What is Houde Summit 2027?

The Houde School of Acting Summit is a 4-day, in-person, interactive weekend of acting workshops, seminars and networking! Our guest teachers for Houde Summit 2027 will be Mark Pellegrino, Lisa Zambetti, Brian Beegle, Kurt Yue, Alex Collins, Tony Robinette, and host Jessica Houde-Morris.

See what past attendees have to say…

JESSICA HOUDE-MORRIS

Founder of Houde School of Acting | Second-Generation Meisner Teacher

Truthful acting starts with learning how to stop acting.

Jessica Houde-Morris is the founder of Houde School of Acting and a second-generation Meisner teacher with more than 20 years of experience developing actors.

Jessica spent six years training at Playhouse West in Los Angeles before becoming an instructor there, teaching alongside Robert Carnegie, who studied directly under Sanford Meisner. It's a lineage she has spent more than two decades carrying forward through Houde.

Her students have gone on to work in Will Trent, Atlanta, The Haunting of Hill House, The Vampire Diaries, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, The Holdovers, Black Widow, and more.

For Jessica, though, the work always comes back to the same things:

Listen. Connect. Stop performing. And have the courage to genuinely live in the moment.

MARK PELLEGRINO

Actor | Meisner Teacher

You know the performances. Now you get to meet the actor—and teacher—behind them.

With more than three decades in film and television, Mark Pellegrino has created some seriously unforgettable characters, including Lucifer in Supernatural, Jacob in Lost, Paul Bennett in Dexter, and Bishop in Being Human.

But there's another side to Mark: he's also a longtime Meisner teacher.

Like Jessica Houde-Morris, Mark trained and taught at Playhouse West in Los Angeles, where he and Jessica first knew one another more than two decades ago. Mark and his wife, Tracy, went on to teach acting there for more than 15 years.

Now their paths cross again at Houde Summit 2027.

Same roots. Two very different journeys. One pretty incredible full-circle reunion.

KURT YUE

Working Actor | Founder of Acting Career Center & Actors Growth Lab

And this is where the story gets a little serendipitous...

Jessica and Mark came through Playhouse West. Jessica eventually brought that training to Cleveland and built Houde School of Acting.

And then one day, a software developer named Kurt Yue happened to walk by.

Seriously.

Kurt took his first acting class at Houde, trained with Jessica—and accidentally set an entirely different life in motion.

Today, his credits include Will Trent, Cobra Kai, Sweet Magnolias, Dynasty, Venom, and Marvel's Black Widow. He's also become a teacher himself, founding Acting Career Center and Actors Growth Lab.

So now the student is coming back as the teacher.

Mark and Jessica came through Playhouse West. Jessica built Houde. Kurt walked through Houde's doors. And now all three are teaching at the Summit.

Sometimes you just happen to walk past the right acting school.

LISA ZAMBETTI, CSA

Casting Director | Educator | Three-Time Artios Award Nominee

Casting isn't just about finding a great actor. It's about finding the right human being for the story.

Lisa Zambetti knows the enormous creative puzzle behind that decision.

A three-time Artios Award-nominated casting director, Lisa's career spans television, film, audio, commercials, and AAA video games. She cast the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, was part of the casting team for the Reservation Dogs pilot, and has worked within major worlds including Star Wars Jedi and Indiana Jones.

A former actor and highly respected educator, Lisa has also taught through UCLA, USC, Pace University, Chapman University, and The Actors Studio MFA program.

Actors see one audition.

Lisa sees the character, the ensemble, the story—and how all the pieces have to fit together.

That's a perspective actors rarely get to experience from the other side.

BRIAN BEEGLE

CASTING DIRECTOR | FORMER ACTOR | THE “ACTOR’S CASTING DIRECTOR”

Okay. You've got the audition. The camera is on. Now what?

Brian Beegle has spent nearly two decades watching what happens next.

A former working actor himself, Brian has been casting since 2008 across commercials, television, film, music videos, and branded content. His work has included major brands such as Coca-Cola, Ford, LEGO, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Delta, UPS, and The Home Depot.

There's a reason he's earned a reputation as an “Actor's Casting Director.”

Brian remembers what it's like on the other side of that camera—the nerves, the overthinking, the safe choices, and the temptation to give casting what you think they want.

His philosophy is refreshingly simple:

Be specific. Be present. Be yourself. And have some fun.

Because sometimes casting doesn't need to see you try harder.

ALEX COLLINS

WORKING ACTOR | COACH | CREATOR OF THE APPROACH™

How do you build an acting career that actually lasts?

Alex Collins has spent more than two decades finding out.

A longtime SAG-AFTRA actor, Alex's credits include Dr. Charles McNider/Dr. Mid-Nite on DC's Stargirl and General Sherman in Apple TV+'s Manhunt, along with Lovecraft Country, Richard Jewell, True Detective, Cobra Kai, Sleepy Hollow, The Gifted, and TURN: Washington's Spies.

He's also the creator of The Approach™ and has helped thousands of actors navigate the business, mindset, strategy, and realities that come with pursuing this career.

And Alex doesn't romanticize it.

Professional acting careers have incredible years. They have really difficult years. And knowing how to navigate both matters.

Alex isn't talking about what a working actor's career should look like.

He's living one.

TONY ROBINETTE

Working Actor | Acting Coach | Improv Specialist

If you're waiting until you feel completely ready to take the risk, Tony Robinette might make you take it anyway.

Tony is a SAG-AFTRA working actor whose credits include Fallout, Miss Governor, St. Denis Medical, American Primeval, NCIS, Night Court, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Tacoma FD, and This Is Us—plus a Dunkin' Super Bowl campaign alongside Ben Affleck.

He's moved between drama, comedy, network television, streaming, and major commercial work.

But underneath all those credits is one of Tony's greatest strengths:

He knows how to play.

With a background that includes improv training at The Groundlings, Tony brings an infectious willingness to take risks, trust the moment, make bold choices, and stop worrying quite so much about getting everything “right.”

Think less. Trust yourself. Play more.

And yes—he's bringing that energy back to Houde Summit 2027.