Bella Merlin

Background

About Bella Merlin

I'm an actor, writer, and singer-songwriter, working for 30 years in theatre, film, television and radio. I'm currently Professor of Acting and Directing in the department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production at the University of California, Riverside. As a member of AEA and British Equity, I'm represented by StevensonWithers Associates, and live in LA with her actor husband, Miles Anderson Recent US acting includes: Jenny in the award-winning Mente Revolver by writer/director Alejandro Ramirez (Alhambra Oro for Best Movie at the Cines del Sur international film festival, Spain, 2018); several seasons at Shakespeare & Company, Massachusetts, including Maria (Twelfth Night) and Trinculo (The Tempest) both directed by Allyn Burrows; The Queen and Arviragus in Cymbeline, Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice and (at Colorado Shakespeare Festival), Margaret in Richard all directed by Tina Packer. I also have two solo plays Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love and Nell Gwynne: A Dramatick Essaye on Acting and Prostitution, both directed by Miles Anderson. In the UK acting appearances include David Hare's The Permanent Way directed by Max Stafford-Clark (Out of Joint/Royal National Theatre); She Stoops to Conquer and A Laughing Matter (also directed by Max Stafford-Clark for Out of Joint/Royal National Theatre); many theatre roles including new and devised work, and with BBC TV and Radio. As an actor-trainer, I've presented around the world, including Japan, Australia, China, France, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Colombia, and across the UK and US in theatres, drama schools and universities. My publications include "The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit"(NHB 2014),"Acting: The Basics"(Routledge 2018),"Facing the Fear: An Actor's Guide to Overcoming Stage Fright"(NHB 2016), and co-authored with Tina Packer "Shakespeare & Company: When Action is Eloquence"(Routledge 2020). I'm dedicated to practice-as-research, and have held posts at the British Universities of Birmingham (where I received my PhD in 1997) and Exeter; at UC Davis, and I've workshopped extensively including at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, National Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, and Manchester Metropolitan University. As a director, my implementation of Stanislavsky's rehearsal process - Active Analysis - with UCR students in Emily Mann's "Mrs Packard" can be found on Digital Theatre+: Active Analysis in Rehearsal: A Documentary Learning Resource. IMDb: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm1764219