her to teach a Shakespeare section in their acting summer conservatory. After the session ended many of those students, hounded her to start a private class. She finally relented and established a regular, on-going acting workshop every Monday night. “I was confounded that I was coaching, amazed they kept coming back, and humbled by their remarkable growth.” With her mentor, Barbara Poitier’s endorsement and encouragement the whole way, that little class has grown into the fully comprehensive, intensive, American Method/Classical acting program it is today.
Jacque Arend
Associate Artistic Director, Improv Coach & Administrator
Jacque Arend has been the improv instructor at Arizona Actors Academy since 2013. Before that she studied acting for two years before finding improv at Chicago’s IO Theater in 2005. She has been improvising regularly throughout Phoenix since, with longstanding groups like Light Rail Pirates, JaxN Reed and Second Beat Theater’s signature Skewed News Hour. She has learned from some of the greatest improvisors and teachers today. As a founding member of The Torch Theatre she has been teaching improvisational comedy there since 2007. As part of the organization Jacque has designed curriculum rooted in longform which is based in scenework and creating an ensemble performance with a strong sense of comedy. Through her style of play, experience as a coach and passion for acting, she provides improvisation training to AZAA actors that compliments their skill building for more diversity in strengths. Her exposure to comedic tools build the foundation for her specialty workshops, Comedic Sense and the Sketch Intensive. Jacque has been a featured improvisor for many years at the Phoenix Improv Festival along with several festivals around the country performing and teaching. Jacque also has ten years of theater operations and administering a training center and began her administrative services to Arizona Actors Academy in 2015. She has been facilitating corporate training and team building workshops since 2012 and offers those services to organizations as well as private coaching for individuals looking to loosen up, gain more confidence, improve their public speaking skills or actors seeking help with comedic material and play.
Rachel Grimes
Acting Coach
Rachel Grimes is an accomplished singer, actress, director, and theatrical producer who absolutely loves to teach! Rachel graduated magnum cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in Theatre Arts. While at school, Rachel co-founded the multicultural theatre company Shringara Theatre Co., which continues to be active at the university today. She also directed musicals for the Music Theatre Society, straight plays at the Phoenix Theatre, and was stage manager for multiple productions including The Bald Soprano.
Rachel spent the years following college performing for Blue Gate Musicals in Ohio, teaching acting and voice at a studio outside of Chicago, and founding her own theatre company: Share a Dream Theatre Co. Share a Dream encourages theatre lovers of all ages to submit a dream role play to be produced, with all the proceeds from the show going to a charitable organization of the artist’s choice.
In her youth Rachel participated in shows at East Valley Children’s Theatre, winning an AriZoni Award for Best Principal Actress in a Musical for the role of Gerda in The Snow Queen. Rachel has also run dozens of camps throughout the years at East Valley Yamaha Music School- with productions including Robin Hood and Charlotte’s Web.
In her free time Rachel loves to read YA Fantasy novels, laugh with her family and friends, and do administrative work at her mom’s music school.
Maren Maclean Mascarelli
Shakespeare & Acting Coach
Maren has performed with the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Birmingham Children’s Theatre, produced for Arizona Actor’s Academy, dramaturg-ed for Nearly Naked Theatre, designed for Phoenix Theatre and Scottsdale Conservatory Theatre, directed for Algonquin Theatre Company, Nevada Shakespeare in the Park, and The Shakespeare Theatre and was the Education Outreach Director for Southwest Shakespeare Company. Favorite roles: Belinda in Noises Off at Phoenix Theatre, Pamela in Fox on the Fairway at Actor’s Theatre and Hilda in Venus Observed at Verse Theatre Manhattan. She is an active member of Arizona’s AEA Member Coalition. She adores special effect makeup, dancing, traveling, movies (buttered popcorn, Junior Mints and all) and is slightly addicted to Law and Order re-runs. She digs New Works and looks forward to honing her directing skills. She’s a teaching artist for Marin Shakespeare Company in their acclaimed Arts in Corrections program. Originally from New York she has made Phoenix home with her husband and their 2 dramatically darling daughters. www.marenmaclean.net AOE
Liz Hutchman
Improv Coach
Liz’s improv journey started in 1999 and she has been studying, performing, and teaching ever since. What Liz loves most about improvisation is that it is a collaborative process rooted in trust, agreement, and exploration. When not on stage performing monthly with her teams Skewed News Hour, Birds & Broads, and The Collabortory, you will find her teaching workshops around the valley, including Gentle Play, a workshop specific to bringing the joy of improvisation to care takers and patients with early onset dementia. Liz also teaches improvisation to medical students, using the foundation skills in improv to help strengthen communication and resiliency. Liz is also the Managing Director of Sonoran All-Valley Improv, a non profit dedicated to further connect improvisation and education in Arizona. Liz strives to create a safe and fun teaching environment that both inspires and motivates individuals to recognize their talents and explore all possibilities.
