News & Stories
lion king
December 17, 2021

The Lion King Director Mentors Theatre Students

An award-winning veteran actress and theater director led a talk recently at Berry College on careers in the entertainment industry.

Resident Director of the North American Tour of Disney’s “The Lion King” Ameenah Kaplan advised theater students during her talk “Trailblazing the Arts” which included audition coaching and a Q&A.

“You never know where the road will lead you. Twenty years ago, Peter and I were young actors in LA. Now, I'm his guest lecturer,” Kaplan said referring to new Berry Theatre Director Peter Friedrich.

Throughout her career, Kaplan has worked as an actor, choreographer and drummer. Her recent acting credits include roles in “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Office” and “Grey’s Anatomy”. She also appeared in the original cast of “Stomp,” and coached and played drums for The Blue Man Group, Rihanna, Adam Lambert and Rod Stewart. Kaplan is a recipient of Gregory, Ovation, Sherwood, Queen of Angels and NAACP and LA Weekly awards for her contributions to dance choreography, fight choreography and directing.

She has a BFA in directing from the Academy of Art University Film School in San Francisco, California and attended the New York University Tisch School of the Arts for acting in New York.

To learn more about the Berry College theatre program, visit https://www.berry.edu/academics/majors/theatre.
                                           ###

Written by Public Relations Student Supervisor Faythe Choate

Office of Public Relations

 Back to Top

Footer Menu