Guest Artist In Residence
Isaac has taught acting at the University of the Arts, the New York Film Academy, Texas State University, and the Tony nominated Matthew Corozine Studio in NYC. He studied acting with a variety of wonderful teachers including master acting teacher Fred Kareman, Larry Silverberg, Terry Martin, and Matthew Corozine. His students have gone on to work on Broadway, television, and in award winning films. He spent 13 years in New York City directing in Off Broadway venues including: HERE Arts Center, Joe’s Pub@The Public Theater, DR2, 59E59, and the Cherry Lane Theater. He has been awarded the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Direction twice and productions he has directed have been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, an Off Broadway Alliance award, 25 NYIT awards, and 11 Planet Connection Awards. NYC. He also performs regularly with the Ad Hoc Economy theatre company in the award winning show Butcher Holler Here We Come. Productions he has directed have toured all over the world including in the UK (London, Edinburgh) Hong Kong, Germany, Estonia, Canada, and Italy.
Jacque Arend
Improv Instructor & Administrator
Improv Instructor & Administrator
Jacque Arend studied acting for two years before finding improv at Chicago’s IO Theater in 2005. She has been improvising regularly throughout Phoenix since, with longstanding groups like Mail Order Bride, Light Rail Pirates and The Torch Theatre’s signature Neighborhood show. She has learned from some of the greatest improvisors and teachers today such as Craig Cackowski, Susan Messing and Miles Stroth. Jacque is a founding member of The Torch Theatre and has been teaching improvisational comedy there since 2007. She’s rooted in longform which is based in scenework and creating an ensemble performance but has a strong sense of comedy which builds the foundation for her specialty workshops, Comedic Sense and the Sketch Intensive. Jacque has been teaching at Arizona Actors Academy since 2013.
Jacque is also the Arizona Actors Academy’s main administrator, facilitating registration and billing.
Rachel Grimes
Beginning Acting, Youth Programming, & Vocal Coach
Beginning Acting, Youth Programming, & Vocal Coach
Rachel Grimes is an accomplished singer, actress, director, and theatrical producer who absolutely loves to teach! Rachel graduated magnum cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in Theatre Arts. While at school, Rachel co-founded the multicultural theatre company Shringara Theatre Co., which continues to be active at the university today. She also directed musicals for the Music Theatre Society, straight plays at the Phoenix Theatre, and was stage manager for multiple productions including The Bald Soprano.
Rachel spent the years following college performing for Blue Gate Musicals in Ohio, teaching acting and voice at a studio outside of Chicago, and founding her own theatre company: Share a Dream Theatre Co. Share a Dream encourages theatre lovers of all ages to submit a dream role play to be produced, with all the proceeds from the show going to a charitable organization of the artist’s choice.
In her youth Rachel participated in shows at East Valley Children’s Theatre, winning an AriZoni Award for Best Principal Actress in a Musical for the role of Gerda in The Snow Queen. Rachel has also run dozens of camps throughout the years at East Valley Yamaha Music School- with productions including Robin Hood and Charlotte’s Web.
In her free time Rachel loves to read YA Fantasy novels, laugh with her family and friends, and do administrative work at her mom’s music school.